The past month or so has been great if you are a fan of Southern Steam, and didnt mind a lot of driving and not getting a lot of sleep. While of course there were no mainline NS trips this Fall, the return of Southern 4501 to service along with a busy schedule of trips for TVRM on the Chattooga and Chickamauga shortline out of Chattanooga meant a lot of windshield time for Carmon and Myself (and a lot of other folks)..
I have already shared our shots from 4501's first public outing on October 4th, and since then we have made 3 more trips to Georgia to shoot the 4501, plus the 4501-630 doubleheader on November 8th. Thats a lot of time on the road, but well worth it to see the Queen strutting her stuff on the old CofG mainline and to witness the first Southern doubleheader in over 2 decades.
I have finally finished up all the material I shot over the past month of these trips, and have it all up on Pbase. Over 40 new images, and you can find it all at this link >>>> http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/ns_steam_2014_eb (http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/ns_steam_2014_eb)
10/25/14
Southern 4501 finds a patch of sun during the climb up Chickamagua Ridge.
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A different angle at Rock Spring, Ga
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Looking up at the Queen on the turntable at Summerville, Ga
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Tiptoeing over the old CofG McFarland Ave overpass near Rossville, Ga
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My traveling companions for the past couple of weekends all together in Chattanooga at the end of a long day....and the BS was still going strong. I am not really sure were Larrys hand was headed, but Carmon seemed to be pretty jumpy...Kasey was just hoping that no one drove by that knew her, and Michael decided someone had to be an adult...yea, we have an awesome time where ever we go
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November 8th, 2014
"The Big Show" Southern 4501 and 630 darken the sky with coal smoke as the dynamic duo accelerate up the hill out of Rossville, Ga Saturday morning. This was our first shot of the day, and I could have almost went back home happy after getting it...almost..
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"213 years of combined Southern Awesomeness" Southern 4501 and 630 charge into Chickamauga, Georgia amid the late Fall colors. Its almost amazing to think that a person can witness such a sight in 2014..a 103 year old 2-8-2 and a 110 year old 2-8-0 working together , both probably in better shape than they day they were built. A great way to end the year, and a great tribute to the tenacious folks at TVRM who make it possible for today's generation to experience the emotion of the steam locomotive.
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You can tell by the stacks who is working and who is loafing...4501 & 630 at Noble, Ga
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"No Crowds" Southern 630 leads the last TVRM Summerville trip of the year through Trion, Ga . Down in town, a mass of camera toting humanity had all jammed up around the Spring Creek Bridge getting the same shots, but I decided to do something a little different. Strong back-lighting with a nice ridge full of trees to block the direct sun created a timeless scene that only Three of us got to see. Sometimes the best show is not found at the at the foot of the stage!
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