Eastern Railroad Discussion > Other trains seen on 611 chase weekend

My father and I traveled to Virginia and North Carolina on the weekend of April 22 - 25 to chase the Queen of Steam from Roanoke south into Greensboro.  Pictures and video of the 611 chase is over on the Steam & Excursion board.  Before we chased the 611, we encountered quite a few freight and Amtrak trains at various locations in eastern and southern Virginia.  We caught our first batch of trains around the town of Ashland on a rainy and overcast Friday afternoon.

1.  CSX train Q17122 heads south past Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.

2. Amtrak train 195 (Northeast Direct service) passes the Gwathney Baptist Church just south of Ashland, Virginia.

3. Amtrak train 90 (Palmetto) heads north near Ashland, Virginia.

---

---

---

4. CSX train Q40922 heads south down the middle of Center Street in Ashland, Virginia.

5. Amtrak train 53 (Auto Train) paces CSX freight Q40922 down Center Street in Ashland, Virginia.

After the Auto Train cleared, we headed to my cousin's house to relax for the rest of the evening.  The next morning, we headed towards the Lynchburg/Roanoke area.  We got there a little early for 611's return trip so we took advantage of the extra time to do some location scouting.  While driving around, we found a few freight trains.

6. Norfolk Southern train 159 heads around the curve under a county road bridge near Hurt, Virginia.

---

---

---

7. Norfolk Southern hotshot intermodal train 212 heads north past Motley, Virginia.

8. Norfolk Southern hotshot intermodal train 212 passes under some older Southern Railway style signals at Hurt, Virginia.

9. Norfolk Southern mixed freight 36Q heads north out of the Roanoke River valley at Alta Vista, Virginia.

---

---

---

After the 36Q, we concentrated on chase the 611 the rest of Saturday.  While we were in 611 chase mode on Sunday, we did have a few hours in Roanoke where we could just sit back and watch for freight trains roll by.

10 and 11. Norfolk Southern mixed freight train 128 heads east through downtown Roanoke, Virginia.

12. Norfolk Southern intermodal train 29G heads west past the N&W 611 at Roanoke, Virginia.

---

---

---

13 and 14. Norfolk Southern mixed freight train 189 passes by the N&W 611 at Roanoke, Virginia.

After 189 cleared, we got back into chasing the 611 which we did the rest of the day.  These will be the last trains we shot on this trip since we had a 4 hour drive back to Baltimore to catch our flight back to Texas the next morning.  The trip was shorter than I like but I was still really happy we made the journey.

Enjoy

BNSFDS

---

---

I'm glad you made the trip as well. Very nice shots, thanks for sharing them!


Jay

Photo three is not train 90.It is train 92 the "Star".
The "Palmetto" is all coach.

Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

Bravo Uncle Joe, you beat me to it.

Nice bunch.
JB

It's was running over 4 hours late then since that pic was taken around 5 pm.

BNSFDS

Posted from iPhone

This photo was taken at about the same instant as Photo 13 by one of two guys (the balding one) in yellow vests standing on the State of Virginia wall.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/16 18:38 by jberlin.

---

I like the 6th & 13th picture. Also the CP with the 2 Railfans.