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the Princeton-Deepwater District (former Virginian) south of Elmore, W. Va., NS has removed overhead traffic from its “Wyatt Cutoff” route between Dismal and Richlands, Va. This former Norfolk & Western trackage is composed of the 16-mile Dismal Creek Branch from Dismal to Wyatt and the 15-mile Big Creek Branch from Wyatt down to Richlands, where it connects with the Clinch Valley District main towards Bluefield. Most of the coal tipples along the CTC-equipped route are idle, and export coal traffic from loadouts above Dismal can simply be routed west to the Pocahontas mainline at Devon, W. Va. The grades leading to Wyatt, topping 2 percent, had resulted in NS historically trying to minimize tonnage over the route. With the downturn in export coal traffic heading east to Norfolk, the decision to
mothball the route was made easier. During NS’ third quarter 2015 financial presentation, leadership stressed that it will not haphazardly shed capacity in the coal fields. NS president and CEO Jim Squires told Wall Street analysts that “this is a notoriously volatile market. We don’t believe we have seen the best days of export coal. We think that the commodity cycle eventually will turn and those assets will be fully deployed again.”
UNION PACIFIC KEVIN SNYDER
Officers’ Specials tour Eastern Routes
Near the end of October and into early November 2015, Union Pacific operated
several officers’ specials for vice president of engineering David Connell and members of his staff inspecting routes in Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. The tour departed out of Council
Bluffs, Iowa, on October 23, and worked throughout the eastern half of the Union Pacific system. The consist included SD70AH No. 8951 leading power car 2066, business car Shoshone 106, sleeper Columbia River 314, sleeper Lake Bluff 413, exercise car Promontory 5779, sleeper Portola 1610, sleeper Green River 1602, table car Missouri River Eagle 7011, diner City of Los Angeles 4808, and inspection car Idaho 203. After visiting Houston and Dallas-Ft.
Worth, the special tour wrapped up its final leg between Herrington, Kan., and Council Bluffs, Iowa, on November 10.
Amtrak Heritage on the Southern Crescent
Amtrak GE P42DC No. 156 in “Phase I” heritage paint leads a GE P32-8W on Train No. 19, the Southern Crescent, near Temple, Ga., on November 27, 2015. Amtrak added capacity system-wide to accomodate record-setting ridership during the Thanksgiving holiday travel season.
PHOTO BY BAXTER BARNES
Canadian National Photo Freight
The Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley in Milford, N.Y., has repainted its rare S-7 locomotive into the Canadian National “noodle” scheme. No. 8223 was built by Montreal Locomotive Works in November 1957 for CN. On November 14 the diesel led a photo charter, powering a mixed train from Milford into Cooperstown on the C&CV’s former Delaware & Hudson branch line. The evening concluded with a night photo session at the Milford depot. The railroad also has an ex-CN MLW S4 in service, and is working on restoring a former New Haven EMD FL9.
PHOTO BY STEVE BARRY
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