Amtrak 19 passes NS 153 at CP Frey Creek / 5/12/23

There was quite the traffic jam at CP Frey Creek on Norfolk Southern's Charlotte District on the morning of May 12, 2023.

 

I had just missed SB intermodal NS 297 going by the control point. I arrived to see NS 153 on the North side of the control point with NS 1193 and NS 1851 up front (NS 1108 was the mid-DPU) and Amtrak 20 with AMTK 120 and AMTK 92 on the South side of the signal waiting for Amtrak 19.

 

Amtrak 19 would slowly round the curve with AMTK 129 and AMTK 815. The dispatcher would have 19 pull through Frey Creek and reverse past the stop signal onto Main 2 in front of 153 so Amtrak 20 could take Main 1 to make their station stop in Spartanburg. Amtrak 19 would continue South once 20 cleared.

 

The reason for this move was because 297 had lawed out at CP Lyman (which is the end of the doubletrack), and there are no crossovers between Lyman and Frey Creek. So this was the alternative the dispatcher chose instead of having 297 go into the port and having an already late Amtrak wait on 297 to clear the mainline. Either way would have been time-consuming.

 

So, all that being said, enjoy the shot, and thanks for watching/reading.

Done