Ex-DM&E 4002 "30th Anniversary Unit" First Runs on Aberdeen & Rockfish - Coverage From Fay - Raeford

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This long-form documentary on Ex-Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern GP40-2 4002, the "30th Anniversary Employee Dedication" unit has been in the works since my first encounter with it on June 25th, 2025. That was the first day 4002 made its way into Fayetteville since being purchased and tested in Aberdeen, NC. I didn't realize heading out that they would be going engine lite from Old Yard to River which produced a unique opportunity to see it lead on A&R trackage for the first time or at least on this side of the line. I didn't stick around for long that day due to the heat index being over 100 degrees with over 80% humidity which is not ideal for a guy like me that sweats a lot and that day was no exception. I would then go for it on 6 other occasions since that date to document 4002 before inevitably getting repainted into A&R's company scheme which may happen sooner than later. I captured it on June 25th, July 2nd, July 8th, July 15th, July 21st, July 22nd, and most recently July 29th. Instead of separate videos of it, I decided to make one big movie essentially. So if you want to watch the key moments throughout this video, you can check out the chapters/key points to see the main scenes and get the gist of it all. However if you have the time to watch the full 1 hour 23 minutes & 5 seconds of this upload, then sit back, get a drink with some food, and enjoy! All of y'alls time and viewership is much appreciated. Especially being busy with work, it has been awhile since I last uploaded something and I wanted to come back with a bang!

With all that being said, enjoy today's video! Please show some love to this if you liked it! Don't forget to comment, rate, like, and subscribe for more content like this if this interests you in any way! Also hit that notification bell by the subscribe button so YOU can be the first to be notified when a new video comes out! It all certainly goes a long way.

This is CJ, until next time. Peace out y'all!

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Ex-DM&E A&R GP40-2 4002 (NC P3)
Ex-NS A&R GP38-3 5830 (NF K5LAR4)
A&R GP38 400 (RS5T)

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Railfanning Equipment:

-Sony HDR-CX330 Camcorder (Main Cam)

-Sony HDR-CX240 Camcorder (Ground Cam)

-Canon EOS 77D with EF-S 18-135mm lens (Photos)

-SLIK Pro 700DX Professional Tripod with KingJoy VT-1500 Fluid Tripod Head (Main Cam Tripod)

-Jolican 75” Camera Tripod (Ground & Phone Tripod)

-Uniden BC75XLT Scanner with Diamond Antenna SRJ77CA

-DaVinci Resolve 20

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00:00 - Intro

00:25 - AF25 Crossing Old Wilmington Road

01:02 - AF25 Arriving at New River Terminal

02:18 - AF25 Working River Terminal

05:45 - AF02 Starting Work at Park Place (A Rarely Documented Movement)

06:17 - AF02 Starting The Unique Process of Switching Around Its Train To Reverse In The Single Centerbeam

13:37 - AF02 Preparing To Head Back East

15:19 - AF02 Heading Back Into Town

15:41 - AF02 Entering Skibo Yard Limits To Pick Up Cars For CSX

17:55 - AF02 Leaving Skibo Yard With Some Dropoffs For Old Yard (Interchange)

18:55 - AF02 Entering Downtown Fayetteville Past A Fixed Semaphore

19:55 - AF21 Leaving River Terminal To Work Old Yard

21:24 - AF21 Pulling Into Old Yard With Cars From River

24:18 - This Is Where The Continuity Ends. This Is Combined Footage of AF8, AF15, AF22, & AF29

24:32 - A&R Building Its Train To Head Westbound Out of Fayetteville to Raeford

28:45 - A&R Crossing "A&R Crossing" Over The CSX A-Line, Heading Westbound

29:48 - Ex-DM&E 4002 Rolling Past The Fixed Semaphore, Leaving Yard Limits

31:10 - A&R Notching Up Past Raeford Road Going Track Speed

34:00 - A&R Notching Up Again Leaving Skibo Yard Limits Past Cliffdale Road

34:35 - A&R Paralleling Reilly Road Off Cliffdale Past Two Painted A&R Boxcars

35:36 - Pulling Ahead of A&R On Reilly

35:50 - A&R Crossing An Old Bridge Over Old Raeford Road

36:15 - A&R Tackling The Steep Grades of Rockfish, The Second Town It Was Named For

38:30 - A&R Notching It Up Past An Old Wooden Trestle Between Rockfish & Arabia

39:23 - A&R Rolling Through Arabia At Speed

41:14 - A&R Going Through The Sharp, Sweeping Curve At Dundarrach

44:19 - Pacing Ex-DM&E 4002 Through The Open Fields of Dundarrach

46:14 - A&R Approaching Raeford NC, Exiting Dundarrach

46:50 - A&R Entering Yard Limits On The Outskirts of Raeford, NC

47:15 - Switching Out Cars To Bring For Raeford

47:53 - A&R Arriving In Downtown Raeford With 18 Tank Cars For Storage

50:12 - A&R Setting Off Cars

53:00 - Connecting To Storage Cars

54:17 - Pulling Out Storage Cars To Retrieve A Gondola

54:55 - Putting Storage Cars Back On Spur Track/Siding

59:58 - A&R Swapping Ends To Head Back East

01:03:28 - A&R Building Train To Head Back To Fay

01:07:50 - A&R Heading To Arabia To Bring Out Storage Cars

01:14:18 - A&R Pulling Out 80+ Cars

01:16:40 - A&R Working Arabia

01:22:54 - Outro