Railroaders' Nostalgia > My Dumb Luck: the AFT years 27

27 South Charleston WV June 25-27 / Cumberland MD June 29-30

The jump from Huntington to South Charleston is a short 50 miles. Normally this would mean a very short night's sleep between tear down and set up, but it was decided we'd save a few dollars and wait for the local switch job to come on duty. So we happily picked up an extra 2 hours bunk time.
The site was out at the Charleston Ordnance Center in South Charleston, which is just west and somewhat north of Charleston itself.
Um,.. what?
I noticed it's on the south bank of the Kanawha River and Charleston is on the north, so I suppose that's the explanation?

Photo 1. Arriving in South Charleston.

The move to Cumberland was a very satisfying 533 miles. Well, fun for those of us along for the ride- a hell'a long day for the Locomotive Crew! It took us from West Virginia to Virginia to D.C. to Maryland back into West Virginia and finally ending in Maryland again. Wow! This was C&O to D.C. (included about 50mi of C&O's Southern trackage rights), and B&O to Cumberland. This was also a run where a gondola to the AFT consist with about 7 tons of coal to be used en-route.
And I think this was the first time the T-1 got some diesel help along the way. Unlike the 4449, where helpers almost always went behind the tender, diesels went on the point with the T-1. As I understand it, the reason for this was that helpers came on and off the T-1 along the way where-as with the '49 they usually were left on for the entire move. So it revolved around simplified switching.

I'll have all the move details in my AFT Maps posting. Here are some photos...

Photo 2. Passing thru White Sulphur Springs.
Photo 3. Service stop at Clifton Forge. The U-boats had come on at Hilton.
Photo 4. Ross at work.
Photo 5. Potomac Yard, near Washington DC.

I really liked Cumberland! Both Cumberland and Hagerstown went a long way towards making Maryland my favorite of all the East coast states we visited.
We displayed at the former Western Maryland depot, now a visitors center for the C&O Canal and the WM Scenic RR. The area was a pleasure to explore. I wandered south of the site and poked around the WM's bridge over the Potomac to the Knobley Tunnel which is a bike trail now. I'm sure there was far more to see- too bad it was only a 2 day stop!

Photo 6. View from the ridge above the Cumberland Narrows (looking north- away from Cumberland) This scene is much changed now. The RR crossing the river is gone now (WM State Line Branch, I think) and so is the arched highway bridge.

Photo 7. The AFT in the distance- this area was the eastern end of the C&O Canal.
Photo 8. Local power.

SR Bush
Dutch Flat



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/14 18:09 by BoilingMan.

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Didn't take any photos in South Charlesron I'm guessing?

Jeez- I'm glad you said something! I DO have photos of the train in So. Charleston! I went back and put one into the post, and here's another that came out kinda so-so because I shot right into the sun. (Always an iffy thing)
Anyway, sorry I snubbed South Charleston. Not sure how that happened... oops!
SR

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