Hello From West Virginia!!!

[C&OFan7534]

I would like to take the time to go ahead and introduce myself.

I am Dennis from Marmet, West Virginia along CSX Transportation's "Kanawha Subdivision." I have been a railfan for years and I, for the most part, take video of CSX and Norfolk Southern action in Ohio and West Virginia. I have taken a few videos of Norfolk Southern action along the Ohio and Scioto Rivers in southern and south central Ohio.

When I was born, the Chessie System was in its final days just as CSX was beginning to absorb everything Chessie System and Seaboard System into one giant of a railroad. I loved seeing Chessie, C&O, B&O, WM, Seaboard, L&N, SCL, and Clinchfield units that had escaped the paint booth until they had to go in for a repaint.

 

[Pat]

I drove along the Kanawha a few years ago. Should be some good stuff.

 

[C&OFan7534]

There can be some really interesting stuff come through down this way. Our two daily manifest usually get older E.M.D. and GE power while the coal runs can get anything from the older E.M.D. and G.E. power to the new ES44AHs. That's not even mentioning what the intermodal down here will get.

 

[al1218]

Greetings Dennis! I used to railfan along down around Thurmond and Prince back in the mid-1980's when I worked for a company headquartered in Oak Hill.
One of my prize catchs was NKP 765 exiting Stretcher Neck tunnel at Prince, WV on an eastbound New River Train excursion in October 1986. Welcome Aboard!.

Allen Evans
Federal Way, WA

 

[Eastern Railfan]

Welcome from Maryland! Nice to see another contributor to the eastern section of the forum.

 

[C&OFan7534]

Thanks Allen!!

There is another reason as to why they call that tunnel Stretcher Neck. It has nothing to do with coming around that curve either.

Give up???

Its because when you drive along SR 41 through Prince. You have to stretcher neck just to look at it.

 

[C&OFan7534]

Thanks Tommy!!

Dennis

 

[al1218]

Thanks Allen!!

There is another reason as to why they call that tunnel Stretcher Neck. It has nothing to do with coming around that curve either.

Give up???

Its because when you drive along SR 41 through Prince. You have to stretcher neck just to look at it.

That's true! But just try driving thru it! I did once one warm Sunday afternoon in 1986 while out railfanning. The gate was open at Prince so I decided to go for it. Even with driving lights, the tunnel was literally so black that you could barely see. I drove almost all of the way to Thurmond but got stopped by a locked gate. With not enough room to turn around, I had to back up for several miles (I had a sore neck after that) but finally did and drove back thru the tunnel. Luckily the gate was still unlocked when I got back to Prince. I would've had a time if it had been locked along with several fishermen I saw. For all of that, I only saw one train and I wasn't ready for it.
I have driven and/or hiked along the tracks from Thurmond to Sewell on several occasions. Just imagine doing that now, you'd get arrested by the Dept. of Homeland Security and most likely thrown into prison for being a "railroad terrorist". :-(