Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS Pokey district last Saturday

Got into Williamson, WV late Friday and after a pleasant stay at the Tug Valley Inn downtown, was up early on Saturday to explore the Pokey south to Bluefield. Here are a few images.

1. Walking a block (or less) from the B&B on Saturday found this mine run coming into town
2. The yard in Williamson. Only 1 string of loads, but plenty of cars throughout the yard
3. Shooting over the yard at the roundhouse. From this angle, you really can't get much of the roundhouse in a photo

---

---

---

4. Skipping the area between Williamson and Matewan to eliminate backtracking, we drove to Iaeger hoping for some shots in town. Not finding anything to our liking and mistakenly thinking we would come back later in the day, we motored on to Roderfield where we found a nice spot to wait. It wasn't long before we heard a horn and wished we were taking audio as the train approached from the west. Here it is exiting Roderfield Tunnel. A loaded coal for VA Power ( I believe it may have been 83K). This train would prove a popular subject all the way to Bluefield
5. Stepping back a ways, a shot of the WV economy exiting the tunnel
6. After a brief pause, I realized that we had better get chasing and caught up to it here. Not sure the name here - Could be @ Big Sandy or Twin Branch. The next couple of shots may answer as someone likely will recognize the location

Note: 4. describes the 3rd photo in this post.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/17 15:29 by P.

---

---

---

7. Was thrilled to find this location with the CPL's still guiding the way. Is this Twin Branch?
8. Cropping out the modern replacements makes for a nice and timeless image....
9. The tail end. Was expecting helpers, but I think they were added at Welch.

---

---

---

10. Met a wb mixed at Vivian
11. Grabbed a Subway lunch and set out the lawn chairs at Keystone by this awesome photo backdrop
12. 83K ( I think) now with helpers

---

---

---

13. Classic shot of a power move at Coopers
14. Arrival @ Bluefield
15. 6920 was awaiting us at the fuel rack

---

---

---

16. Classic shot at Bluefield on the overpass
17. Our 83K (or VAPX train) pausing in the yard
18. Overview shot

In summary, we had a great day exploring the area. Great weather, great scenery and enough trains to keep us busy. I will say that overall, there was not much traffic on the line - at least not near as many as I had hoped. A local said a lot of the mine activity was curtailed due to crews marking off for the Easter holiday. Even so, we didn't see that many trains in daylight, but our constant moving and chasing of the coal train kept us entertained. This was my first visit to the area in over 20 years and can't wait to go back. Love the mountains, and the state of WV in general.

---

---

---

The location with the CPLs is called Marytown. And those tunnels are Twin Branch 2 and 1. Nice pictures.

Posted from iPhone

Thanks for sharing your photos. Glad you had a good day.

Kim Heusel

Fantastic series of pics. Love the ole Pokey.

Just outstanding series of images and narratives. The Pokey is my very favorite area of serious mountain railroading. I just wish I would have collected pictures of mine/branch lines prior to the N&W merger, while working there. I was too young and stupid. Thanks for posting.
RichS

Thanks all!