At the end of July my wife and I made a quick four-day trip to Moundsville, West Virginia to visit with family. We flew to Pittsburgh on July 27th and drove a rental car to Moundsville which is just south of Wheeling. The next day we had a good time with family and friends. Late in the afternoon I dropped Judy off at our hotel to rest up while I drove a few miles north to Benwood to see if CSX was doing anything at their small yard. I could hear switching moves over my radio and found a job working.
From here the CSX track on north to Wheeling is abandoned and there is only the little-used bridge over the Ohio River connecting with the Wheeling & Lake Erie on the west side. However, going south towards New Martinsville there are several large industries along the east bank of the Ohio River. The radio chatter sounded like the crew was making up a train to go south, so I relocated a mile south to where there was a monument indicating I was now in McMechen.
After about a 30-minute wait the train eased past me heading south with ES40DC number 5392 leading an older SD40-2 and running at no more than 20 mph in yard limits.
I headed on south through Glendale to the south end of Moundsville to a spot where the track ran directly adjacent to the Ohio River. The sun was setting over a bend in the river as I waited for the train to catch up to me.
The train pulled past me a few minutes later at 7:21 pm as the light was fading rapidly over the river.
At the south end of the bridge stood the yard limits sign and the train started to accelerate into the growing darkness. I headed back to the hotel with a take-out dinner for Judy and myself. The next day we continued our family visit and had a great time without any trains.
I thought my CSX catch would be the railroad highlight of our trip, but on the morning of July 30th while driving north on the Ohio side of the river heading back to the airport in Pittsburgh, I pulled over just south of Steubenville for this view into the NS yard at famous Mingo Junction.
A mile further north I came to a quick stop on the shoulder when I spotted a pair of ex-N&W high-hood GP35’s now belonging to Wheeling & Lake Erie sitting on the overpass over Highway 7.
These are some of my favorite engines to catch as they have operated here on the W&LE for many years.
Click on the last photo to get a better view of the original N&W logo on the bridge. With this “Hail Mary” shot in the bag on the way to the airport to fly home, the trip was now officially over the top!
