Recent content by Sandpatch

Sunday's northbound Floridian at Pontiac, SC running nine hours late. The train hit a tree somewhere in GA and busted out a window in the lead locomotive. CSX brought a freight unit to assist the train into Savannah where the Amtrak locomotives were spun to put the 341 in the lead. [D5100]

I caught Amtrak's southbound Floridian today in daylight at Camden, SC running 12-1/2 Hours late. [D5100]

They turned out nicely. Yeah, rail photography sometimes results in mad dashes! That's the Wisconsin & Southern RR and those are leased locomotives, often called "Rent A Wrecks" by railfans. These are indeed tired, former Union Pacific and nearing 40 years of service. The station is a jewel!

Wow @BF Hammer -- your Big Boy shots turned out super well! Great locations and light, AND you avoided the "asses and elbows" images so commonly caught at crowded stops. Nice work! (y)

Whoa, that's a fine picture of a vintage PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) car. (y) I did a little research and it was built for Toronto's system in 1951. The PCC car design was a result of transit companies combining efforts to design the perfect car and their efforts were highly...

Nice shots. Cog railroad! Looks to be narrow gauge too. (y)

Another shot from Ridgeway, SC, but this one from today with a Union Pacific locomotive leading a Norfolk Southern train. These two large railroads are seeking to merge, but most all of the big railroads commonly swap locomotives amongst each other. It's always fun to see visiting locomotives...

Sun's coming up on 11/16/1991 north of Columbia at Ridgeway, SC with Norfolk & Western No. 611 leading a round trip to Charlotte. Diesels need not apply. :) [Kodachrome, Nikon N2020]

October 1996 at Colorado Springs, CO. [Kodachrome, Nikon N2020]

Along with cabooses, "hooping up" orders is yet another lost tradition. Until displaced by modern technology, train movements were controlled by written "Train Orders". These were exacting paper documents to be read by locomotive and caboose crews. Rather than stop trains to give them to...

Landing gear down! :) Love this shot. ❤️

I didn't know you had Wawa's in FL. A few weeks ago we drove to NJ from SC and stopped at an NJ Wawa for gas. I was surprised that you still can't pump your own gas in NJ. The pump guy was super nice and we had a fun conversation; I lived in NJ 40+ years ago.

From this afternoon, a grain train at Simpson, SC with all three locomotives running "elephant style", slang for all pointed forward. [D5100] 🐘🐘🐘 I normally don't edit my pictures all that much, but I'm thinking that cell tower needs to go.

Bad neighborhood. :oops: (Actually, No. 7 is probably awaiting an engine) [Staunton, VA, 04/29/2026, D5100]

Chesapeake & Ohio station at Staunton, VA. (Pronounced STAN-ton. not STAWN-ton). [D5100, 04/29/2026]