Coal trains system wide have become somewhat scarce over the years, especially at Duke Energy's Plant Allen in Belmont, NC. These trains often run at odd schedules, so shooting one in decent light traversing the Belmont lead track can be a challenge. Myself and a small group of others lucked out today, managing to catch not only a daylight run to the plant, but a daylight move with a heritage motor leading the way. In this scene, NS 750 is down to a crawl crossing over Henry Chapel Road just outside Plant Allen. I normally hate power lines in my shot, but I like what they symbolize in this particular image; power lines and a train of black diamonds working in tandem so that people in the area may sleep in warm homes tonight.
