For the past hour, NS 135 has been on its hands and knees battling mother nature, climbing the rugged Blue Ridge mountains on a cold and rainy fall day. In a scene perfectly suited for Halloween, the train emerges from a blanket of clouds, soon to plunge back into darkness as it enters the Ridgecrest Tunnel. Thankfully as the name implies, the tunnel marks the summit of the grade, and soon the train will be running downhill toward a stop in Asheville.