CSX - Historic Talcott, Big Bend Tunnel and Avis Yard - 03-25-2017
After perusing the antique stores in downtown Hinton, Sue and I headed out to Talcott ahead of T402-21 which I had photographed at the station.
1. CSX 727-781-5103 hustles out of Big Bend Tunnel (completed in the 1930s) beside the historic Great Bend Tunnel of the legendary John Henry fame. T402-21 has 110 DKPX (Duke Energy) loads for one of their power plants. Talcott WV.
2. The statue of legendary John Henry was moved from the side of the state highway down to the park. Talcott WV.
3. Legend of John Henry marker. Talcott WV. (Click image to enlarge).
4. The historic Great Bend Tunnel was taken out of service when Chessie System single tracked this portion of the Allegheny SD in the 1970s. Talcott WV.
5. Interior of Great Bend Tunnel. ex-C&O. Talcott WV.
6. Great Bend Tunnel construction marker. Talcott WV. (Click image to enlarge).
7. CSX 641-769 rolls through Talcott with 100 loads. Talcott WV.
8. CSX 641-769. View 2. Talcott WV.
9. Up beside the state highway, this is the original location of the John Henry statue. Great Bend Tunnel marker. Talcott WV.
10. Historic marker at the original site of the John Henry statue. This explains why the railroad thought a mile-long tunnel was better than following the bend of the Greenbrier River. Talcott WV. (Click image to enlarge).
11. CSX 3196-3124, a westbound with 71 empties, rounds the curve in Avis Yard not far from the Hinton depot. Avis WV.
12. CSX 3196-3124. View 2. Avis WV.
13. Approach signal. CSX 3196-3124. View 3. Avis WV.
14. The entire train is in this view. CSX 3196-3124. View 4. Avis WV.
We headed up toward Beckley to the antique mall at Beaver, then back to Pipe Stem for the evening programs.
Train images used by permission of Everett N Young