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Monday morning dawns early and bright. I leave the KY/VA border today and head back north-east. I follow what's left of the old Guest River extension of the Interstate RR out of town. There are quite a few active loaders both on this line and the Norfolk & Western to the north. Alt. US-58 takes me to St. Paul, and US-19 from there to Bluefield, WV. I catch an eastbound intermodal off the Pocahontas Division in Bluefield, West Virginia, then continue to the yard in the eastern part of Bluefield, VA to catch some coal train action. A loaded eastbound behind two wide-cab GEs slows on the southern running track and stops before one of the bridges spanning the width of the yard. Meanwhile, looking east, a westbound empty train is posing behind a set of good ol' Southern style high hood units. Bluefield is an excellent place to watch the action on Norfolk Southern's busy "Pokey" - check out the info on Frograil. After this fruitful interlude I continue on US-19 north. The road ascends the delightful Appalachian Plateau and continues via Princeton to Beckley, WV. Traversing what used to be a rich coal area gives a very good impression of how times have changed, even though it's still as beautiful as ever. At Mt. Hope I take a wrong turn and end up in the New River Valley at Prince instead of Thurmond, my original goal (do you get the idea I'm good at getting lost?). After paying a short visit to Quinnimont I return south and get onto I-64 for a splendid drive out of the Plateau, surrounded by glorious autumn color. At Clifton Forge I leave the superslab and scout around the yard a little. It's nearly empty and with the sun starting to set I head south on US-220 following the James River Line. VA-43 takes me to Buchanan, a small place on Norfolk Southern's Shenandoah Sub of the Virginia Divison. This will be my main objective for tomorrow; all that's left for today is to tick off some northbound miles - I-81 quickly takes me to Waynesburg where I stay for the night (the Days Inn is not one of the better motels so far).

US-340 makes it easy to follow the Shenandoah Valley Line north. Nice photo spots abound and chasing trains is fairly easy - if you happen to find one. This is another railroad where a scanner is more than a nicety. I keep a watchful eye on the tracks while driving north but see only a MoW gang with a track mobile. At Shenandoah, VA a set of road power is laying over. Going a little further north I suddenly see an approach-lit signal turn to high green - a southbound is coming!! I pull a U-turn and head south. The DeLorme map shows a grade crossing at a place called Vaughn which looks useful. The tiny hamlet is reachable via VA-654/VA-611 eastbound from US-340. I set up at the small park near the crossing and wait. In due time a single GE arrives trailing a short local through this picturesque place. The post office must be one of the smallest of its kind. The remaining miles to Front Royal are uneventful. Checking the map reveals I'm not far from the famous (among railfans and historians alike) Harper's Ferry, which looks like a good place to make use of the late afternoon sun (it is, by golly!). Following US-340 past the Inland Container Port north of Front Royal all the way up to the Ferry is a piece of cake. Just as I arrive at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers at the southern tip of land in town, an eastbound local off the W&P branch from Winchester, VA rolls into town and heads out onto the branch line bridge (built as the second bridge here in 1894). The old abutments in the photo supported the original 1834 Bollman truss bridge, the first and easternmost in this location. The junction of the branch and mainline is actually located inside the tunnel on the Maryland side. Following a brace of other railfans I set up on the station platform at the depot with a splendid view of the 1931 bridge and the tunnel portal on the far side of the Potomac. Some folks from California have brought lawn chairs and coolers along and are enjoying the action from a front-row seat. The old B&O East End is alive and kicking and train after train approaches, crosses the bridge, and disappears. The sun is just perfect for westbounds like those in the pictures. An amazing place for a railfan afternoon! The sun isn't setting forever, though, and I have to head back east to Manassas for tomorrow's flight home. All good things have an end, but this ain't (quite) over yet...

I have roughly half a day to burn before I need to be at Dulles Airport, so I go down to Manassas' historic district and the beautifully restored station. The photo at the left shows a nighttime photo I made previously. Manassas is a beautiful place with many nicely restored city blocks, and is also well patrolled by the police, especially at night. While waiting on the platform for something to happen, I notice some action in Norfolk Southern's Manassas Jct. yard west of the station. A local freight is drilling cars and ventures a short way onto the Piedmont Division main track every now and then. After several more switching moves the local has grown sufficiently in length to bring the head end within range of my 300mm lens. An EMD SD60 is sandwiched between two GE Dash-8s with standard cabs, all of them kicking up impressive plumes of hot air from their radiators. More and more passengers populate the station platform and a quick glance at the public timetable reveals Amtrak's westbound Cardinal is due in soon. I take position at the east end of the station platform and don't have to wait long until I hear a train whistle for a distant grade crossing. Soon a Genesis GE engine pops into view and passes underneath the cantilevered signal bridge. I rewind the last roll of film, pack my stuff and bid farewell to my home away from home. Within a couple of hours I'm onboard my plane and all that's left are memories and a dozen rolls of film to support them. Until next time!

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