Tag Archive | tracks

Birthday Party Time!

Having A Birthday Dinner Picnic By The Trains

Our son wanted to spend his birthday dinner at our favorite picnic place, by the Ashland Visitors Center watching the trains. We got lucky today, no garbage train! This time we were graced by Amtrak and one of my favorite trains, the AutoTrain!

And what’s a birthday train watch without a souvenir? We had two train smashed pennies in the car and decided to have them flattened again. The problem was, we couldn’t find one of them after Engine 73 went by. Wonder how much money gets lost on train tracks across the U.S.?

Amtrack

Amtrak 73 Southbound

We laid our final penny on the track again and waited for the next train. This time it was another Amtrak. And once again we lost our penny. We stared at it, watched it bounce and fly onto the track. But between the three of us, we could not find it! You’d think a shiny flat penny would be easy to see! Nope. One of the other visitors to the track this afternoon also helped us look for our lost penny. He couldn’t find it either. The AutoTrain really did a number on it. Flattened it so well it must have evaporated! Continue reading

The Traveling Sound of Rumbling Trains

Randolf-Macon College And Trains

Today while watching the trains the little Prince started chatting up two college girls on their way back to campus. He asked them if they thought the trains were loud when they were studying? Great opening line. Both of them equally lovely, the brunette spoke first and noted on sunny days they don’t bother her at all. But on a snowy day this past winter, she wished she could push the mute button because they seemed to echo through the snow.

CSX - Southbound

CSX 5389 – Southbound

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Rainy Train Day

Rain or Shine The Train’s On The Line

Even on rainy days we can’t run errands without swinging by the Train Depot. There’s something about hearing that train horn sound off in the distance on a cloudy day. It seems to echo against the clouds and herald the arrival of adventure.

Amtrak - Southbound

Amtrak 176 – Southbound

© This material is the intellectual property of Author Springwolf
© 2006-2013 Evilwordsmith.com. All Rights Reserved, Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.

We’ve Got Trains

CSX

CSX

Trains, Trains and More Trains

If you like train pictures, we’ve got a new place here on Evil Wordsmith for you. We’ve been visiting our local historic train depot for nearly 10 years now. It’s a great place to sit at the picnic tables, have some pop corn chicken and family time.

Over the years we’ve taken our share of pictures of the CSX Freight trains and the Amtrak Passenger trains that run through this little historic town of Ashland Virginia. We’ve met some really nice folk who live in the area and like to watch trains as much as we do. And we’ve met some travelers who have come here to sit by the tracks and take their own pictures and video.

A few weeks ago we met a guy from New Hampshire who was running down i95 to South Carolina. His name was Joe and he told us he specifically makes a stop for the night here in Ashland so he can watch the trains roll by and take some pictures. During out little visit he said we should put our pictures up on Evil’s blog because there are a lot of folk out there who simply love train pictures. So we picked our favorites so far and posted them here in our new section Trains!

We hope Joe finds his way to our site one day. And sees our tribute to the CSX east coast line in Virginia. Thanks Joe for the suggestion.

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© This material is the intellectual property of Author Springwolf
© 2006-2013 Evilwordsmith.com. All Rights Reserved, Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.

Train Enthusiasts

More Picture Taking

We love trains, but we’re certainly not die-hard enthusiasts. We meet all kinds of train fans on our little excursions. Some folks are retired employees of CSX or other train companies. Folks who know a lot more about trains than we do. We’ve learned a lot from these folks too. Did you know that rail transportation has been around since the 1st century?

We met some interesting guys on our recent trip to Ashland to watch the trains. They too were taking pictures.

CSX

CSX

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© This material is the intellectual property of Author Springwolf
  © 2006-2013 Evilwordsmith.com. All Rights Reserved, Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.

It’s All About The Pictures

Capturing The Moment

We have met some wonderful people on our many trips to the Ashland Depot. People from around the country have stopped here to catch a glimpse of the passing trains and mark their moment on camera.

Amtrak

Amtrak 814

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A Special Amtrak Engine

An Unusual Engine

We’ve seen a lot of different types of CSX engines roll through town. But this is the first black Amtrak engine we’ve ever seen.

Amtrak

Amtrak 145

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© This material is the intellectual property of Author Springwolf
© 2006-2013 Evilwordsmith.com. All Rights Reserved, Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.

A Train Reward

A Lazy End To Summer

During the school year when the boys need their hair cut, we turn the mundane errand into a fun train watching reward afterwards. That’s the great thing about the local grocery store deli. Nothing like popcorn chicken to put a smile on everyone’s face.

Amtrak

Amtrak 154

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Southbound Amtrak

There aren’t many things we get to do for free. But watching trains is one of those things we really enjoy doing and it doesn’t cost anything but gas.

Amtrak

Amtrak 85

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© This material is the intellectual property of Author Springwolf
© 2006-2013 Evilwordsmith.com. All Rights Reserved, Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D.