A dreary day trackside along the former N&W & VGN

 Overview:

"I just stay at home when it rains,"some may say, "it doesn't produce good images." I have heard that stated more than once and I differ concerning my outlook on dreary/rainy day photography. In my personal experiences, some of my best images has been taken in less than ideal weather for photography. It proposes a challenge for the photographer and causes one to think outside the box. Certain elements on dreary days, can also produce wonderful moods and spooky atmospheres that create a masterful image. In this documentation of December 16th, a demonstration of rainy day photography is played out with a series of shots taken in dark, rainy, and foggy weather.

Documentation:

 I started off the day on Christiansburg Mountain along the former Norfolk and Western mainline spanning from Roanoke to Bluefield, WV. The morning yielded seven trains in just over an hour; which is extremely busy for this route. The backup was caused after signal problems at Montgomery and Arthur materialized overnight causing major delays. Once the problems were fixed the following trains negotiated Christiansburg Mountain within two hours: 186, I3G, 236, 67N, 17M, 823, 29W, 22A, 185, M7M, 755, 821, and 749.

 Dawn breaks in the quaint hamlet of Shawsville, VA as NS 67N negotiates a tight S curve with a empty train of ethanol cars in tow, as a layer of morning fog carpets the surrounding valley. This is actually the steepest section of Christiansburg Mountain; if a westbound will stall out, it will do so short of the crossing pictured in this photograph. If a train successfully climbs the first two miles of the grade, it will likely make the top of the mountain situated 10 miles to the west at Christiansburg. The town of Shawsville is quiet this dreary Sunday as the train abruptly ends the peaceful morning with engines in notch 8 and a horn echoing throughout the valley.

 The uniformity of ethanol cars are played out in this moody scene depicting 67N's train traversing the S curve pictured above at a different angle.

 After clearing a 10 MPH slow order back in Shawsville, the engineer on 67N has just opened up the throttle as it now moves uphill at trackspeed with a filthy Canadian National second in command as the train approaches Friendship Road just east of Montgomery Tunnel.

  NS 186 parades downhill through this nice early morning scene at Shawsville, VA with a pair of C40-9W's permeating the air with the sound of dynamic breaks whining holding back the heavy manifest train as it descends the 1.5% grade.

 After waiting for traffic ahead to clear, NS 823 struggles to get his train up to speed as the two big GE's shake the ground in notch 8 while it negotiates the hamlet of Shawsville, VA. This monster hopper train will take twice as long to climb grueling Christiansburg Mountain because of his heavy train consisting of roughly 150-170 empty coal cars.

 NS 29W files through Elliston at trackspeed with a long string of autoracks in tow as it makes a running start for grueling Christiansburg Mountain that lies just ahead. The "Lights out indicate approaching train" crossing sign is a unique landmark that has stood here in Elliston for decades; it is presumably the last one still in operation and makes for a interesting photograph, especially in such moody weather like this.

 Now along the former Southern Railway south of Hurt and Altavista, we find NS 186 climbing uphill near Greene, VA with two GE's wide-open in notch 8 as they prepare to stop ahead to await the arrival of northbound #214. A vegetation called "kudzu" is a frequent plant that grows trackside along the former Southern and that is very apparent in this image of #186.

 "186 approach track two Motely, NS 186 out!", a statement heard over the scanner as #186 approached this former Southern Railway signal just north of Greene. The approach signal is for the meet with 214 that will take place just south of here.

 Hotshot intermodal #214 charges over the Staunton River in Altavista, VA as it files north through the quaint community with a trio of Norfolk Southern motors heading up the train. After arriving in Lynchburg, NS 214 will perform a speedy set off for Norfolk bound intermodal I3G to attach to his train for the trek east. Rain clouds begin moving into the area that will bring heavy rain to Central Virginia overnight.

 Now on the former Virginian Railway Altavista District, NS 820 is pictured splitting a pair of approach lit N&W CPL's situated in the small hamlet of Stone Mountain, VA. Dense fog moves into the area along with the approaching front coming from the south with heavy rain. Train #820 is making great time along this relatively flat section of the former Virginian with much slighter grades opposed to the P-D north of Princeton...

  Another view of #820 depicts the photographer shooting between old boards part of an old wooden overpass located here in Stone Mountain. A good percentage of the country roads required to access locations between Roanoke and Altavista cross the tracks on old wooden bridges; this is just one out of many I witnessed while exploring this intriguing route.

 Running just minutes behind #820 is Hyco bound coal train #764 pictured here charging east near the community of Moneta, VA just west of the location above. Another pair of approach lit CPL's are situated in the background of this image. The CPL's along this line are quickly disappearing as part of NS' plan to upgrade the signals along this route to the modern safetrain signaling system.

 In the very last light of the day, NS 18M hits Tinker Creek Connect in Roanoke, VA to take the train south roughly one mile to join the former Virginian Altavista District and then the former Southern at Hurt. Two C40-9W's are in charge of this heavy Linwood, NC bound manifest as darkness quickly falls upon the community; the old N&W CPL stands tall and proud as it witnesses yet another train. These signals are on borrowed time though, as NS quickly is eradicating them from service.

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed the read and photography!