Leaving Manhattan flooded and much of the New Jersey coast destroyed, Hurricane
Sandy left behind nearly 3' of snow in the eastern mountain counties of West Virginia
in late October 2012. At nearly 2,800 ft. in elevation, Rainelle was no exception.
Receiving an overall accumulation of 3' of snow, with higher elevations and wind
prone areas receiving drifts exceeding 4', the only solution for clearing the former
NF&G branch lines of the Sewell Valley, G&E, and Rupert was to assign a former C&O
Jordan spreader to survey and clear the right of way from heavy snow and downed
trees. The task ultimately took several days to complete as more light snow
continued to fall and heavy trees made clearing the right of way difficult. Loaded
trains were waiting to leave their load outs but obstructed right of ways prevented
them from leaving. Pictured above on day one of plowing, CSX H037 and its consist
of C&O 914057, CSXT 720 and CSXT 1 wye their consist at the Rupert Subdivision
wye outside of Rainelle to prepare for the assault over the G&E branch. Later this
day, it would take nearly 12 hours for the Rainelle based crew to plow the right of
way over the entire 15 mile subdivision to just beyond Quinwood. With more than 25
miles of trackage remaining obstructed, I would suspect that by the re-opening of
the line these crews had witnessed a sufficient amount of snow to last them through
the remainder of the season!
This is dedicated (with permission) to the skilled and gifted photographer - Chase Gunnoe - who regularly posts and is on staff with RP. I believe he deserves a gallery showcasing his remarkable photos. This is for you Chase! (More great photos to come!)
From a hint of "Bee" (NKP 765), colorful "Bees" (KCS), "Bees" w/ "attitude", to "Bees" that "sting" your eyes, in their own way they have "Bee" on display! Equipment that "Buzzes" with Yellow & Black colors! ("Bees" can still "Bee" entering this "hive"!)
