Danny does railfanning unlike ANY other youtuber. Dont get me wrong, there are some VERY well put together videos from others in the rail fan RU-vid niche. But it's that voice and the little tidbits of info that Danny has that sets him apart from others. At least in my books. Ya'll should make some Railfan Danny/Distant Signal t shirts and hats!
I have to agree. His voice sounds exactly as you expect the narrator to sound. It's what drew me to this channel. I thought it was some official and expensive production type channel. Only to find out tis but one lone man railfanning just the same as us. Had me fooled, now I'm hooked. Haha
Great video Danny. Interesting to see the simplified process of flat switching. I can understand the desire to try something new like PSR and block swapping but I would think the railroads might want to wait before they tear out such yard facilities just in case they need it again sometime. As far as gentrification, the vast B&M railyards just north of Boston have been pretty much eliminated as the neighborhood rushes in. The thing that really pisses me off is that these people move in next to the rail facilities and then complain about the rail facilities which were there for over 100 years. They use their "NIMBY" power to block everything they can and make life as miserable as possible for the industry. It's like moving next to the airport and complaining about the airplanes!
@BostonGuy except that's exactly why EHH wanted it gone, so it couldn't have a chance to come back. He wanted to be sure his mark was left upon the railroad and the change in the industry was permanent. He believed that carload service is ancient and unnecessary. If you're not going to ship intermodal or through bulk transfer (unit trains) your way of transporting your business needed to switch to Amazon or US mail. Despite the fact that rail terminals like the one I work for less than 10 miles from where this video is made is thriving and booming on carload customers, it was his goal to see them all shut down and scrapped by now.
@Joe Madej no doubt! But unfortunately it's not EHH who caused the problem, it's been an ongoing process since the advent of Interstate highways. It's as though the business changed to do less business. One would think there is plenty of room for a job that makes money. The business model has been to squeeze out as much of the value out of the business, leaving a path of destruction and losses in its wake. Sell off the losses and retire from the company. Unless something different happens, railroads will eventually put themselves right out of business. EHH has a plan to accelerate the business model by leaps and bounds, hence the sudden closure of hump yards.
@Joe Madej the only problem with this is the CEO and top execs get the payout for their hard work. The rest of us who are breaking our backs to earn the money are kicked to the curb with not even so much as a Christmas card when they close the line, the yard, etc.
PSR is nothing but a smokescreen to cover up greed. While the hedge fund people see to it that all the assets are stripped from the various class 1 RR’s, an entire industry is being obliterated! I started a 41 year career with Southern Railway in 1979 at Linwood, NC, the day the yard opened for business. Over the last year and a half, my coworkers and I watched as NS shut down one facility after another with a special fondness for killing off hump yards and mechanical facilities! When the axe finally fell on Linwood in May this year, we were told that it was “in the wrong place”. It’s interesting to note that the powers that be moved all of Linwood’s work to yards in Greensboro and Charlotte, NC, and reactivated an old local yard in Spencer, NC. All three yards were instantly gridlocked, derailments and sideswipes became the norm, and management decided the thing to do was build new buildings at these small yards! Note that each of these yards are within 45 miles of Linwood, and there are no major junctions between Chlt & Gboro! The truth is that some VP gets to report to the Board of Directors that “we closed a major hump terminal”, and all the other details are left out while the board members pat each other on the back and pass out cigars! It truly hurt me to see Linwood snuffed out, but I can say I was there from the day it opened until they closed it. I still had a job, but after seeing the alarming escalation in derailments, sideswipes and runaway cuts of cars in the other yards, I decided to get out while I was still alive! Safety no longer exists out there.
Danny did you know adout the long and high Tressel between Toccoa and Mt AIRY on the old Southern. There's a lot of buffs would like to see it with a long freight crossing.
@Tom T I work for those idiots and it's a damn shame what they done to these companies! I love working on the railroad and I'll always love CSX but I'm ready to move on to Live the dream somewhere else! That bastard Ewing Hunter Harrison can burn for what he did to people
This is in my backyard! Used to have to go there to check fuel levels on reefer cars and also verify inbounds for our yard whenever the customer was screwing up our manifest. Tilford would get 80 reefers in from Idaho on one train and half of them were for us. The other half were for the same industry name, but on CSX tracks. Then one day, we get a letter saying that our cars were no longer coming in from the Hump at Tilford. Expect to see our inbounds from Selma NC.
OMG! I lived in Marietta for 20 years leaving in January 2017 for Indianapolis. I stood in the exact spot Mr. Danny was standing on the Marietta overpass many, many times watching Tillford Yard. I had a couple of other locations that I could view the yard without being in the way as well. Then, to see this video, and to see Tillford Yard vacant, It's so sad. I spent a lot of time enjoying the sights of Tillford. And now it's vacant. Sigh. Thanks Mr. Danny for the video...I guess.
Hey Danny, very nice presentation! Thank you. A couple things on the details of the cut though; 3-step protection no longer uses the field generator switch, despite being the third step. Instead it's just apply the independent brakes, center the reverser, and then step 3 is make sure the first two steps have been completed... Many of us have gone to saying "set and centered" as a way of confirming 3-step protection is being used. Also you may note that the cut of cars went into emergency long before the train moved away from them. The engineer used the brake mechanism on the rear of the train to hold them down while he shoved back on the pin. While the handbrakes should be sufficient, nothing beats a cut of cars in emergency braking to hold them down for just a few minutes.
@@FrogandFlangeVideo anytime. It's common daily procedure for me and all railroaders I believe. When we tell the engineer to initiate a brake application for the cut as explained here, the common slang is to "slap it on the rear," or something similar in reference.
"Brake mechanism on the rear of the train". Is that referring to remotely making a set from an end-of-train device (or DPU), or some other procedure? (Disclaimer: I'm not certain that is actually a thing, it just seemed to be what is happening given the phrasing)
If you come to Georgia again, here is a suggestion: Fairburn, GA(CSX intermodal, mixed freight, BNSF intermodal). We get some decent traffic through here
With covid19 and railroad slim lining even short lines are being wiped out. Sad to see a once mega rail yard reduced to condos. Great job Danny always look forward to your next video.
Always sad to see the destruction "progress" leaves behind... But from a business and profit standpoint it probably made sense. Your closing comments completely echoed the sentiments I've held for many years. Many towns that once were bustling with productivity and substance are now just places people live.Our job market is becoming more and more service based and less about actually making or building anything.
There are folks who handed off our manufacturing industries to folks in Asia. Those folks were paid off handsomely by the Asians and they're still reaping their ill-gotten "rewards" . We know who they are, don't we.
@@ut000bs as sad as it is, it will never return to what is was. Small and light industry exists but there will never be classic sprawling industrial facilities being built. Lots of people don't want jobs in places like that anymore. Immigrants will gladly work in them, but some people don't want immigrants. They claim they take jobs, even when they do jobs that no one else wants to do in the first place. I get that people want industries from the past to return, but it just doesn't make sense from a business perspective. For better or for worse, the best thing is ultimately to try and adapt to change rather than push against it.
I did live in Western NY . (Glad to be gone.) There was an Erir County executive who was an immigrant from I think Pakistan. He said the US was built on manufacturing. US needs to be diversified not turn its back o what built it
Such a great video on such a depressing subject... Always love your videos Danny... Thanks for putting the time and effort into allowing us to enjoy your rail fanning excursions.
As a current CSX employee all I have to say is things have gotten worse after H.H. passed away, the new regime that took over is relentless! I run in Florida but cant say exactly due to possible retribution by this establishment but these monster trains we deal with is stressful to say the least. They have cut boards down to an absolute minimum and crews are running fatigued and moral is at a all time low. After 20 plus years it has come to an end, railroading in itself is a good craft it's what these hedge funds turn corporations into that destroy it. I am moving on to new endeavors.
I lived in a city where there was a drag strip and dirt track on the same site. When developers started buiding in the area, new residents started complaining. City grandfathered thm trAcks because they had been there prior. Developers have an obigation to bnb i n.v form customers so there are not surprises.
Danny, your “play by play” commentary is spot on when they’re making the cut. It’s like you’re supervising from a distance when he holds the radio higher to call and get some slack in the pin. Excellent video.
I feel your sentiments, my father worked for 30 years at one of those industries in that area, he worked at Atlantic Steel, which was at the north side split on I-75 and I-85, the area is now Atlantic Station. They were a Huge rail traffic producer for both CSX an Southern/NS for almost 100 years. I was sad to see that old plant and it’s switching yards go away. My dad ran a switching engine there for a couple of years in the early 70s, great memories!
They did the same thing in my town of Nashville. Years ago when it was still the Nashville, Chattanooga and St.Louis. They had their inbound hump just west of the city and their outbound at Union Station. It was all there and when L&N merged they shut it down. Many of the old structures either became warehouses or destroyed. The old roundhouse burned down by arson. Now it home to a Microsoft support facility with some newer structures but, the majority of the space is urban desert. It is a fraction of itself now in the form of Kayne St. Yard which is mainly about four or so sidings that allow a local traffic out of Radnor Yard to be divided up to the various industries north, west, east. Most of the traffic is now shunted off to short lines that handle all rail material east and west of the city. The only other traffic are the two automobile plant but I'm sure CSX manages both those operations. Nissan has a facility to process all outbound material as well as inbound. It is surprising the stuff they get by rail. They get parts by the boxcar load ,sometimes containers. They send out new Nissans andscrap metal also vehicles they crunch. I don't know about the GM plant in Springhill, all I know is that they make Equinoxes there and CSX operates a local that goes there.
COVID has hit our section of Railroad hard too my friend. They’re only really running heavy trains out of Nashville south during the day. They took the third shift pusher down here in Cowan off.
Up here in my area, they have almost shut down the entire railroad. There are a couple locals, through freights and the like, but no shops or any yard switching jobs. I live in Clinchfield Country.
Boy does that bring back some memories! CSX' REDI training center was near there. I enjoyed revisiting it and seeing some train and car handling. Thanks Danny.
Quite the contrast. Reminds me of what CSX did with Beacon Park Yard in Boston several years ago, and Pot Yard many moons ago. The value of real estate increases exponentially toward city centers so it's no surprise that rail yards get pushed out past the city limits.
Thanks Danny for another great post. Youngsters, please take note. This man is the perfect example of a PROFESSIONAL in every way. Thanks Danny for setting the bar high for the rest of us, have a wonderful day!
Yep that stupid Hunter Harrison messed everything up. In Chicago the CN yard south of O'Hare, had their hump ripped out because of him. So now they are flat switching the entire yard which takes more time and energy. He also got caught moving a train of all bad ordered cars which is illegal mind you. He passed away unexpectedly.
My 9 year old railfan has learned a lot from your videos, but he's going to love this one when I show it to him. He's also very upset that Tilford yard closed. He had the opportunity to visit a couple of years ago before it shut down and often complains that it's gone. He's going to love to see that you were at the same spots that he was and that you share his sentiment. Thanks!
Your rail yard are getting smaller but up here near Chicago they are getting BIGGER! They just installed a new hump yard near me and it sounds cool when the cars are stacked into their new trains, destined for places beyond.
I've worked the W&A for 26+ years and spent the first 15 years of my career working at Tilford. We were all shocked when they closed it and tore it down. It was a sad day for all of us!! Great video BTW! That was Conductor Rick Templeton and Engineer Gary Richardson. Both great guys!! I am an engineer on a local that originates out of Wauhatchie Yard in Chattanooga and we work several industries around the Chattanooga Airport. Cheers
And this is why the best place for CSX intermodal trains going to or from Chicago or North Baltimore to Jacksonville through Georgia is Fairburn now a days.
God the amount of damage Harrison has done to the NA freight network truly is terrifying. It still baffles me that someone who started working flipping switches in yards somehow ended up being the bigger austerity ghoul than Buffet who's probably never even walked on ties let alone stepped in a cab of a locomotive. Thank you for documenting this yard. It's one of the most stark examples I've seen of Harrison's policies.
Hey, Danny as a friendly suggestion, please no premieres especially at 4am PT time. Just upload it now and I will watch it. Anyway, I’m excited none the less :)))
Yes, sorry about this Dwight. We were going out and I wanted to get the video set before the morning. I didn't realize I'd set it so early. I'm not too sure of the value of Premieres versus just posting "right now".
@@distantsignal Premieres are fantastic for longer projects like documentaries & concert films, where a lot of people want to experience it live at the same time. For shorter projects I say just upload it and set it free!
Thanks for making this video! It is a shame that a place like Tilford can just disappear without anyone knowing about it. If I had known, I would have shot some video myself before the demise of such an historic place. Great job Danny!!!
I am a new subscriber to your channel. Obviously you are very knowledgeable about railroads and trains. Your comments help to educate guys like me who are novices. I THANK YOU for that.
I agree Danny. At 75 as i travel down the road and look back, all I see is almost everything I knew or enjoyed is being replaced or removed. I guess it's called progress!
Shit, when i was working for RCX before he passed, the stocks were consistently low. He tried and failed to raise stock prices. The csx guys started blaming his ghost for every derailment or other bad things that happened. He did no favors at all for csx, only hurt them.
@@cavalierliberty6838 Let's be honest, most railroads today lack people who actually have been around railroads. We need more W. Graham Claytor Jr.'s and less Hunter Harrison's.
@@cavalierliberty6838 PSR will only be a short term gain. Not, long term. If railroads want to be more competitive, reach your customer base with a better approach. Don't alienate them.
@@JessicaKasumi1990 there was a wood chip facility literally right across from north end of hamlet yard, and csx wouldn't build maybe an 8th mile of track to serve them for not being able to make 10 cars worth of pickup per day. Literally at the north end of the yard. Any CSX guys or railfans can vouch for this.
You are such an incredibly knowledgeable rail fan Danny! Your right in that it is very sad the way of change or progress I guess you would call it. But the Big Executives and the Share Holders don’t care about the real people involved or what it does to a community. They just care about the Money that is going to line there pockets. I love watching your videos so keep up the good work Danny. I don’t walk real good anymore but love trains so what fans like you do is great, and if your like me and have loved trains and railroads since I was a young child that watching them never grows old. Thank you.
I was there spring 2019. And I was shocked---I’ve taken hundreds of photos there and watched the hump in operation--Hulsey yard is still busy but bridges are much higher
I lived 5 minutes from there in 94-96. I used to love poking around here whenever possible. I've driven these yard roads when it was still active, though CSX was always militaristic toward responsible railfans (not unsafe "foamers"!). I'm dumbfounded watching this video. I was still there at the very end of Howell Tower. 11 main lines converging at one spot! So sad when it was scraped (yes, I spelled that correctly) to the ground. I have MANY great memories of these 2 places that no longer exist (and around the corner at Atlanta Steel, too!). So sad. Thanks for sharing this, Danny! BTW: I'm now 2 blocks from the end of BNSF in Phoenix, Arizona. Trains day and night, but all at walking speed nearest me. It's 40 miles to the nearest "main line" with new double track and 60 mph trains. Obviously, I don't get out there much. As I write this, BNSF is the only way into Phoenix, as the UP bridge in Tempe recently caught fire and fell into the lake. They tried to fix it on the quick, and the old wooden pilings failed, causing complete rebuilding of one end. It's almost done... Once upon a decade or so, UP connected from Yuma, but it's long been 60 miles of parking for empty autoracks... There is also a section of bypassed track near Tucson with 10 or so miles of locomotives just waiting for a job... Video available on YT. Thanks to Verizon for maintaining the Phoenix station waiting room "as-is", complete with once current Amtrak timetables behind the counter, and Charlie the friendly ghost in the attic. Trust me on Charlie, ask anyone who has worked there... Out.
I am over 70, so I prefer to watch the old steam locomotives whenever possible. I love the sound of steam engines and the lonely call of the steam whistle. But I have a place in my rail fan heart for diesel-electric locomotives as well. Toot-toot!
Great video! I get a little sad myself to see things drying up all around once bustling industries and railyards. At least we are out there documenting history before it’s shifted into someone else’s vision for progress. Thank you again for doing these!
Danny, I think you may have set the premier for am instead of pm, unless you want to give us the experience of waking up early for some train chasing 😂
Yes! Thank you, Danny! Just picked up a copy of Trains CSX at 40 special collector's edition. Indeed, the fingerprints of Hunter Harrison will be seen for a very long time. If only I could go back to 2000 and stop the CN from assimilating the once-proud WC Ltd... Wild question... Since all major railroads have gone for PSR, why can't AMTRK be on time all of the time? One would be lead to believe that the path is set and clear...
An example would be this train blocking the main. They should have kept at least one yard track to pull the train into. I know it saves money not having it but it will screw up any time savings they figured on by doing it this way if there are any other trains in the area.
AMTRAK is a victim of...are you ready...wait for it...POLITICS. Whenever you let government into an industry you get CHAOS! They appointed the former CEO of Delta Airlines as president of AMTRAK? WTF? Aviation competes with RR for passengers so what is the former airline guy going to do? Screw up AMTRAK, that's what. They appoint anuses, or are they anii, to run an industry about which they know nothing, so what do you expect?
@Joe Madej The BNSF, like the UP, has been swept along with the other class-ones into PSR and is playing catch-up embracing it. The ghost fingerprints of Hunter Harrison are here to stay on all class-ones and will filter down to any and all "major" feeder-lines the class-ones interchange traffic with.
You do a very nice job of explaining the intricacies of railroading to those folks who wouldn't know a train from a trolley car. But you also lay it out to the casual railfan and model railroader like myself. I've watched a pile of railfan pages on youtube, and you're right at the top of the list. Keep up the good work.
I miss the days of tilford I used to go here all the time since I live along the W&A it makes me sad to see it go. It also makes me sad because this line used to be so active and now not that much action anymore
There was a train in Michigan where the dispatcher had to call an extra conductor because the conductor was being rude to the engineer! I heard about it on the chat!
You sure it wasn't the other way around. I had an engineer one night who questioned every move i made. I finally told him to get his ass of the engine and call a relief if he didn't like the way i was running the job.
PSR is essentially how railroads operated in the steam days. Mostly flat switching with trains dropping off and picking up blocks of cars at various yards. Of course, the major difference is the train size was limited to what one locomotive could pull. Today, with MU and DPU, there's almost no limit.
A similar thing happened to CSX's Hulsey Yard. What used to be a packed intermodal facility with hundreds of containers and heavy intermodal activity is now just an empty space where there are occasionally a few parked hoppers. :(
Yeah, sometimes giving a roll by to a train crew now requires climbing back into the hyrail truck, as those whimpy mobiles struggle to exceed 10,000 feet! Great one, Danny.
Your take on Blandtown and Underwood Hills area of Atlanta is SO SPOT ON! They are trying to do that same kind of development near University Ave. So many NS trains passing at yard limits into one of NS's smaller yards.
Just wondering Danny if you could shoot a video about Road Railers ...... Triple Crown, etc. How they hook up and the process of pulling them from truck to train. Explain what holds them together .
There are many railroad channels out there with great video, some channels with good factual information, and fewer still that provide insight on that information in a cultural, industrial, and social context. This channel is so unique in that he provides all of these great characteristics, and he does it consistently well. If he posts something, he has put time into it and opinion that is worth hearing, even if you're not a rail fan. Where he really brings it home and excels beyond possibly all others though, is that he has an excellent persona and gives a positive, engaging energy about him. Many different people do some of these individual components well, but he has all of these things in one channel and does it consistently. It's exactly what you would look for in a high-performing media or content producer. Plus, I mean come on, he's just likeable. If you had a neighbor like this who enjoys talking about his hobby, even if you had no interest in his hobby, I bet a lot of people would still go and talk to him, because his personality is just downright infectious in the best ways possible.
This type of work has been my Bread & Butter for the last 30 years here in the UK. We have also suffered the same problem, train crew depot`s and marshalling yards closed and ripped up, all in the name of progress. There are sites were there is now Starbucks, McDonald`s and Pitzza hut as well as a whole host of other outlets. When I started on the Railway the same place was a sprawling Freight Siding. I guess it`s the same the world over. Great video my friend. Best wishes from the UK.
Thank god NS is still operating the Brosnan Yard , here in Macon Ga. I live on the line south of Macon , so we get to see tons of trains a week headed to and from Jacksonville Fla to Atlanta and points north !!!
Thank you again for another great video Mr. Harmon. My youngest & I enjoy your adventures and have made a game out of finding your shooting locales as we Jeep around Florida (just found two up in Tally).
Another excellent video. I grew up 10 blocks north of the FEC main Miami yard, which ran from 29th to 36th street and included their passenger car servicing and turntable/roundhouse. At that time the line across town by 73rd street to Hialeah was a secondary line. Now the Hialeah yard is the main Miami facility and the 'old' Miami yard is condos and shopping with the Port of Miami line along the east side and a few industries still serviced. The condo dwellers probably bit...er, gripe about occasional train noise.
That's at the end of my street, and they only seem to work in the dead of night a couple nights a week. Also weird enough is that the yard has my last name.
Progress and developers march on! My contemporaries and I [76] have seen a landslide of changes in the railroad world. I watched a rail documentary on the RFD network some time ago, and it was about the Freedom Train in the late 40's during Truman's presidency. The train ran over fifty different railroads. Today it's something like seven major railroads. I could lament all the changes I've seen, but I won't. There used to be a newsreel shown in theaters back in the day. At the end of each newsreel, the announcer would end it with 'time marches on'.
That was the 1948 Freedom Train. Lead by an ALCo PA-1. But you don't even have to go back that far for a train to have run on so many different railroads. The Preamble Express and the 1976 Freedom Train ran on a good many of today's fallen flags.
The area north of the bridge was eventually sold to Amazon where they are currently building a facility and some new tracks were laid south of the bridge for the new combined Transflo terminal. Tilford sat a dirt lot for about 4 years and was up for sale for a time.
Was both happy and sad watching this. From late '95 until mid '98 worked as a deadhead driver out of Chattanooga carrying NS crews. Time was split between two companies since it was under contract and not directly employed by NS. As a railfan enjoyed going places i otherwise wouldn't have been allowed to. Crossed that bridge many times and near the end of the time for the first company we occasionally carried CSX crews. Went down there to one of those buildings you saw still standing a couple of times with their crews. Sad knowing just how busy that yard was then to see it all gone. Seems like it would have been a good idea to straighten out that S bend the train came through now that the yard tracks are gone.
Awesome video as always. I haven't been there in years, but if I remember correctly, didn't CSX have a training building in that area. It was called the ready center. After I did my 6 weeks of training in Massachusetts. I was sent to the Ready Center to get certified as a conductor. And now I'm retired :)
I totally understand the gentrification thing. I like craft brews and egg whites too but living in Nashville it's gotten crazy. Thanks for a great video!
Being in Conyers, I am depressingly familiar with all the changes in the railroad industry around Metro Atlanta. The loss of Tilford took me by surprise also. First, I was assuming that what would happen was exactly as was stated at the time - that the hump and south end of the yard would be bulldozed, but the hump yard itself would be used for flat switching. Imagine my shock a year later when I found out that the entire yard was gone!!! Two mains, the Tunnel track and the loooooong switching lead down the east side past the Training Center and connecting to The Slide was all that remained.. I got really p_____d off and then depressed after that. (Yeah, I know. Change is the only constant in railroading, but too much change can be harmful to the psyche.) It began with upgrades to the Old Central of Georgia Main Line for the Roadrailers and then NS yanking them shortly thereafter. Then came the Tilford debacle. After that it was the closing of Hulsey Yard and then all switching/block swapping being crammed/consolidated into Howells Yard slowing everything dowwwwnnnn. On the bright side, though, the BIDS Terminal at Howells is being moved to Hulsey (REALLY p_____g off eager local developers! ;) ) and Fairburn Intermodal Yard has been expanded to compensate for the loss of Intermodal at Hulsey. Also, NS has remained pretty much untouched in Metro Atlanta so far. BTW, the GADOT is radically altering the intersection of Aviation Blvd and Old Dixie Hwy at Mountain View near Hartsfield Airport to build a new underpass on Aviation Blvd under the railroad and parallel streets with a temporary railroad shoefly. Progress is slow, so you might be able to get some footage there. Your video answered a question as to exactly how they're doing the block swapping when the crew with the other cut showed up. Apparently 581's engines and Atlanta cut proceed further south and loop around the north side of Howell Junction changing direction compass northwest and into Howells Yard. I assume that the block swap is also a power swap, and possibly a crew swap for 581 before it proceeds compass northeast to Greenwood, SC. I suspect there is another train that runs Nashville to Waycross or further south also block swapping at Atlanta. That's great work you do, Danny. Keep it up. Let me know next time you're coming to Atlanta. I might be able to suggest some locales you haven't seen yet.😎 (dnhreshivik@bellsouth.net)
Hey, Danny. Nice to meet you through these lines. Yes, you are always perfect in your video capture and narrative. Excellent. Happy subscriber from Coastal City Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
All your videos are outstanding. You have a natural voice for the videos and the information coming with them makes it complete. Especially for the non-railfan dummies. lol
Up here in Ohio, NS recently shut down their big yard at Bellevue, a big hump yard that was built in the 1960s after the N&W purchased the Nickel Plate Road. A few years ago, they even doubled the bowl tracks, allowing the humping of two trains at once. If I remember right, it was second only to the UP's Bailey Yard in size. While I can understand that markets and traffic patterns change, I think railroads are too quick at times to make major changes like that. A perfect example was back in the 1980s when CSX downgraded and then abandoned the former B&O across southern Ohio. It was a perfect route going from the east coast to Cincinnati and St. Louis. Now, instead of going directly to Cincinnati, CSX traffic has to either go down through West Virginia, which I've heard is a slow route, or go up to Pittsburgh, west to Fostoria or Deshler, and then south through Lima or Columbus to Cincinnati, quite a detour.
Distant signal is the best. I wish all had good commentary like yours. The next thjng will be new neighbors complaining about noise. I live within 2 miles of the NS crescent corridor. There's the apex of a grade near, and a long passing siding. Learned to associate engine noises with activity on the siding.
