Mastodon. In 1958, the Norfolk & Western Railway donated 433 (4-8-0, Alco) to the Town of Abingdon, Virginia as a monument to the end of steam on the Abingdon or Virginia Creeper Branch. By accounts this was a very difficult and slow piece of railroad to traverse, and steam engines like this "Mastodon" (or "M class or "Molle") were utilized due to weight restrictions across trestles. By 1974 it was abandoned and in 1984 the U. S. Forest Service created the Virginia Creeper Trail. On the evening of November 20, 2022, the engine sits under the roof that was constructed in 2003 during a restoration that included replacing some missing parts on the engine with the assistance of the Strasburg Rail Road, owner of NW 475, the other surviving member of this class.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
