In the early days of KCS operation of the ex-IC/Midsouth Shreveport-Meridian line, quartets of refurbished, second-hand GP40s seemed to be the most common power set for the 'big' trains. Never se... (more)

Another transitional model, the C39-8's boxy form-follows-function look reminded some fans of late model Alcos. That's CSX's former Western Railway of Alabama that 8572 is crossing, and the shado... (more)

NS had 31 early C36-7s that looked an awful lot like C30-7s, and a dozen late C36-7s with the 'lumpier' look that would be more characteristic of the C40 and later models.

A westbound NS train bound for Birmingham passes a couple of Opelika landmarks; one well-known, one not so well known. In the distance is the Lee County Courthouse, probably the most prominent bu... (more)

L&N 1058 - a former C&EI unit - has recently received a stealthy gray dip job that is darker than L&N or FL gray, and perhaps even a bit darker than the Seaboard System gray. It is fronting a loc... (more)

A Birmingham-bound freight has just about completed its run from Sheffield as it passes above BNSF's former Frisco.

For many years, Southern/NS served Lafayette (and until 1982, Roanoke) with a turn out of Opelika. By 1994, the NS had ceased keeping power in Opelika, so the turn originated in Columbus, GA. A fe... (more)

The M&B doesn't get much attention, and what it does get often seems focused on the west end of this bridge, which is a steel through-truss span over the main channel of the Black Warrior River. I... (more)

The curve through Loachapoka is superelevated, which is great for southbounds running downhill at 50+, but tough on the lower, inside rail when northbounds drag up the grade at 10-12 mph. This so... (more)

L&N 2768 and another U23B start south with an intermodal train back in a time when trailers were still more common than containers. Don't usually think of U23Bs as best choice for this sort of se... (more)

L&N 3005 sits at the head of its train at the south end of Union Station's trainshed. As passenger service shrank, L&N used the trackage around Union Station more and more to accommodate freight ... (more)

In May 1993, KCS had taken over, but there were still lots of MidSouth units around, with solid sets still fairly common. It appeared that perhaps there was some effort - at least in the early day... (more)

The return leg of the Lafayette turn drops down into Opelika on CSX's Atlanta-Montgomery main using trackage rights dating back decades to Central of Georgia/Western Railway of Alabama days.

After working the N&W and Conrail interchanges, the power for DT&I's southbound local climbs the connection back to the main. Even though this line is no longer an important main, this fill - whi... (more)

NS 198 is the southbound half of what may be the most important pair of trains on this stretch of line, but it still has to cool its heels at Smithville until second class train C87 - headed from... (more)