Producer: Big E
Locations: Ashland, Gwathmey
Timeframe: 2011
Length: 67 minutes
Source: Dick Eisfeller
Amtrak and CSX at Ashland, Virginia in March, 2011. There are over 24 hours of trains seen here. Former RF&P rails under CSX. Ashland, Virginia is 15 miles north of Richmond. As usual, Big E shows the whole train.
There are 5 grade crossings in a quiet zone. Tracks run through the center of downtown. Outside of the designated zone, normal sounds
A single DVD-R. Fullscreen 4×3 aspect ratio. Audio of train sounds is low in comparison to the narration.
Main Chapter Menu. A map is displayed to. help explain the operations. Informative narration by Dick Eisfeller. Option to select on/off narrative.
To the Trains… 👉
Amtrak’s Palmetto with P42 #89 is 18 minutes tardy arriving at Ashland.
Next. CSX Q-348 rumbles through downtown with engine 769 (ES44-AC) is out in front.
Amtrak’s Carolinian with seven cars. It routes from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina.
At 1:25 pm and 25 minutes late. The Silver Star serves New York to Florida.
This Auto Train has 44 cars. Number 91 is 5 minutes late. On it’s way to Florida
Darkness falls Relocated to nearby Gwathmey.3230 Amtrak. Nighttime trains are well lit. The viewpoint is now compressed to single pieces passing a fixed camera. Speed limit is 45 mph. Provides very brief bits of time to see the individual cars. Not optimal viewing, you do the math.
Q-139 at 3:04 am. CSX 948 (ES-44AC) leads the Northbound to North Baltimore, Ohio. 35.25
Daylight begins to return at 45ms. The fixed camera is movable now. Still at Gwaltney. Time is 7:02 am. Q-405 from Philadelphia to Rocky Mount.
Amtrak Northeaster #84 at 8:37 am. It slows for the station behind motor 52. These regionals run standard Amtrak equipment.
South of town, the horns get sounded. CSX train Q-174 is Northbound. Power is. 5421 (ES44-DC) and 7383 (C40-8W). These GE locomotives haul an Intermodal at 9:24 am. Origin was Jacksonville. Final destination is North Bergen.
This Q-438 move stops at the station. This due to air pressure problem. Engines 5388/ 5327 (ES44-DC).101 Train gets inspected by the Conductor.
Tropicana Juice Train led by a pair of ES44-DC units. CSX 5413 leads by the station.The Q-740 is from Bradenton, Florida. Here is an unmolested TPIX 3062 reefer. Any graffiti ruins these. A fine shot for Model Railroaders.
CSX and Amtrak at Ashland, VA
This show has a cornucopia of Amtrak. Plenty of CSX freight traffic. Although, compared to vast offerings on CSX. This particular CSX content is informative but on the mediocre side. All of the scenes are trackside. Some variety of actual film spots.
Video quality is clean. Good colors and adequate composure. The narrative is very informative. Although at times, some more train listening would improve the balance.
Overall, a large supply of Amtrak tilts this program in favor of Passenger Trains. The CSX freights are mostly shot slightly tight and lacking a variety of distance for trainwatching. In other words, it gets repetitive.
A must have for Amtrak fans. Hence, it gets a bump upward for that content.
Rating: 4 Stars
American Train Video Reviews 