Pouring out the plume at Hosterman. Pouring out a much more modest plume than she had been just seconds before, Meadow River Heisler #6 hauls an assortment of well-used freight cars south on the C&O Greenbrier Division, near Milepost 88.2 in the tiny hamlet of Hosterman, WV, on her way south to Cass. Heisler fans who are familiar with this locomotive may notice that after almost half a century of sporting a diamond stack at Cass, this locomotive has been re-equipped with a Radley & Hunter Spark Arrestor, of the type she wore in her days at Meadow River Lumber Co. It really changes the look of the locomotive more substantially than one would think and it also alters the plume in a very photogenic way.
The location seen here is a section of track recently re-opened by the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, as they repair the washouts and rebuild the road-bed, with the intention of restoring the rail link between Cass and Durbin, WV, as a tourist line. Although the trees are still in the budding stage in this early May photo, the grass is already plenty green and the lily pads are blooming big-time in the ponds along the Allegheny Run, which empties into the Greenbrier River just over a quarter mile downstream from this location.
Scenes depicting steam operations on the old C&O Greenbrier Division between Cass and Durbin, WV, featuring Moore-Keppel Climax #3 and Meadow River Heisler #6.
