Brought To You By The Letter J, Parts 1-3: From The Beginning

#trains #railfanning #train #railroad #trainspotting #steam Everyone has to start somewhere. For me and railfan videography, that somewhere was Toccoa, GA on October 30, 1993. I was aboard the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter NRHS' 'Peachtree Special', riding behind N&W Class J 611 from Charlotte, NC to Toccoa and return - the first subject I ever shot with a camcorder and the last excursion I rode before the original NS steam program shut down in late 1994. When I originally uploaded this footage in 2008, YouTube limited clips to 10 minutes or less, so I chopped what I had into 3 parts which became Brought To You By The Letter J parts 1, 2, and 3. Now using a new capture and up-to-date editing know-how, I have remastered and recompiled the footage into a single video. The tape is old, the weather was miserable, and my beginner-level camera handling of the time is evident throughout, but I cannot deny the sentimental value and historical significance decades later. 0:00 - Arrival In Toccoa We have disembarked from the train at the station platform in Toccoa and walked to the rear of the train to get a look at the 'Mardi Gras', the ex-N&W observation car owned by the Roanoke Chapter NRHS. Note the entire consist was in Tuscan Red and gold livery, matching the colors on 611. After a few minutes, the train was repositioned so 611 could be serviced. 4:16 - Servicing 611 While a Caterpillar shovel replenished the coal supply, fire hoses replenished the water. Neither job was an exact science, and some spillage was inevitable. ;) 6:19 - Turning The Train Refueling complete, the 611 pulled the train forward through the first leg of the yard's wye to turn around for the return to Charlotte. GP38-2 5098 (sublettered for Southern Railway subsidiary Georgia, Southern & Florida) followed the train through the wye to pull it through the second leg by its tail. 11:07 - Prepare For Reboarding Now back on the main, the 611 pulls the train forward again for boarding. 12:35 - Departing Toccoa Departure from Toccoa. In those days riding in the vestibules of the cars was not frowned upon like it is now, so for me the coach seat was simply a place to stow my gear. Scenes include the river crossings at the GA/SC state line and just outside Clemson, a glimpse of the train on a curve through Easley, and finally our arrival in Greenville, SC. 18:22 - Meeting A Freight My best guess for the location of the closing scene is Taylors, SC, where the main line narrowed to a single track. The excursion paused for a meet with a fast southbound intermodal, led by a C39-8/SD60 pair. Note that both units were running long hood forward, as was the norm for NS back then.