I was there and had a blast! When that I031 came through, my 3yo son and I were only a few feet away from it. I had his arms held in a death grip in case he decided to do something stupid, but he didn't. I told him we could leave if he was scared but nope, he wanted to stay! Got a little railfan in the house now! 😁 I'm a little bit curious how so many people knew which CSX trains were coming through. What little I've been able to find indicates that you have to work in the industry to have access to the apps that give you train times, and since they don't run on consistent schedules it's not like you can just count on it being there at a certain time on a certain day. Never got a chance to ask anybody. Anyway, thanks for posting this! Surf Wisely.
Very unlikely it will go past Christiansburg, VA at this time. Service to Bristol and Kingsport would require funding from the State of Tennessee legislature and upgrading the tracks and signal systems on the Pulaski subdivision of Norfolk Southern. It is highly unlikely that the state of TN will use tax payers money to add service to Bristol and Kingsport. Trains will run as far as Christiansburg though in about two years primarily to serve students and businesses visiting Virginia Tech in nearby Blacksburg.
