ABOVE: The crew of the CV local is inside the Pennington (Gap), Va., depot for “dinner” (that would be “lunch” anywhere but
the
South) on May 12, 1968. The train has re- turned from St. Charles as number 846 with four coal loads, but it will depart on the CV main back to Middlesboro, Ky., as number 832. LEFT: On February 10, 1968, engineer Sam Sturgill — a veteran steam-era hoghead on the CV — throttles out SDP35 and two trailing U25Cs on train 864 departing Ap- palachia, Va. L&N acquired four dual-purpose SDP35s from EMD in 1965 but they weren’t equipped with boilers or signal lines, and were never used in passenger service.
Corbin. Each night, a heavy train of metallurgical coal will depart Corbin for Gary, Ind.
Appropriately, these
movements are called the “Steel Train.”
1922 into Norton. Twenty-seven loads of coal were set off at Dorchester Junc- tion for the Interstate Railroad, which will take them to Miller Yard for inter- change with the Clinchfield. 12:30 a.m.—No. 852 (also from March 20) arrives Corbin with 3019/1529/1211 (GP40/U28C/SD35), W.M. Greene/Estep, 95-0-11695. No. 852 had a twenty minute delay at Loy- all to swap U25C 1512 for the 1529 — which had been dropped the previous evening by train 865, bound for Norton. 1:15 a.m.—No.856 (called 12:45
a.m.) departs Norton with 169/171/156 (three RS3s), H.B. Taylor/A.J. Huff, 30- 6-3056. The train is late departing, since it uses the power off 865, which was late arriving. 1:30 a.m.—No. 864 (also from March 20) arrives Corbin with 1201/1410/1512 (SD35/C628/U25C), 103-16-8728. Be-
fore departing Norton, the train takes a long delay because “federal inspectors shopped engine 1410 in Norton, and had to be brought to Corbin dead-in- tow.” The big Alco was the point unit at Norton, so the crew swaps it out with SD35 1211 and departs with just one unit on line, and with the 1211 running in reverse. Delays mount as the train heads toward Corbin. It has been a long work day for this crew. 2:00 a.m.—No.851 (called 1:15 a.m.) departs Corbin with 3025/1211/3019 (GP40/SD35/GP40), W.J. Evans/H.C. Carroll, 0-85-2720. This is Lynch Turn No. 2. The two GP40s are unusual pow- er on the CV, as the L&N normally uses them in fast freight and intermodal service. The double daily, Monday- through-Friday trains to Lynch feed coal to a U.S. Steel-operated prepara- tion plant (coal washing facility) at
3:05 a.m.—Work Extra 137-189 Cou- pled arrives Loyall (Poor Fork Mine Run), L.C. Robinson/W.S. Williams, 54- 5-4985
3:30 a.m.—No. 855 (called for 3:00 a.m.) departs Corbin with 1403/175 (C628/RS3), H. Frazier/F.D. Rees, 26- 6-2415. This is actually train 855 from the previous day, but it has been called late probably awaiting connecting traf- fic at Corbin from Louisville or Cincin- nati.
Unit
4:00 a.m.—Extra 1529 South (Merna Train)
departs Corbin with
1529/1503/1520/1532 (U28C/U25C/ U25C/U28C), J.W. Berry/S.V. Dugger, 0-86-2236. This is one of the earlier unit coal trains on the L&N, and one of two operated on the CV beginning in 1966. The Merna train handles coal to Georgia Power’s Jack Mack power plant at Smyrna, Ga. Four U25C’s or U28C’s are standard power because the train loads a three per cent grade, and
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