The Atlantic Railway is the new operator of the 11 mile stretch of railroad that runs between Halls Ferry Jct. and the former ALCOA Plant in Badin, NC. It was originally the Yadkin Railroad before becoming a part of Southern, and eventually NS. Due to the closure of the ALCOA Plant in 2006, the line was shut down, and used only once for Storage in the early 2010's. In 2018, the Foxville & Northern Railroad Company took resumed operations on the Badin Branch. In 2020 Atlantic Railways became the line's official operator.
In a rare night move, their leased locomotive makes a run across the diamond with the WSSB at Whitney towards a string of storage cars as the Milky Way puts on a show. The new operators are looking to revitalize the line, clearing track and working to bring new business back to this scenic stretch of historic rail and local economy.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
