Heritage Units--1972

[Ponce de Leon]

This is salvaged from an old Ektachrome slide (you have to be aware of the technical limits of film and film cameras of that era, because this ain't digital!). It was taken at Norton, VA in October 1972---ten years before the creation of Norfolk Southern.

This is a Southern board of directors special (which folks would now call an OCS). It was made up of several office cars, some Pennsy all-room sleepers, and headed by two freshly painted (in green) Southern Crescent E8s. As I recall, the train came down from DC to Bristol, then to Bulls Gap and back to Appalachia for the day. That evening, they departed on the Interstate as far as Norton, where the train switched to the N&W Clinch Valley District. The overnight run was routed to Bluefield, and then back to Lynchburg where it took the Southern main back to Washington, arriving the next morning.

Can you imagine the chase entourage today if two gleaming Southern E8s in green paint took this route with an OCS in tow? I think there were two or three others chasing the train that evening---all of us "locals." I had just left employment with the Southern at Somerset about two months earlier, so this was a bittersweet event. Even after the sunlight was gone, I drove along beside those two E8s all the way to St. Paul. Yes sir, they sounded terrific!

I'll bet you folks didn't know the Southern Crescent ran through Norton, VA.

[etalcos]

Maybe someday we'll get to see the four remaining Southern E-8s out and about again.  I think there are a lot of folks that would like to see that .

[Ponce de Leon]

I did some additional Photoshop work. This is the color version. Obviously there were extremes of bright back lighting (near sunset) and dark shadows. I wish I could have chased this baby with my Nikon D600!

[steveiez]

When Conrail was Conrail, I saw their three E's pull out of Penn Station in Pittsburgh. What a display of raw power!

[Ponce de Leon]

Here's the same train, shown earlier leaving Appalachia via the "new connection" to the Interstate.

[GP30Rider]

Looks like a Southern stainless sleeper and a Southern Budd dining car right behind the engines.  Get any photos of the cars Ron?

[Ponce de Leon]

Looks like a Southern stainless sleeper and a Southern Budd dining car right behind the engines.  Get any photos of the cars Ron?

Yea....somewhere, I think I do have shots of most of the cars. Yes, that was a sleeper and Budd diner. In those days, they rode these specials overnight, so the entire train load of guests bedded down, with breakfast served somewhere north of Charlottesville the next morning.

[E.M. Bell]

Ron, That is one of those images where the small imperfections simply make it better...and help to tell the story. You capture what had to be a rare move in your home territory, and did it well. What you have shown us here is probably pretty much the way it looked in person, and digital would have not captured that "essence"

I dont ever recall getting to see any Southern E8's in service, and have only vague memories of FP7's when I was a kid..and dont have any images of those except the few that got assigned to "executive" service (and my shots of those are 50 times worse than anything you have ever shared here)...

[SOU91]

There is nothing nicer that a green Southern E8 or FP7. That is just a classy paint scheme. The closest I've seen in real life are the units at Spencer.

[Matt L]

When Conrail was Conrail, I saw their three E's pull out of Penn Station in Pittsburgh. What a display of raw power!

I saw them on the Southern Tier Mainline back in the '80s. Awesome! One was an ex-Erie/EL unit so it was nice having the old girl back on home rails.

Getting back to the original topic, those Southern Es look pretty sharp!