Warranty expiration 11/1/01 and still doing heavy shoving work on the coal grades. From the looks of the stains, one of the crew must be a tobacco chewer.

Always parked under the overpass at the old Clinton depot, a high hood and another older engine sit out the holidays. Both are used for local industrial work and to run the Jellico Branch to Royal... (more)

With the rear of the train amongst the hills of Virginia and another state, autorack 25N has entered TN and is making it's way toward Knoxville. Thx. to Dustin Grizzle for the headsup and local gu... (more)

Dwarfing a gunite concrete crew relining the tunnel, NS 229 roars out of Nemo Tunnel into the final rays of sun, deep within the Emory River gorge.

A bright and shiny NS 167 pops out of Tunnel 23 and crosses the Emory River, which enters the Obed to the left. The ventilation cuts are reminiscent of tunnels of the Great West.

What a long strange trip it's been. Crewmember disembarks at Oakdale Yard after a journey south on the Rathole. Within minutes a fresh crew will pull out, wasting no time on this busy stretch of N... (more)

Pulling out after a crew change at the Oakdale Yard, a typically faded SD70 heads downhill to Harriman.

Trains don't stay at Oakdale Yard for long, and these two southbounders will be pulling out for Harriman in short order. Oakdale Yard is nestled in the Obed river valley between Harriman and Oneid... (more)

Locked up, NS 77G has been idling for hours on the Jellico Branch after loading a unit train the night before. After a fresh crew taxis in, it'll be all downhill to Clinton and then John Sevier Ya... (more)

Coal drag N290 will be slipping into Vasper tunnel in seconds after waiting at south Jacksboro for two northbounds.

Symmetrical loads of coal bound for Georgia Power make their way south out of the coalfields of the Cumberlands. No PRB problems with dust accumulation here, as the top speed in the mountains on t... (more)

In the never ending daily parade, a unit coal train of mtys heads back north to the coalfields of KY/TN. Only one engne is required most days for mtys up the steep grade of the Cumberlands, though... (more)

All downhill from here, for 30 miles. Brake is tied down on a loaded coal drag idling away, waiting for a fresh crew.

Coal drag N262 crosses Hickory Creek and is already beginning to slow as it approaches Duff Mountain grade.

With a friendly wave from the crew, Q542 and it's hodgepodge of freight cars heads north after passing a coal drag at Chaska. Q542 will pass Kopper Glo minerun U466 at Savoy before reaching Corbin... (more)

With the sun dropping thru Big Creek Gap to the rear, an autorack attempts the grade to south Kilsyth. The second engine was dead, leaving the lead to smoke, well, like a freight train. Signal mai... (more)

Times are slow after a bevy of coal traffic the first half of the day, helper engine 377 is quiet for a spell and the crew has gone home. The next unit train won't require a shove as it has newer ... (more)

About the only move other than coal requiring a shove over the hill is a grain train, as G762 and two other engines smoke away on the grind up the grade. C212 out of Chaska is hard on the rear.

With the craggy rocks of Big Creek Gap in the background, G762 coasts silently out of the Cumberland Mountains. A few miles back at north Kilsyth the helper crew unhooked on the fly, sending them ... (more)

Due to a prolonged drought, most of Norris Lake is dry as Q540 crosses the Cove Creek trestle enroute to a meet at south Kilsyth with a loaded coal drag. The move was over 6500 feet long, odd for ... (more)

The Bull Run train lumbers thru Morley tunnel and across Hickory Creek, with a helper unit waiting four miles down the track.

One has to wonder how this milepost stands with all the cracks running thru it over the decades. Coal drag N549 tries to make headway up the steep Duff grade, down to a baby crawl.

The helper crew glides north on #2 track as a loaded coal drag attempts to clear the north end of Chaska, straiing for every last yard. The helper will go from #2 to main, then move south on #1 to... (more)

A freshly painted GP40-2 and mother slug awaiting the green signal while coal drag N158 heads north. After several inches of snow overnight, flurry storms still hung around throughout the day maki... (more)

Crossing the Clearfork River with it's own snowman on the front, courtesy of Corbin Yard, a loaded coal drag heads south. Power wasn't up to par on this snowy day as the EMDs were already beginnin... (more)

Worktrain W772 is returning light to Corbin after dropping off mty tie gons at the Lafollette Yard. Mother slug 2216 up front carries the crew toward Morley tunnel on this blustery, snowy day.

With dynamics howling, mty coal drag N158 comes downhill off Duff Mountain in a freshly fallen snow. With two northbounds behind and one southbound ahead, it's a busy day on the KD.

With light snow falling, N158 has just threaded the eye of Morley Tunnel and will cross the Clearfork in seconds.

With remnants of yesterdays snow still around, E225 with a new string of coal hoppers enters Hickory Creek #1 tunnel. Hoppers were manufactured in Nov. of last year.

An old tool shed along the KD in the Hickory Creek gorge collects snow and ice as scores of coal drags roll by each day. Due to the remoteness, bridge crews leave equipment overnight along this st... (more)