shaun_sager4
Rarest of the Rare
Amtrak B32-8W #519 charges through the Blue Ridge Mountains, leading the tri-weekly Cardinal on C&O's former passenger main. Against all probability, the Dash 8 was tacked on point of 50 at Beach Grove after its Siemens charger suffered a mechanical failure. Rather than cancel the train (as they do 99% of the time) Amtrak let the legacy GE unit out on the road where it dazzled the C&O for the first time in 9 years. It's the first time since 2022 that a Dash 8 has led a long-distance train anywhere in the US.
It was a wild stroke of luck that I found myself within a shout of Clifton Forge when initial word was given. I 'dashed' north from a morning on the Whitethorne and chased the Cardinal from CF to Staunton. 2 days later, it would return on the 51 where I would capture the train here at the precipice of evening light.
Rarest of the Rare
Amtrak B32-8W #519 charges through the Blue Ridge Mountains, leading the tri-weekly Cardinal on C&O's former passenger main. Against all probability, the Dash 8 was tacked on point of 50 at Beach Grove after its Siemens charger suffered a mechanical failure. Rather than cancel the train (as they do 99% of the time) Amtrak let the legacy GE unit out on the road where it dazzled the C&O for the first time in 9 years. It's the first time since 2022 that a Dash 8 has led a long-distance train anywhere in the US.
It was a wild stroke of luck that I found myself within a shout of Clifton Forge when initial word was given. I 'dashed' north from a morning on the Whitethorne and chased the Cardinal from CF to Staunton. 2 days later, it would return on the 51 where I would capture the train here at the precipice of evening light.