Getting ready for a mine run up a holler

A second hand unit is idling in the yard by the small car shop with a short work train.

A rebuilt GP50 rolls west taking a work train back to Bristol. These signals were short-lived, falling in 2017, replaced by PTC compatibles.

Westbound empty hopper train.

Northbound empty covered hopper train

Southbound unit covered hopper train.

All lined up with nowhere to go. Despite their looks these ex-N&W and C&O units were well maintained, as was the railroad until SCE&G pulled the plug on its Canadys coal-fired plant. Now the uni... (more)

Little kids have their Day Out With Tomas. Big kids have better tings to do. Great day out.

While we were waiting for the UP passenger shuttle to return from a few miles west this westbound “unlimited power” consist rolled by. We had already gotten it in Longview but they didn’t have th... (more)

Rolling into the big curve downtown another of thousands of trains is about enter into the labyrinth of southern West Virginia’s convoluted mountains and rivers. Until now I had not noticed the r... (more)

Tied down in the evening, the local crew has run out of time. They’ll bus out from Bristol in the AM. Note to modelers, on the local the caboose (if there is one) can end up anywhere, at least ... (more)

Can they really be seven years old? Here the newest thing on the road at the time is hauling a huge string of empties past the signals at the east end of Pounding Mill siding.

The GP50s were always trouble-prone. I remember a yard tour at Lynwood where we looked at one with a blown power assembly and our guide mentioned they were not working out well. By 2011 their numb... (more)

Trying it’s best to look like a real “hammerhead” the underappreciated, unique-to-NS B32 is hustling some cars eastbound. This was probably the V-19 local just going as far as Abingdon. The usua... (more)

Serpentine might be the word. Winding along the cliffs beside the French Broad River a passenger train chartered by the Lexington Group is nearing their destination in Asheville.