Now this is a compromise joint!
Having to connect vastly different sized rails on this seldom used NS house track greatly illustrates how valuable compromise joints are and what they ... (more)

NS 136 has finally made it to Opelika with 97 cars in tow behind a pair of SD70M locomotives. After chasing this train east from Kellyton, it's now 1.5 hours closer to Columbus where this crew wi... (more)

It's after dusk as two Southern SD35s roll an eastbound around the big curve at Opelika just before crossing the Western Railway of Alabama mainline.

One of the rarer models - on Southern or any railroad - was the GP49 (or GP39X, if you prefer). Here, one of Southern's half-dozen leads a pair of GP50s and an eastbound train across the CSX at O... (more)

Norfolk Southern Freight Train 136 makes their way Eastbound as they pass through Opelika, AL.

A pair of EMD six axle units make up the local train of A746 which is seen spending the weekend in Opelika. Tomorrow this train will continue working the handful of customers located along this l... (more)

The WofA local waits just short of the crossing as an eastbound Southern train (I think it's 136) comes over Second Avenue and around the curve.

White flags in place. a work extra clumps across the Western Railway of Alabama mainline at Opelika on a hazy summer day in Alabama nearly 40 years ago. In the background, a Southern caboose with ... (more)

Wood products - mostly logs and chips - kept the segment of the ex-CofG Roanoke branch between Opelika and Lafayette open until the late 1990s, when it was spun-off to the Pine Belt Southern. That... (more)

After storms damaged the line between Columbus and Birmingham in the mid-90s, NS rerouted traffic via Atlanta. After repairing the damage, NS decided to make the detours permanent, leaving just a... (more)

NS long-distance local 46 comes around the big curve at 2nd Avenue in Opelika.

NS long-distance locals 45 and 46 on the former CofG Columbus-Birmingham main meet at Opelika.

NS 5053 is a former Southern unit, so it's on familiar ground as it brings the Lafayette turn back into Opelika. The Lafayette line would be spun-off in a few months as the Pine Belt Southern, bu... (more)

Back in the days when Opelika generated enough traffic to keep both Southern and the West Point Route busy with local switching, a sharp Southern GP30 and crew work below the nearly-new 10th Stree... (more)