"Bring 'er on back Opie!" exclaimed the conductor of CSXT C212 to the engineer as they reverse to couple to a southbound N541. The Morley manned helper operation has shoved many coal trains over the years, and this is just another notch on the belt for the crew. Sadly, coal traffic is diminishing on the KD Subdivision, just as well as all traffic. Black diamonds used to be the main commodity on this rail line. There used to be 3 to 5 southbound coal drags a day on the KD, but now there is hardly one. Manned helper operations are definitely a sight to see, as there are very few left in the United States, most of them being in the east. This is just another day in the life of the C212 crew, but it is definitely a staple from an era long gone.
