After being out of town for 4 days the weekend before, I had not really planned on doing much this weekend except sleeping late and hanging around the house for a couple of days...but as usual that did not work out. Friday night I had learned that the Southern 8099 was in Louden TN, and had thought that maybe it might come up this way with an empty grain train...and didn't think about it anymore.
I did not set an alarm Saturday morning, hoping that I might get to sleep a little late for a change (and if you are like me and have to get up for work at 0500 every morning, late means 0800!)..our cats had other plans though. It was about 0630 when the felines of the house decided I needed to be awake and feed them and proceeded to wake me up. After a few well placed deluges of expletives and the thought of selling them to the Chinese Restaurant I turned on my phone to find a message from a buddy of mine that the SR 8099 WAS on a grain train heading this way...leading...and had been out and running for a while. Well, crap....The sun was shining and I maybe had just enough time to get South and intercept....so out the door I went.
After almost 2 hours of inspired driving, I made it to New River TN about 30 seconds ahead of the train. I had been listening to them on the radio and knew it would be close, but not that close. I managed to fire off a couple of shots, but not anything that will ever be seen in public...not a good way to start the day. After that I managed to get back ahead of them while they stopped at Oneida TN to pick up an engine to bring North. I had a plan in my head about were I could shoot them (not easy on a sunny morning with a Northbound train) and made may way back into the Bluegrass State to a wide spot in the road called Strunk and got my fist keeper of the day.
After shooting the 57A at Strunk, I took off towards Parkers Lake...a shot I had to have. Over the past year, I had gotten skunked at that location with the Southern Unit, and then the MGA/LV duo and thought this time would be a winner. I got back ahead again BUT managed to get into the back of a funeral procession around Flat Rock that was moving about 25mph. I was about 5 miles ahead of a train running about 40mph, and had about 4 miles to go to get to Parkers Lake....yea...the math didnt make me feel good either. I could hear them calling signals, gaining on me but I was almost to were I needed to turn...crap...the procession was turning on the road to Parkers Lake....crap... Doing what I had to do, I turned on my headlights and joined right in...the cop directing traffic waved me right through the turn (I was the last car and would have had to wait for a LOT of traffic he had stopped otherwise) and followed them right up to the tracks...stopped in the middle of the bridge as the train came into view and BAM..got the shot! Turn around, hammer down...do it again....
After shooting them again at Anitoch Cut at Burnside I finally got to catch my breath waiting on the crew change...I had not stopped moving since I left home, but my luck was not over yet. I only had ONE place I wanted to shoot them between Burnside and Danville, and that was under the signal bridge at Southfork. By all rights, those signals should already be gone, but the last curfew just missed them and they are really living on borrowed time now..I had to have that shot. The train got back on the move about 1245 and I shot them at Jones Knob, Somerset (they had to set an engine off there) and then again at Gradison, KY. I knew they would have to meet 229 at Kings Mountian, and that would give me enough time to get to Southfork ahead of them......crap.....I was about 5 minutes of the train and could SEE the spot I needed to get to at Southfork when I got stopped by a flagman on a paving crew. Gage had told me about the paving, but said they were working North of were I needed to turn...crap....
I sat there looking at that man holding a stop sign an listened to the train getting closer and closer. About 5 minutes after I heard them call the intermediate signal for Southfork the flagman let us go....I went about a 100 yards, made my turn up the hill and jumped out as they came into sight....You want to talk about luck...I should have played the lottery! I was really glad this was the last spot I was going to shoot at, because I just couldn't take much more of that!
Enough Jibber-Jabber, here are a few pics. You can find the whole set at this link if you care to look! >>>> http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/nsocs_heritage2014 (http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/nsocs_heritage2014)
07/12/14
The morning sun creates an interesting pattern of light and shadow and Northbound NS 57A hustles through Strunk, Ky behind Southern 8099 just after crossing the state line.
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FSR8099_StrunkKy_071214.sized.jpg&hash=db346d355cecaa6c6853a0626acae33e6afdae62)
"Vindication" Southern 8099 leads Northbound 57A down the hill at Parkers Lake, KY. After getting skunked here twice before with this Northbound shot of this unit and a couple of other Heritage units, I felt vindicated!
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FSR8099_ParkerslakeKy_071214.sized.jpg&hash=a07a79b8e0b17712b2a73f4f4b6b949e6792b1fe)
57A crawls through the Antioch Cut near Burnside, KY ready for a crew change just ahead.
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FSR8099_AntiochKy_071214.sized.jpg&hash=7b67f0366072091915a91a9077badbff214b20e8)
Southern 8099 brings the train across the newly opened section of Double Track between Burnside and Somerset, KY.
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FSR8099_JonesKnobKy_071214.sized.jpg&hash=d711fb155fce4ace4148e48ba8b2da7a30557911)
"Last Chance" Southern 8099 brings train 57A under the GRS Model SC searchlight signals at Southfork, KY....a shot that I have waited a long time for. I have been lucky enough to shoot steam, F units and plenty of Heritage units under the signal bridge here over the years, but the Southern unit had eluded me. By all rights, those signals should already be gone...but the last curfew just missed them (they had been scheduled to fall a month ago).... I figured I would never get this engine here...time was not on my side
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FSR8099_Southfork_071214_1.sized.jpg&hash=1e497dfd8854facf07817b8b4d079b07e188d6e7)
(https://www.jreb.org/ns/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjreb.org%2Fv-web%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2FBellpost13%2FSR8099_Southfork_071214_2.sized.jpg&hash=2ddaf539bdb7868536f353c995a3a7cdc339dd97)
Great job with that one, EM! I know northbounds and high sun don't always work together well, but you pulled it off.
-Chip :)
Nice! Sometimes a crazy chase makes the photos(and day) all that much better! DE Dan
Nice shot with the signal bridge. I think all of them will be gone from NS by the end of next year.