With the wind carrying the sound upstream, we could hear these 2 AC's lugging their drag up the previously peaceful valley long before they were anywhere near our location.

A big AC60 is hard at work lugging coal up the remote Toe River valley.

CSX 595 leads a loaded coal train down the famous Clinchfield "Loops." Trailing the typical AC44 is a GEVO, giving us a bit of a break from her coal lugging AC sisters.

A loaded coal drag roars out of Blue Ridge Tunnel after passing under the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Eastern Continental Divide. The engines have already crested the grade and will soon be in ful... (more)

CSX 451 waits in Toe River Siding for a coal drag to pass before taking its short 25 car consist north.

As if trying not to disturb the stillness of the Toe River Gorge, 92 empties behind a pair of AC's make a deceptively quiet descent down the valley at 22:10. In just a few moments, darkness will ... (more)

86 empties behind two AC44's soar over the wetlands at the end of Lake James on the impressive Catawba Viaduct.

Volunteers are painting the smokebox of the 542. This 1903 built consolidation is undergoing a cosmetic restoration. One look inside the smokebox door, and it's easy to see that this old girl is... (more)

Coal headed south with an SD70M-2 and SD70 trailing.

A southbound coal drag passes the gardens adjacent to the station in Salisbury.

N&W 620 has received some maintenance and is being shuffled back to its stall by the little Duke Power GE critter which makes an interesting contrast to the comparatively large geep on the turntab... (more)

A little Duke Power saddle tank engine sits on display at the NC Transportation museum. This 40 ton ALCO (Cooke) product was built in 1922, sports 38" drivers and 13x20" cylinders with a tractive... (more)

An ACL 4-6-0 and SAL Russian Decapod sit stuffed and mounted in the East Spencer roundhouse. Here's the goods on these two: SAL 544: Built 1918 by ALCO (Brooks); 52" drivers; 25x28" cylinders; 5... (more)

The NC transport museum's pristine FP7 passes an ex-Amtrak F40 waiting to be restored.