What do you do, when heading home and you see the local working off in the distance?

Why, you take a right turn and head out to watch the crew switch some cars.

Yes, you'll sit in line for awhile, but what better way to spend some time on a late fall day?
The I&O is working the Lancaster Anchor Glass plant. It was a very long train!

A Visit To the Coal Mine

Some day I will build a mine like this on my model railroad. I visited this loader on the way to mom's on a cold January day and decided to just take my photos from the car.
Which was probably a good idea anyway as there was no place to pull off and park and coal trucks were everywhere-pulling in, loading, pulling out, as well as the NS train being loaded.
On down towards the Ohio River, all three trains were loaded on the Captina Division-one on the line back to Powhatan Point, one at the river being unloaded, and this one being loaded. With all the trucks being loaded also, it must have been one big order!

I have been by this mine several times and have not seen the loader at work. The one a mile or so north was the one I usually stop and watch. This one was busy, that was for sure!