Seen here on a cool February morning, manifest train Q301-24 had to stop a couple miles up the line from the first position, which just so happens to be the start of the toughest grade on the line for a southbound train; the Summit Hill.
Going north, it's a much more gradual climb, but for a southbound train, it's a 4 mile long climb at just over 1%. Now, on any other day, it would be no issue getting over the hill, but with rain having set in the evening before, the rails were pretty slick, leaving me to wonder if he was even going to make it over the hill.
In the first shot, I'm set up at the Crossroads VRE platform, at the CFP 53.3. As Q301 rounded the bend just to my north, I could already tell this was going to be a hell of a show. The pair of AC4400 locomotives were in notch 8 the entire time, attempting to get the 125 car train over the hill. Now, 125 cars might not seem like much, but all of those ~70 trash cars seen in the video are loaded, adding a nice bit of weight to that consist.
After the head end cleared the station platform, I quickly moved down to the Summit Road crossing, just a mere 2 miles to the south. It took him 10 minutes to go that 2 miles, and understandably so. Another 10 minutes later, and I was set up at the Claiborne road crossing, about another mile and a half further south, and well over the crest of the grade; as evident by the train finally picking up speed.
This was truly the first time I've had the chance to witness such a display of a train on its knees, trying to get over the hill here in town.
Hope Everyone Enjoys!
21 сен 2024
