Above average temperatures and elevated humidity lay along the Levisa Fork as Shelby-bound CSX M653 approaches GC Cabin on CSX's ex-Chesapeake & Ohio Big Sandy Subdivision.
Passing rain showers have left patchy fog along the Coal River as the eastward-facing C&O cantilever signal at E.E. Big Coal Bypass protects the interlocking at the eastward-most signal on the Big... (more)
Back again... After having visited this spot during the onset of spring in April 2021 as seen in this perspective, it was ... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... Still wearing its original as-delivered paint, Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SW1200 No. 134 sits outside of Atterbury Grain near Saginaw, Texas. As o... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... In one of the darkest areas of the New River Gorge, an eastbound loaded coal train illuminates the valley, as it approaches Claremont, near Thurmond, u... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... Finding steam is the strangest of places... Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 escorts a 21st century steam program excursion train through Raitt, Va., hea... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... A precursor to what would one day be... A westbound NS manifest makes track speed along US-23 at Lucasville, Ohio, sporting a colorful consist of a rec... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... No stops today... CSX's office car special passes the White Sulphur Springs station enroute to Hinton, W.Va., and points west from Richmond, Va. White ... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... CSX's office car special passes the grounds of the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society's Heritage Center, westbound on CSX's former C&O mainline at Cl... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... Amtrak's Chicago bound Southwest Chief No. 4 barrels through Colmor, passing a pair of westbound-facing Santa Fe semaphores under ugly skies. To... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... Norfolk Southern mixed freight NS 380 makes its final run across the NS Princeton-Deepwater District near Mullens, W.Va., on the eve of the former Virg... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... A cab unit still hauling revenue freight in 2019... Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad Chesapeake & Ohio-painted EMD F7(A) and a B&O-painted EMD GP9 c... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... As passengers board Amfleet coaches five cars ahead, Amtrak conductor L.L. Claytor discusses the day's trip with Amtrak Charleston station agent Matt C... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... Easing into West Virginia's capitol city at Charleston, the westbound Cardinal is greeted by Amtrak Charleston station agent Matt Crouch and a c... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... Kanawha River Railroad manifest train No. 381 departs Nitro as early signs of spring frame the former Soo Line leader.
A rainy day look back through time... Tucked away in the bottom of the New River valley at Hinton, an unidentifiable (at least to me) switcher pauses between shop moves at Appalachian Railc... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... CSX's office car special heads for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, passing a set of L&N searchlight signals governing the interlocking at Patio, Ky.
A rainy day look back through time... Norfolk & Western J-Class No. 611 leads a Norfolk Southern 21st Century Steam excursion upgrade near Shawsville, Va., headed to Christiansburg in May 2... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... The CPL intermediates at MP 134 display a pair of clear blocks after the passing of a westbound manifest on a cold, moonlit night along the B&O's Magno... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... A midnight meet on Magnolia... An eastbound autorack train meets a westbound manifest at the MP 130.4 intermediate signal bridge west of Great Cacapon.... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... An eastbound CSX manifest approaches the B&O CPL signal bridge at MP 126.8, eastbound on the B&O mainline to Baltimore.
A rainy day look back through time... A full moon subtly illuminates the tops of an autorack train at the MP 132.4 intermediates near Great Cacapon on the B&O mainline.
A rainy day look back through time... Eastbound autorack loads illuminate the B&O CPL signal bridge intermediates at MP 130.4 as they travel across the B&O's Magnolia Cutoff between Cumberl... (more)
A rainy day look back through time... A cold, February night on CSX's ex-Baltimore & Ohio Magnolia Cutoff finds moonlit skies and a double track, mainline B&O CPL signal bridge at the MP 12... (more)
An eastbound coal train led by a pair of CSX's 'bright future' CW44ACs have almost completed the afternoon run through the New River Gorge National Park, hugging the banks of the namesake river ne... (more)
A three-aspect Safetran-style dwarf signal's bottom-most stop signal is buried within a few inches of fresh snow at the West End of Coal River Siding on CSX's ex-C&O Coal River Subdivision. The si... (more)
The eastbound Rocky Mountaineer catches the final day's sun on the outskirts of Banff National Park as it throttles into one of the few linear sections of Canadian Pacific main near Stephen... (more)
A Canadian Pacific export grain train for the West Coast has just crossed into British Colombia from Alberta during a slow up-hill climb near Stephens, B.C., in the late wildfire smoke-induced Can... (more)
Metra's evening rush hour kicks off from Chicago's Ogilvie Transportation Center as a pair of UP North/Northwest commuters leave the Chicago skyline behind on an already dark commute to Chicago's ... (more)
All is exceptionally quiet on CSX's ex-C&O coalfields, but a clear signal at the W.E. Coal River Siding indicates that will soon change as a 220-car coal train makes its way to the mainline at St.... (more)
It's a couple minutes 'til 1 am on the early morning hour of Dec. 8, 2011, as two locomotives and 150 empty hoppers bound for the coalfields of southern West Virginia approach Alleghany Summit, th... (more)
In the winter's fading daylight, a 220-car empty coal train passes a community church along Stovers Branch, near Orgas, in January 2022.
A heavy wet snow blankets the otherwise bare trees in the Coal River Valley at Brounland, as four GEs and 220-cars head for Elk Run's Marfork mine for another load of West Virginia metallurgical c... (more)
A 19-year-old Dash 8 has the honors of chaperoning an empty coal train west along the Kanawha River and the West Virginia Turnpike at Malden in the late summer of 2011.
Two relatively clean veteran 'Bright Future' GE AC4400CWs ease coal loads to the CSX interchange at Thurmond during West Virginia's fall colors of October 2019.
Coal loads for the CSX interchange at Thurmond negotiate through the S curves below Harvey, under the guidance of two 'Bright Future' painted CSX AC4400CWs. Fall color is at its peak in West Virgi... (more)
A CSX EMD GP40-2/GP40-3 duo roll into the isolated Vaco Junction with the Gauley Trolley local having just swapped empties for loads at WV Manufacturing at nearby Alloy, W.Va. The South Cha... (more)
Approaching the transfer yard at Chesapeake, a pair of GATX Rail leased Geeps handle 28 loads of Kanawha Eagle coal for CSX interchange.
Two GATX-leased EMD GP38-2s chaperone 28 loads of Kanawha Eagle coal toward the CSX interchange at Chesapeake, W.Va., passing a coal truck headed for Winifrede in this fall peak view from late Oc... (more)
GATX EMD GP38-2 No. 2109's blue-and-black paint scheme contrasts well against October's fall colors as the Kanawha Eagle shifter runaround its empties at the Winifrede yard before shoving to the l... (more)
Easing through Winifrede proper, a pair of matching leased GATX EMD GP38-2s head for the Kanawha Eagle loadout with 28 empties for loading.
A pair of GATX Rail-leased EMD GP38-2s shuttle 28 empty CSX Transportation company hoppers up the Winifrede Railroad to Blackhawk's Kanawha Eagle for loading on Oct. 28, 2021. Fall colors are in f... (more)
The first measurable snowfall of the 2021-2022 winter season blankets West Virginia on the 6th day of January as a monster 220-car coal drag eases into river bend, illuminating the seldom photogra... (more)
A conveniently placed full moon rises over the Mt. Laurel surface mine just as a pair of GE widecabs ease around its empty hoppers before beginning the flood loading process in this lonesome south... (more)
Inspecting the track for visual obstructions prior to beginning the flood-loading process as a reverse move, a pair of GE widecabs ease around the tail end of the Coal River Subdivision and the Mt... (more)
The tail end of the scarcely used Mt. Laurel mining spur appears to be more popular amongst the locals than it does rail traffic. Here, tucked away from civilization, this section of track represe... (more)
Light power inspects the tail end of the Mt. Laurel spur near the end of the Coal River Subdivision at Sharples. Once the track has been visually inspected by the crew, the locomotives pictured he... (more)
Hanging onto the last few days of summer as CSX GE AC440CW No. 160 marshals empty hoppers toward the Mt. Laurel loadout near Sharples, W.Va., on Sept. 18, 2021.
Summer kudzu is in full force as Mt. Laurel empties ease onto the mine's yard tracks at the end of the Coal River Subdivision at Sharples, W.Va., on Sept. 18, 2021.
Veteran GE AC4400CW No. 160 eases into the rural mining town of Sharples at the tail end of the original C&O Railway's Coal River Subdivision - about 55 miles from the mainline at St. Albans. Afte... (more)
Coal empties head for the Mt. Laurel Mining Complex at Sharples, W.Va., passing the outskirts of Madison after having just departed CSX's Danville Yard in the former C&O coalfields of southern Wes... (more)
Tied down in the Westward Siding west of St. Albans, a Loram-operated ballast cleaner is silhouetted by the headlights of a westbound empty coal train on the heels of Amtrak's Cardinal No. ... (more)
Solitary anticipation... Lined for the main at Ranger Siding, the eastbound C&O pole signal at E.E. Ranger displays a clear signal, indicating that the siding's spring switch is lined for m... (more)
Nestled deep in the bottom of the Guyandotte River valley at Ranger Siding- the halfway point between Logan's Peach Creek Yard and the C&O mainline at Barboursville, is a pair of C&O-era signals p... (more)
There's not a single railcar moving on the 65-mile Logan Subdivision, but deep in the fog-covered Guyandotte River valley at the branch line's halfway point at Ranger Siding, a C&O-era signal guar... (more)
This late summer evening in September finds an empty train for Peach Creek rolling through the signals and spring switch at E.E. Ranger on CSX's former C&O Logan Subdivision. Ranger is the occasio... (more)
Returning from Newport News, Va., empty hoppers for Peach Creek and the Logan coalfields pass the C&O-style intermediates at Salt Rock, about 14 miles from Barboursville, W.Va.
A closer look at CSX's latest 'Dark Future' rendering highlights the application of the railroad's website URL underneath the 'X' as seen here on freshly repainted AC4400CW No. 155 in Huntington, ... (more)
What's old becomes new again... CSX has dropped the boxcar brackets in its How Tomorrow Moves logo that covered locomotives and rolling stock over much of the past decade in factor o... (more)
Easing into the outskirts of Peach Creek, CSX U902 passes the eastbound signal at Henlawson with its 224-car consist for the Logan coalfields. Here, westbound counterparts are guided by a unique a... (more)
Under heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, CSX ES44AC No. 903 passes the westbound signals at the W.E. Babe Siding, protected by a pair of C&O mast signals and a single dwarf on a sidin... (more)
After assembling its train in nearby Ceredo on the Kanawha mainline, CSX ES44AC No. 903 eases into the interlocking at East End Double Track, better known as EEDT, or the Milepost 3.6, on the rail... (more)
Union Pacific's Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 double-heading with Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 catches the first rays of the morning sun on its uphill trek across Granger, Wyo., in the early morning hou... (more)
CSX's rebuilt EMD GP40WH-2 No. 9969 leads the company's Geometry Train west along the former Chesapeake & Ohio mainline at Scott Depot, W.Va., on the muggy evening hours of Aug. 10, 2021.
Enroute to Lee Creek, N.C., from western Alberta, three Canadian National units power a loaded sulfur train through Marmet, W.Va., eastbound on CSX's ex-C&O mainline. The Canadian visitors add a s... (more)
Wth the South Charleston industrial park in the background, molten sulfur loads for the Potash Corp. mine at Aurora, N.C., roll east along the former C&O mainline under the lead power of CN EMD SD... (more)
Leaning into the S curve on the approach to Big Rock, molten sulfur loads for Lee Creek, N.C., roll across the former C&O mainline sporting three Canadian National locomotives, including EMD SD75i... (more)
Underneath CSX's YN3 'dark future' paint scheme, CSX predecessor heritages representing the Seaboard Coast Line, Conrail, and Chesapeake & Ohio layover at the CSX's Huntington Locomotive Shops on ... (more)
Awaiting their fate at CSX's Huntington locomotive shops, 41-year-oold former L&N SD40-2 No. 8112, now CSXT No. 8112 sits coupled in front of the 54-year-old former C&O SD40 No. 7475, now CSXT No.... (more)
Clear signal Sproul Jct... Westbound coal loads from Danville head for the C&O mainline at St. Albans, exiting Sproul Tunnel and illuminating the C&O mast signal.
Lining the switch for Fork Creek, the Hinton-based mainline crew has nearly completed their midday springtime run from southern West Virginia to the old C&O coalfield, doing their part in preparin... (more)
Empties from Newport News, Va., pass the final C&O-era signal at Brounland, eastbound on the C&O Big Coal Subdivision with a unit train for Fork Creek on the drawbars. In a few short hours, a loca... (more)
25-years-old and maintaining its keep for CSX, a Yn2-painted CW44AC leads 79 three-bay hoppers for Elk Run through the rural coal-driven community or Orgas, on the outskirts of Whitesville in r... (more)
the conductor radios to the head end engineer as the first cut of empties are shoved underneath the Tom's Fork loadout at the tail end of the Cabin Creek Subdivision. ... (more)
Deep in the hills of Cabin Creek, a pair of mainline CSX motors runaround coal empties at Leewood Siding before spotting up underneath the Tom's Fork loadout. The CSX crew will work with the loado... (more)
After a daylight run from Hinton, two CSX motors, led by SD70MAC No. 4758 pause underneath Blackhawk Mining's Tom's Fork loadout on the C&O Cabin Creek line near Leewood, W.Va. In a few short mome... (more)
After making setoffs and pickups at the South Charleston Yard, CSX H751 rolls through downtown St. Albans at last light with GE ES44AC No. 941 serving as the solo DPU on this Kentucky bound manife... (more)
CSX EMD SD40-3 rebuild No. 4060 skirts along the Ohio River in a brutally cold snow squall on the evening of January 14, 2018. The empty coal train is following the former C&O mainline west toward... (more)
With downtown Williamson in the background, a colorful consist including NS 'First Responders' SD60E No. 911, a former BN Executive 70MAC, and an NS GE ease a Duke coal train into the Williamson Y... (more)
Exiting Mingo Tunnel and through the flood wall at Williamson near CP 'College', NS SD60E No. 911 leads a Duke coal train east across the N&W mainline bound for the Carolinas.
Former NS EMD SD60 No. 6577 rebuilt as NS' specially painted EMD SD60E No. 911 leads a Duke utility coal train through Naugatuck, enroute to North Carolina from the coalfields of West Virginia.
Approaching Naugatuck, NS' specially painted EMD SD60E No. 911 leads a former BN EMD SD70MAC and an NS GE toward Williamson, W.Va., with a loaded Duke utility coal train in tow.
NS' specially painted EMD SD60E No. 911 leads Duke Energy loads for Williamson, W.Va., exiting Tunnel 4 on the former N&W Kenova District mainline.
Headed through the rural town of Naugatuck, NS First Responders GP38-2 No. 5642 leads the NS Safety train between Kenova and Williamson, W.Va., on the NS Pokey main.
The NS Safety train, led by NS' specially painted 'First Responders' GP38-2 No. 5642 passes through Prichard on its mainline run to Williamson, W.Va., and points east.
After performing severals of emergency first responder training in Kenova, NS EMD GP38-2 No. 5642 leas the NS Safety train across the KRT Ceredo lead and will soon head for Williamson, W.Va., on t... (more)
Rainy days on Cabin Creek Series... After coming off the C&O mainline at Cabin Creek, a pair of GE ES44ACs have just finished running around the first cut of empties at Leewood Siding and w... (more)
Rainy days on Cabin Creek Series... Utilizing Leewood Siding for the runaround, CSX ES44AC No. 883 running back west in preparation for the shove east to Blackhawk's Tom's Fork loadout for ... (more)
Rainy days on Cabin Creek Series... Headed back to retrieve the first cut of empties, a pair of CSX ES44ACs are about to pass underneath the Tom's Fork loadout on CSX's Cabin Creek Subdivis... (more)
Rainy days on Cabin Creek Series... Practically at the end of the line of CSX's ex-Chesapeake & Ohio Cabin Creek Subdivision finds a pair of mainline ES44ACs making a few switch maneuvers i... (more)
