BNSF Power on Windmill Tower Loads: La Grange to Morehead City, NC - 4/22/2024

April 22, 2024.
Rare BNSF power on Norfolk Southern E2Z (previously 055: windmill tower loads) eastbound on the EC-line from La Grange to Morehead City, NC during the quiet early-morning hours of Monday, April 22nd.

NS 055 was a unit windmill tower train from Pueblo, CO to Morehead City, NC. These unusual high/wide loads made for an interesting run on the former A&EC into coastal North Carolina. The towers are heading to the Timbermill Wind project near Edenton, NC, and the Port of Morehead City is serving as a transload point for towers and turbine generators. The 193ft windmill blades came in by ship from India.

Along with being the first unit windmill train for the Port of Morehead City, this was also the first time distributed power ran east of Selma, so the rear BNSF motor was a bizarre sight on the street running sections of New Bern and Morehead City.