Discussion

• Recent
• Western Railroads
• Eastern Railroads
• Passenger Trains
• Steam Railroading
• Nostalgia & History
• Railroaders' Nostalgia
• Canadian Railroads
• European Railroads
• International
• Model Railroading
• Railfan Technology
• Guidelines

Media Sharing

• Video & Audio
• Static Photography

Hosting

• Member Directory
• More Information

Library

• Fanfinder
• Newsletters
• Contest Winners
• Virtual Reality
• Classified Ads

Site Info

• About us
• Contact us
• Give Gift Membership
• Privacy Policy

Eastern Railroad Discussion > One Picture with a story

Good evening everyone,
It's been probably over a year since I posted anything here. Well tonight I'm going to break that trend with something just a little bit different.

I'm going to tell you a story about this image that I have posted below. The picture was taken in Emmaus, PA along the former RDG Line back in winter 2014. Anyway it was a very cold, dreary Sunday morning. I had just gotten up with the knowledge that two, at the time, brand new Norfolk Southern SD70ACe engines had the possibility of leading out of Allentown on a west bound. Well sure enough the gamble payed off with them both leading 19G out of Allentown. After I had taken the pictures I started feeling light rain hitting my face. Now before I had gone out I also had prior knowledge of freezing rain being near by. Unfortunately for me it started way way sooner than expected. As soon as 19G had gone by, that rain was going from liquid to ice almost instantly as it hit the ground. At that very moment I was thinking to myself, "Well this could be interesting"!? Already by this point the ground has that really shiny glass look. I made a hard call and decided to try and get out of town before it went from bad to worst. Now I have about a 45 minute drive home (on a good day) from Emmaus that is mostly highway driving. So I thought to myself, "If I can get out of town and onto the highway it should be treated". After deciding what I was doing I jumped into my 06 Ford Explorer and gingerly got out on to the road. I realized very quickly that this was going to be a challenge. After getting my heart rate back to a somewhat normal level after having a series of close calls, I proceeded uneventfully through a couple more intersection. Finally the hardest part was getting up a hill with a slope to the right. This spot had claimed many drivers not aware of the conditions already before I had arrived. As I started up the hill I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't need to stop. The person I was following got nailed by someone that had slid from the other side of the road and the person behind me spun out and drifted over to the curb. I don't know how or why I made it up the hill but I did by the skin of my teeth.
The total drive time home was a little over 2 hours.

So in closing
I apologize for the long story but this was one of those images if I had not written a story about the harrowing experience that in sued it would just be shiny Norfolk Southern power on a gloomy day.
Thanks for taking a look!
Greg H

---