Steam & Excursion > An Awesome end to the 2014 Southern Steam Season

The past month or so has been great if you are a fan of Southern Steam, and didnt mind a lot of driving and not getting a lot of sleep. While of course there were no mainline NS trips this Fall, the return of Southern 4501 to service along with a busy schedule of trips for TVRM on the Chattooga and Chickamauga shortline out of Chattanooga meant a lot of windshield time for Carmon and Myself (and a lot of other folks)..

I have already shared our shots from 4501's first public outing on October 4th, and since then we have made 3 more trips to Georgia to shoot the 4501, plus the 4501-630 doubleheader on November 8th. Thats a lot of time on the road, but well worth it to see the Queen strutting her stuff on the old CofG mainline and to witness the first Southern doubleheader in over 2 decades.

I have finally finished up all the material I shot over the past month of these trips, and have it all up on Pbase. Over 40 new images, and you can find it all at this link >>>> http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/ns_steam_2014_eb

10/25/14

#1 Southern 4501 pound up the mountain at Rock Spring, Ga. A different angle than most go for here, but I liked it.

#2 4501 brings her train across the river at Trion, Ga on a perfect Fall day.

#3 Looking up at the Queen as she sits on the turntable at Summerville, Ga


#3

E.M. Bell , KD4JSL
Salvisa, KY
Jreb.org NS group

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11/08/14

#4 "The Big Show" Southern 4501 and 630 darken the sky with coal smoke as the dynamic duo accelerate up the hill out of Rossville, Ga Saturday morning. This was our first shot of the day, and I could have almost went back home happy after getting it...almost..

#5 "213 years of combined Southern Awesomeness" Southern 4501 and 630 charge into Chickamauga, Georgia amid the late Fall colors. Its almost amazing to think that a person can witness such a sight in 2014..a 103 year old 2-8-2 and a 110 year old 2-8-0 working together , both probably in better shape than they day they were built. A great way to end the year, and a great tribute to the tenacious folks at TVRM who make it possible for today's generation to experience the emotion of the steam locomotive.

#6 "No Crowds" Southern 630 leads the last TVRM Summerville trip of the year through Trion, Ga . Down in town, a mass of camera toting humanity had all jammed up around the Spring Creek Bridge getting the same shots, but I decided to do something a little different. Strong back-lighting with a nice ridge full of trees to block the direct sun created a timeless scene that only Three of us got to see. Sometimes the best show is not found at the at the foot of the stage!

E.M. Bell , KD4JSL
Salvisa, KY
Jreb.org NS group

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Image(s) of the day material, there!

/Mitch

Beautiful stuff there on your site, Mr. Bell. Well done.

Excellent! I love number one with the bell swinging.

Mike

#6 is my favorite. Well done on all of them!

Al Seever
Phoenix, AZ

Real nice work Mr. Bell.
John

Outstanding...

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com

Fantastic shots and well deserved IOTD.

FDF

Is TVRM running all the trips or are there other organizations sponsoring some of them?

I'm thinking about going next year.

Thanks.