Cumberland Trip Report (Lots of Photos)

railohio

Active Member
The last weekend in October I took off with three friends for a whirlwind Eastern tour. We left Ohio on Thursday evening and arrived a little after midnight at the cabin at Mance.

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After a chilly night we awoke to a beautifully clear Friday morning. The greatest catch of Friday morning was Q249 coming around the horseshoe curve just as the sun peaked over the mountains.

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We decided to move east and stopped at the small community of Glencoe to see what would come along. What came along was P030, the eastbound Capitol Limited. We decided to press eastward and see some new locations.

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Just after leaving Glencoe our scanner came to life to alert us to the train approaching. IT turned out to be Q297, a westbound with some hot auto parts. We quickly found our way back to the tracks to record its passing.

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Our next stop was Fairhope, a small community along the tracks much like Glencoe. Of note at Fairhope is a small deck built onto a hill for railfans. From this vantange point one can get a spectacular view of the curves in town. The first train we saw was a westbound, so no decent shot was available. Here we see Q134, our first eastbound at this location, coming into Fairhope.

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After the excitement of Q134 subsided I decided to check out the view from trackside and while doing so Q641 snuck up on us.

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After these two great catches at Fairhope we decided to move further east. Our next stop was in the city of Hyndman. Here we waited to shoot an eastbound on the river bridge in town, but such hopes were soon dashed. The only movement we caught near Hyndman was Q135, which we quickly dashed out of town for a better view of.

By this time it was mid-afternoon and we were getting tired. We decided to call it a day for photography and head into Cumberland for some "R-n-R." We would resume railfanning early the next morning at Magnolia.
 

railohio

Active Member
Saturday morning started out with a quick trip to top off the tank and our stomachs. We were soon on the road headed east, for Magnolia, West Virginia.

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Magnolia was a busy place on Saturday. In a little under six hours we netted eleven trains on the Cumberland Sub. Magnolia was also a busy spot for railfans; there were probably a dozen there, not counting our group. Here are some random images from that morning. We saw eleven moves here, including Q249, Q373, Q135, Q217, Q137, T720, P030, Q278, Q415, Q401, and Q139.
 

railohio

Active Member
After this great morning we decided we wanted there to be some trains left for Hancock, so we moved on eastward.

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CSX obliged and provided more trains, exemplified by Q400 passing HO tower. This tower sits along the CSX main across the river from Hancock, Maryland. This has been a railfan haven for years. Sure enough, we spot three more roving gangs of railfans here. This makes for close to twenty other railfans we encountered this day.

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The next move encountered was Q134, hustling by HO tower with CSX 7507 in the lead.

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Our final catch at Hancock was Q130. In an odd turn of events, this train was missing some of its paperwork and had to stop at the tower to pick up new copies. Here we catch the conductor talking to the tower operator.

After Q130, we decided to call it a day and head back west. We wanted to do some night shots at Mance before calling it a day.

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We managed to get three trains at Mance, although the most dramatic for photography was P029, the eastbound Capitol Limited, with its flashing EOT dramatically captured on film.
 

railohio

Active Member
For the final day we decided to begin heading home. After two days of sunshine our luck began to run out and we encountered rain before entering Ohio.

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Our first stop was Lodi, Ohio. Here the CSX main is elevated through town with a series of stone arch bridges carrying the line over roads and streams.

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After this we decided to move to some county road overpasses west of Lodi. These offer a wonderful view of the line and allow for some dramatic photography. Here we see Q388 and K552 approaching Lodi.

The weather was not improving, so we decided to make a bee line west. We made a quick stop in Greenwich and saw Q276 and Q116, although I did no photography there. We soon decided to press onward, heading for the railfan hub of Fostoria. Although there were no other railfans present, we did see seven more trains there, including Q248, H795, 261, Q139, Q117, Q384, and Q349, before calling it a night.

Overall, the trip was a success. Although there were some photos I botched, overall I was pleased with the results. I surely can't wait to do it all over again!
 

Drew1125

Active Member
BEAUTIFUL photos Brian!
Looks like yopu guys saw a lot of action! :cool:
The road names & paint schemes may change over the years, but the beauty of the Appalachians is eternal!
 
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