Chasing NS 296-27 From Jonesville to Santuc on the W-Line!

Recorded 8/27/2024 at 6:26 pm & 7:00 pm. Nice engineer for the horn salute in Jonesville. In the second shot at Santuc, one of two things happened. Either the 4813 died on them, or the auto control was keeping them at a slower speed. I'm thinking it's the second outcome. Since they were going to be moving slower, I sped up the video of course. That's the ONE thing in the modern day that irritates me so much in my area, the slower trains. With all these "fuel conservation" programs such as Trip Optimizer, Energy Management, Leader, and other auto control mechanisms on these locomotives, the engineer is practically discouraged from touching the throttle. Upper management would rather save money on locomotive fuel for themselves and the shareholders rather than get customers' cargo moved quickly and efficiently. Track and engine employees would also have to spend less time over the road as well, and they wouldn't need to worry about re-crewing or trains lawing out. If only they'd let the engineer throttle up to burn fuel and run the train at optimal track velocity... I don't think that will happen as long as Wall Street, or investors, have such control over the Class 1 railroads. Hopefully someday this will change. Anyways, with all that said, I hope you all enjoy the video.

-NS 296 Intermodal
-Greer, SC - Charleston, SC
-Locomotives:
NS #8097 ES44AC
NS #4813 AC44C6M
-172 intermodal buckets
-NS Coastal Division/Columbia District/W-Line
-MP W85.6 & W104.3