The clock is ticking on the former Southern Railway signals at CP Swann, just south of Danville, VA. Their replacements are already up and waiting to be activated.

Sweet morning light greets the crew of hotshot intermodal train 218 as they pass under the classic N&W CPL cantilever at Webster.

A clean ES40DC leads NS' hottest train, NS 218 the UPS train, down the former N&W line from Columbus to Portsmouth. 218 wastes no time, and after an intense 20-mile chase I was only a couple secon... (more)

Hotshot intermodal 218 passes by Nickel Plate 765 on the former Nickel Plate Road mainline east of Ft. Wayne, IN. Once the eastbound clears, 765 will get permission to open up onto home rails and ... (more)

Eastbound UPS intermodal train 218 passes through Greggs, headed East after briefly paralleling the old C&O Mainline.

Eastbound stacks pass the CPL Signals at Spring Lane, on the West End of Portsmouth on a nice January afternoon. The replacements for these CPL's have been up since September of 2013, and for some... (more)

On a crisp November 10, 2014, Norfolk Southern's Erie Railroad heritage unit leads southbound intermodal train 218 around a curve in Jamestown, NC.

A dash 9 of Norfolk Southern's fleet leads intermodal train 218 south through Jamestown, NC on September 24, 2014.

The NS 218 which generally you always can count on to have a Dash 9 leading, today has a SD60E leading, as it heads over the US 52 bridge in Portsmouth.

In the late evening light the NS 218 arrives in Portsmouth and splits the CPL's at Spring Ln. The CPL's do not have much time left, as the replacement signals are already in place.

The NS 218 heads south through Reidsville, NC on the Piedmont Division.