Passing the Virginian doll arm signal at Algonquin, U86 heads east to tie down it's coal train at Clark's Gap and then head west back to Elmore Yard light power.

The second "hill job" of the day sweeps around the massive Virginian trestle at Garwood, WV on a beautiful September afternoon. The leaves are starting to change in what will be the las... (more)

Covel from the trees. Framed through the trees, U86, having left Elmore about 20 minutes prior, passes over the massive trestle at Covel, headed up the 2.2% grade to Clarks Gap. This is the last w... (more)

U86 passes the Searchlight signals at Algonquin. He will drop his helpers off ahead at Clarks Gap, and they will also take the lead unit back to Elmore before the U86 continues downgrade to Prince... (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)

Early morning haze and mist lies in the surrounding valley, as hill-run job No. U86 crawls across the massive, but beautiful, viaduct spanning the old mining town of Covel, W.Va., with three GE's ... (more)

On a chilly evening along the former Virginian Railroad, the sound of an approaching coal drag permeates the air as No. U86 nears Kegley, W.Va. Soon, the train emerges from the woods and crosses m... (more)

NS U91 rolls into Mullens, W.Va., on a beautiful January morning with a long coal drag that was acquired at Page in the early hours; the Mullens tunnel can be seen behind the locomotives.

It's a chilly morning and the unrelenting sound of an approaching "Hill Run" dominates the quiet valley surrounding my location. Soon, NS #U86 emerges into daylight from Tunnel #12 and crosses ove... (more)

On a dreary fall afternoon situated east of Elmore in the hamlet of Garwood depicts train U86 struggling to maintain 10 MPH as it crawls across a magnificent trestle and into Tunnel 9 beneath the ... (more)

On a dreary and humid morning, train U86 roars uphill outside Princeton, WV with a pair of old EMD's permeating the morning stillness as they work toward Elmore on the former Virginian Railway.

Striving for Clarks Gap on a Hill Run, U86 pushers are down to a crawl as they prepare to enter Tunnel 9 under the photographer. The WV hills are alive with color on the P-D.

After the middle pusher unit went down, crews stop the shove to Clarks Gap on a Hill Run to bring the power back up. Shove stopped between two tunnels due to the exhaust.

With these three units pulling and three pushing, Hill Run U86 attempts the ascent to Clarks Gap. Minutes later, one of the pushers will go down after exiting Tunnel 9. Both times I've witnessed... (more)