The rear motor on a five engine set is a surprise. One never knows what they'll use for power on the Q542, though the switcher is probably being shuffled from Knoxville to Corbin yard.

Bursting out into the last light of day, Q539 snakes thru the many rock cuts in the Hickory Creek gorge. Rockslide detector fences line the cuts to warn of slides throughout the area.

Crossing over Coal Creek, which drains a large section of the Cumberland Mountains and the coalfields, Q539 towers over Lake City. The NS Jellico Branch is on the lower, smaller bridge in the back... (more)

A worktrain consisting of a freshly painted GP40-2 and a Jordan spreader prepare to head north, leaving the great state of VA and entering KY on the other side of the tunnel at Hagans Switchback.

Its all about staying connected...

Conrail led 81M crests the summit at Bandy Tunnel, enroute to the Clinch Valley and Cedar Bluff. Fall has arrived in the southern coalfields of Appalachia.

So shiny you can see reflections in the paint, Operation Lifesaver Special 975 is shown having the camera and wiring fixed for the viewing passengers before departing to Kenova.

As a grain train flows thru Elkhorn Tunnel, a westbound approaches the west portal from within, looking as if the tunnel is on fire. Midway thru the bore is the crest of Elkhorn Grade, a major pai... (more)

An old Alco set out to pasture at Seaboard Mining, which has been reclaimed. The branchline main from Richlands to Whitewood goes north from here and enters Blair Tunnel a couple of miles away at ... (more)

Sporting an eclectic mix of power thru the rugged Hickory Creek gorge, the daily Q539 ambles out of Tunnel #1 enroute to Knoxville. An SD40-2 and slug bring up the rear of the power.

NS 6598 and a primered unit heading east between Williamson and Matewan, WV, pulling a very long drag of coal mtys.

Making the ground literally shake, two SDs roar out of Hickory Creek #1 tunnel and across Hickory Creek. The helper shack at Chaska has just asked them to make it to Oaks and everything is maxed o... (more)

Loading with a wheel loader, three at a time, generally takes six hours. The unit train is cut into two halves with three motors for each half.

On a cold and drizzly March day, U258 loads at the Kopper Glo loadout on the Clearfork Branch. A rusty wheeled mty broken down from several weeks prior sits on the siding.

Working the switch at Hagans Switchback, U016.18 prepares to put the two pieces back together before heading north under Cumberland Mountain and into Harlan County, KY. The brakeman had to follow ... (more)