Cass Railfan Weekeend - 1

Hi,The weekend began on May 14, 2013 with diesel power, not steam.  I picked up friend Dave Busse, who flew in from California for the weekend, at Dulles Airport and we immediately headed to Manassas, VA to see what we could find.  First up was a VRE commuter train,

followed a few minutes later by Amtrak's Crescent.

The conductor soon was on the platform checking people in with his iphone.  After the Crescent departed we left to get dinner and hit the sack.

The next day we were joined by friend Jeremy Beck.  We elected to check out Sand Patch on our way to Elkins, WV where we would spend the night.  Unfortunately, there were only 3 trains between about 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM.  One of these was a work train dropping ties at Hyndman, PA.  He cleared up so that Q352, shown below, could cross over from Track 1 to 2.

Then the work train, WR74, went back to work.

Work equipment was parked on a siding just west of Sand Patch summit.  We assumed it was for use in increasing clearance in tunnels.  Note that what looks like a locomotive actually has rubber tractor wheels for traction and small flanged wheels at the ends.

The final train we saw was Q368, shown here just short of the summit.

We easily beat it to the western outskirts of Cumberland, MD.

After the passage of Q368 it was time to head for Elkins and dinner.  I hope you enjoyed the photos.