Well the calendar might not change until Sunday.. but I'm already feeling Aprilish today!

I hope that everyone is enjoying Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. In South Carolina it is already feeling more like Summer with highs headed back to the high 80's this next week.

Next week is the return of the Master's Tournament to the area along with thousands of tourists and a whole flock of private aircraft. There will also be three executive trains in the area this year as the BNSF is joining the CSX and the NS in Augusta.

Mid-month will be the return of Railwatch to Folkston, Georgia. This event held annually draws hundreds of railfans and their families to the small town located on the CSX mainline north of Jacksonville. It is a great time to watch trains, see old friends, and eat some good food. This year's event is April 14th.

Charles Crawford Fundraiser:

I'm supporting the charity fundraiser to help Charles Crawford buy a new brace to be able to walk and photograph again.  You can help too...

Here is the link to find out more about the cause:

Google+ Auction

Also, on Google+ there are also photograph auctions going on from a variety of photographers to benefit Charles. I am participating in this effort also. The auction ends on April 11th.

Here is a link showing the works and the current high bids:

Now through April 8th, I'll be making a donation for each sale made on the website.

Special Offer:

Use promocode: Spring10 to take 10% off of your order of $20 or more this month only.

Thanks for reading and see you at http://genebowker.com
 

I have to wonder, when the visitors leave at the end of the day, and the lights go out.. does she dream of a chance to play on the rails once more?

A home-built beauty designed for grace and speed, the J-Class 4-8-4 611 was born and bred to pull high-speed passenger trains such as the Pocahontas and the Powathan Arrow between the tidewater of Norfolk, Virginia and the Ohio River Valley across the coal-laden mountains of the Pocahontas Division of the Norfolk & Western in West Virginia.

She represented the ultimate in design of steam locomotives; incorporating the latest technological advances in the battle against the approaching diesel revolution.
But even the best of the old technology could not stop "progress" forever.

When the fires were dropped for the last time all of her sisters were sent to the scrapyard to be recycled into refrigerators or Fords. But, somehow the 611 was saved; tucked away in a roundhouse in Roanoke.

Later, after being lovingly restored, the J-Class 611 was the queen of the Norfolk Southern Steam program back in the 1980s pulling trains throughout the Eastern United States. Many remember seeing her still.

After the end of the excursions was given a home at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, just a few blocks from where she was built in the Roanoke Shops where she sits across from another N&W classic the 1218.

 

There are times when I really feel that I was born too late. I read the accounts from Railfans of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s about all the changes going on and all the railroads which were still available to photograph and visit and I feel envious.

Back in those days, Railfans were able to photograph without having to worry about being arrested as "suspicious persons" by overzealous Railroad Cops or Police.

Most railfans were even smart enough to stay out of danger without doing things that end up on You-Tube and make all of us look like idiots.  Many railroaders extended courtesies to railfans which would get them fired in today's environment; a cab ride, a copy of a timetable, or tips on where to see a special unit.

Even in my railfan lifetime; from the 1980s to present, I've seen the railroads I grew up with such as the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific end up disappearing into larger systems. Many of the classic railfanning locations of the last century (way back in the 1900s) are now either abandoned, or if they still exist they are fenced off from trespassers (which railfans are now grouped with) and any photographer is viewed with suspicion.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good time to be a railfan and still plenty to be excited about.

Announcements such as the return of steam to the Norfolk Southern and the revealing of the new plan to paint 18 NS locomotives into historical schemes this week mean that there will be colorful new locomotives to chase the next time I’m visiting up on the Pocahontas Division in West Virginia. Happy 30^th birthday Norfolk Southern =)

 Amtrak is wrapping up its’ successful 40^th Anniversary celebration with the touring of the Southeastern US with the popular exhibit train (which I’ll go visit the weekend of March 17-18^th) and ridership numbers continue to grow. However, Amtrak still has to fight for existence each year and as the budget cuts get deeper no one really knows if it will survive to see 50 or not.

The Union Pacific is celebrating 150 years of existence and soon we’ll be celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad completion! The UP Steam program continues to captivate railfans and non-railfans alike whenever they travel the rails across the west.

Tuesday has quickly become my favorite day of the work week because that is the day that I get to enjoy all the great transportation photographs on Google Plus.

#TransportTuesday began as a way to encourage photographers to share their transportation related photographs. Little did I know that it would expand to become a constant stream of different modes of transportation from around the world.

Each week, I'm amazed at the variety of transportation modes highlighted and we've seen it all.

Be sure to check out the Transport Tuesday Google Page to learn more about the theme.