On September 25, 1983, the Baltimore Chapter, NRHS, along with co-sponsors Railtours of America and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad operates an excursion from Baltimore to Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, West Virginia. Called the “West Virginian”, the train operated via the B&O Old Main Line from Baltimore to Point of Rocks, and then proceeded on to allow passengers to detrain at either Harpers Ferry or Martinsburg. The “railfan grapevine” – there was no internet - said that the Clinchfield F’s would pull the train. Admittedly disappointed that the B-units did not make the journey to Baltimore, I was nonetheless impressed by a pair of sparkling Seaboard System cab units upon my arrival at Camden Station. This was an interesting time, as most of the train was former Chessie Safety Express cars, although that program was terminated two years prior. The presence of Seaboard System locomotives on the B&O was also quite possibly a first, as the operational integration of CSX was still four years away. Here the lead unit reflects in the Patapsco River at Ellicott City, Maryland.
