Jon Celotto
In the Clouds
I made a send out to the northeast piedmont region to shoot CSX's northbound Norlina Sub local L617. CSX made the very intriguing decision to start sending MP15ACs 1136 and 1186 for local service in the Raleigh area over the past couple months. Being the whore for endcab switchers that I am, I knew I finally had to get this operation under my belt. The power on L617 this day was a pretty cool trio of 4 axle EMDs. The leader is one of the new GP40-3 rebuilds done by MEI earlier this year, with 1186 second out and an original square cab GP38-3 in the third slot. I don't like that the new dash 3s recieve e-bells, but they do look pretty good. Here's the local flying over the massive Tar River bridge south of Kittrell, with the access road for Carolina Sunrock winding beneath it. You can see one of the original bridge's supports beneath the newer structure. It's really crazy to think about how this used to be a busy mainline with high speed piggyback and passenger trains up until the 1980s, now reduced to getting a pair of 20 mile per hour locals only on weekdays. That'll soon change though, with plans for the entire S Line from Raleigh to near Richmond to be rebuilt to host 120 mile per hour Amtrak service. I'm happy I was able to shoot this line before that change happens.
In the Clouds
I made a send out to the northeast piedmont region to shoot CSX's northbound Norlina Sub local L617. CSX made the very intriguing decision to start sending MP15ACs 1136 and 1186 for local service in the Raleigh area over the past couple months. Being the whore for endcab switchers that I am, I knew I finally had to get this operation under my belt. The power on L617 this day was a pretty cool trio of 4 axle EMDs. The leader is one of the new GP40-3 rebuilds done by MEI earlier this year, with 1186 second out and an original square cab GP38-3 in the third slot. I don't like that the new dash 3s recieve e-bells, but they do look pretty good. Here's the local flying over the massive Tar River bridge south of Kittrell, with the access road for Carolina Sunrock winding beneath it. You can see one of the original bridge's supports beneath the newer structure. It's really crazy to think about how this used to be a busy mainline with high speed piggyback and passenger trains up until the 1980s, now reduced to getting a pair of 20 mile per hour locals only on weekdays. That'll soon change though, with plans for the entire S Line from Raleigh to near Richmond to be rebuilt to host 120 mile per hour Amtrak service. I'm happy I was able to shoot this line before that change happens.