Thank you very much for sharing this video. Not only for the Southern Ry. action, but for the video of Southern crossing Albemarle Sound. I’ve never seen a video of a train crossing it, so this was a rarity.
I know where all this is, I grew up a bit in the area, the train there in Shawboro , thats before they put in the highway, back down there is Roberts Brothers which is corn dryers grain bins , all that stuff used to help my grandfather climb the elevator legs , and do patches and things to all the stuff on the farm, he passed away a few years ago, though nothing makes me think of him more than a cool breeze blowing through the old dump pit, with the tin siding rattling just a little, the smell of dry corn, wheat, and the sound and smell of the corn dryer, that bit of light dust that blows around, and him in the old dump pit leaning on the wall, waiting for a truck, switching around some augerss from one leg to another, and his welding cap, and him smiling as i wouuld walk up to visit him while he worked to bring him a cold glass of ice tea, wow, I miss him, and just seeing this reminded me of when i was little, how we take for granted so much those moments, sights smells sounds of something that comforts our soul reminds us of care free innocent fun, and that I can never have that feeling again. the things we take for granted that are worth more than all the money and power in the world, when we loose sight of what is important, and then it takes loosing it to make us see what we had, these last few lines i have typed here, crying my eyes out wishing i could see him or hug him, hear his voice once more, share a soda or a few jelly beans,, a car ride, an argument, a conversation, the comfort of knowing you still had that one person who would love you unconditionally no matter what. I miss my grandad more than anyone will ever know, thats what this reminds me of
Jaycee J. How I loved your Memories and Thoughts. It is fortunate that you are able to appreciate such Things, so many People lack the gentleness of Spirit that is required to be able to understand the really important Things in Life. When you loose a Parent, or Grandparent to whom you are close to, you don't realise just how much it will affect you.
I grew up in Mackey's, NC and remember the old Albemarle Sound train bridge very well ...seen many a train cross that bridge.. my Grandfather and Great Grandfather were both Drawbridge operators on that bridge...riding the ol hand pump trolly cars from the Mackey's end to the draw. The draw is/was located close to the Edenton side of the bridge making for about a 4 mile "ride" one way.. pumping that trolley to work in all kinds of weather...sad when I heard it was coming down. Also knew most of the men who worked the bridge tender crew...
if you read my comment above, you may see the romance and love i have for this area, and of one person special to me, but aside from that, i used to go swimming at my other grandmas house, she had a place on the sound front, and use to canoe down the edge, and swim, near where this bridge collapsed and find tons of railroad spikes and rails and drift wood , it was like someone threw a whole bridge in there, and this 25 years ago or more, i love this whole area
The Chesapeake Albemarle is now owned by Genesee and Wyoming. The line runs 70 miles from NS Portlock in Chesapeake down to Edenton. The bridge across the Sound was dismantled early 80’s I think.
@@jcsman4244 the Great Bridge was taken down in 1989 after post merger consolidation deemed it no longer necessary. As it was, it was a major maintenance nightmare and when the new NS took over its days were numbered.
I like for Wayne Boyette to see this. Hope he comes across this, I send him a link to it, but he is a hard guy to approach, he is a hard head that worked with hard heads, good railroad man , I give him that. Run me down to Suffolk once only to have to turn back. Them were the days.
I also would note that I love seeing these Southern cabooses in action, nowadays you’ll see them mainly off of NS lines just sitting there. Better than getting sent to the scrap yard, but would love to see them ran
I was born in 1987, i remember the train coming through Mackey's road looking out the window at my dad's house at the time It wasn't long after that the tracks got in rough shape, if I'm not mistaken the speed restrictions after a few more years on that track was 5 to 7 mph untill 04 when the tracks were taken up, the last train I seen on that track was a NS c44-9w with a few empty lime cars and a few grain hoppers heading back toward plymouth NC.
The Chesapeake Albemarle is now owned by Genesee and Wyoming. The line runs 70 miles from NS Portlock in Chesapeake down to Edenton. The bridge across the Sound was dismantled mid 80’s I think.
@@IH-Harvester89 Prior to the merger of the original Norfolk Southern into the Southern in 1974, Southern’s access to the Tidewater area was by trackage rights over the Seaboard Coast Line. This ended after the old NS was purchased by the Southern. Southern did do some upgrades to the former NS line like replacing the rail to handle heavier railcars and locomotives, but the Albemarle Sound trestle was always an maintenance headache, with train speeds reduced to 5 MPH during Southern’s ownership. After the Southern-Norfolk & Western merger in 1982, the “new”Norfolk Southern had better routes to access the Tidewater area. This, along with the deteriorated condition of the Albemarle Sound trestle by the mid-80s led them to abandoned and remove it. Today the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad operates the north end of the line from Edenton, North Carolina to the Tidewater area while the Coastal Carolina Railroad operates the line south from Albemarle Sound to Raleigh, North Carolina.
