Norfolk Southern Coal Train Loading Out at Tom's Creek Mine 

szlakowiec hello!

John Keatley The train backs up the branch line. Only about a mile or two long.

NS can either pull thru or back up to the mine from the CV Mainline in Coeburn. It is ~2 miles to the jct. At the loadout NS has the ability to run the power around the train as necessary. These days empties come from Bluefield and because the switch off of the main in Coeburn is an opposing faced switch they usually have a cab stationed at the end of the branch and shove the train to the loadout.

Tree L. Bolling Most of the time loads from Tom's Creek are export trains. They go via Bluefield to Roanoke and on to Norfolk.

Tree L. Bolling The coal cars that go to Marshall will usually be twin tubs with DKPX or WFRX reporting marks.

Those are Trinity built "Aluminators", but are more commonly known as "Dolly Parton's." They were bought new by NS in 1991 as Class G83's. They were delivered with all white lettering. Over the past decade or so, NS has gone back and re-stenciled the reporting marks with a white patch and black lettering. You will also notice on the original G87 class Bethgons, NS has also re-stenciled those cars as well, as years of coal dust has made the lettering on both car classes illegible

Russ Goodwin thanks!

Who's going to pay to clean up all the coal ash ?Coal is a curse.

Why did Odumbass Obama only shutdown mining in the East. Powder River in the midwest operates 24/7/365. Did they line his pockets with so called dirty money. Gold mining ,silver mining ,sulfur mining ,and all the other mines,also damage the land .But nothing is said about that.Why ,they fill the Democrats pockets.

@@frankdelph6677 Why do you think it's political? It's economic's.

Get a grip! Natural gas has done much more to kill coal than Obama ever has. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and it has advantages for power companies. It can be burned in a combined cycle. Power companies need not pay a railroad to bring them natural gas because it is piped in. Natural gas also has the highest heating value of all fossil fuels at 55.5 Mj/kg whereas coal maxes out at 35 Mj/kg. Natural gas is actually a good companion for wind and solar. When wind and solar power are not putting out, a gas plant can be ramped up and when the wind and sun are being productive, the gas plant can be curtailed. If you ask me, the wind and solar should be used to convert tons of water to hydrogen through electrolysis, then the hydrogen should be added to natural gas systems for it to be burned in power plants and to be used by gas appliances. Hydrogen has a better heating value than any fossil fuel at 123 Mj/kg.

That still doesn't answer, why he only shutdown part of the coal mining business. I think maybe he has an interest in Powder River Coal mining.