Problems at Farm. Idling under the old coaling tower, two coal drags wait for the tracks east to clear before making the ascent up Elkhorn Grade. Within seconds, a westbound drag of coal mtys will... (more)
The ties that bind. Thanks to David for the inspiration...
Ancient CPLs stand sentinel just west of Davy, awaiting a green.
With a heavy rain adding to the misery of the deep snow, a westbound glides downhill out of Elkhorn Tunnel on the Pokey.
Steel on steel, with no slippage hopefully.
Pusher set anchored by NS 7582 prepares to shove one over the extremely steep grade of the Dry Fork to Richlands. To the left of the photographer the short Jacobs Fork runs to the state line at Bi... (more)
Loads off the P-D await crews to take them to the Pocahontas main at Wharncliffe. What a day, with snow, rain, and deep snow later at Clarks Gap. Thanks to Jay for being the navigator riding shotg... (more)
At dusk a loaded coal drag crawls off the Buchanan Branch at Ought-One, WV. Another loaded coal drag waits it's turn to head east up the long, grueling grade. One must take care along this section... (more)
A patched NS caboose, of Norfolk & Western heritage. You'll always find a couple stored at the Cedar siding, awaiting backup coal loading service on the Delorem Branch.
Looking huge and imposing, the not often seen Maybeury signals stand guard. They are not long for this world and living on borrowed time after standing guard since the early 50's. They were erecte... (more)
Popping out of Dry Fork #2, NS coal drag 844 grinds up the grade. With pushers on the rear, it will still be another twenty minutes before it makes the crest at Bandy, VA.
Standing sentinel at the junction of the Beech Fork spur of the Dry Fork branch, this old CPL slowly rusts away. One can only imagine the tons of coal that has rolled past, heading south to flatte... (more)
A poet from the coalfields deep within West Virginia has chalked his prose upon a Conrail coal hopper. One must wonder how many tons of black diamonds have exited the state via the thirty or forty... (more)
A mixed freight lumbers east out of the seldom seen east portal of Coopers Tunnel on the Pokey. The icicles tell a story of bitterly cold temps and heavy snow over the last few days that had the r... (more)
A venerable GP on worktrain 95W surveys the state line at Flat Top, once a stopping spot for all coal heading east on the Pokey. Most coal now continues to Bluefield Yard, though a few coal trains... (more)
Bluefield Service, used for storing ties and scrap iron by the MOW trains. This ancient gondola has seen better days and shows the ravages of time.
Early morning light is creeping into the valleys and hollows of WV, showing the blazing Fall foliage. Pushers and loaded Top Gons await crews at Ned, a small yard just outside Gilbert. The loads w... (more)
Exhaust mixes with fog coming off the snow, as pushers on the rear of a heavy coal drag near the top of Elkhorn Grade. The pushers have been on the rear since Farm in the long grueling climb to th... (more)
10,000th rebody coal car according to the stencil. That's been many a Top Gon thru the shop years ago when the rebody program was active. It was good to hear recently that some won't be scrapped b... (more)
A flurry of blooming redbuds give blazing color to the WV hills along the Pokey as an mty coal drag passes the Thacker Signal Department. The symbol will turn into U15 moments later as the train h... (more)
Work train 97J has the brakeman set the switch as it idles out to the Pokey main to do ditch work, caboose and all. The Pokey was slow the first half of the day with work going on from one end to ... (more)
Dwarf signal where the Gilbert Branch turns off the Pocahontas main. A Luna moth has an attraction to the red lens for some reason!
Fast freight 217 will be stopped at Beech Creek and told to sit until furher notice due to a signal malfunction in about a mile. This curve at Ought-One is one of the most severe on the Pokey, wit... (more)
Slowly easing onto the Buchanan Branch, a loaded coal drag passes the wye across the Tug Fork and stores the 111 loaded coal Top Gons in the siding. This was the site of a derailment a week ago, i... (more)
A ribbon rail train lays out welded rail, sandwiched between the bluffs of War Eagle and the Tug Fork river on the state line. The extreme curves of this remote and rugged area cause heavy wear on... (more)
Shuffling eastward in early morning light, autorack 184 bursts into WV, with the middle section in KY and the rear still in WV.
A rare GP38-3 sits tied down for the night on the Devon storage tracks, as the last rays of light shuffle thru the clouds overhead.
Within seconds after exiting, the late evening sun would be gone from the Tug Fork valley, putting the Glen Alum tunnel in shadows. Grain train with plenty of power heads west toward Williamson.
Somehow keeping the gloss and shine on the Pokey, worktrain 98J passes recent maintenance work as it comes off the Buchanan Branch.
Completely enshrouded in coal dust, J52 pushers shove hard on the rear of a coal drag just off the Buchanan Branch. In seconds my gear and truck were covered in black gold.
