With college in full swing for me I didn't have much time off.  But on Sunday, September 17, my dad and I decided to spend the day watching trains down in Georgia.  We got out of the house about 8am and headed towards Dalton, GA following the NS tracks.  On the radio we heard about an approaching train coming down from Cleveland, TN towards Cohutta.  We arrived next the tracks with just enough time to jump out of the car and shoot.  It was a manifest train with a NS and UP unit for power.  After a few shots we chased the train south.   The roads to not parallel the tracks very well so as we arrived at Varnell, GA the train was already passing through.  But as we looked down the tracks we saw a headlight from a northbound.  After a quick set on a overpass I shot the train as it arrived.  It was a northbound empty coal train heading back to a mine for reloading.  

     Continuing on south we caught up to the train we had been chasing.  It was stopped just north of Waring, waiting for permission to proceed through Dalton and the junction with CSX.  After stopping for a few pictures we headed south to find a good spot to shot the train.  About ten minutes later we heard him get permission, and the train started rolling again.  I shot several photos around Waring and then headed into Dalton.  As we arrived in town we heard a whistle from an approaching CSX train.  I found a nice spot to shoot from at a public road crossing and waited for the train.  Just as it arrived a cop pulled up and wanted to chat with me.  After I told him what I was doing he basically said to be careful because railroads have been really safety conscious after 9-11.  I told him I would stay safe, and he left.  After the train had finished passing I headed back to the car, and we started following the CSX south.  We stopped by the small yard momentarily to grab some pictures of NS 3185. 

     Our next stop was along the NS near Freeman, GA.   We found a great S-curve and parked the car.  After about 45 minutes we could hear a train approaching from the south.  It turned out to be a northbound manifest train with a NS in primer leading the train.  Nothing more arrived on NS and on the scanner we heard about several southbound trains on the CSX, so we headed for Calhoun, GA.   First train on the list was a southbound CSX rail train with 34 cars.  We first shot this train from an overpass just north of Calhoun.  Next we stopped by an elevator to look at the switcher.  It was yellow in color, but we couldn't see a number or reporting marks.  We drove down to downtown Calhoun and found 3 engines on a siding track.  Then just as I had finished recording the numbers I heard a horn.   It turned out to be another southbound.  This time a 54 car manifest train.   After snapping some pictures we chased it down to Adairsville, GA.  We found a nice curve and had just enough time to set up for the shot.  The train went into Adairsville siding, and we drove down to check it out.  We found that the rail train was also in the siding.  They were both lined up nose to tail waiting for a northbound.  After a few minutes it arrived with a long line of stack cars.

     I got several pictures from the south end of the siding and then headed south another couple miles.  I set up for another shot and waited for the rail train.  We knew the manifest wouldn't be far behind so after grabbing these photos we quickly continued south searching for photo locations.  A couple miles north of Kingston, GA we set up for the wait.  It wasn't too long before CSX 5283 rounded the curve and rolled passed.  Our next stop was Cartersville, GA.   Here we found the southbound rail train stopped at a light and five CSX engines idling in the yard.  Also a southbound ballast train with 59 cars was rolling off the other CSX line at Junta, Jct.  Then at 1pm a northbound autorack train curved into view.  After shooting a couple of pictures we drove down to Emerson, GA where we found a northbound MOW of train in the siding.  A few minutes later the rail train we had been chasing arrived with its 34 cars.  After this shot we continued to follow the train down the bridge over Allatoona Lake.  We tried to find a way to the south end of this bridge but gave up when we ran into government property.  Next we caught the southbound ballast train a few more miles south.  Then at Kennesaw, GA we explored the Georgia Northeastern Railroad yard, and found five engines.  After shooting a few pictures we headed south once more.  A couple miles farther and we ran into the Q124-17 heading north with its load of trailers and containers.  Then 10 minutes later we found a southbound and northbound manifest trains at Fair Oaks, GA.

     Finally we arrived at the CSX Tilford yard in Atlanta around 3pm.  A southbound manifest was just rolling to a stop in the yard.   After shooting a variety of shots of the motive power we made a quick stop at NS's Inman yard.  Here we found two southbound stack, TOFC and auto trains waiting to depart.  We also found NS 50 switching the yard at the north end.  Next we headed north retracing our steps.  We didn't run into any trains since we stuck to the freeway.  At Tunnel Hill, GA we stopped to wait for 30 minutes for a train, but the light soon faded and no train arrived.  So it was a quick trip home with no more rail action.  We had a fun day and enjoyed our first experience of railfanning in the south. 

September 17, 2006