In search of eagles. On a rainy spring morning, the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad's B&O-painted F7A unit takes a string of heavyweight steel coaches south over the 1,100 ft., wood and steel trestle spanning this beautiful meadow, as well as the South Branch of the Potomac River in little Ridgedale, WV. The Potomac Eagle is a tourist railroad based in Romney, WV, operating mostly weekend excursions on the South Branch Valley Railroad, a former B&O line which generally follows the South Branch of the Potomac River. The line offers patrons some pretty spectacular vistas as it winds its way south through the river canyon, passing farmland and rocky cliffs, with eagles often soaring overhead....from which the train takes its name.
The primary power on today's train is a 1952-vintage, EMD F7A, which was built for the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. It literally spent nearly 50 years hauling coal, coke and iron ore for that line before it ended up in a salvage yard in Youngstown, Ohio. There, it was discovered by the Potomac Eagle folks and brought to the Romney, WV in 2002. The unit was first painted in the railroad's own Potomac Eagle colors, but in 2010, it was painted in its current B&O scheme to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the South Branch Valley Railroad.
