Magnolia Cutoff

Between Cumberland, Maryland, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the CSX Cumberland Subdivision hugs the serpentine south bank of the Potomac River. At Magnolia, West Virginia, the B&O decided to lop off a few miles of curving track (which slows trains down, takes more power to maneuver through, and wears out wheels a lot faster than straight, or tangent, track). Here, where the river bends right as it flows downstream, the mainline shoots straight over a bridge spanning the Potomac into Maryland. As soon as the line hits Maryland soil, it enters the almost 1600-foot Graham Tunnel. Exiting the tunnel, the mainline crosses the Potomac once again into West Virginia.

The Conductor

Did you know the conductor, not the engineer, is in charge of the train? The engineer is responsible for operating the locomotive and handling the train safely and efficiently; however, the conductor is the ranking crewmember, responsible for the entire train and providing transportation services, passenger or freight. Your conductor is a well-trained, professional railroader...much, much more than just a ticket puncher.

(image taken September 2007)

The "Rock Runner"

Pretty much every morning, a CSXT crew takes a set of locomotives from the small yard at Brunswick, Maryland, to the rock quarry at Millville, West Virginia. They travel west a spell on the busy twin-track Metropolitan Subdivision until they get to the Potomac crossing at Harpers Ferry. Once they arrive at this bridgeborne junction, they branch off onto the less-traveled Shenandoah Subdivision for the rest of the way to Millville. At Millville, they grab a train of hopper cars filled with crushed rock. Then the "Rockrunner" heads back the way it came, past Brunswick, all the way to Bladensburg, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. There, the crew leaves the train of loads to be unloaded and picks up a string of empties (the loads from the previous day). The crew then hauls these empties back to Millville (where they will be loaded for another trip the next day). Finally, the crew takes its locomotives light (no cars) back to Brunswick to tie up for the day.

In this photo, the crew is on the final of their four legs. Sitting engines light on the bridge over the Potomac at Harpers Ferry late in the afternoon, the crew awaits a proceed signal indication so they can move off the Shen sub onto the Met sub, scoot through the tunnel, and head for home.

(Photo taken Spring 2006.)

Mon River Coal Ops

View On Black

A CSX train, operating on Norfolk Southern's Mon River Line, moves eight loads south. An empty NS northbounder awaits entry to the small yard at West Brownsville (which is on the opposite bank of the river and reached via a rail bridge just around the bend).

(As is the case with most rail photos, there was drama behind this image. I'd been coveting this shot for a while, but I knew, since this is a relatively light traffic line, the odds were a zillion to one I'd be here at the right moment. I knew I might go to my grave without snapping this picture. So, you can imagine my excitement--actually more like psychotic exuberance--when I noticed headlights approaching off to my right as I drove across the bridge. I’m sure I did an illegal and/or unsafe thing or two as I quickly handed control of the car to my wife, grabbed my camera, leapt from the car and scampered on foot back across the icy bridge, fumbling to get my camera ready as I ran. I’ll count myself extra blessed that I had great light, there was an empty coal train on the other track to add interest, and the train was a colorful CSX instead of a black and white Norfolk Southern. Sometimes the Railfan Gods smile upon us.)

Economy Incarnate

The state of the nation's railyards and railways are an excellent leading economic indicator. Empty railyards, combined with fewer and shorter trains, mean the raw materials of our economy are not on the move as much as they are when the economy is strong. Building materials (cement, lumber, gypsum, sand, etc.), consumer goods, plastic, chemicals and the myriad raw materials for manufacturing...all are transported largely by rail. This autorack train, loaded with new cars, is much shorter than--about half the length of--a typical autorack train. Railborne freight volume is down all across the nation right now.

Grande Ghosts of Greentree

The Denver & Rio Grande Western has long since faded into the realm of railroad lore (having been assimilated by the Union Pacific in 1996). Yet, here, on a Saturday morning just south of Pittsburgh, a Wheeling and Lake Erie crew makes good use of two former Rio Grande SD40T-2 tunnel motors in original livery ("tunnel motors" were specially-built with engine ventilation systems, characterized chiefly by air intake grates mounted low on the rear of the locomotive body, designed to operate in long, diesel smoke-choked Rocky Mountain tunnels). Lashed up to a pair of W&LE GP units, these old workhorses switch cars at Rook Yard in Greentree before taking a train to Monessen. The W&LE has done an admirable job of keeping the spirit of the Rio Grande alive, keeping these old units in original paint and painting its newer units in a similar style.

Potomac Crossing

Fun at the tunnel funnel. An eastbound unit autorack train on the double track Cumberland Sub has priority over a light power set waiting for a clear signal to leave the single track Shenandoah Sub. The crew sitting at the stop signal has just returned from leaving empty rock hoppers at a quarry in Millville, WV, and are on their way back to Brunswick, MD, to tie up for the day. Harpers Ferry, located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, and the juncture of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, is an amazing place to visit, for its awesome scenery, its rich history and, of course, lots of great rail action over bridges and through tunnels. (Image taken March 2006)

Moving Coal

12,000 tons of Appalachian bituminous coal winds through Southwest Pennsylvania, on the way to a distant power plant. Consol Energy’s huge Bailey Mine loads a 120-car unit coal train every four hours. Each car, carrying 100 tons of coal, can supply a 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant for about 20 minutes. A modern power plant requires a trainload of coal every day to ensure uninterrupted operation and output.

The Crew Change

This high-priority J.B. Hunt double stack train stops for just a few minutes at the East Conway signal bridge, just long enough for its crew--conductor and engineer--to be relieved. I suspect the inbound crew brought the train from Harrisburg, past Horseshoe Curve just west of Altoona, and over the summit of the Allegheny Mountains at Gallitzin. Clearly, judging from the locomotive's plow, they met with snow in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. This fresh crew will take the train probably at least as far as Cleveland. Here, one of the inbound crew members confers with the replacement crew as his partner tosses his "grip" (overnight bag) into the back of the railroad's "taxi." Within five minutes of stopping, this train is rolling again, knocking down the green clear signal on Track 1, quickly picking up speed as it continues its journey west.

Power on the Move

There are at least 11 locomotives in this train’s power consist. Probably only the first two units are actually pulling the train, the rest of the engines just along for the ride. There are many reasons for such a move. The railroad is continuously balancing its power, moving locomotives that are surplus at one terminal to places where they are desperately needed to pull outbound trains. In this case, many of the engines in this consist are yard switch engines. It’s likely this collection of units came from various yards in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago. They are probably bound for the heavy locomotive maintenance shops at Cumberland, Maryland, for required quarterly inspections (or “Q”s) or other repairs as necessary.

Eastbound and Westbound Coal

An eastbound loaded PPLX (Pennsylvania Power & Light) unit coal train passes through West Park on a sunny and mild winter afternoon. This train is likely headed for one of PPL’s three 1500+ megawatt coal fired power plants east of Pittsburgh—Conemaugh, Keystone or Montour.

It’s interesting to see both loaded and empty unit coal trains going both east and west through the Pittsburgh area. The reason is simple: coal-fired power plants are designed specifically to burn specific types of coal. The technical requirements for coal-fired power plants differ dramatically depending upon the type of coal they are designed to burn. It would be cost-prohibitive to build a power plant that could burn all types of coal.

Appalachian bituminous coal produces about 50 percent more energy than Powder River Basin coal; however, it also produces much higher sulfur dioxide emissions.

Powder River Basin sub-bituminous coal produces less sulfur dioxide and it costs about one sixth as much (at the mine). Unfortunately for coal-fired power plants east of the Mississippi, the Powder River Basin is in northeastern Wyoming. So, PRB coal, which is cheap at the mine, costs a lot more when transportation is figured into the business equation.

In the eastern US, particularly, power companies must decide, when building new plants, whether to use PRB coal that produces less energy per ton, but also emits less sulfur dioxide; or, to use Appalachian coal that yields higher energy output but requires significant investment in sulfur dioxide emission control equipment (e.g., scrubbers).

So, this is why it’s common to see loaded unit coal trains from Wyoming, often with BNSF or UP run-through power, east of the Mississippi, and as far east as major Atlantic seaboard cities.