Ashland, VA Railfanning June 14, 2025: A Chance Of Train Later

#train #railfan #railway

Another Parade Of Steam was in the books at the Cass Scenic Railroad, but that didn't mean I was done for the day. There was plenty of daylight left - despite the clouds determined to make it otherwise - and plenty of trains to be seen closer to home.

0:00 - CSX I196
This was my first in-person encounter with CSX's new Savannah-Chicago intermodal service, and it was an absolute beast. ES44AHs 757 and 983 provided the power for the lengthy consist of domestic and international container business.

5:17 - Amtrak 90, Palmetto
P42 120 led the way for a consist that featured a spiffy Amfleet cafe in the new Phase VII livery.

6:04 - Amtrak Northeast Regional 195
Speaking of spiffy, Northeast Regional 195 was led by ALC-42 301 in the 'Day One' scheme.

7:59 - CSX M870
The locomotives of the next southbound were working so hard, several of us assembled on the platform thought we were watching the approach of a loaded coal drag. Not quite - just a gargantuan manifest, led by ES44AH 870 and ET44AH 3280.

13:20 - Amtrak Northeast Regional 124
Shades of Ashland Train Day just a couple months prior- we ducked under the station roof for shelter as a light drizzle started. Fortunately it didn't intensify into anything worse, and I cautiously set the tripod out a little further to capture the arrival and departure of Northeast Regional 124, led by P42 152.

15:10 - Amtrak 41, Floridian
Not quite close enough to keep the camera rolling, 124 met the southbound Floridian at the north end of town, the latter powered by ALC-42 348 and P42 187.

16:00 - Amtrak 53, Auto Train
The weariness of a long day with little sleep was finally catching up, but not before I captured Amtrak's southbound flagship cruising through town behind ALC-42s 322 and 352.