Recent content by Sandpatch

A grab shot from yesterday at Cayce, SC. The 523 is near 25 years old and will likely be rebuilt sometime in the next several years. These older CSX "Yellow Nose" units in this older paint scheme are becoming increasingly rare. [D5100]

Oh, that's neat! She grew up in a beautiful area.

Ha, yeah, it's gonna be a madhouse trackside as the 4014 makes her tour. She'll likely run on Norfolk Southern (NS) lines in the east. From 1987 to 1991, the NS ran their own massive steam locomotive 1218 on fantrips until their CEO at the time decided the liabilities were too great to...

Thank you. Yep, my Nikkor 55-200 DX at 175mm/f8. The lens hasn't worked properly for many years now, producing a sort of clicking noise with the image in the viewfinder jumping up and down when I press the shutter button down halfway. After 3 to 5 seconds it settles down and focuses. So, I...

From ten years ago on 01/24/2016 at Elgin, SC, CSX rolls tonnage south. [D5100]

This same situation is rising up across the web amongst smaller hobby forums I visit, as AI bots and "data scrapers" ascend on sites and intermittently bring them down. This isn't my area of expertise, but it's what I understand from other people. :confused:

From April 1989, crossing the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, PA. [Nikon N2020, Kodachrome]

From 07/30/2025 with my trusty-but-ancient D5100

Caught Norfolk Southern's new Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia heritage locomotive today at Columbia, SC. The "TAG" was bought by NS component Southern Railway in 1971. [D5100]

Merry Christmas! Knoxville, TN, February, 1979. [Nikon EL2, Kodachrome]

Losing light at Dossett, TN in November 1979. The railroad remains today, but much has changed since. Even the classic king post highway bridge in the distance has been replaced. [Nikon EL-2, Kodachrome]

Well put @crashton. Used to be you could drive over a railroad crossing and determine the railroad by telltale glimpse of its signals, mileposts and other details, but those days are largely gone. No doubt about it, with today's generic railroad landscape, I take way fewer pictures today than...

From a rainy 12/10/1992 at Lane, SC. This classic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad signal bridge has since been replaced with a modern type. [Nikon N2020, Kodachrome]

Extraordinary images as always @Woodyg3. My daughter is visiting my wife and I over Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to showing these to her. Upon seeing the pelican pictures, my wife recalled a rhyme from long ago: A wonderful bird is the pelican, His bill will hold more than his...

The westernmost tunnel on NS's challenging mountain route in western NC is Swannanoa Tunnel at Ridgecrest, NC at 1,832 Feet Long. This eastbound is about to enter it and begin the 12-1/2 mile descent to Old Fort. This line was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024 and is under...