14-10-11 PHOTOS: Southern Shift

For my Fall 2014 trip to Georgia the plan was to visit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with my friend and also get some photos of the relocated signal location on the CSX Abbeville Sub close to her house. This set also includes pictures taken at Washington Union Station during the northbound power change. You can find this set of photos here.

We kick off with Amtrak Train 19, the southbound Crescent, arriving at the Greensboro, NC station with P40DC #824 and P42DC #13. I think this is the first time I have ridden behind a P40 outside of the NEC.



Seven hours later the same Train 19 departs the Gainesvile, GA station on a Diverging Clear signal indication at MIDLAND interlocking. The old Southern cantilever had still not been replaced and as the train passes some hints to how the relay logic works was exposed.



The first of three trains I caught on the Abbeville sub was this doublestack intermodal headed by C40-8W #7705.

The engineer hits the horn as CSX C40-8W #7705 and AC4400 #457 passes through Bogart, GA at the former Abbeville Sub MP 510 signal location.



A pair of CSX AC4400's, #82 and #237, pass by the same location with an eastbound mixed freight.



When the light was a little better I opted for a still photo of CSX SD70MAC #4817 and ES44AC #912 with a unit grain train in tow.

The new MP 511.9 automatic signal lit up for an approaching train.

The new signal is adjacent to the previously existing "Athens" defect detector and a highway crossing. Hmmm...hope they don't run too many inboard bearing trucks on this line.

The approaching train was lead by a pair of Union Pacific road freights, ES44AC #7759 and C44-9W #9793, lead freshly painted CSX GP38-2 #2783. Here they whistle for the Cleveland Road crossing in Bogart, GA with a westbound mixed freight train. Hope it doesn't rain since some of the steel coil cars are uncovered. The detector marked the train length at over 5000 feet.



Something happened to the train shortly after it passed causing the 5120 signal to remain lit up at Approach. The TCS style signaling allow intermediate signals to "float" if another movement has not been lined. If you recall the old 5110 signal had a yellow lamp on its lower head for Y/Y Advance Approach due to a new interlocking being installed which created a short signal block. The new signal has a green lamp for Approach Medium indicating that the Athens siding has been signaled and extended to the "new" Pilgrims Pride interlocking. The re-signaling project also removed the MP 513 signal replacing three shorter blocks with two longer ones.

Heading back on Train 20 it was a foggy night at the Gainesville Amtrak station.

14-10-09 PHOTOS: October H-Line

Usually when I take my bi-yearly trips to Georgia I focus on the RF&P and A-Line portions of the trip as that always had the most interesting train traffic, signaling and history. When Train 79 turned off the ACL at Selma I usually went back to my seat and enjoyed the free Wi-Fi, because after all that portion was completely rebuilt about 10 years ago with all new signaling and the single track branch line almost completely lacked photogenic traffic.

Well with all the signals on the A-Line now thoroughly raped there was little purpose on collecting yet another set of the same old thing so this last time I sat on my hands for the first part of the trip and took up my position at the rear of the train for the second. It still wasn't super exciting, but it is something new.

You can check out the full set of photos from DC to Greensboro, NC right here.

We begin at Baltimore Penn Station where I got my first ride behind an ASC-86 with #607 pulling Train 79. The bad news was that my train was over 40 minutes late and wasn't helped any by being put behind a MARC local on the way to DC.



Here we are on the lower level of Washington, DC union station with a line of P42DC's ready to attach themselves to the front of through trains. Number 87 ahead of #112 and #7.

Here we see #607 being swapped out for P42DC #181.



On the road south of Fredericksburg we found a paid of CSX geeps switching cars in the yard with GP40-2 #6249.

A bit further on work has already started on the new VRE Spotslyvania Station which will result in the replacement of the old RF&P's XR interlocking.

South of Richmond Train 79 passes a slate of CSX power in Acca Yard including GP40-2's #6156 and #6152, SD60M #8761 and SD40-2 #8251.

RF&P's AY tower now serving as the Acca Yard office and control center.

A few SCL searchlights are still hanging on south of Rocky Mount.

Finally we turn onto the H-Line at Selma, NC.

The line was fully re-signaled around 2005 with signaled passing sidings. Unlike NORAC, the Southern signaling system requires a yellow on the third head (either R/R/Y or R/-/Y) for a Restricting indication.  This three headed mast at AUBURN interlocking uses the R/R/Y option.