There is a quaint little Greek restaurant in the old downtown of part Hiram, Ga, next to the railroad tracks. A great place to have lunch and railfan at the same time. It's not unusual to see several trains pass during the meal but this lunch time was a little unusual. First a freight train crawls by being pulled by a consist of a BNSF and some other non-descript grey helper of a line I'm unfamiliar with. Didn't have time to get the road name. After the first train comes to a stop to allow another freight train to pass, the next freight comes blowing by being pulled by a consist of a Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. Of the two trains, which two engines didn't seem to belong in Hiram, Ga.? Hiram is located about 30 miles NW of Atlanta.
TX RRer, the mix of head end power down here on CSX between New Orleans and Mobile gets pretty strange too. I've seen CP, CN, Wisconsin Central, KCS, UP, BNSF, and CSX sometimes mixed on the same train. I guess when the need arises, you borrow from your brothers. Different experience about 50 years ago. A long L&N freight crawls to a stop with the engines directly across from a Mom-n-Pop grocery next to the tracks that also sells po-boys (a long sandwich). As I pass on RR Street, one of the head-end crew comes running out of the shop with a huge bag of po-boys and a twelve-pack of sodas. He tosses the bag and colas up onto the cab floor, races up the ladder, as his buddy in the cab quickly cranks up. Apparently this mile long train blocking a bunch of crossings for 10-15 minutes doesn't seem to bother anybody. I guess folks are more patient and understanding in the south...
Well, the NS units were the only ones on home rails. However, BNSF and UP are actually quite common on the NS in and around the Atlanta area. Since the grey unit was on a train that had BNSF power, it was most likely a CITIRAIL lease unit. That line is the NS main between Atlanta and Chattanooga TN. It can be quite busy at times and if you hang around it enough, you will end up seeing run power from all the class 1's and the occasional lease unit mixed in here and there. Been a while since I have been to Hiram even though it's only a short drive from the house. Sounds like checking out that Greek restaurant will be a good excuse to drive over and catch a train or two.
