After cutting the string of mtys in half and sending them to the loadout, an RJ Corman trainmaster heads back to the last half awaiting hookup. The forty-two mile branchline is owned by RJ Corman ... (more)

With the loadout silo towering above, two more hoppers will be loaded before the long circuitous journey back to John Sevier Yard begins. Kopper Glo coal loadout, Straight Creek spur of the Clearf... (more)

Backing thru the coal loadout, a DPU unit on the rear makes room for the string of hoppers to soon be loaded at Kopper Glo. The train will cross CSX trackage for a few miles, then go thru Jellico ... (more)

With a herd of six horses, doublestack freight NS 233 rushes west thru Flat Top. As the sign attests, the move will be in the great state of West Virginia in seconds on this bitterly cold and snow... (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)

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)

Nothing says coal country like cabooses and Top Gons.

Fill 'er up please. The helper engine at Morley is fueled to the tune of 3,000 gallons in thirty minutes on this wintry, rainy day. The tank holds 5,000 gallons total and is usually topped off eve... (more)

Two hundred and fifty miles from Cincy, a freight lumber along toward Coleman.

On a sweltering summer day with humidty so thick you could cut it, coal is loaded the oldfashioned way at Mountain Energy Resources. The Model 4200 Trackmobile is shuffling mtys one at a time unde... (more)

In a heavy downpour, unit train 77G has just loaded the first cut of coal and is headed to the weigh in motion scales. NS always used six engines coming from John Sevier yard, loading and taking b... (more)

A cable winching system or car mover is used to pull empty woodchip hoppers under the loadout, seen in the distance. The winch motors are housed in the yellow boxes on both sides of the tracks, wi... (more)

Constantly on the guard for rattlersnakes and copperheads in an area heavily infested by snakes, a brakeman has written a reminder to future crews. The Royal Blue spur serves the International Pap... (more)

Two brakemen prepare to hook up forty loaded coal hoppers at the Apollo Fuels yard in Middlesboro, KY. The 78E is on it's second crew due to hitting a trespasser on the tracks in Tazewell, TN hour... (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)