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Another beautiful day dawns bright and sunny. I want to go back to the Mountain Sub today, hoping to find trains moving there and also spend some more time in Grafton. First stop is again Keyser, and again I find an eastbound loaded coal train being held there on account of congestion in Cumberland and on the East End. Parked next to it is yesterday's edition of Q316, the daily eastbound manifest and the West End's only regular non-coal movement, together with its westbound counterpart, Q317. CSX is trying everything to ease the traffic crunch, and that includes leasing units from everyone who can patch up old equipment just fast enough. This ex-BN unit is a good example. Over the next hours I closely follow the West End main line. Not having a scanner at my disposal, I fail to locate a single movement on the line. Take this as advice if you plan a trip here: on the Chicago line, trains are so plentiful a scanner is but a nice extra. On the West End however, with it's helper moves, slow coal trains, and sometimes difficult track access, a scanner is a necessity. I decide to make the best out of the situation and scout the area for good photo locations. Nature is doing its best to keep me entertained with brilliant weather and the spectacular display of fall foliage, especially in the Racoon Creek and Three Forks Creek valleys (left). At Grafton, the yard is a good place to watch the action. Some power is assembled at the engine service facility, seen here from across the Tygart Valley river (left). In the East Yard, Q316's road power is switching cars in preparation for its early afternoon departure (right). After Q316 finishes its switching, I scramble back up Monroe Street and head east out of town to set up at a good photo location. But I'm out of luck. Due to the lack of a scanner, I lose the train. Even though I scoot back and forth, up and down Newburgh grade, the manifest doesn't turn up. The only thing I get (that can't run away) is West End Tower, now used by the MoW department but still a stately sight. Once again folks: "Your scanner - don't leave home without it!" Grafton is located near two nice state parks; Tygart Valley to the southeast and Valley Falls to the west. Valley Falls is notable in that the Fairmont Subdivision from Grafton to Fairmont runs straight through the park. Trains are easily photographed there, but since the dense forest shields off a lot of the light, midday hours are best. As luck would have it, I see a northbound loaded coal drag with Norfolk Southern runthrough power, but it's already too dark for photography. It's almost dark now. I need to find a place to stay for the night, and Grafton doesn't really have that many motels. I go further west over yet another nicely winding country road, WV-310, to Fairmont, then hit I-79 south to exit 133 to the Super 8. This is a very nice place to stay, highly recommended even though it's not directly next to a rail line.

Sunday dawns early but not very bright. The beautiful weather is gone and rain has settled in as I leave the motel for breakfast. I will have to be back in Washington tonight with a "small" detour down US-522 south via Cass, WV. Along the way I pass through Elkins and Durbin, generally following the old Western Maryland right-of-way. The heavy rain doesn't show any mercy so I basically just continue through without stopping. Cass is humming with activity. Besides the old mill and restored railroad buildings, the Shay Shop is a fascinating place for a bull session on logging railroads, both prototype and model. Shortly, Western Maryland Shay #6 arrives with a train from Whittaker Station, runs around the cars and prepares for another trip up the hill. Thankful for the opportunity I ride along, my first trip behind any geared locomotive whatsoever. It is a real treat, even in the steady drizzle, to watch the drive train in motion, listen to the stack music, and just generally enjoy the steep and winding trip through the woods. Back at Cass #6 and her smaller sister Cass Scenic #2 pose at the engine facility for these photos. Cass is well worth a repeat trip. It's already getting a little late so I leave eastbound on US-250 towards I-81. As luck would have it, the rain stops now that the day is almost done, making for a moody, almost spooky trip through the woods and over the mountains. The views back over the clouds and mountain tops towards the sun setting in the west are memorable. I-81 and I-66 are probably best viewed in the darkness and it's already almost midnight as I slip into Manassas Park and find my motel for a short night's sleep until business swallows me for another week.

Autumn means short days and early dusk, so I spend what little time there is in some of the beautiful parks around Manassas. Battlefield Park, site of the Battle of First Manassas, is a beautiful place both to learn about Stonewall Jackson and the battle, as well as to enjoy the sun set behind the distant Blue Ridge Mountains. Essentially a flat area, the park is elevated enough to afford a beautiful view. The pictures show two Union cannons, with the setting sun painting them in a golden light.

It's Friday again, and I leave after work to head down to Clinchfield Country. I've read a lot about the railroad and the area, and now's the time to see it in person. I take I-66 and I-81 and make it as far as Kingsport, TN before retiring for the night.

Rain again as I head north. I visit Natural Tunnel on my way to Dante, another park which holds interest both for naturalists as well as railfans. A northbound empty coal train passes through the tunnel while I'm there - spectacular! Photography at the mouth of the tunnel itself is a bit difficult because little light reaches the creek bottom. You need high speed film and, ideally, better weather than I've got today. Next stop is Dante, the operating hub of the old Clinchfield RR. The place is a big disappointment, the yard and service facilities are practically gone. I do see two trains moving and follow the Elkhorn Extension north towards Elkhorn City. Alas, most coal loaders and branchlines are shut down; the only coal heading south is coming off the former C&O's Big Sandy Sub to the north. The Breaks Interstate Park just south of the Kentucky border is well worth a visit with a beautiful vista across the valley and mountains. It's still raining and won't stop for several days. I head west after crossing into Kentucky and arrive at Norton, VA on the old Interstate Railroad just before sundown. I stay in the Super 8, within earshot of the fairly busy Norfolk Southern, disappointed with what I've seen today.

I'm chasing trains on the old Interstate today, and it's a lot of fun even though it's raining. I happen upon a Pardee turn at Kent junction and follow it up the Roaring Fork Branch to the impressive Pardee loader. The tipple sits right next to the entrance gate so it's easy to watch the action. After watching for half an hour or so I head back down to the main and go to Appalachia, the old headquarters for the Interstate RR. The yard is mostly empty but in place. The branches north of town make for interesting railfanning. I follow the Stonega Branch (well kept with welded rail and good ballast) and what's left of the old Roda Branch but see no trains (it's Sunday after all). Next stop is Harlan, KY. I follow US-421 which affords a good view of the abandoned Cawood branch as well as the still active mainline south to the famous Hagans switchback. Harlan is literally built around the huge yard there, which, alas, is deserted as well. The coal industry hereabouts is not in good shape... I leave for Virginia again, following KY-987 via Smith and through the very remote valley of the Martins Fork Cumberland River. The plan is to reach the Hagans switchback, but the mainline crosses Cumberland Mountain through Brierfield Gap which is inaccessible from the north side. So I go back east towards Virginia on US-421 (interesting road) and head for the old Southern coal lines around St. Charles. In a siding north of there on the Monarch branch I find a Norfolk Southern caboose obviously assigned to coal turn service. No sign of a turn. It's getting dark so I head back to Pennington Gap and then follow Alt. US-58 back through Big Stone Gap to Norton. In the yard there are quite a few more cabooses all in local service and well kept. This is one of the few pictures that actually came out reasonably well today, what with all the rain. It was still a fun day, though, and I learned a lot about this area.

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