A Weekend on the "Pokey" - Part 2

After being up shooting until 11:15PM the night before, we didn't hit the road looking for something to shoot until 8:45AM. This didn't turn out to be such a bad thing for us as we would soon run into the first train of the day, NS 194 being led by UP 4692, at an S-curve outside of Welch at 9:08AM. This eastbound would take us all the way to Elkhorn with shots at Welch, Kimball, Keystone, and Elkhorn.

Elkorn is known as Crozier on the railroad, and that is where we ended our chase of 194 at 9:44AM. As soon as the power went around the corner, we heard him radio a westbound warning him to make noise for "some photographers" at the crossing. Two minutes later, NS 6788 would poke out from around the corner. It was still too early for a good angle on the westbound, but I happened to grab a shot of the power going away including NREX 9294, an SD45T-2, which had "B-unit Do Not Occupy" on the door.

Apparently we wanted another eastbound since it was still early and we drove back west ending up in Twin Branch for the first time this trip. At 10:49AM we got our eastbound exiting Twin Branch tunnel behind NS 9155.

Rather than chasing east due to the lack of a direct route out of Twin Branch, we ventured further west to Iaeger. With nothing happening on the mainline, we spent a few minutes shooting whatever we found in the yard.

It was already noon before we started heading back east. We ended up at Roderfield where we found the westbound we had seen at Crozier in the morning sitting in the tunnel. A helper set led by NS 9368 would run around them a few minutes later.

With the sun swinging to the west, we drove a little further east to Welch. Things were about to become a whole lot busier on the Pocahontas District! At 1:12PM we caught an eastbound autorack train behind the lone NS 6605. Of course, an eastbound is the opposite of what we wanted but some lucky clouds made a shot possible.

We drove up the little ways to find the eastbound we had shot at Twin Branch sitting by the coaling tower at Farm waiting for helpers to be put on the rear.

We went back to our spot in Welch between 2:27PM and 3:06PM to catch a westbound behind NS 2661, a helper set led by UP 9788, an eastbound manifest (no good photo), and another helper set with NS 9024 up front.

Finally, NS 9155 was on the move from Farm so we changed our location for a better sun angle. We chose the east end of the twin-bore Huger Tunnel in Superior.

Knowing there were helpers on the end for well-lit going-away shots, we picked Vivian as our next spot. Before we would get the eastbound, we saw yet another helper set heading west past a (what-I-can-only-assume-was-an-abandoned) baseball field.

We continued the chase of the eastbound as it sailed through Northfork and wound up getting ahead of it again at Crozier.

I believe we were driving back west when a westbound caught up to us around Kimball with NS 8304 in Conrail blue on the point.

We thought ahead and went straight to Sandy Huff, just east of Iaeger, where the light would be the best. Upon our arrival, we found the helper set with UP 9788 on the west end sitting by the crossing. A cloud would pass in front of the sun as NS 8304 finally got to us at 5:43PM.

We made our way east towards Landgraff and the Elkhorn Inn once again with only a sunny shot of the helper power to show for our efforts. One more surprise was in store for us in the form of NS 6742, also in Conrail blue, working the small yard in Kimball in beautiful afternoon light.

We arrived back at the Inn in time to see the helpers of an eastbound disappear out of sight from the porch as the sun ducked behind the mountains to the west. I went out for a few more shots before darkness would fall over the valley. A helper set rounded the corner heading back west at the same time an eastbound rounded the curve at the end of the long straightaway in the opposite direction. Perfect timing yielding one of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

Light faded quickly as we made our way back onto the porch as another eastbound slipped by some 12 minutes later followed by a westbound at 8:48PM.

The hazy/foggy conditions in the valley made another night of photography too luring to pass up. We went down to try to get more "anticipation" photos as trains lit up the scene before appearing into view as was the case for this eastbound at 10:41PM. This was by far the best shot of the trip and made for the perfect ending to the trip.

A Weekend on the "Pokey" - Part 1

Back in August 2006, my brother, Christopher, my cousin, Mark, and I set off for a weekend adventure on the NS Pocahontas District, or the Pokey, between Bluefield, WV and Williamson, WV. Checking the dates, it looks like Mark took Friday off from work to make it a three-day weekend, Aug. 4-6. I believe we stayed overnight somewhere in Virginia before starting Friday morning in Bluefield, WV. We didn't spend too much time (no photos) here before moving further west along the line to Yards, WV on the VA/WV border where we got the first official train of the trip (at least to me), a westbound manifest splitting the CPL signals at 11:05AM.

We made our way up the line, stopping at Bramwell to take pictures of the station before reaching our destination of Welch, WV or "Farm" on the NS. This location boasts a steam-era coaling tower as well as a group of ex-N&W CPLs. The CPLs have since been replaced with new Safetrans signals. At Farm, we caught an eastbound work train led by a sole leaser SD40-2, FURX 7245, at 1:45PM.

After the departure of the work train, we stuck around and were rewarded with another eastbound an hour later at 2:46PM. This time it would be a loaded coal train, which the line sees many of, being in the heart of coal country. NS 9656 would be the leader followed by NS 6571 and NS 8884, whom we would see later this trip.

This eastbound would be our entertainment for the afternoon as we took off in pursuit of it. We would get ahead of it at Kimball where we set up at the portal of Vivian Tunnel. NS hadn't started its Heartland Corridor project yet (the reason I think we took the trip down there) so it is nice having views of the untouched tunnels.

I chose to put some shots in black & white for two reasons: 1. the weather wasn't too cooperative on the first day 2. we didn't do a great job picking spots that offered the best lighting situations but we did okay! After Kimball, we got back ahead of them at Northfork. Northfork is the site of O. Winston Link's famous photo "Main Line on Main Street." The buildings seen in Link's photo were destroyed by a flood and are reduced to ruins as seen at our next location.

We continued eastward to Switchback where we set up by a small waterfall created by recent rainstorms. The N&W put up slide fences along parts of the route because of the proximity of the tracks to the rocky cliffs and hills. One such fence can be seen in the photo at Switchback.

We waited for the helpers to pass for a going away shot.

We continued the chase a few miles to grab one last shot of the helpers going above the road at Maybeury at 3:58PM.

For whatever reason, we turned around and headed back west to Welch arriving sometime around 5PM. There we found another eastbound coal train sitting under the coaling tower.

Nothing happened with them so we made our way further west to Roderfield, in between Roderfield and Vaughn Tunnels, where we would see a westbound light engine move led by UP 9788 at 6:05PM.

This would be the last movement in daylight we would see for the day as we went to check into the Elkhorn Inn in Landgraff for the night. Traffic appears to have been pretty good as I have (bad) photos taken from the porch of one at 9:09PM and one at 10:11PM. I don't remember if all three of us went down to the tracks to do some night stuff or just me, but it didn't take long for another train to come along as the headlight started lighting up the valley at 10:37PM. The fog and light from the train helped create an amazing effect silhouetting the CPL signal bridge in the distance.

I stayed out for the next train, a westbound, a little over half an hour later at 11:11PM. You can see my brother and cousin on the porch of the Elkhorn Inn as the headlight of the train lights up the surroundings  and again as the end of train device flashes away.

That would be it for the night and we were up and out by 8:45AM the next morning in Part 2!

A Warning for the Future

I've been going through a lot of photos from past trips this week, mainly to see what's in store for me when I begin some serious organizing/editing once I finish moving things around on my external hard drives, but also to reminisce a bit. While looking through one folder, a trip to the NS Pocahontas District in August 2006 that I went on with my brother and cousin, Mark, I decided to start editing some shots since I lacked the necessary skills back then. There was some cool stuff and a lot of stuff that made me go why didn't we shoot here or why didn't we chase that, but all in all it was a good trip.

Since I edited the shots, I decided I might as well do a little write up about it. I figured it would also be a good way to break up the blog, a mix of new and old.

Even when I begin editing in an organized manner, I'll still pick random trips or folders to edit and write about if something piques my interest.

Keep checking back for updates whether they're new or old!

A Sunday Afternoon with a Warbonnet

This adventure started at home while I was surfing the Internet aimlessly, I get a Facebook message from Steve (Steven Welch for future references), "M SLAAMS1 02A should be departing Slaton soon with a Warbonnet leading a GEVO and then a SD40-2 3rd out." The lazy Sunday afternoon was about to get a lot more productive. (The morning was productive. Miranda and I bought and assembled a recliner, 3-shelf bookcase and rolling kitchen cart!) Anyway, instead of napping we killed about an hour watching shows online before heading out the door to catch what the crews call "the SLAAMS train" at Canyon Junction.

We got to the junction around 5PM and there was no sign of the train so we drove around to 2nd St. to see into the north end of the yard, no headlights, no engines, no SLAAMS. I texted Steve asking if he could find out where they were and whether it was worth moving or just being patient. "By West Slaton 1655! The local is ahead of him" received at 5:06PM. That means he left Slaton 10 minutes ago and at 55mph wouldn't be getting to Lubbock for another 10 minutes or so. We took off for the south end of the yard to follow the line towards Slaton to head him off. We didn't make it very far before we saw a headlight coming at us. I turned the car around and headed for one of my favorite spots by East Lubbock looking back at the Attebury Grain LLC complex.

I've been lucky and the Warbonnets I've seen have all been in great shape and BNSF 759 was no exception!

We drove back to Canyon Junction to wait for them to do their switching before heading north to Plainview and Amarillo. (SLAAMS is the Slaton, TX to Amarillo, TX manifest that works Lubbock and Plainview on the way.) After a few minutes of nothing happening, we drove back to the apartment to get my telephoto lens which I had forgotten. We got back and they were in the same exact spot, but I noticed there was something green in the consist now. They had picked up an ex-BN SD40-2. A few moments later, the conductor queued up the radio and gave directions for the next move. I hopped out of the car to shoot them coming under the Marsha Sharp Freeway (US 82/4th St.).

We went back to the west side of the tracks by the actual junction to wait for their final moves and their departure out of town. I took a few shots of them sitting by the ex-ATSF cantilever signal to kill time knowing they still had a few moves to make.

 
From our viewpoint on 2nd St. we saw a gang of 5 puppies run across the street towards the tracks. With nothing better to do, we decided to go see them up close.

It proved to be worth the side trip because the engineer of the sitting SLAAMS waved me over to the curb to give me his email address to send him some photos. It was nice to finally meet someone who knew that I was just a railfan rather than calling me in as a suspicious person which has happened twice already.

We drove back to our spot on 2nd St. on the west side of the tracks and watched the shadows grow longer and longer and slowly creep up the locomotive until it was completely dark. There wasn't much light left... I noticed the shadow of the signal on the silos next to the tracks and figured I'd shoot something while waiting (and praying) for them to leave.

Finally, the sun ducked under the Ave. Q bridge behind us, fell below the tree line and ended any chance of getting the BNSF 759 in sunlight under the signal. I ran up onto the bridge to see what the shot looked like for future reference and took one last photo of the SLAAMS before heading back home for dinner.

Saturday Sunrise on the Slaton Sub.

After moving to Lubbock, TX on Aug. 14th, I've spent that past week exploring the railroad scene in and around the city. I had gotten a small taste of it on an earlier visit in March but that was only an 8 hour period on one day spent driving around aimlessly (125 miles total). That's a story for a later blog.

Being familiar enough with the area and how to find a train to shoot, I decided to get up before the sun on Saturday, Aug. 25 and try my luck. Since we don't have a TV in the apartment yet, bedtime has been at a reasonable hour for the 12 days we've been here so getting up early wasn't much of a problem. I wanted a westbound on the Slaton Sub. due to some potential silhouette angles I had found on a previous scouting trip. This just so happens to be the nearest line to us at 3.2 miles away. To start following the line into the city and towards the yard, I go a bit further west to check the West Texas & Lubbock interchange at the intersection of Frankford Ave. and US 84 (Clovis Rd.). As usual on the Slaton Sub., dark signals and no distant headlight. I continued east on US 84 and eventually wound up at Canyon Junction at the Ave. P crossing. I will eventually be posting more details about the area as well as a railfan guide (somewhere down the line) as I become more familiar with the territory but for now all that is important is that Canyon Junction is where the Slaton Sub. (from the west) and Plainview Sub. (from the north) come together. A quick check of the north (RR: west) end of the yard from 2nd St. yielded nothing but more darkness and idle engines (local power). I figured my second best bet would be to check the south (RR: east) side of the yard to see if there was anything there. The best view of the south side of the yard is from E. 33rd St. accessible from Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. or from the overpass itself (no sidewalk or shoulder access). As I went over the bridge, I saw the flash of freight cars underneath heading north!

I quickly, well, okay, I got lost but I got my bearings and headed for Canyon Junction to see which way they'd be going, west on the Slaton Sub. or east on the Plainview Sub. (yeah, confusing isn't it!) I got to 4th St. (US 82) which goes over the yard and provides a view of the junction just in time to see the head end going straight up the Slaton Sub. Woot!

Again, scouting and chasing on the line on an earlier day had come in handy since I knew that while I was doing 40mph and getting stuck at lights, they would be doing no more than 35mph until Broadview (the WT&L interchange) where the posted speed limit goes to 70mph. Thanks to some clouds to the northeast, the sun was just starting to light things up although sunrise was technically some 10 minutes ago. I found a spot where I could place the tracks above the horizon. It wasn't long of a wait for the 4 locomotive manifest who was now starting to accelerate out of town to get to me.

They were soon up to track speed and so was I as we left Lubbock in our mirrors and raced towards Shallowater, 6 miles to the west. With the lack of a stunning sunrise, I was losing interest in silhouettes and wanted to get far enough ahead to get to the north side of the tracks. By the time we got to Shallowater, I had done exactly that and decided to shoot the first crossing east of town, County Rd. 1540 rather than dealing with long shadows in town.

I jumped back into the car and got in line at the crossing since they were doing all of the 55mph allowed. I wasn't paying attention for one reason or another and was surprised to see a DPU on the rear, BNSF 6992, go screaming by. I fired off one frame before getting back on US 84 and continuing the chase westward. US 84 parallels the Slaton Sub. all the way to Farwell, TX where it joins the Hereford Sub. I took a few shots out through the windshield as I caught the DPU. Being from New Jersey and having only limited time out in the prairies and flatland, I still haven't gotten used to this setup. Miles of fields, highway, tracks, more fields.

 
The towns along the way are all spaced between 10-15 miles apart allowing enough to time to get ahead of trains since the speed limit is mostly 70mph. Since I knew I had two sets of power to shoot, I wanted to be more selective especially for the DPU shot which would be perfectly lit so I aimed for Anton, the next town to the west (excluding Roundup (not even on Google maps)). I had only made it to the outskirts of Anton on a previous expedition so I didn't know what props there would be in town itself. As I got close, I saw the typical skyline of a Texas (or anywhere in the Midwest-ern town) so I bailed at the easternmost crossing, Spade Rd.

The code line along the right away makes shooting on the north side of the tracks challenging but interesting.

After brief contemplation, I decided to go one more town up to Littlefield. Only 11 miles separated Anton and Littlefield so I had to push it to get ahead in time. As I got closer to town, I noticed a small dirt crossing with a set of ex-ATSF searchlight signals right at it so I decided it was better than getting caught by slow speed limits in a town I had never been to. The signals would be the going away shot so luckily, a small farm with one cow and one horse provided the setting for the shot of the head end which was approaching quickly.

I don't know why but I decided to run back towards the crossing and the signals rather than starting the car and reversing back to them. Either way, it was worth it.

It was probably a good thing that I did run because it prevented me from chasing any further. I was already 33 miles from Lubbock and only 56 miles from the New Mexico border. It was still early so I decided to scout into Littlefield and was surprised (and disappointed (that I had not shot it)) to find the Santa Fe depot still standing. I decided to stick around a little while longer just in case an eastbound was holding at the next siding, which are located in every town. No sign of anything so I started heading west towards home.

I decided to do a little more exploring since it wasn't even 10AM and did my best to follow to the WT&L from the interchange to their yard in Lubbock. It isn't the most direct route as they go 5 miles west from the yard, 6 miles north and another 5 miles east to the Slaton Sub, but there were a few spots that I wouldn't mind shooting one day. I eventually wound up at the yard where I was surprised to see not one but two SD90MACs at the west end of the yard. AZER 102 had been brought in sometime after March to join TNMR 113 as the big power on the 107-mile shortline.

 
 I went to see what was happening on the east end of the yard accessible by 43rd St. No F40PHs, but I did find another newcomer to the line, AZER 2501, an ex-SJVR, exx-Kyle, ne-UP, nee-WP GP35.

I got my shots and I called it a day and a successful one at that!

A Day on the Magnolia Cutoff

A week and a half ago I saw this image and knew I had to get down to the Cutoff before the signals were replaced and eventually taken down. First came the logistics. When? Who? How? The when was pretty obvious, as soon as possible. Unfortunately, a check of the weather for the area for the weekend showed rain and clouds from Thursday to Monday. The original forecast had Tuesday and Wednesday as "partly sunny" so I figured I'd try to figure something out for Tuesday-Wednesday. I figured costs would be lower if I could find someone else to go with especially with my only possibly of solo transportation being my gas-guzzling '95 Blazer. My brother has work during the week as do most people who would be remotely interested (read: crazy) in going. I dreaded the thought of going solo in my already-gas-guzzling-truck which has been having other issues lately. Finally, on Friday I had an epiphany and emailed my friend Tom from NE PA whom I've gone away with a few times and always came back with awesome photos to see if he was interested. "Yes, let's DO it !" was the first sentence of the response email. Awesome! Of course, with a trip with a set goal, weather is an important deciding factor so we took the weekend to watch what would happen as the estimated day approached. (He would also be away until Monday night.) Sunday rolled around and the reports had changed (of course) and now Wednesday was to be "mostly sunny" and Thursday "partly cloudy". In response, we shifted the trip to Wednesday and Thursday. A Monday afternoon check of the 'predictions' now show "chance of rain Wednesday" and "mostly sunny" Thursday and "mostly cloudy" on Friday. Well, Wednesday was now out and with a crappy Friday, it was looking more like a one-day event if anything at all. The "mostly sunny" forecast changed to "sunny" by Tuesday morning and it was decided that the trip was a go as long as that held into Wednesday which it did. Friday was still "mostly cloudy" as well, keeping it to a one day trip. As I was packing on Wednesday, I checked the temperatures for the Cutoff and took a glimpse at what they were calling for..."sunny" Thursday and "mostly cloudy" Friday still. I continued getting my things together as departure time of 5PM approached and decided to look once more. Thursday: "sunny" and  Friday "partly sunny". WTH?!?! Where did that come from? Apparently, some discussion would take place on the ride down.

We met up at the park & ride on PA 33 and took off for the Super 8 in Hancock, MD at 7:45PM. We got to the hotel around 10:15PM. Time for some logistics and sleep. As I sat in bed, I looked over my notes on what signals were in immediate danger (thanks to John Ryan for those!) and found out via multiple sources that the Capitol Limited (Amtrak's Chicago to Washington train over the route) had two freshly painted heritage units leading. Now anticipation was turning into anxiety and excitement. The plan in place was to start on the gravel access road at Hancock and shoot the Color Position Lights (CPLs) as we worked west towards the actual Magnolia Cutoff segment and Paw Paw, WV finding the nearest well-lit signal set as we heard trains.

The next morning we got up at 6AM and walked out the door exactly at 6:30AM as planned. It was a quick stop at Sheetz for food/drinks/ice for the rest of the day as we would be leaving civilization until sunset. We started down the access road at 6:50AM and it didn't take long to get the first action of the day as a manifest slowly crept around the curve towards the Hancock Safetrans signal bridge (~MP 123) with the first sunlight of the day just starting to hit the trees. Note how high the Potomac River is running after the 4-5 days of rain they had over the weekend.

For the sake of covering a 12 hour day in a somewhat short amount of time. We continued west shooting the CPLs at Grasshopper (~MP 125), Ambrose (~MP 127), Dry Wall (~MP 131), Sideling Hill (~MP 135), and the dual bracket mast at Turkey Foot (~MP 137). We came upon the first sign of any work being done when we arrived at the Orleans Road signal bridge and mast (MP 139.1). A new base was in place adjacent to the signal bridge meaning new signals would be put into place soon. It was definitely sad to see. We did a little scouting in the vicinity due to the curving nature of the line, the signals were actually well lit for a westbound despite it being 8:30AM. We continued on down the main road until we saw there was no way back up to track level and turned around to take the maintainers road west from there. We looked over the scene once more at Orleans Road and decided to take our first break of the day and give it 15 minutes. Sure enough within 5 minutes, the scanner came alive and a westbound was asking for permission past the work limits. The foreman gave him permission and horns could be heard as he approached the curve before the signal bridge. What were the odds of getting exactly what we wanted when we wanted it. A good sign of the day ahead perhaps?

With smiles on our faces and relief setting in, we continued west to discover more heartbreak at the Doe Gully signals (MP 141.6) with new Safetrans standing, waiting next to the CPL masts. The road between Doe Gully and Hansrote was interesting to say the least. Taking a Jeep was definitely the right call. We took an access road up to what I thought would be the signals at Hansrote and my heart sank when we came upon a brand new (and I mean BRAND NEW) Safetrans cantilever. We got back to the access road and found another driveway up to the still-standing CPLs at Hansrote (MP 143.6).

We popped into the Magnolia signals to see what was going on but a number of construction vehicles and white SUVs gave us the feeling we shouldn't hang around plus the light wasn't around yet to shoot the south side of the signals. It was approaching [estimated] timetable Amtrak of 10AM. We hadn't heard anything on the scanner of his presence and a brief period of cell service yielded intel that he was late out of Cumberland. None of the signals were spectacularly lit in the area and with two units of importance to see, we decided a broadside at the Magnolia Bridge over the Potomac would be the best bet. Since the river was running so high, there was only spot to shoot between the trees and have enough room for two units but it would have to do. We sat and waited and waited. Finally, the scanner came alive but to our disappointment it was another westbound asking for permission at Orleans Road. Permission was given and we settled for the going away view of it on the bridge. It was Amtrak's turn. They finally made it to Okonoko where they would wait for the westbound empty coal to get by and then get permission through the work limits. 40 minutes after the westbound had cleared up the distinct Amtrak horn could be heard on the other side of the mountain. 25mph through the work limits meant plenty of time to get THE shot of the heritage units leading the Capitol Limited over the swollen Potomac. If we got nothing for the rest of the day, I don't think it would have mattered.

We knew there was an intermodal just a few minutes behind, but also knew if we stayed at the bridge we would get stuck there for who knows how long as trains were beginning to stack up. We took one for the team and were just about to Kessler when we saw his cars going over the bridge. Oh well. We knew of one more eastbound and set out sights on the signal at Carothers (MP 147.2). We heard him get permission at Okonoko and within 15 minutes, he was calling the signal on the other side of the tunnel at Paw Paw. Another signal checked off as an eastbound loaded coal train drifted by at 12:28PM. Not long after his hind end had cleared, we heard a westbound waiting at Orleans Road. Things were getting busy and fast. We took the drive to the west end of Carothers Tunnel to the mast signal at Paw Paw (MP 147.9). It was an hour since we had seen the eastbound but we finally heard the westbound call what sounded like "Characters" and the welcome sight of an EMD nose popped out of the tunnel portal and past the signal. Sadly, a look to the west yielded another painful view of new Safetrans signals waiting to take the place of the CPLs.

Things were busy but unfortunately in the wrong direction. Two more eastbounds were getting permission at Okonoko.  We went back to Carothers for the first. We wasted the second at the concrete wall hoping the light was broadside enough for a decent shot which we found out it wasn't. With nothing in the picture we decided to kill time by heading back to Magnolia to snag a quick shot of the signals and hope we hear something somewhere in the process. We had a bit of a delay as three goats and a dog decided to take over the road. We were just approaching Kessler when we heard a westbound already through Orleans Road. We parked as out of the way as we could get at Magnolia but were asked to leave probably due to safety more than anything. Not wanting to leave without getting at least one shot of the signals, we walked up the access road, hung out towards the top until the train came into view, snapped a view shots, and got out of there.

 The next thing on the list was the late afternoon shot at Paw Paw so we made our way west once again. We had a chance to relax and close our eyes for a few minutes until we heard two westbounds getting permission through the work area, one EMD led and one GE led. It was now 4:38PM and we only had two and a half hours of usable light left. We went east once again since we had gotten the angles at Paw Paw we wanted. We scouted the westbound shot from behind the signal at Carothers until we heard an eastbound at Okonoko. With no well-lit signal shot close, we agreed to give the concrete wall another chance since the sun had swung around to the northwest now. We didn't have to wait long after climbing up the hill to the east end of the wall before hearing him call Paw Paw. The light wasn't as perfect as it would be a little later in the year but the autoracks stretched around the almost 90 degree curve looked sweet. The work limits were dropped and with Amtrak time approaching and no way of knowing if it was on time we went to Carothers to kill the rest of the light. Not long after getting into position, an eastbound called Little Niagara. Two tracks were back in service so we decided to bite the bullet and stay in position just in case a westbound was heading our way as well. It wasn't much of a sacrifice as a little waterfall had formed just outside of the tunnel and the light was pretty even in the shadow of the mountain despite it being the best consist of the day.

Shadows were just about to attack the signal mast as we officially called it a day. My coverage of the B&O CPLs had basically tripled in a matter of 12 hours and I was very happy but yet my appetite to shoot the signals on borrowed time was still not satisfied. Another trip to the Magnolia Cutoff is not too far off, I feel.