Eastern Railroad Discussion > A gorgeous weekend in WVA; The Potomac Eagle, CSX and more!

Having a cabin in the woods can be a good thing sometimes (or in this case, family with one). We headed up Friday evening, and had plans to chase the South Branch Valley Railroad's 'Autumn Leaf Excursions' from Petersburg to Moorefield all day Saturday. Well, needless to say when we showed up, it was not quite what we expected, so plans were made, and we changed things up. The story will continue as this thread goes on!

While on the way to Petersburg, we figured we'd stop in Moorefield and check out what might be at the SBVR shops. Well, lucky for us, SD18 #182 was hanging out in a perfect spot for roster shots, and was on an auto-start cycle. Listening to that 645 prime mover idle was pretty nice, and sounded so good echoing in the little valley. Also there were SD9's #180 and #181, GP38-3 #100, and GP9R's #90 and #91.

After stopping there, we headed south, checking out our proposed spots for shots along the way. Upon arrival into Petersburg, we were a bit disappointed at the train, though we did chase back north. 65-tonner #80 was powering the 2 car train, seen here at the "depot" in Petersburg.

Just north of Petersburg was our first stop, and as you can see, color was far from 'peak' this weekend, but still a nice bit of color showing.

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Our next spot was Dungan at a small private crossing.

The last spot we were able to shoot was just south of Moorefield, where they used the siding there to run around the train to head back to Petersburg. Always looking for "props" to shoot with, this Winery sign did just fine.

After grabbing that last shot, we decided to head north, and possibly catch up with the first excursion of the Potomac Eagle. Well, it didn't take long to find our first spot, seen here at Pancake, WV. After finding this spot, it was just time to wait.....and wait...and wait for almost an hour and a half before we heard the rumble of first generation EMD's coupled with an echoing RS3L in the valley. The grandeur of the South Branch Valley is on full display here as their B&O F7A #722 leads the 14 car train north, with GP9 #6240 on the rear. The train was fully loaded, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for such an occasion. Again, color wasn't anything spectacular, but the showing of yellows and reds on the mountain were just enough to make this shot in the top 3 for the weekend!

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Our next available shot was on the south side of Romney, standing on the side of Route 50. This was the coming toward us shot...

And the going away shot with a nice open field and mountain backdrop.

We went up and hung around the depot for a short while, and realized it was a madhouse. With nothing more to offer here, we grabbed a bite to eat, and then headed north toward CSX land at Green Spring, WV. It didn't take long there for us to rack up a list of train, with Q136, Q217, Q235, and Q135 showing in the first hour. Seen here is Q235 with a nice pair. SD40-2 #8821 leads the way, with the 'Chessie System' sticker D8-40CW trailing.

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Things then died off for a while, and we had 3 more trains before heading out. Q276 was the first of those three, seen here headed east with another D8-40CW and SD40-2 for power.

Loaded coal train N731 grabbed a stop signal at Green Spring to wait for autorack train Q277 to come west. Seen here about a mile from the CP, D9-40CW #9019 leads Q277 west as the rear of N731 is just clear of our shot.

Back down Route 28 was our way home, and we got to Romney just as the last excursion was unloading, so we stopped for a few shots before continuing home.

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Sunday was all about CSX, and more specifically, the Magnolia Cutoff. But first, we made a stop in Gore to check out what W&W power was sitting down there. In the process, we found this old Vermont Railway boxcar providing storage for them as #575 sits beside the shop building.

After that quick stop, we straight-shotted to Paw Paw, where Q235 was first up. With yet another good leader today, the same pair off Q276 the day prior is seen here with SD40-2 #8099 leading out of Carothers Tunnel.

A VERY long Q135 was next, with about as many loads as you're looking at and the rest, empty platforms. I haven't counted in my video yet, but I'd wager he was close to 250 platforms. Also of note was GP40-2 #6125 trailing third online.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/17 07:08 by Railfan94.

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We missed just one train while moving around to the northern end of the cutoff, Q372. Seen here shortly after arrival, empty rack train Q217 heads west under the signals at Orleans Road.

After driving in about a mile, we settled on this spot about 1/2 mile east of the interlocking. Q277 was not far behind 217, as the mountains provide a nice backdrop.

Halfway between Orleans Road and Doe Gully, empty coal train E753 is seen headed west with an AC4400 pair as the sun sinks low in the sky.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/17 07:11 by Railfan94.

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Dinner in Berkley Spring provided us with a heads up of power on Amtrak 29. We decided to head up toward Hancock and find a spot. We settled on this shot in the plant, and it was the right choice. The last rays of sunlight catch P40DC #822, the Phase III heritage just right as it heads west.
The going away shots were much more spectacular, providing why this spot was the right choice!


Hope everyone enjoyed!!!

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What a great weekend! And you didn't waste it--you got some great shots.
-Ted

Good stuff, and you're right, that South Branch train is disappointing!

PennRailVideos Wrote:
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> Good stuff, and you're right, that South Branch
> train is disappointing!


That "Disappointing Train" is a Fall Train Ride Hosted by South Side Depot in Petersburg... It's not a Potomac Eagle Trip nor a SBVR Trip but a small business in town offering something different for their customers. They also offer a nighttime "Christmas Lights" Trip during the holidays that is far from "Disappointing" .. as in sold-out on a regular basis.

As a railfan I also find photographing an active GE center cab locomotive in 2017 hardly "disappointing"...... but to each his own, Cheers!

DT Wilson.

I wasn't so much referring to anything about the event disappointing, just after what we had been told what to expect, it was a bit of a letdown. I'll agree that shooting a centercab was far from a letdown, like I said, just what we had been told to expect was more a shock than anything.

GREAT stuff..!! Thanks for sharing.