Norfolk & Western J-Class 4-8-4 No. 611 leads Sunday's Spencer, N.C., to Asheville, N.C., and return public excursion across the Southern Railway's famous Old Fort loops during the first hint of s... (more)
After departing Lynchburg, Va., Norfolk & Western J-Class No. 611 leads its first public excursion of the 2016 season southbound on the railroad's ex- Southern Railway Danville District at Altavis... (more)
With 35 loads of coal in tow, a pair of GE's catch the last glimpse of evening sun as they descend the Claypool loops on the original Nicholas, Fayette, and Greenbrier Railroad (NF&G) in rural sou... (more)
NS 188 leads three other motors down the N&W Kenova District near Webb, W.Va., on the evening of March 10, 2016.
Admittedly bias towards the coalfields of the Chesapeake & Ohio, the Louisville & Nashville KD Subdivision gave the C&O a good run for its money in terms of tedious mountain grades, rural landscap... (more)
The definition of a hollow... In a typical West Virginia scene, two mountain ridges tower over an obscure coal railroad and a creek.. Here, near the end of CSX's Coal River Subdivision, app... (more)
Led by a trio of EMD locomotives, NS 381, operating as train No. 610 follows the Kanawha River north toward the W.Va./Ohio border on its final run across the railroad's ex-Conrail West Virginia Se... (more)
Rolling through Winfield, NS 381, operating as NS No. 610 makes a final jaunt over NS' ex-Conrail West Virginia Secondary. Soon, 100 miles of this original NYC route will be idled as NS concentrat... (more)
The end of an era... The final NS 381, operating as NS train No. 610 rolls through Poca, northbound on NS' West Virginia Secondary. Soon, this route will be shuttered as NS looks to consoli... (more)
The end of an era... The final NS 381, operating as NS train No. 610 makes its final northbound pickup in the small industrial yard of Nitro on the ex-Conrail West Virginia Secondary. As th... (more)
Spanning an old wooden trestle, the DPU of an eastbound KCS manifest crosses the Louisiana backwaters of Sibley, Louisiana, eastbound on KCS' Vicksburg Subdivision along what is defined as the ... (more)
A pair of Watco lease units switch out tank and covered hopper cars at the Louisiana Southern's Minden yard. Traveling from the north, it was a welcoming sight to see blue skies and green sky duri... (more)
Coupled against a former Conrail GE B40-8, a CSX Huntington-rebuild GP38-3 No. 2018 rests at CSX's 16th Street yard in Huntington, bunkered down for inclement weather brought to us by Winter Storm... (more)
On the eve of what would become the region's worst winter storm in more than decades, veteran CSX GE B40-8 No. 5951 idles up against nearby Huntington, W.Va. rebuilt GP38-3 No. 2018 at the railroa... (more)
The biggest storm since '95...That's what the locals are saying anyway... With more than 18" of fresh powder blanketing the C&O mainline, high priority CSX Q136 tunnels through snow drifts from Wi... (more)
The biggest storm since '95...That's what the locals are saying anyway... With more than 18" of fresh powder blanketing the C&O mainline, high priority CSX Q135 tunnels through snow dr... (more)
Starting the New Year off with a little color... While trees are void of any foliage, the extra color on the head end of Linwood-bound NS 18M helps offset this January afternoon as KCS GE E... (more)
With its rear end still spanning the New River, a high priority westbound CSX Q135 hugs the New River during the gorgeous fall colors of October 2012. The Portsmouth, Va. to North Baltimore, Ohio ... (more)
Amtrak Siemens ACS-64 class leader No. 600 sits underneath Manhattan with a Northeast regional. The ACS-64 locomotives are the newest in Amtrak's fleet of NEC electrics, replacing the industry's f... (more)
Amtrak Siemens ACS-64 class leader No. 600 pauses underneath Penn Station in New York City. Soon, the ACS-64 will depart Manhattan for a run along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Photo taken with per... (more)
Pausing in-between commuter runs underneath Manhattan, Amtrak Siemens ACS-64 No. 663 sits along one of the many platforms at New York's Penn Station on a mild December day in the Big Apple. Photo ... (more)
The marker lights of the original 1949-built Pennsylvania Braddock Inn cast a glow onto the triple track mainline of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor at a track speed of 110 MPH. The Braddock... (more)
Westbound empties for Williamson silhouette the duel N&W CPL's at White on the railroad's ex- Norfolk & Western mainline in southern W.Va.
As daylight turns to darkness, CSX T010 eases into the interlocking at CH Cabin, passing a C&O-style bracket signal, similar to that of a Nickel Plate design. The 110-car loaded train is bound for... (more)
Under dreary November skies, CSX T010 eases into OX Cabin on the railroad's Big Sandy Sub. near Prestonsburg, Ky.
110 loads for Ceredo from Coal Run Jct. pass through the pure C&O interlocking at W.E. Paintsville on the railroad's Big Sandy Subdivision.
With 110 loads for Ceredo, a Coal Run to Russell crew boards CSX GE AC4400CW No. 434 for the 90+ mile trip to Ceredo. The crew will soon double up before easing onto the Big Sandy main. On the rig... (more)
CSX EMD GP40-2 No. 6972 and mother idle near F.S. Vanhoose & Co. lumber spur in Paintsville yard. While coal is dominant in this section of eastern Kentucky, locally owned businesses still contrib... (more)
Two Norfolk Southern motors lead 100 empties toward Affinity Mine on NS' former Virginian Winding Gulf Branch in Tams, W.Va.
Illuminated by Quinnimont's infamous sodium vapor lights, the eastbound cantilever at 'QN Cabin' guides an eastbound coal train through the New River Gorge. This final stretch of C&O-style signals... (more)
Under a full moon, the Dawkins cantilever signal stands guard over the railroad's Big Sandy Subdivision in rural eastern Kentucky.
A C&O cantilever signal protects the westbound interlocking at RB Cabin on the railroad's Big Sandy Subdivision east of Louisa.
Illuminated by November's full moon, in a scene that almost resembles daylight, the N&W CPL at McClure on NS' ex- Norfolk & Western Wolf Creek Branch is painted by moonlight on the night before Th... (more)
Silhouetted against a full moon, an N&W CPL, in a rather unexpected place, protects movements on NS' Wolf Creek Branch in rural eastern Kentucky.
Old meets new at Sprigg... Illuminated by a full moon, two N&W CPL's stand against their replacements at CP Sprigg on the night of August 27th, 2015. Now, the CPL's have been replaced and new sign... (more)
Tucked away in-between Sprouse Creek and the mainline on N&W's 1.6-mile Alma Branch, a classic N&W CPL displays an 'approach slow' on the approach to Alma Jct. Currently, this line sees no revenue... (more)
Standing guard at 'VN', an old-style N&W CPL protects westbound movements while its replacement awaits full installation during a heavy downpour in Salem on July 3rd, 2015.
Just days before Norfolk Southern would mothball the eastern end of its former Virginian Princeton-Deepwater District, eastbound loads met westbound empties between... (more)
NS EMD SD70ACe pushes NS U91 toward Elmore Yard, slicing through a tight rock cut near Harper, eastbound on the Virginian P-D District.
Two NS EMD SD70ACe's assist NS U91 over the west end of the Virginian's Princeton-Deepwater District, spanning the large viaduct at Dothan on their afternoon run to Elmore Yard from Alloy.
NS GE ES44AC No. 8135 and two other head motors pull 100 loads of coal across the Virginian trestle at Slab Fork, nearly completing their crew run from Alloy Yard to Elmore.
Loads from the New York Central W.Va. Secondary begin their journey along the Virginian's P-D District from Deepwater to Elmore under the lead power of three motors and two pushers.
Amtrak's westbound Cardinal No. 51 splits the classic C&O cantilever signals at Quinnimont, QN Cabin on the railroad's original Chesapeake & Ohio mainline. This interlocking is one of the l... (more)
New River train namesake? After pulling four successful excursions in the 3rd and 4th weekends of October, 26 cars deadhead east on the C&O main to Spencer, N.C. for a series of Oct. 31 & Nov. 1 e... (more)
The 2015 New River Train spans the New River bridge at Hawks Nest on its fourth and final eastbound run of the season. Amtrak's Phase I "bloody nose" heritage P42DC No. 156 has had the h... (more)
Not your typical day in South Yard...Amtrak's Phase I heritage P42DC No. 156 sits coupled up to a string of five private cars that help contribute to the New River Train's premium passenger... (more)
During its runaround move, Amtrak's Phase I heritage P42DC No. 156 performs a safety before coupling into the Georgia Railroad Dearing business car. After a brake test and a brief layover, ... (more)
The Collis P. Huntington 2015 New River Train idles in Hinton with three GE P42DCs on the head end. The train has just completed its run around move and after a brief layover for Hinton Railroad D... (more)
Beckley Coal Series In a continue series that highlights some of the obscure rail lines around Beckley, we find ourselves on Norfolk Southern's former Virginian Railway Winding Gulf Branch ... (more)
Beckley Coal Series: After bringing empties up the obscure Piney Creek Sub. from Quinnimont, CSX GE ES44AC No. 3175 crosses over Whitestick Creek with 75 empties for Crab Orchard mine. Desp... (more)
Eastbound grain loads gallop through the capital city in downtown Charleston, sporting a pair of brand new GE ET44AC locomotives on the head end.
After loading at Marfork Mine east of Elk Run, two CSX ES44ACs lead a train down CSX's obscure Big Coal Subdivision near the town of Comfort. The train is bound for the Ceredo Docks in West Virgin... (more)
Backwoods railroading! The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad's flagship railroad, the Durbin Rocket in obscure Pocahontas County features a 5.5-mile tourist line on the former C&O Greenbr... (more)
Crossing into West Virginia from Ohio, NS 218 spans Kenova's Ohio River bridge on a pleasant fall evening in West Virginia's western most community.
Fall has come and gone awful early in the highest of elevations already. Remnants of Joaquin pulled winds and moisture out of the east into West Virginia's high mountain country this weekend. Toda... (more)
NS U85 spans Garwood trestle on a dreary September evening on the former Virginian Princeton-Deepwater District. The dismal weather conditions compliment the future of this line, as NS looks to a... (more)
NS 9422 leads NS 754 east on the VGN Princeton-Deepwater District at Oakdale, W.Va. on a rainy Saturday Sep. 26. While trains are not endangered, per se on this section of the VGN, the days of cap... (more)
Passing the Virginian-style searchlight signals at Algonquin, NS U86 will soon ease to a stop at Clarks Gap to cut off its rear end helpers. The Elmore based crew, which uses a combination of AC a... (more)
NS to mothball 50 miles of coal lines in West Virginia In a story that originated as a vicious rumor, but provided to be reality earlier this week, Norfolk Southern confirmed it would shift... (more)
Cass Heisler No. 6 deadheads to the Cass Shop after double-heading the 9-car Bald Knob Train hours before. Visitors who rode or recorded Cass Scenic Railroad trains on Sep. 19-20 were treated to a... (more)
Descending the grade on the heels of the Bald Knob train, Heisler No. 6 returns to Cass after double heading Saturday's 9-car train to the top of the mountain.
Cass Heisler No. 6 and Western Maryland Shay 6 double head Saturday's 9-car train to Bald Knob.
The new kid on the block... CSX Transportation's newest state-of-the-art locomotive, the GE ET44AC No. 3258 leads a unit train of Brice, N.C. coal through downtown Hurricane, westbound on t... (more)
The new kid on the block... CSX Transportation's newest state-of-the-art locomotive, the GE ET44AC No. 3258 passes over Cabin Creek on its namesake branch line with a unit train of Brice, N... (more)
Protecting the interlocking at Henlawson at the western edge of Peach Creek Yard, CSX ES44AC No. 824 brings an empty train from Russell into the yard limits, passing an interlocking still protecte... (more)
In one of the most unlikely locations, a concrete coaling dock towers over the C&O Logan Sub. mainline as empties for Peach Creek ease through West Hamlin on an unusually hot September afternoon.
Through Christiansburg proper, NS No. 189 passes the soon-to-be-replaced N&W CPL's on its dreary trek across the N&W mainline to Bluefield from Roanoke.
Westbound on NS' Christiansburg grade to Bluefield, Southern Railway heritage GE ES44AC leads No. 189 by one of the most notable photo locations on Christians grade at Shawsville.
Eastbound and down... After meeting a westbound just miles before as seen in THIS perspective, eastbound coal empti... (more)
Thunderstorms dance around the Kanawha River valley painting the sky and highlighting unique low hanging cloud structure during an unusual nighttime August thunderstorm.
The headlight of NS train no. 188 illuminates Norfolk & Western's coaling tower at Prichard. The train will soon drift out of view to the east, leaving the massive tower silhouetted against clear ... (more)
Basking in the early morning sun at the Kentucky Utilities Ghent plant situated on the Ohio River east of Carrollton, a small and presumably GE manufactured 45-tonner shows its age at the main ent... (more)
In the early morning sun, CSXT ES44DC No. 5226 leads a CSX through the street running trackage of downtown La Grange.
Near Verona on the former L&N to Cincinnati, a pair of clean "Bright Future" GE's catch the early morning sun on their crew run from Louisville to Cincy.
Two veteran CSX GE C40-8's slice through the streets of downtown La Grange at 1:00 AM on the morning of Aug. 8. The Louisville - Cincinnati autorack empties will soon resume track speed after exit... (more)
Four Union Pacific GE's lead a loaded Herzog train upgrade at Emory on the original UP mainline east of Echo Canyon.
After bringing coal empties from Newport News to the coalfields of rural Elk Run, three locomotives run light by the St. Albans Depot, westbound on the C&O main. A BNSF visitor to these parts is a... (more)
Amtrak's eastbound Cardinal No. 50 passes the C&O depot in St. Albans on its early morning run toward Washington D.C. from Chicago. The train will make stops at Charleston, Montgomery, Thur... (more)
Westbound crude oil empties led by two CSX ES44AC's slice through the interlocking at Coal Dock, westbound on the C&O mainline to Russell, Ky. The oil empties are enroute to the Bakken oil fields ... (more)
Deep in the mouth of Buffalo Creek in the core of the Logan county coalfields, CSX CW60AC No. 635 sits as the east most locomotive on an empty Pardee train at the end of the line. The recrew has j... (more)
Amtrak conductor Larry Bjornson unloads bags from the new baggage car of Amtrak's westbound Cardinal No. 51 in a damp and humid Huntington, W.Va. on the night of July 19, 2015.
Run-through BNSF power leads a westbound Slyster, W.Va. - Monroe, Mich. utility coal train west on the C&O mainline in Hurricane.
With a half moon illuminating partly cloudy skies, a westbound loaded coal train exits the Coal River Subdivision with an approach slow signal at "Indian", CLF 1.0 on the railroad's form... (more)
Basking in Kankakee's small industrial yard, a veteran Grand Trunk Western EMD GP9 sits couple up to an ex- Illinois Central keep along the former IC mainline south of Chicago.
Basking in the humid July sun where temperatures have already exceeded 80 degrees at 8:00 AM, a pair of Canadian National locomotives wait for their next assignment in the small industrial yard in... (more)
Springtime in West Virginia! A colorful pair of foreign road locomotives lead five RBBB stock cars north on NS' West Virginia Secondary near Belle, W.Va. on April 26, 2015.
Departing Norfolk Southern's small yard in Dickinson, about 25 miles south of Charleston, CSX ES44AC No. 948 and CITX SD70ACe No. 141 take five RBBB animal cars north to Charleston for loading in ... (more)
Coupling onto four RBBB stock cars, CITX EMD SD70ACe No. 141 slows to a stop on the south edge of Norfolk Southern's Dickinson Yard near Charleston. After a quick power runaround and brake test, t... (more)
A pair of colorful visitors to the West Virginia Secondary ease past a cut of loaded coal hoppers in the Dickinson Yard. The CSX/CITX duo will couple onto the Ringling Bros. Blue Unit train for it... (more)
A splash of color among a predominantly solid Norfolk Southern roster sits at the railroad's Linwood Yard engine facility on the morning of May 29th. A high five goes to the first person who provi... (more)
