The Original

One of the more elusive members of the  Norfolk Southern heritage fleet has been the NS #8114 - the Original Norfolk Southern. I'd only seen it one other time, in the dark, in the rain, dead in tow trailing 5th of 6. So while it technically counted as a catch it was a lousy picture-taking opportunity which ended with the expected bad picture.

But, I finally got a good chance with great weather, it wasn't close to home but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. As has become the norm, the chase started with a post on the Facing Book. The 8114 was leading train #745 which pulls about 100 empty coal cars from Asheville NC northeast through Bulls Gap. The only remaining issues is timing - about 4 hours  - the train's travel to the selected intercept point in Bulls Gap. Any time a train travels that far the chance of delays is huge, the saving grace is there's a crew swap in Bulls Gap so it will hang around there a little while for that.

I scoped out a nice expansive curve just west of Bulls Gap and planned my 1 hour travel time to give me a chance to move if the light was bad or the shot just wasn't that good. I turned on the road that goes into beautiful downtown Bulls Gaps on time, BUT, the train was already there, blocking the road into downtown. Krep. 

Plan B: go east of town to the road that crosses the track at the far end of the yard and see if I could see the motor from there. When I got to the crossing there were already several folk from the Facing Book group still waiting, excellent, I hadn't missed it.

I hung out with those guys, took a long distance shot of the #1068 Erie that was parked just north of Moore, and waited until 745 was ready to leave Bulls Gap then executed Plan C which was going to the crossing at Whitehorn Rd where there was an old building that would provide some interesting backdrop.

The light was still pretty good when the train got to me, the clouds were epic, and the old building was looking older. A new set of signals and cross-bucks had been added to the crossing since I was last there, so I had to move farther east than I intended, but it worked out fine.

The following is the shot of the Erie and a shot of the 8114 working the yard I took while at the crossing at Moore.

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I've seen all 20 of the Heritage motors.

#13  1065   Savannah and Atlanta

#15  1066   New York Central

#19  1067   Reading
#12  1068   Erie
  #1  1069   Virginian
  #8  1070   Wabash
 #16 1071   Central RR of New Jersey
#11  1072   Illinois Terminal
  #4  1073   Penn Central
 #18 1074   Delaware Lackawanna
 #17 8025   Monongahela
  #2  8098   Conrail

#10  8099k  Southern
  #5  8100   Nickel Plate Road
  #7  8101   Central of Georgia

  #9  8102   Pennsylvania

 #14 8103   Norfolk and Western
  #3  8104   Lehigh Valley

  #6  8105   Interstate

 #20 8114   Norfolk Southern

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This is not a new special interest engine for me.

6920    Honoring Our Veterans

6963    GoRail

  630    Southern Railway Steam
  911    Honoring First Responders
1030    The Forgotten Heritage Engine
3170w Southern