S06E064 The Sun Goes Down, The Spirit of Birmingham Rolls Out, and The Rain Moves In

Timing is everything in the world of railfanning. Word came down that Norfolk Southern 1230, officially named “Birmingham” and wearing a special color scheme, would be leading the evening’s 12R. I arrived at the Heyward Street crossing in plenty of time for its departure, with perhaps half an hour to spare. As you can see, I got some beautiful footage of this very beautiful unit, along with the rest of the oddly fascinating monster that is NS 12R—including benchwork, fallen flags, and some interesting patched cars. It was a good evening. I was contemplating whether to move over to Capitol City Crossing to catch a few more of the evening’s trains. I had just gotten the camera packed safely inside the vehicle and was buckling my seat belt when the skies burst forth with a downpour of near-Biblical proportions. It was completely unexpected, given the cloud conditions at the time, but somehow managed to continue for more than three hours. Needless to say, I pointed the car toward home instead of Capitol City. But it was still a productive evening: gorgeous train, good footage, and camera gear that did not get wet. Win-win. I hope you’ll share a few minutes of it with me by clicking that link, enjoying the video, and sharing it with your railfan friends and family. Thanks for watching!