The connecting track on the left was constructed by the L&N in 1973 when its trains began using trackage rights over the N&W between Norton and St. Paul. An inbound unit train from Loyall, KY wait... (more)

Natural Tunnel can be, in certain times of the year, one of the most extreme examples of bright sun and dark shadows. Just is the cast this late afternoon as the Belmont Unit Train drops downgrade... (more)

A loaded unit coal train from Loyall, KY to St. Paul, VA is running here on NS trackage rights (ex-N&W) at the old BoPar load out just outside Norton, VA near Ramsey. The three SD50s were standard... (more)

Running on N&W trackage rights, an L&N westbound empty unit train waits in the CTC-controlled siding at Tacoma for an eastbound N&W coal train out of Norton. This was the only meeting point betwee... (more)

Eastbound, a UP GE leads two sun-bleached SD40-2s and a Santa Fe unit on the west slope of Sherman Hill. The wooden structure on the left is one of the older versions of snow fences, designed to k... (more)

Alco RS-3s of the Louisville & Nashville await assignments at the coalfield terminal at Loyall. Several mine runs were based here at the time, and through trains would often add or drop units base... (more)

L&N’s original F7A unit –number 800—suffered a horrific fate. After it had later been renumbered 847, the engine was on the point of Norton, VA to Corbin, KY through freight 66 on Sunday, June 7, ... (more)

The mid-train remotes on this eastbound loaded Southern unit coal train were stacked like cord wood when there was a heavy slack run-in and a broken rail just east of Natural Tunnel. The derrick w... (more)

Limestone, Tennessee isn't known for very much, although the frontier hero who gave his life at the battle of the Alamo--Davey Crockett--was born there in 1786. The Tennessean had volunteered to h... (more)

Nothing could match the drama of riding behind restored N&W J-class 611 from Iaeger to Bluefield on this run in 1982--not long after the celebrated 4-8-4 was restored to operation. An instant befo... (more)

This curve on the former Clinchfield main line just north of Dungannon, VA is semi-officially noted as "Osborne's Curve" on the track and profile charts. However, railfans have called it "Log Cabi... (more)

When Norfolk Southern established "stations" for Track Warrant Control (TWC) limits, it often selected a name from something nearby that would define the spot. In this case, the "station" is on th... (more)

The rear of two pusher units on an eastbound CSX coal train eases through Natural Tunnel at the timetable speed of 15 MPH. The bridge crosses Stock Creek, and the short man-made bore here is known... (more)

An eastbound CSX coal train eases through Natural Tunnel at the timetable speed of 15 MPH.

Three NS SD40-2s--3244/3271/3324--handle an Interstate mine run at Kent Junction. The lead unit is standing on the junction switch with the Roaring Fork Branch, that heads along its namesake water... (more)