So last week I threw up my videos from a vestibule ride taken on Train 79 between Alexandria and Selma. However thanks to my capitol upgrade I am now able to offer both stills and video taken at the same time. With a suction cup mount and sufficient batteries I can stick up my GoPro on the rear window and let it record as I shoot away with my ( Read more... )

For the last 6 years I have been making a bi-yearly trek down to Georgia to visit an old college friend who had wound up getting stuck down there. Ever since the first trip I have taken a somewhat circuitous route using Train 79, the Carolinian, to first travel to Greensboro, NC then transferring to Train 19 the Crescent. Well on the verge of ( Read more... )

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 ( Read more... )

It is once again time to head down the Eastern Seaboard Coast to visit my friend in Georgia. For those of you who are unaware the process involves a daylight trip on Amtrak Train 79, the Carolinian, all the way to Greensboro, NC where I then change to Train 19, the Crescent, to complete the trip down to Gainesville, GA. This year there was a bit ( Read more... )

Twice a year I take a trip down to Georgia to visit a friend, but due to a variety of circumstances the spring '13 trip was canceled and so my trip in September of 2013 was my first time on the route in over a year. During this time CSX continued to carry out more of its re-signaling campaign on the A-Line removing more of the 1980's era ACL/SCL ( Read more... )

Twice a year I head down to Georgia to visit a friend and this past fall it was scheduled for the weekend of October 27th, returning on Monday the 29th. Well on the 25th I was enjoying a drink in Greensboro, NC when someone I was talking with mentioned that there was some "storm" coming that might interfere with my ability to get back home. Of ( Read more... )

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So every 6 months I travel down to Georgia by train to visit a friend and to get to Georgia I take Amtrak's Train 79, the Carolinian and then change to Train 19, the Crescent, in ( Read more... )

As a special Holiday present I dug back into the archives and pulled out a set of photos taken nearly 10 years ago back when things were a lot more interesting in the local railfan scene. Back then we didn't need Amtrak's special indulgence for "heritage" paint schemes, Silverliner trips weren't of the farewell kind and my local NRHS chapter wasn' ( Read more... )

When traveling Amtrak Long Distance with a plan to get photos out the back of the train there are a number of irritations that can interfere with this plan. Your train might not be configured with a real facing window, the last cars could be non-revenue, it could be dark or raining out, a member of the crew might take it upon themselves to ruin ( Read more... )

Last April I realized that I hadn't been down to Atlantic City via the Atlantic City Line since 2002 so maybe it was about time I made an effort. Therefore I contacted Chuchubob and en route to an Easter related family gathering my plan to to travel with Bob from 30th St to Atlantic City, catch the departure of an ACES train, and then catch the ( Read more... )