Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS Charlotte, NC bridge cut-in

Today, 8/5/01, NS cut in the new bridge over Interstate 485 (itself still under construction) at Hahn, NC, MP 367.4. The shoo-fly that existed here for the past few months was taken out of service after NS 211 passed at 11:00AM and trains began rolling again just after 3:30PM.

The single track between Junker and Haydock therefore became a bottleneck, with northbound and southbound freights waiting their turn on either side.

The first train across was NS 172, which today was a combination of three trains. Trains 172 and 154 were consolidated at Charlotte and the power from train 204, which terminates at Charlotte on Sundays, was added into the consist as well.

In a stretch of about five hours, 11 trains were fleeted through the single track, all observing the 10 mph speed restriction across the new bridge. Several 25 mph slow orders due to previous surfacing work and a 10 mph slow order over a crossing at Newell made for slow railroading through this 12 miles of single track.

Here's the report for the day, and attached is a shot of rail train 910 crossing the not-so-photogenic new bridge...

4:07PM Hahn - NS 172 north. 9405-6763-9066-8902-8697-3218. 115 cars, mixed freight. (172/154/204 combo).

4:30PM Hahn - NS 152 north. 8769-8906-6641-8927-9233-6608-9127. 66 cars, mixed freight.

4:45PM Hahn - NS 910 north. 8713-8870-8564-4046(CR). 30 cars, rail train. (Photo attached).

5:21PM Concord - NS 337 south. 2547-6747(CR). Mixed freight.

Trains 337, 221, and 169 all line up at Haydock to wait on Amtrak 74, due to leave Charlotte at 5:35PM.

6:02PM Harrisburg - NS 074 north. NC1755. 5 cars, Amtrak "Piedmont."

6:28PM Hahn - NS 338 north. 7141-6555-8743. 147 cars, mixed freight.

7:43PM Hahn - NS 221 south. 9670-8730-2583-CEFX7120(BN)-9153. 49 cars, mixed freight. (221/173 combo).

8:05PM Harrisburg - NS 169 south. 9352-6741(CR)-9042-6076-3313. 124 cars, mixed freight.

8:27PM Speedrail (Harrisburg) - NS 079 south. AMTK 135. 6 cars, Amtrak "Carolinian."

8:39PM Speedrail - NS 119 south. 2542-6571-5274-1379-8923. 150 cars, mixed freight (50 grain on head end).

8:50PM Speedrail - NS 921 south. 9224-8717. 46 cars, loaded ballast train.

Train 156 is still coming north, having just called the signal at Concord at 10:15PM.

KN Tower

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Thanks for posting. I was visiting from Ohio 2 weeks ago & saw crews working on this bridge. BTW, Haydock is a great photo spot, although you have to be creative & a bit daring to get a variety. I can't wait to get my photos back.