NS Wabash heritage unit #1070 flies past the coal prep plant in Keystone, WV on March 7, 2021 hauling train 393. This structure according to my sources, as part of the coal preparation process, co... (more)

The Wabash heritage unit pulls autorack train NS 393 west by the abandoned coal mine in Keystone, Wv.

The sun pops out at just the right time as NS 217 continues it's trek west through Keyston, Wv on the "pokey" with 1800 on point.

An empty coal train is seen passing through Keystone, WV headed back into the heart of Appalachia. The train will head to one of the many mines in the area to be loaded with 130 more loads of blac... (more)

NS intermodal train 233 is seen passing through the rural coal-mining town of Keystone, WV on the NS Pocahontas District.

After a break for lunch, we caught back up with the action south of Keystone. Here, NS #7324, an SD70ACU hauling empty intermodals, snakes its way through the valley and crosses over Elkhorn Creek... (more)

After Welch we drove east back to Keystone to catch NS #9275 hauling an empty grain train past an abandoned coal processing plant in Keystone, WV. There are literally dozens of coal plants like th... (more)

Continuing further, we catch NS #4087 at Big Four Tunnel No. 1 outside of Big Four, WV. The railroad dips and winds its way through the valley followed closely by U.S. Route 52 and Elkhorn Creek h... (more)

A dash-9 leads a long train of empty grain hoppers by an abandoned mine deep in the mountains of Wv.

The Interstate heritage rushes NS 745 westbound through the ghost town of Keystone, Wv on the Pocahontas District.

An eastbound coal train, lead by SD40-2, 6171 and C30-7, 8010, pass N&W 611 on the tight curve at Keystone. Westbound 611 is on a ferry move from Bluefield to Portsmouth Ohio with a few freight ca... (more)

An eastbound coal train, lead by C39-8E, 8527 and SD60, 6607, pass the coal processing plant at Keystone on the way to Bluefield.

British Columbia Rail GE C40-8M No. 4602 leads eastbound NS grain train 52G through Keystone, W.Va., in the far southern West Virginia coalfields.

Sometimes just hanging out trackside for a little while longer brings success. I was about to call it a day as I had flown from Australia the day before and was rather jet lagged. I thought I wou... (more)