Been doing this for thirty six years he said, and will retire in three. Don't blame him at all. The only mainline switchback in the country, Hagans Switchback, and a conduit for coal out of Harlan... (more)

R.J. Cormans tunnel motor does switching work in the last rays of sunlight for Georgia Pacifics Mt. Hope plant.

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.

With the lattice of tracks and sumps, as Dave would say, the crew prepares to set out a bad motor before loading coal. Luckily six engines are used, mainly for braking down the steep branch.

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.

A UP unit train heads to the Black Thunder loadout at Nacco Junction while a BNSF helper set idles away. Another helper set is just to the right, out of the frame on the busy PRB. The Jacobs Ranch... (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)

Ducking under the huge iron shroud from the steam days, a fast freight tops Elkhorn Grade and enters the mile long tunnel at dusk.

Not having seen action in a decade and with rail made in 1923, a switch stands sentinel on the abandoned and remote Dismal Branch below Jewell Ridge. The switch controlled what once was the Seng C... (more)

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)

Hand braking down the steep grade at Virginia Energys loadout, mty coal hoppers are rolled under the loadout in a scene reminiscent of the forties.

NS unit train with a crisp, freshly painted lead engine idles at Cane Patch Mining waits for the clear before hitting the Clinch Valley. This was the third crew to board the train since loading tw... (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.

Let the loading begin. With 8,000 tons of coal above our heads, the first mpty is loaded from the control room at the Kopper Glo prep plant.