Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee Flood New York's Southern Tier, Parts of Pennsylvania

Floowaters from an already saturated Susquehanna river topped levees and retaining walls in Broome County, NY inundating downtown Binghampton as well as nearby Johnson City, Endicott, Vestal and Owego in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee. Many evacuees in the area took shelter at Binghaton University's events center.

To the south, mandatory evacuation orders were in place in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area due to concerns that the Susquehanna would top levees there.

The flooding also shut down two highways in the region- I-88, which links Binghamton with the Albany, NY area and NY-17, which goes west to Elmira, Corning and further west to Erie, PA. For the second time in two weeks, both CSX and Canadian Pacific experienced disruptions along their lines south and west of Albany, NY. A Canadian Pacific Spokesman said that the former Delaware & Hudson line between Binghamton and Albany NY was washed out in two locations, but that crews were going to work on them when the floodwaters receded.

Lee was the second major storm to strike the area in two weeks. Many businesses and schools were attempting to reopen after sustaining flood damage from Tropical Storm Irene moved through the area at the very end of August. Much of Vermont and the Mohawk River valley in New York state were hit particularly hard by fast moving floodwaters that destroyed homes, businesses, schools, roads and bridges. Damages from the two storms are estimated to cost at least $100 Million in New York state alone

Tropical Storm Irene Aftermath Iron Horse Roundup September 6, 2011

Pan Am ballast train in Greenfield, MA en route to washout at Charlemont, MA on Aug 30th- photo Billy Wehmeyer

Hurricane Irene struck the Berkshires on Aug 28th and there was sizable washouts on Pan Am's former Boston & Maine Fitchburg Division between Ayer, MA and Mechanichsville, NY along the Deerfield River between North Adams and Shelburne, MA. With slow orders in effect for a number of locations, crews were able to get the line reopened by the evening of August 31.

Canadian Pacific's former Delaware & Hudson mainline between Albany NY and Binghamton NY suffered a number of washouts, forcing some trains to be rerouted via CSX's (suddenly ironically named) Water Level route west of Schenectady, NY all the way to Syracuse where they were redirected to Binghampton on the New York Susquehana & Western's Northern Division.

The Canadian Pacific line between Saratoga Springs and the Canadian border at Rouses Point, NY (and on to Montreal from there) suffered minimal flooding and obstruction and for the most part remained open. Besides through freight from CP Rail, the line also hosts Amtrak's Adirondack New York City to Montreal service.

After work was completed on a damaged section of track in Central Bridge, NY, Canadian Pacific resumed operations on the D&H Bridge Line between Albany and Binghaton NY on September 1.

CSX's Selkirk NY to Buffalo Water Level route was flooded, but reopened after a few days while the line along the West shore of the Hudson River experienced a number of floods, washouts and landslides. Crews reportedly had managed to get the line reopened by the early morning hours of August 30th. A CSX service bulletin dated September 3 reports that MOW and signalmen have been working to restore tracks, crossing signals and roadbed throughout affected areas in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland.

The New England Central's former Central Vermont Railway line still remains closed between White River Jct and Essex Jct, VT. Curiously, Amtrak's Vermonter service wasn't affected because passengers for north of Springfield, MA would be served by bus due to ongoing track upgrades along the New England Central since June. The NECR between Essex Jct and the Canadian National interchange in Swanton, VT to the north remains open as well as the line to the south between White River Jct and New London, CT.

Although no timetable for reopening the line between White River Jct and Essex Jct has been announced, a service bulletin dated September 2nd announced a detour train was scheduled to deliver cars to the Canadian National on September 9th.

Washout on the Vermont Railway line in Sunderland between Rutland and North Bennington, VT. Photo- Tim Stockwell

Undoubtedly the hardest hit railroad was the Vermont Railway system, with all of their lines radiating out of Rutland, VT flooded or washed out at some point along the way. The former Delaware & Hudson line between the Canadian Pacific interchange at Whitehall NY and Rutland was the first to re-open, with Amtrak's Ethan Allen resuming service on September 1. The line north between Rutland and Burlington was reopened on Aug 31, with a fuel train to Burlington, VT being the first train through.

However, things were different to the east and south of Rutland. The line south to Bennington, VT and on to the Pan-Am interchange in Hoosick Falls, NY was hit by several washouts. The Green Mountain line between Rutland and Bellows Falls, VT was much worse off and will likely take several weeks to repair.

Vermont's state-owned rail lines have been heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Irene.

An inspection found that five of the state's railroad bridges have major structural damage and need major repairs before they can re-open to freight traffic.

The middle piers of one bridge on the Connecticut River line in Hartford was moved more than 6 feet by rushing floodwaters. Yesterday, a crane was sent to stabilize that bridge, and allow work crews to install temporary shoring.

The Green Mountain line and the Vermont Rail South line rail beds have also seen a number of washouts, culvert failures and erosion of the rail bed.

Freight traffic is still running between Burlington and Rutland, and the Ethan Allen Amtrak line resumed service on Saturday.

Vermont Rail Systems estimates it will be three to four weeks before freight begins moving again on the Green Mountain rail line.

It appears that the Vermont Railway has put a priority on getting the Green Mountain route open so that Canadian Pacific bridge traffic to the New England Central and Providence & Worcester can resume as well as providing a viable detour route while the New England Central line north of White River Jct. is being repaired.

Crews from Vermont Railway and contractor RJ Corman were reportedly dumping ballast and rip-rap along washed away sections of track between Rockingham, VT and Wallingford, VT using hi-rail equipped dump trucks. Structural engineers are also attempting to shore up bridges that were compromised by the flash floods.

The Washington County (a subsidiary of the Vermont Railway) line between Newport, VT and White River Jct is intact, but WACR/VTR power is 'marooned' in from the rest of the system in Bellows Falls or White River Jct. For the time being, the WACR is borrowing a B39-8 from the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic to serve customers on the line. Until the New England Central line reopens and engineers shore up the damaged bridges around White River Juntion, the only interchange is with the MM&A at Newport, VT where the line heads northwest to Farnham, Quebec.

Green Mountain Railway Alco RS-1 shoving on rear of empty ethanol tank train past Bartonsville covered bridge, April 2011.

While not part of the Vermont Railway System, the photogenic Bartonsville covered bridge (above) adjacent to Vermont Route 103 and the Green Mountain Railway was popular with railway enthusiasts and tourists. Perhaps the most iconic image of the damage Irene had wrought on the Green Mountain state, the covered bridge was captured on video being washed away by the raging torrent of the Williams River by a local resident.

Location of Bartonsville covered bridge after Irene- Both photos from Kevin Burkholder

While the bridge was insured by the village of Bartonsville for $1 million, the polity only covered the wooden structure but not the abutments which will need further repair. A fund for replacing the bridge has been set up on the Rockingham-Bellows Falls town website.

The New York, Susquehanna & Western experienced some flood damage to their right-of-way in northern New Jersey between their Little Ferry, NJ hub and Port Jervis, NY. However, there was no damage reported to the Southern Tier line between Binghampton NY and Port Jervis and their Northern Division between Binghamton and Syracuse, NY also managed to survive intact. The Susquehanna was able to resume operations on their Sparta Jct NJ-Little Ferry, NJ line by September 1.

In the Catskills, the Catskill Mountain Railway is expected to resume operations out of Mount Tremper, operating excusrions on a modified route beginning September 10. Meanwhile, just to the north, a notice on the Delaware & Ulster website announced that the railway was shut down until further notice due to flash flooding from Irene.

Over in rural Washington County NY, the 33-mile Batten Kill railroad suffered some flooding from its namesake river and fallen trees along the right of way, but suffered no washouts or damage to its bridges. While the line remained open after Tropical storm Irene passed, interchange with the Pan Am Railway at Eagle Bridge, NY was limited due to flood damage from the swollen Deerfield River that railway suffered on the line between North Adams, MA and Shelburne, MA.

Despite the damage inflicted to railroads to the immediate north and west, Canaan, CT-based Housatonic Railroad experienced minimal disruptions on their line through Westernmost Massachusetts and Connecticut from Tropical storm Irene.

Today's Train of Thought- All Clear(Water), Aug 31 2011

Today's Train of Thought takes us down to the Sunshine State right outside of Tampa.



Like so many individuals in Florida, CSX GP39-2 #4301 had started out life elsewhere. In this case, the four axle geep was part of an order delivered to the Reading railroad not too long before the formation of Conrail. The 20 units wound up on the Delaware and Hudson after 1976 and made their way into New England when D&H was brought into the Guilford Transportation fold, meandering anywhere from Northern Maine to Potomac Yard just outside of Washington DC.



However, that was not to last and in 1988, Guilford divested themselves of the D&H. The New York, Susquehanna & Western was appointed the designated operator until Canadian Pacific took over in 1991. Since the GP39-2s were something of oddballs as far as CP was concerned, they were sent to the CSX (CSX predecessor Chessie system helped the bankroll the Reading's purchase in the 1970s), so in a sense, the former Reading units were heading 'home'.



One key difference between CSX #4301 and the numerous people who move to Florida after a long and productive career in the Northeast is that the 4301 is still working. Here, she is seen heading down the street running trackage in the middle of East Street and past the former Seaboard Air Line Clearwater, FL depot with 30 stone hoppers on local frieght O701 in June 2003. According to photographer Mike Woodruff, the depot has since been razed.



To this day, a number of the former D&H/Reading GP39-2s have wound up in service for CSX in the Tampa area.

Virginia, East Coast Rocked By Magnitude 5.8 Quake

Tremors from a magnitude 5.9 earthquake on Tuesday afternoon in Virginia prompted evacuations in the Pentagon and Capitol building and was felt as far away as Ohio and Toronto.

The quake rocked Virginia just before 1:55 p.m. [E.T.], and authorities said the epicenter appeared to be in Louisa County, about 40 miles northwest of Richmond. The epicenter is not far from Dominion Virginia Power's North Anna nuclear plant, where the earthquake knocked out power, but the utility manually shut down both nuclear units without incident.



"We did lose on-site power, but all the diesel generators are up and running," Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher said 30 minutes after the quake. "Everything appears to be operating just fine."



The quake- the largest in Virginia since May 5, 1897, according to the U.S. Geological Survey- shook buildings and employees were ordered outside across Richmond and other cities in Virginia. Within minutes, Richmond police began receiving calls about possible property damage.

So far, there have been no reports of any casualties or injuries, but there are scattered reports of some structural damage around Mineral, VA and 90 miles to the north in the Washington D.C. area.



The town of Culpepper, VA was placed under a state of emergency and the local jail evacuated immediately after the Tuesday afternoon quake.



To the north, the National Parks Service began shutting down monuments across Washington D.C. as a precaution.



The central spire on Washington D.C.'s National Cathedral- the highest point in the District of Columbia- was damaged in the quake, with cross shaped finial stones being knocked off the top of three out of the four spires and one leaning inward.



Both the Pentagon and US Capitol Building were briefly evacuated- Congress is in recess for the summer, but staffers were still present at the Capitol building.



In Washington D.C.'s Union Station, the quake reportedly knocked down some ceiling tiles in the main concourse, although there was no reports of any injuries. Amtrak was operating trains between Baltimore and Washington D.C. at a restricted speed while commuter railways MARC and Virginia Railway Express briefly suspended operations as track, structures and wiring leading in and out of Union Station were inspected for damage.



Further south, the two main rail carriers operating closer to the epicenter- CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern- restricted freight trains to operating speeds of 10-15 MPH while tracks, bridges, tunnels and signals were being inspected for damage by Maintenance of Way personnel.



Airports throughout the Mid Atlantic region suspended flights on Tuesday afternoon. Dulles Airport, Reagan National, BWI, Atlantic City, Newark, Philadelphia and New York's JFK were among the international airports that had suspended flights with flights resuming by Tuesday night in the New York area. The quake reportedly registered as strong as 5.4 on the Richter scale in New York state.



The Mineral quake comes not even 24 hours after the USGS reported a magnitude 5.3 earthquake at 11:46 PM Mountain Time outside of Trinidad, CO on Monday night. Records indicate it was the strongest quake in Colorado in over a century, although there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Geologists have indicated that the Colorado and Virginia quakes are unrelated.

Iron Horse Update for July 2011- 32 Killed in China High Speed Rail Collision; Zephyrs & Iron Horses Gather in Quad Cities, CSX vs Trial Lawyers

ILLINOIS: Rock Island's Train Festival 2011 is in the books and organizers say the four-day event drew more than 40,000 people to the Quad Cities, translating to millions of dollars put into the local economy.

"For each individual that comes in, they spend 200–300 dollars a day in restaurants, hotels, and entertainment. That's spent after they leave the festival," Nelson said, "this is good clean economic industry. They bring in their money and then they leave."

Folks from at least 46 states and 14 foreign countries are checking out the locomotives

Among the featured locomotives at the 2011 event were Nickel Plate 2-8-4 Berkshire #765 and Iowa Interstate's two Chinese made 'QJ' class 2-10-2 steam locomotives.

Photo- Tom McNair

The Nickel Plate #765 travelled from Logansport, IN to and from the Quad Cities over a Norfolk Southern/Toledo Peoria & Western/Iowa Interstate routing and powered eastbound excursions to Rock Island and Bureau IL and back and westbound excursions over the Government Bridge and west to Walcott, IA along with IAIS QJ 2-10-2 #6988.

Photo- PeytonG

Although Santa Fe 3751 wasn't able to make it out from California this year, the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL managed to step up and send their Nebraska Zephyr trainset that they purchased from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1968. Although operational, this is the first time the Nebraska Zephyr trainset has ventured out from the Illinois Railway Museum under it's own power in more than 43 years.

Curiously, with Nickel Plate #765 being made by Lima Locomotive Works in 1944 and the Iowa Interstate's Chinese QJ steam engines fabricated by the Datong Locomotive Factory in 1986, the 1936-made Nebraska Zephyr trainset featured the oldest motive power hauling excursions at Train Fest 2011. According to the Illinois Railway Museum, CB&Q E5(A) #9911A is also the last surviving locomotive of its kind. On Sunday July 24, the Zephy trainset powered an excursion from Rock Island to Bureau, IL and back over the Iowa Interstate's former Rock Island Chicago-Council Bluffs, IA line.

The Nebraska Zephyr travelled on Canadian Pacific's former Iowa, Chicgao & Eastern (ex I&M Rail Link exx Soo Line nee Milwaukee Road) Chicago line before crossing the Mississippi RIver and turning south towards the Quad Cities at Subula, IA and heading south on the ex-Milwaukee Road line (now CP Rail) to Davenport. Also along for the ride were the museum's CB&Q EMD SW7 #9255 and Chicago & North Western F7A #411.

Other attractions at the 2011 Train Festival included Flagg Coal 0-4-0 #75, Lehigh Valley Coal 0-6-0 #126, Viscose 0-4-4 #6 and replica Central Pacific 4-4-0 #63 (aka Leviathan).

Nor date or venue has been announced for Train Festival 2012 yet. With the combination of the state's centennial and ongoing restoration work towards Santa Fe 4-8-4 #2926, I wouldn't be shocked to learn if the event moved out west to the Land of Enchantment. But then again, it's also Arizona's centennial and the Grand Canyon Railway already has established a history of running steam-powered excursions. Then again, that's just idle speculation on my part.

photo- Kevin Burkholder

PROVIDENCE & WORCESTER: Providence & Worcester [NASDAQ: PWX] is reportedly leasing a trio of former Oakway Leasing SD60s from GATX [NYSE: GMT]. GMTX SD60s #9014 and #9059 were spotted transiting via the New England Central in White River Jct, VT on July 25 (above) destined for the P&W. Reportedly the cab signal equipment that Amtrak requires to operate on the Northeast Corridor were scavenged from the P&W's two GE Super 7s. According to Kevin Burkholder, the cabs and rooflines have been modified for the six-axle leasers to operate under the catenary on the NEC in Rhode Island as well as between New Haven CT and Queens, NY.

The 6-axle EMD leasers represent a departure for the P&W, who have demonstrated an affinity for burly, 4-axle GE products purchased secondhand from the New York, Susquehanna & Western, BNSF or CSX. It is thought that the blue & white EMD's will be powering the stone trains from the Tilcon Stone quarry in North Branford, CT to the New York & Atlantic interchange in Queens, although some have expressed doubts that Metro-North (the commuter agency that operated the NEC between Penn Station and Connecticut) is reluctant to allow 6-axle units on their rails.

The SD60s were leased to the Burlington Northern in 1986 through Oakway, Inc- a subsidiary of Corrnell Rice & Sugar- in a first of it's kind "Power by the hour" arrangement in which BN purchased nothing more than the electrical output from the fleet of SD60s and leased on a kilowatt hour basis.

Xinhua photo

CHINA: At least 35 people were killed and nearly 200 injured when two high speed trains collided in the eastern province of Zhejiang on July 23rd.

The first train was traveling south from the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou when it lost power in the lightning strike and was hit from behind by the second train in Wenzhou city at 8:27 p.m. (1230 GMT) Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The second train had left Beijing and both trains were destined for Fuzhou in eastern Fujian province.

The Ministry of Railways said in a statement that the first four carriages of the moving train and the last two carriages of the stalled train derailed.

Begun in earnest in 2007, China's high speed rail projects were hailed by many as an example America should follow if it were to remain competitive on the world stage. However, in recent months, allegations of graft, kickbacks and corruption have resulted in many senior level officials in China's Railway Ministry being forced to resign, including Railways Minister Liu Zhujin.

Domestic media coverage of the crash has been uncharechteristicaly critical, with Party censors ordering reporters to discontinue their probe into the crash and focus on 'touching stories'. Comments questioning the official version of events or sharply critical of the Communist Party's handling of the aftermath are appearing on Chinese microblogging sites like Weibo, often faster than government censors can delete the offending comments.

CSX: Nearly a decade after paying out in asbestos-related lawsuit settlement, CSX [NYSE: CSX] is suing Pittsburgh-area trial law firm of Robert Pierce & Associates alleging fraud and racketeering in pursuit of claimants and settlements.

CSX's lawsuit against the Peirce firm is rooted in the last days of the mass asbestos lawsuits, when plaintiffs' firms routinely rounded up hundreds or thousands of people who had been exposed to the cancer-causing flame retardant, and brought gargantuan claims against manufacturers and employers.

CSX alleged that in 1999, an employee named Danny Jayne went to an asbestosis screening set up by the Peirce firm or its affiliates. A doctor found abnormalities on his x-ray, and in 2002, the company agreed to settle his claim for $7,000.

Meanwhile, the company alleged, another CSX employee named Ricky May was screened and tested negative for asbestosis.

But at a subsequent screening in 2000, a contractor working for the Peirce firm helped arrange for Mr. Jayne to pretend to be Mr. May, CSX claimed. That resulting x-ray was used by the firm to justify a claim on behalf of Mr. May, which CSX settled for $8,000.

CSX said the law firm took advantage of an expedited court system that didn't allow for scrutiny of individual cases and pursued the cases with fraud and negligence. The Peirce firm didn't deny that Mr. May and Mr. Jayne had pulled a fast one, but argued that they had acted without the lawyers' knowledge or encouragement.

In August 2009, a federal jury in West Virginia found that the Peirce firm and its contractor weren't liable for fraud. That, however, didn't end the matter.

CSX has since pursued a broader theory, outlined in detail for the first time in a July 14 court filing: that the Peirce firm pursued "a calculated and deliberate strategy" of "unlawful conduct, including bribery, fraud, conspiracy and racketeering."

CSX said the firm used "intentionally unreliable mass screenings" by a radiologist who had a criminal history and a doctor who has been accused of tailoring diagnoses to fit lawsuits.

The company pointed to 11 cases in which Peirce-paid professionals found no signs of asbestosis in an employee, then later screened the employee again and found the disease. It settled just one of the cases, for $25,000.

CSX is going after the Peirce firm using the civil provisions of the 40-year-old Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, statute. RICO is a law more often used by law enforcement to prosecute organized crime.

The firm "repeatedly used or caused their agents to use the mails and wires," CSX said in a July 14 court filing, characterizing the communications as "mail fraud" and "wire fraud."

Neither CSX nor the Peirce firm would discuss details of the case, now before Senior District Judge Frederick P. Stamp Jr.

Legal experts are hard pressed to think of another case where a corporation on the recieving end of mass litigation retaliated by invoking RICO against trial lawyers. Even if CSX falls short in their attempt to being RCO charges against Pierce & Associates.

According to Attorney Mark Behrens of the Washington, D.C., defense firm Shook Hardy & Bacon CSX would be the third company in recent years to take such action against a law firm. The two other companies won their respective suits- interestingly, one of them was another railroad. In 2010, a judge and jury ruled that MacComb, MS based lawyer and former Democratic state senator William Guy pay the Illinois Central Railroad $420,000 in damages after representing plaintiffs thay they knew had been awarded a settlement from an earlier suit.

photo- Ray Peacock

ARKANSAS & MISSOURI: As part of its ongoing 25th anniversary celebration, the all-ALCo Northwestern Arkansas shortline Arkansas & Missouri continues to operate a slew of excursions between Springdale and Fayetteville, AR.

This includes an August 14 run between Springdale and Winslow, AR that will be a fundraiser to help in the ongoing efforts in rebuilding Joplin, MO after May's deadly F5 tornado tore through the city center. Riders are also invited to bring paintbrushes, theater makeup and fabric to help the East Middle School's art and theater department after the tornado levelled the school.

ALABAMA: Rail America [NYSE- RA] announced in April that it would be acquiring the Gulf & Ohio's three disconnected Alabama shortlines, the 15-mile Conecuh Valley Railroad, the 36-mile Three Notch Railroad and the 20-mile Wiregrass Central.

The acquisitions by Rail America come a few months after the Gulf & Ohio acquired the previously independent Lancaster & Chester in North Carolina. That deal was finalized in November 2010.

Photo Matt Adams

PATRIOT RAIL: Boca Raton, FL-based Patriot Rail announced their aquisition of six railroads formerly operated by the Weyerhaeuser company [NYSE- WY] was finalized this year.

• the DeQueen and Eastern Railroad (DQE) operates over 50 miles in southwest Arkansas;
• the Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad (TOE) operates over 41 miles in southeast Oklahoma and connects directly with the DQE at the Oklahoma/Arkansas border;
• the Columbia & Cowlitz Railway (CLC) operates over 14 route miles in southwest Washington;
• the Patriot Woods Railroad (PAW) operates over 23 route miles in southwest Washington and connects directly to the CLC;
• the Golden Triangle Railroad (GTRA) operates over 9.5 route miles in central Mississippi; and
• the Mississippi & Skuna Valley Railroad (MSV) owns 22 route miles in Mississippi.

This brings the total number of railroads owned and operated by Patriot Rail to 13 (although under Weyerhauser, there was little if any distinction between the Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern and DeQueen Easter and the Columbia & Cowlitz and Weyerhauser Company Forestry railroad). In the above photo, a quartet of Weyerhauser Woods SW1500s is seen crossing a trestle in Ostrander, WA just north of Longview, WA in March 2006.

Today's Train of Thought- Flagging the Crossing, June 14, 2011

Today's rather nocturnal train of thought brings us to the county seat of Oldham County in north Central Kentucky during the predawn hours.

Most towns would consider a busy railway line running right down the middle of their main street a nuisance or hazard. LaGrange, KY however, seems to embrace the presence of CSX on the former Louisville & Nashville Short Line between Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH that runs down the town's main street. Heck- the downtown business association's website proudly features an image of a CSX train trundling through downtown LaGrange.

Located along I-71 and the CSX LCL subdivision (short for Louisville, Cincinnati & Lexington, the L&N predecessor that built the line in the 1850s), the town of LaGrange is about 20 miles northeast of Louisville and 75 miles southwest of Cincinnati. Although the line has seen significant improvement in terms of trackwork, clearance and capacity over the last decade, LaGrange itself is something of a bottleneck due to the 10MPH speed restriction through downtown. Even with those restrictions, the line sees anywhere from a dozen to 20 trains daily hauling anything from auto racks to grain to general freight.

Here, Vermont's own Gary Knapp (who has drawn comparisons to O Winston Link) meticulously set up some lighting and played an hours long waiting game to snap a northbound general freight with Old Glory prominently in the foreground and CSX SD40-2 #8118 leading a pair of widecab GEs towards the end of October 2007. The trains arrival and departure will be relatively quiet, as the downtown area is a 'quiet zone'- passing trains do not blow their horns for crossings on their way in and out of town.

Knapp identified the red brick house with the white pillars as the mayor's residence, which along with the mayor's then new VW Beetle, shows up in the foreground of some pictures taken earlier in the night.

Today's Train of Thought- Harper's Ferry PTA, April 20, 2011

With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War taking place this month, today's train of thought takes us to one of the most pivotal towns throughout the whole conflict- Harper's Ferry, WV.

Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, by the mid 19th century the town was home to a US Military Armory and was linked to the rest of the country by the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In 1859, the Armory was targeted by abolitionist John Brown and 21 men (mostly escaped or freed slaves) in a nighttime raid that killed 11. Brown and most of his surviving men were captured and the fiery abolitionist was sentenced to hang in December 1859. As much as the first shots fired at Ft Sumter marked the official start of the Civil War, Brown's uprising in what was then a Virginia town and execution was thought to be the catalyst for the conflict.

The town of Harper's Ferry itself changed hands no less than 8 times during the Civil War, with retreating Union forces destroying the Armory to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands. The Union then annexed the two counties that make up the eastern panhandle of West Virginia from Virginia (West Virgina was the only state to secede from the Confederacy) in 1863. With the railroads and canals, Harper's Ferry was a sought after prize for Robert E. Lee who could not resupply his Army on their way to Gettysburg.

After the way, the B&O line remained, with the line through Harper's Ferry hosting trains between Baltimore and Washington D.C. to the east and Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, St Louis and the coal fields of West Virginia to the west. In the 1970s, the line was merged into the Chessie System and in the late 1980s, the line became part of the CSX system. The Harper's Ferry Train station is still open and hosts both east and westbound versions of Amtrak's Washington D.C.-Chicago Capitol Limited but is also the westernmost station stop for the MARC commuter rail.

Here, railpictures.net contributor trainmasterrob caught CSX SD50 #8637 leading Cumberland, MD-bound general freight Q414 crossing the Potomac and heading into Harper's Ferry from Maryland Heights on the last day of 2007. The portal of the tunnel is on the Maryland side of the river and was part of a realignment dating back to 1931, which is fairly recent given the West Virginia town's eventful past.

Today's Train of Thought- Having a Ballast in a Winter Wonderland, Jan 6th 2010

I don't have to go too far back in time for this one, as today's train of though features an accumulation of snow left behind from the same blizzard I waited out in upstate NY and left the Big Apple furious at their own Sanitation Department over the slow cleanup.

However, this is a little further south- the wintry, picture postcard scene snapped here is actually along the CSX main line between Rocky Mount, NC and Richmond, VA. Even a mild dusting of snow is quite unusual this far south, but the December 2010 blizzard dumped anywhere from 10-15 inches of snow in the northern reaches of the Tarheel State.

Railpictures.net user Nick McLean ventured out into the snow in the days immediately following the Christmas blizzard and was rewarded with memorable images of CSX, Amtrak and Gulf and Ohio's Nash County Railroad digging out from under the white stuff in and around the Rocky Mount, NC area.

Here, we see CSX SD40-2 #8084 leading a former Conrail SD60I on a northbound Herzog ballast train as it makes its way the middle of Enfield, NC on December 27, 2010. The train is roughly halfway between Rocky Mount and the NC/VA state line.

Today's Train of Thought- Peak-a-Boo! October 26, 2010

I already mentioned that New England doesn't necessarily have the monopoly on fall colors, right? True enough, the foliage in Michigan's upper peninsula or upstate New York's Adirondack and Hudson Valley regions explode into similarly brilliant displays of reds, oranges and yellows- all making for impressive photographic backdrops.

Although many areas in the Southeast or mid-Atlantic can be hit or miss, West Virginia has no shortage of autumn foliage. Railpictures.net contributor Chase Gunnoe reported that a particularly mild summer in 2009 resulted in noticeably brighter oranges and yellows. Here, he snapped CSX (ex-Conrail) GP38-2 #2751 heading south through Ben's Run, WV in October 2009 with a local. The local train originated at Brooklyn Jct. in New Martinsville, WV and is heading south parallel to the Ohio River and WV Route 2 en route to switching some of the industries along the former B&O Ohio River Subdivision.