December 30, 2016.
Welcome to the Seaboard Central, representing the Southeastern U.S. on The Railwire! Coming in from a visit to the Rock Island, the M
3T proceeded east, traveling over the C&O into Richmond, Virginia, where it turned south for a run down the double-tracked former Atlantic Coast Line racetrack (a/k/a the "A Line") to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Evidencing the cooperation of the Chessie and Seaboard roads, which would be merged into CSX in a few years, the C&O sleeper, the
City of Fostoria, was kept on the train until it returned to Washington, D.C.
In Fayetteville, the train was handed over to the Aberdeen & Rockfish RR Co., who was more than happy to host the train and pay homage to Puddy. We caught up to the train just east of Aberdeen, North Carolina, when it was tiptoeing down the almost 3% grade known as Bethesda Hill behind A&R No. 400. The folks at the A&R polished up the GP38 and even steam cleaned its trucks and fuel tank, so as to create a worthy appearance for the Memorial Train:
The Canadians on board were taken aback by the sculptures created by that invasive weed, kudzu. "That stuff's everywhere," howled the conductor. "It's on the bridge. It's on the line poles. It's in the trees! Wow, thankfully, nothing grows like that up our way." Little did the conductor know that kudzu had already been spotted as far north as Ontario on the north shore of Lake Erie! And, since it can grow up to a foot per day, it won't take long to continue its northward trek:
Almost to Aberdeen, the M
3T passed one of the many famous North Carolina furniture factories that was busy loading its wares into those ubiquitous Southern Ry. boxcars:
Reaching the bottom of Bethesda Hill on a sharp curve, the M
3T rolled into Aberdeen:
Approaching the interchange with the Seaboard System, the M
3T ran alongside the power provided by the SBD, two former ACL E-units, that were already staged to pull the train back north. The Railwire Express car had already made it to Aberdeen, but no one from that group was around. Apparently, those boys were sleeping in and still hungover from the previous night's shenanigans and goonery. The smell of overcooked bacon and cheap bourbon still permeated the air:
"What a cute southern town," exclaimed the conductor, as he spotted a familiar punchbuggy:
The M
3T was turned on the Aberdeen & Briar Patch Ry.'s wye, so to be properly oriented for the trip north:
Saying goodbye to the good folks of Aberdeen and appreciating the A&R's southern hospitality, the M
3T passed the former Seaboard Air Line station on the former SAL tracks (a/k/a the "S Line").
Cruising along the S-Line just south of Southern Pines, North Carolina:
Finally, we lost track of the M
3T where the tracks diverged from the backroads we were following. The train would continue north to Richmond, Virginia, where it would enter the tracks of the RF&P to Washington, D.C. From there, the Memorial Train would travel as an Amtrak Special on the Northeast Corridor all the way to Boston, Massachusetts and the home of
@peteski, the next stop on the tour:
Thanks for visiting the Seaboard Central. Y'all come back now, y'hear!
DFF
P.S. On behalf of the management and employees of the Seaboard Central, Puddy, you will never be forgotten.
