During the NRHS Convention on July 21, 1989, NKP 587 took a train from Asheville to Bulls Gap, TN and return. The first slide is south of Marshall, NC crossing the French Broad at a spot known to the railroad as Ivy. The second shot is at Newport, TN crossing the Pigeon River.
Is this location on the former AT&SF? Trying to dredge from memory, thinking of my paperwork collection. Was it on one of either GC&SF or P&SF?
Yes, it was originally the Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe which became part of the Atchison Topic & Santa Fe. Now BNSF. The Missouri Pacific maintained track rights on this section to get to its Gulf Lines branching off at Algoa a little further down the line toward Galveston. Now UP still uses it.
Two shots from the bottom of the Saluda Grade at Melrose, NC. The first from December 1984 as three SD's arrive to take another cut of cars up (most trains tripled the hill) and the second is from May 1993 with 611 having come down the grade and greeted by a throng of fans. The escape track is to the left, providing a route for trains that have lost their brakes.
Yup. A Missouri Pacific GP-38-2, it was first numbered 933 and then MP 2084. Then UP 2084 before getting number 351.
From April 1986, a Spartanburg-bound freight descends Saluda at Melrose, NC with dynamic brakes whining in full application. With the sun in my lens, I expected this to be a terrible shot, but I somehow managed to find a place to stand to diffuse the light in the trees, and it's become one of my favorite images. To stand here today, you can hardly see the right-of-way with trees and brush obscuring nearly everything. For reference, the signal to the left appears in both pictures.
