Interior of Armstrong lever equipped Z Tower.

An empty coal train approaches Rowlesburg after descending Cranberry Grade.

At twilight, GCK 25 and 303 are tied up on the main at Barton, trackage originally owned by the Cumberland & Pennsylvania RR.

As CPLs fall and towers are demolished, the Mountain Sub is slowly losing some of its inherent character. Fortunately, at least one relic from the past should remain for years to come, the substa... (more)

A pair of AC44s are parked by the derail at the east end of the Mettiki Mine complex. I believe this is the largest active coal mine in Maryland, producing over 20,000 tons per day. Although we ... (more)

Due to trackwork west of Terra Alta, coal drag U878 rolls east on #1 track at Oakland. At Mountain Lake Park, the eastbound would meet a westbound hopper train and cross back over to the eastboun... (more)

2638 rolls past MK Tower before taking a trip up the M&K branch.

Scenes like this were still fairly common along former B&O lines in the 80's. In 1988, CSX's Mountain Sub still had active towers in Grafton, Hardman, Rowlesburg, Altamont, Keyser, and Cumberland... (more)

Geeps in three different paint schemes idle away outside of the venerable shop in Rowlesburg.

A touch of fall color can be seen in the background as Q317 works upgrade through Swanton. It's amazing how inconsistent the fall colors can be - there's hardly any here, but at nearby Big Run St... (more)

The small yard at Rowlesburg was as empty as I've ever seen it - a cut of hoppers in the distance were the only occupants.

It's only early October and the fall foliage already appears to be slightly past peak at Altamont.

U878's pace has slowed as he nears the summit at Altamont, about 1/10th of a mile ahead. At 2628', Altamont is not only the highest point on the Mountain Sub, it's also the highest point served b... (more)

Oakland is not the highest point on the Mountain Sub, but at 2382' it's one of the highest points on CSX and over 100' higher than Sand Patch. Of course, Oakland is also well known for its train ... (more)

It's all red at D Tower as dusk descends on Grafton, one of the country's oldest railroad towns.