Imagine if you will...
A veteran EMD F7 is leading a southbound coal train on a late November evening in 1970 with an EMD SD45 from the Seaboard Coast Line helping. The engines, having just picked up the train in Dante, VA, is seen racing south over the North Fork Holston River near Allandale, TN, heading to Erwin, TN, so the coal cars can be classified and ready to go the next day for train 22, a southbound coal train with a final destination of Spartanburg, SC for pickup by the SCL. While not the biggest railroad by any means, the Clinchfield is a very profitable line, thanks to the coalfields found in Virginia and Kentucky. This naturally makes coal a high priority on the quick service-short route railroad, using whatever power is available to have as much "Black Diamonds" moving as possible for both export and to help keep the lights on here at home. Once the 22 arrives in Spartanburg, the train, along with the SCL SD45, are transferred to the SCL and on their way to way respective final destinations.
Back in the present, it's actually November 18, 2017 and CSX, the current operator of the Clinchfield Railroad, is running the 75th Santa Train. To mark the occasion, Clinchfield 800, the very first diesel electric the Clinchfield ever owned, has recently been restored to its former glory to lead this years train with the help of "Clinchfield 3632," a SD45 built as Seaboard Coast Line 2024 altered to look like a Clinchfield SD45 that was aquired from the SCL, had the Clinchfield traded for more SD45's from the SCL in exchange for their GE U36C's. The train is making its final approach to Kingports, TN, marking the end to a very special day for both the people of the region and railfans that were there to witness the event. 11-18-17
Imagine if you will...
A veteran EMD F7 is leading a southbound coal train on a late November evening in 1970 with an EMD SD45 from the Seaboard Coast Line helping. The engines, having just picked up the train in Dante, VA, is seen racing south over the North Fork Holston River near Allandale, TN, heading to Erwin, TN, so the coal cars can be classified and ready to go the next day for train 22, a southbound coal train with a final destination of Spartanburg, SC for pickup by the SCL. While not the biggest railroad by any means, the Clinchfield is a very profitable line, thanks to the coalfields found in Virginia and Kentucky. This naturally makes coal a high priority on the quick service-short route railroad, using whatever power is available to have as much "Black Diamonds" moving as possible for both export and to help keep the lights on here at home. Once the 22 arrives in Spartanburg, the train, along with the SCL SD45, are transferred to the SCL and on their way to way respective final destinations.
Back in the present, it's actually November 18, 2017 and CSX, the current operator of the Clinchfield Railroad, is running the 75th Santa Train. To mark the occasion, Clinchfield 800, the very first diesel electric the Clinchfield ever owned, has recently been restored to its former glory to lead this years train with the help of "Clinchfield 3632," a SD45 built as Seaboard Coast Line 2024 altered to look like a Clinchfield SD45 that was aquired from the SCL, had the Clinchfield traded for more SD45's from the SCL in exchange for their GE U36C's. The train is making its final approach to Kingports, TN, marking the end to a very special day for both the people of the region and railfans that were there to witness the event. 11-18-17