Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! A couple of weeks ago I was in North Carolina shooting the Blue Ridge Southern (BLU) and the NS. While photographing the NS near the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, I got a shot of the infamous Pumpkin Car TCMX 20821.

I almost missed the shot on the pumpkin car because I was so focused on the power for the train, it was 4 C44-9Ws, 2 SD40-2s (one of which was NS 1625, one of the last High Hoods) and a GP38-2.

The BLU was one of the highlights of the trip. We caught the T31 in Asheville, interchanging with the NS. They picked up about 30 loaded woodchip cars. My friend Hunter was conductor and gave a friendly wave as he passed us. The train had 3 SD45 bodied SD40M-2s. It reminded me of the Skally with the BLU's knock-off paint scheme.

 

Here we caught the T31 closing in on Canton, NC. 

Canton is home to a large paper mill. We got to watch the crews switch the plant out, and I got this nice scenic shot of the plant.

Engine Update

Not a lot to report. I made some progress on the LNG facility. On a good note, after an extended hiatus, I've finally gotten back to locomotive building. I scratched one more of the list with the completion of NP 3617. This was a fun build using a 3D printed cab.

Finishing this engine leaves me one SD45 left to do, GN 400. That will probably wait until after I finish some BNSF power.