of shortlines and work trains

[OT from cottage renovations]

the opportunity for a couple of days out chasing trains with the estimable Mr. Frailey is not to be missed.  lately he has taken an interest in the daily handoff of trains between CSX and the NCVA (North Carolina & Virginia) short line in Boykins VA so off we went to catch the fun.  these aren't your typical handful-of-cars-on-the-interchange-track affairs, but mile-long heavy freight trains.  the short line serves a Nucor Steel mini-mill so the traffic runs to inbound scrap metal in gondolas outbound plate steel plates in bulkhead flatcars. 

the NCVA crew were friendly and explained how the operation works: whichever carrier has the longer train waits out of town for the other to drop its cars and pull back for the swap. 

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the daily ritual having been completed we headed back to the main line to see what other trains might be about. 

(click through this thumbnail for higher resolution image)

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Skippers, VA

it's not immediately clear what this work train spent the day on the main line actually doing: it was midafternoon and then some when they decided to head back to Weldon NC but none of its cars seem to have discharged any of the crushed rock ballast onto the track. 

as seen from the premises of the Good Earth Peanut Co.:  a porch, a picnic table and an overhanging tree next to a busy mainline.  does it get any better than this?