109 Years Young, Part III: Go, Tell It On The Mountain

Описание: While railfanning North Carolina for a week was a tempting thought, my brief visit to witness the 630's excursions out of Spencer on April 13th would have to suffice until I could return on the 20th for her next performance, this one in a far more scenic venue - the famed ex-Southern Railway 'Loops' route between Asheville and Old Fort, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Popping up to Salisbury on the 13th from Charlotte was easy enough, but a drive out to the mountains from there was a little more daunting, considering the first run of the day was departing Asheville at 8 AM and I wanted to be in position for the first shot in plenty of time. 'Plenty' turned out to be a relative term, depending on how you look at it. I decided to avoid the initial crowds (and an even earlier wake-up call) and aimed to make my first shot in the town of Swannanoa, between Asheville and the summit of the grade in Ridgecrest.

It turned out to be a wise choice - I arrived in town a few minutes shy of 8:30, and as I attached the camera to the tripod I could hear the 630's whistle echoing in the distance. I double-timed it across the tracks and set up with about a minute to spare before the 630 blasted into view from under a distant bridge. It was a brilliant, sunny morning, and temperatures in the low 40s enhanced the scene with a spectacular plume of exhaust from the 630's stack. Yes, she was being looked after by two diesel attendants - low-nose GP38-2 5261 and her high-nose sister 5071 - but I could understand, given the layer cake of 2.2% grades, curves, and loops that lay ahead. Having I-40 nearby was my saving grace, as I was able to jump ahead to the Yates Ave. crossing in Ridgecrest just before the special popped into view and slowed to a stop to check things over before beginning its descent.

You know you're in the boonies when your GPS starts giving you directions onto roads with names like 'Fire Road 1407'. You also know that the climb is steep when you are above the tracks one minute and then below them a few turns later. Thus was my own descent, as Yates Ave. quickly gave way to a twisting, gravel-covered, guardrail-free, nail-biting, 'I-hope-there's-no-one-coming-around-this-next-curve' thrill ride down the mountain in search of my next shot. Sadly, I had done far too little preparation in choosing locations in between Ridgecrest and Old Fort, but I did recall one landmark I could aim for.

One of the many highlights of the excursions I rode over the same route in the '80s was the view of Andrews Geyser as the train climbed the grade. 'Views' would be a more accurate description - the tracks pass the location on three different levels as they climb out of Old Fort. My descent from Ridgecrest may have been slow and curvy, but the 630's descent was slower and curvier. I beat the train to the geyser by a sufficiently wide margin, and took a few minutes to admire the location from ground level for the first time - until the ghostly echo of 630's whistle bouncing off the mountainsides turned everyone's attention to the tracks above the geyser to the right. The train curved into view on a high fill and reappeared a few minutes later much lower and to our left as it continued on to Old Fort.

There was one view I was determined to see, even if it meant sitting idle while I staked my claim. Just west of Andrews Geyser the road folds around in a tight hairpin, crossing under the tracks and then turning back to climb the mountainside with a view of the tracks and the geyser park in the distance. Far up the mountainside to the left the tracks came into view on the upper loop, curving away out of sight to reappear in the middle and cross the road and a creek on a curving bridge, then disappearing from sight again to loop around once more and pass the geyser park on the other side.

The sight of the chasing crowd returning was a welcome one, as it meant the train was on the move. More whistle echoes followed as the train coiled around the upper loop and reappeared on the middle tier a few minutes later. This time, I followed into Old Fort to catch the train again as it crossed Orchard Street and curved under Old U.S. 70.

The view of the tracks off an S curve caught my eye from a bridge on Old U.S. 70 as I chased the train into Old Fort, so I returned to the spot to await the final run back to Asheville. Conversation helped pass the time until that now-familiar ghostly whistle echo snapped everyone to attention as the 630 marched upgrade, her diesel assistants drowned out if only for a moment. With a little more confidence in my ability to make it up the mountain first, I managed another shot from Andrews Geyser and one more each from Ridgecrest and Swannanoa before calling it a day. Now, I wonder what Round Knob would look like with a long freight wrapped around it...

#train #trainspotting #railfanning #railroad #steam #travel #northcarolina