Having just exited Bandy Tunnel, the front half of 80A begins the descent to Cedar Bluff. Most of the unit train is still ascending a near 1.5 percent grade and hasn't entered the portal yet.

Blowing dust from the highway crossing, an RJ Corman crew brings NS power south from Oneida on the 42 mile TN RR winding thru the towering Cumberland Mountains. In about four miles they'll reach t... (more)

Ever wonder how a coal hopper gets filled with 100-110 tons of black diamonds?

An oddity on the KD, container train W827 makes its way north with a solo engine. A total of 5174 feet long.

Passing the historical Berwind church, pushers on the rear of NS 80A prepare to get down on their knees on the Dry Fork Branch. The move will soon reach a 1.5 percent grade on the way to Cedar Blu... (more)

Q539 has power to spare as it leaves Hickory Creek #1 tunnel and begins the grade up Duff Mountain. The helper won't be required on this colorful day.

Crawling out of a sump, the first half of 77G prepares to weigh in motion at the scalehouse and then smoke it downhill for 47 miles to John Sevier yard with 52 loaded coal hoppers. Power for the s... (more)

On the steep Jacobs Fork of the Dry Fork of the Pocahontas Division, mine run U34 has just begun loading at Brooks Run. Traffic has increased on the Jacobs Fork with two loadouts operating now.

With piles of debris from the roof clearance project piled up high outside, a very late 18M according to my guide roars out of Antler #2 tunnel enroute to the Elkhorn Grade. Much of the debris app... (more)

N263 with mtys heads north down the grade, crossing Hickory Creek and entering the Hickory Creek #1 tunnel. Much needed recent rain has brought the water level up, though nowhere near what it shou... (more)

Deep within the confines of the Hickory Creek gorge, Q539 pulls a hodgepodge of flats, cars, and tankers thru the #2 tunnel. One has to wonder how this line was chiseled thru rock over a hundred y... (more)

Mtys just set at the Black Wolf Mining loadout on the Sand Lick Branch of the Tug Branch of the Pocahontas. With the steep grade, sand has just been poured on the rails before loading by gravity a... (more)

Used for tie storage, an ex Conrail that went to CSX after the merger wears New York Central reporting marks. A paintbrush and a bucket of white paint will do in a pinch.

Switching motors at Morco Junction on the TN RR, an RJ Corman crew pulls up to the Indian Fork spur. A long day awaits them just a mile away at the Baldwin coal prep plant on New River, loading a ... (more)

Early morning light is creeping into the valleys and hollows of WV, showing the blazing Fall foliage. Pushers and loaded Top Gons await crews at Ned, a small yard just outside Gilbert. The loads w... (more)