WV/VA Railfanning August 17, 2024: Return To Shenandoah Junction (And Other Assorted Trains)

#train #railfanning #trainspotting

While I got a West Virginia railfanning fix when I visited Cass back in June, it has been a much longer time since I visited Shenandoah Junction up in the northeastern part of the state - almost 6 years, according to the archive. I addressed that oversight on August 17th when I attended the annual Railfan Day get-together, sponsored by the Winchester Chapter NRHS.

0:00 - Shenandoah Junction - NS 25A
Positioning myself to favor a view of CSX over NS was probably a tad optimistic in hindsight, but on the other hand I wasn't being antisocial. The first train after I arrived was southbound NS stacker 25A, led by an AC44C6M trio: 4223, 4048, and 4411.

1:43 - CSX I135
CSX got in on the act 36 minutes later with westbound stack train I135, led by ES40DC 5286 and ES44AH 905. The boxcar behind the power carries equipment for measuring the track geometry as part of regular maintenance.

5:03 - Amtrak 30, Capitol Limited
The crowd exchanged waves with the engineer in P42 72 as Amtrak's eastbound Capitol Limited cruised past the gathering.

5:50 - NS 11Z
The clouds relented for a moment as southbound NS manifest 11Z rolled by, led by AC44C6M 4539 and ES44AC 8159.

7:17 - NS 15T
The sky was back to leaden gray for the passage of manifest 15T, led by ES40DC 7564 and ES44AC 8112. Perhaps the humidity was affecting my judgement, but I hedged my bets on the weather getting worse and decided to head back closer to home.

9:25 - Ashland - Amtrak Northeast Regional 195
The new FFVmobile acquitted itself in fine fashion driving through multiple cloudbursts to reach Ashland. The sun was out for the time being as Amtrak's Northeast Regional 195 arrived, with P42 172 leading the way.

11:45 - Amtrak 90, Palmetto
There's no mistaking the face of an ALC-42 in Phase VII paint for much else. The 353 led the northbound Palmetto through town just after 5 PM.

12:36 - Amtrak 91, Silver Star
Five minutes after the Palmetto, the southbound Silver Star rolled through behind ALC-42 321 and P42 188.

13:23 - CSX M300
4 trains in 20 minutes? Yes please. CSX kept the action rolling with M300, led by CW44AH 506, ES40DCs 5428 and 5228, and - in tow - MARC GP39PH-3C 74.

17:56 - Amtrak 53, Auto Train/Northeast Regional 124
The passengers waiting for Northeast Regional 124 were in a quandary over which platform to stand on, but in the end they all got safely across in time. Lucky that they did - the southbound Auto Train beat 124 to the station by a thin margin, with P42 150 and P40 830 leading the charge. It turned out to be a moot point that all of the passengers waiting for 124 were on the correct side of the platform - the train sat for an extended period while local police removed another passenger. Once the police were finished, 124 finally continued its journey.

21:05 - CSX M416
A young railfan and his father were suitably impressed as Q416 rumbled through town, with ET44AH 3411 leading and its roster-mate 3431 serving as the DPU. It seemed like the clouds were regrouping...