Looking out the back end of the former NYC Sandy Creek observation car at the bridge over the Black Warrior River southwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. March 2001.
Now, looking at the back end of the former NYC Sandy Creek observation car, also in March 2001, but instead rolling through GA.
If it was west bound between Savannah and Columbus I was probably on that train. The itinerary for March 2001 had only one trip west from Washington to New Orleans that was between the 17th and 24th. We crossed Georgia on the morning of the 22nd. I was probably having breakfast.
Actually, while the observation car may still be rolling through GA (for the next few seconds, at least), the front part of the train appears to have entered AL, so it's already on its way out of Columbus.
Intake, MT. These haven't been used in over 30 years and the siding has been gone for as long. Yet here they stand, quiet sentinels and only survivors of what once was a busy ag-town along the river.
"Stale Cheese Puffs" Thrashed BNSF technotoasters lead a loaded grain train out of Soo Tower interlocking and up the .66% grade leaving Minot. While rather haggard-looking, the perfect afternoon light more than made up for the filthy power.
Is that a ballasted deck we are viewing? Very well kept condition, if so. Possibly done not long before the trip.
Ken, I ride that route often. NS keeps their roadbed in excellent condition, especially north of Atlanta.
On that trip, the leg from DC to Savannah was all on CSX and was a real rock and roll adventure. The AOE had changed their original route through Jacksonville, FL and Mobile because of all the slow orders on CSX at that time. On the new route, we got some rare miles on track that had not seen a passenger train in years. When we headed west out of Savannah on NS track it was like riding on glass. Then we hit the old Mid-South line that KCS had picked up in Mississippi which took us in and out of Vicksburg. Wow, that was like a jeep trail.
Russell, was your ride on the KCS between Meridian and Vicksburg before or after the joint KCS/NS $350M upgrade creating the Meridian Speedway? Granted, even after it still was a freight only line, so not necessarily of the best quality for discriminating sophisticated passengers. LOL Secondly, it appears from your map that you returned from Vicksburg to Meridian. Did you wye to reach NOLA on the ex-SOU NONE. I don't remember, there may be an interchange from the eastbound Speedway to the southbound NONE, just east of the I-59 overpass. I'll look the next time I go through MEI.
"Insert Train Here: MP 473" A crackle on the scanner led me to this shot at MP 473 n the CP Portal Sub, thinking a westbound was due to leave Minot toward my direction. It was not to be, but the light hit the insulators on the pole line just right and I had to capture it. The "dust" in the image is a metric ton of flying bugs. 'Tis the season!
I was going to say that the bridge seen in Point353's post looks the SOU's between Columbus, GA and Phenix City, AL. Some weeks back I posted some slides with 1218 on it.
I don't believe much work had been done yet by KCS on the old Mid-South tracks. We left Vicksburg with the locomotives still pulling on the observation car. We were supposed to rearrange the train in Brookhaven, Mississippi and head down the old Illinois Central line into New Orleans but there was a grade crossing collision on those tracks that messed up the tracks. That caused us to kept going all the way back to Meridian and somehow get on the Southern route into New Orleans. I had gone to bed and missed all that. Because of scheduling, they did not have time in Meridian to put the locomotives back up front so just kept going. When I got up in the morning I had a grand view from the observation car of the locomotives pulling us across the lake going into town. Was not anticipating that.
Here the Amtak locomotives are still on the back end after shoving the train into the New Orleans terminal. I must have done such a good job in my advisory roll when they hooked them up to the observation car in Vicksburg that they decided to leave them there. I told the bar attendant in the obs car that I had arranged it that way for him in hopes he would slip me an extra Bloody Mary or something.
OK, that confirms the interchange curve from Speedway east to NONE south. Pity you missed part of the seven mile crossing of the Lake. Had you known, you could have looked south and seen the CSX (ex-L&N) bridge crossing the Rigolets outlet of Lake Pontchartrain to the Gulf.
One of many elusive NS locomotives on my list is their 1111, aka The Barcode Unit. I thought I might score it this morning, but it was not to be. I found it, but deep in the engine terminal and mostly hidden behind a structure and a hi-rail truck. Sigh.
