173 tops the grade at Lowell with a very short train. 173 had been a high priority Linwood-Memphis train that picked up a Memphis intermodal block in Charlottes set off by 221, and the two trains would often be close on the heels of one-another south of Charlotte. After 9/11/2001, the trains were often combined as a 173-Combo until the economy improved. By this time in the depths of the Great Recession, 173 was barely hanging on and was usually very short. It was discontinued, reinstated, and discontinued again and today it is hard to catch a southbound train in the afternoon at this location.
