The Great Adventure and the Making of A Railfan?

[JCagle]

April has been an interesting month for me. I have turned into quite the road warrior as of late, and while I have not had a chance to get many pictures it makes for an interesting tale to say the least.

The month of April began in Tennessee for me on a pleasure trip with the girlfriend. On the way back we trailed the Salisbury to Asheville and beyond S-line for about 60 miles or so. There wasn't a lot happening on the line that day and we didn't see any action, but I did get her listening to the scanner and explaining what they were talking about. She was less than impressed.  After a hectic week at the office it was off to Atlanta for a week worth of classes.

CSX and NS follow I-85 fairly closely and that offered plenty of chances to catch action rolling over or by the interstate at the comfortable crusing speed of 70 or so, but being on a tight schedule didn't leave much time to stop and watch. I did manage to catch the Blue Ridge Scenic and some CSX local switching taking place in Marietta. Next time I'm down that way I plan on catching some more of the Blue Ridge Scenic, as it looks fairly interesting, and should be running daily in the summer. The end of the week found me chasing NS and CSX alternately along I-85 as I made it back North to Charlotte. Trying to get caught up on work and recover from a long week on the road left me tired, and staring down the barrel of another week with an extended trip coming up. By this time the girlfriend knew I was coming her way the next weekend, and was asking me about tourist lines and museums in her area.

The following Friday it was off to Ohio through the heart of N&W country and up I-77 as soon as I got off work. Before I knew it I found myself in the middle of the terrain that the A class was made to pull as I snaked North through Virginia and West Virginia. As Charleston, WV came closer there was more and more action. I managed to see several coal trains making their way South. I knew some of this coal was bound for Roanoke and then down the Winston Salem line to Duke Energy's Belew's Creek Plant. After seeing the terrain I began to wonder why this area wasn't chosen for the test of the LEADER system that NS is helping to test for New York Air Brake. This terrain would seem ideal to run a test on. I've seen the "Pumpkin Vine" and it was very simelar to this area.

Further North and into Ohio there were signs of railroads again. Lots of industry along the I-77 corridor meant lots of rails. It was good bye to the coal hopper and hello tank car and box car again. There are lots of steel mills and chemical companies in Eastern Ohio, and they were seeming to keep the railroads busy hauling in raw materials and hauling out products. On one stretch of the drive I didn't see a box car for about 20 miles, as there were only tank cars in sidings and I had to chuckle and say "man I hope this is NS because CSX will blow the whole state up.

The area of Ohio she is from has a deep history with railroads. Being located along a straight line between Cleveland and Pittsburgh meant everybody on the East Coast it seemed had a line through the area. The former NYC has been resurected recently to allow NS access for a garbage train to run to a local land fill. The NS line there was taken over from Nickle Plate Road, and it seems there are rails everywhere. Lots of the small towns have streets and roads named after the lines that ran there. I got in late on Friday night,  Saturday was booked with family obligations, and I had to leave first thing Sunday morning, but the photographer in me would not die and I was left with lots of ideas of places to go catch rural action shots the next time I'm up that way and have the time.  By the end of the trip the girlfriend was handing me all kinds of stuff on tourist lines in Ohio and basically begging to go some time.

Sunday was a day of travel. From Alliance to Charlotte in the morning and early afternoon. The first leg of my flight was over booked, so I took a bump for some cash and a free meal. Then it was off to Cincinati to connect and back South  as the sun was setting. A couple flights over Jreb World Headquarters later I found myself in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson seems to be full of rail activity. I scouted some spots in town to catch KCS and NS.

Tuesday it was off to Baton Rouge, La and there are lots of great opportunities there. Once again pressed for time I didn't get a chance to do more than scout. The town of McComb, MS has a steamer stuffed and mounted just off I-55, and there are lots of places that would make nice shots for shooting mainline action.

Wednesday found me back in Jackson and an excursion over to the Mississippi found lots of NS action near Vicksburg. By the end of the week when I had some free time to get out and take some pictures I was worn out from the 70 or so hours I had  worked, so still no time to shoot. I finally got back to Charlotte Saturday night with a mental notebook full of places to go and things to shoot.

I'm back off to Jackson and Baton Rouge later this week, and hopefully this time I will get to dig into that mental notebook of places to shoot and have some pictures to post from the journeys.

The end of next week should find me back in the Alliance/ Canton area with nothing to do for the afternoon on Friday. I may go out and try to catch some Ohio action then.

If anybody has an sugguestions of places to go in either of these areas I'm more than willing to take some advice.

[nscnotp1]

Jason:

Next time you are near the JREB Headquarters, be sure to railfan some on the LS and the CNOTP, you'll find some great action there especially on or near the weekends.

[JCagle]

I would but I'm usually passing by at 20,000 feet since it seems I can't take a trip without passing through Cincinati Airport any more.