Thanks CSX!

[Anonymous]

Last week I was out scoping out campsites for my annual vacation. I was at the Georgia Veteran's State Park (which has some static displays of military hardware, for those who are interested) and a station for the SAM shortline, a privately owned excursion line. I had my carmera and managed to catch a CN diesel running by itself at the park station. What it was doing there is beyond me.

About fifteen minutes away is the town of Cordele, Georgia (pronounced "Core-deel.") Near the main depot for the SAM line (which runs from Cordele, to Americus, and to Plains, Georgia) was a nondescript building right on the main line of the CSX... and parked on a siding were a matched set of locomotives that looked like U-boats. (They were marked as B-37's...anyone know anything about them?)

I walked into the office, and met the trainmaster for the area, as well as the engineer to the U-boats. I showed my ID, and asked if it was OK to take pictures. The trainmaster said it was OK so long as I stayed off the tracks, and stayed off the equipment. He warned me to be especially careful as the main line is busy (about 60-70 trains per day.)

The engineer came outside and shut off the locomotives... he said that CSX is really harping on fuel economy right now. We spent about an hour talking about this and that- he was just as interested in my work as I was in his. Sure enough, every few minutes a horn would blow in the distance, I would unlimber my camera, and a train would move through at about 40 miles per hour. I got to see a MOW train with a really need weedsprayer car from ASPLUNDH- stayed well back from it as it was reaching out about ten feet on the spray. Also saw some NS locomotives, and two CSX empty container trains. Every engineer waved.

I was like a kid again.

The two hours I spent in Cordele turned a miserable week into a happy one. I wasn't hassled, the line was busy, I had plenty of film, and folks were talkative. Thanks to the staff of CSX in Cordele, a humdrum scout expedition for a campsite turned into an adventure in railroading!

Erik

[oskar]

yep CSX is very nice also NS,UP,BNSF but that's my word mostly they are nice AS LONG AS YOU STAY OFF THE TRACK.that weed train is very interesting.



kevin

[Kurn]

Those were probably B30-7's.