1980's NS action at Spartanburg, SC (1988)

Busy afternoon at Spartanburg on NS, with some old EMD's & GE's in action. The video starts out with train 171 having just entered the main line at Beaumont Jct. The train can be seen in the distance rounding the curve on the W Line from Columbia, SC. They had let a crew member down at Beaumont Jct to make a cut behind the wood chips on the head end. The engines come to a stop beside my spot for the crew member to uncouple the chips from the remainder of the train on the W Line. The engineer works the throttle up slowly to get the heavy loads rolling again up the grade from Beaumont Jct headed to Hayne Yard a short distance up the track. The crew member can be seen riding the last wood chip hopper. As the train disappears, 152 can be seen in the distance waiting beside the Amtrak station at Magnolia Street.
Next up was 169 following 171 to Hayne Yard. 169 had to set out and pick up at Hayne. Also 169 was a radio train and had a mid train SD60. And a caboose was bringing up the rear that day. 152 can be seen as 169 passes on the opposite track easing down to the end of double track at Beaumont Jct. 152 also had two mid-train units, an SD40 and SD40-2 combo. But, sorry to say there was no caboose on the rear of 152.
copyright © 2012
do not use without permission...

[@vivekshreeni7897]

Pure turbocharged 567s on the gp35s and gp30.I love it.Once very common nowadays very rare to find.Thank you for preserving this video.This is a classic man.👍

[@TheBraniffTaylor]

You have brought back many happy memories of sitting trackside near Brosnan Yard watching classic Southern power rumble by with my Dad. Great audio, I had forgotten how cool the U23s were long hood out and the high pitch of the GP35s. Thanks for posting!

[@tommythomason6187]

Southern Railway, "Tuxedos". Haven't seen those in a long time. Used to be an L&N/Southern Railway transfer track that ran behind my boyhood home in Atlanta. Always three-unit sets of high-hood Southern GP9s/GP7s, running short hood forward, sent through there. Speed limit was 15-20mph, but they rumbled the neighborhood with 100-car trains.

[@SOU5111]

Glad you're enjoying the videos. I'm glad to have an outlet like KZbin to share these old videos of mine. Thanks for the nice compliment! The actual tapes are more clear than these uploads, they loose some quality in the transfer from VHS to DVD to PC. Keep watching, more oldies to come.

[@ChadQuick270W]

Love it! This is NS as I remember it. High hood units running long hood forward and a nice variety of motive power unlike today :(

[@shuckalax1104]

They were better than they were today, I'll give you that

[@shawnfloyd5757]

Lots of great stuff you don't see anymore! A tank car with six axles, Remote control boxcars for mid train helpers, c39-8's, gp50's gp30 and 35 highnoses riding on alco trade in trucks...long hood forward running what a fascinating time! Great video!

[@SOU5111]

Yes, lots of really cool stuff to see back then. Glad you enjoyed the old footage. Thanks!

[@TNdefender05]

Man, those GP35's are a nice catch indeed!

[@SOU5111]

Those were the locotrol boxcars used by Southern and later NS. They received the radio signal from the locotrol equipped lead engine and operated the mid train power via M.U. cables.

[@SOU5111]

Glad you liked it! Those were the days for sure! Miss that old power! Thanks for watching & commenting!

[@CRRMANLILES]

Boy have times changed. Now when you see today's videos all the cars have graffiti. Nice to see just weathered rail cars. Love your SRR videos. Thanks, Walt in Marietta,GA.

[@SOU5111]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! Yes there sure was some good variety back then. Thanks for watching & commenting!

[@DelayInBlockProductions]

Gorgeous video....Thank you my friend. God bless you and your camera!

[@SOU5111]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@SOU5111]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SOU5111]

Thanks a bunch! Glad you liked it!

[@PoetryETrain]

Thank you, added to a playlist...

[@NS3210]

Cool video! I love to see classic action from good ole SOU!

[@SOU5111]

Thanks, Walt! Glad you are enjoying my videos. You're so right, graffiti was only an occasional thing back then (thankfully).

[@SOU5111]

Thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SOU5111]

Thanks a bunch, Cris! Yes indeed, those were some good times back then.

[@BurlingtonNorthernModeler]

Once again another fanastic video! It's great you filmed this in the 1980's I was not even born until 1994 and it's neat to see how the acton was before I was born, LOL Your video's are such great quality and I enjoy watching them! Keep the video's rolling my friend

[@cheechchongfan97]

Awesome catches

[@SOU5111]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@SOU5111]

Yes, I sure miss 'em too! Thanks for watching & commenting!

[@SOU5111]

Yeah, agree about the graffiti. I sure do love those Southern tuxedos as well. Make sure you invite me if you do get a time machine! lol. Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Cristianoefc]

Those were the times Greg! Very nicely done my friend! 5*****!

[@ronniecromer1230]

The old diesel's sound awesome!!!

[@stevie65able]

Interesting to note that 6 years post merger, not a single freight car in NS markings! Also surprised to see those Santa Fe boxcars near the end of the video.

[@guykite3336]

Excellent video. I remember the 1960s. My grandfather was an engineer on the southern railway . Eastern division.

[@marksman4004]

gotta love that lhf movement. how it's suppose to be.

[@DouglasP201]

Amazing action bud :)

[@Stillnthe80s]

So nice not to see grafitti.Love those locomotives in Southern tuxedo paint schemes.Wish I had a time machine.Great video.

[@ThePete352]

great videos Sou5111

[@trainman549]

Man I miss those days.

[@shuckalax1104]

Look at all those bullet holes in the power box

[@ident42]

Love that sublettered NS GP38 (delivered sublettered C&NW)

[@tommyhunter1817]

I miss those five engine lashups of 4 axle units, high hoods, Southern paint, and long hood running. Saw it so much as a kid I just took it to be normal. Now, all gone.

[@SOU5111]

I sure do miss all of that too.

[@PC10.8]

11:28 the DPU before PSR! LOL!

[@damonhynes]

13:10--Illinois Terminal! Represent!

[@brianbooher7318]

I love hi hiods

[@SOU5111]

Yeah, still plenty of freight cars back then yet to be repainted. Those trains coming out of Atlanta would have a little bit of everything on them.

[@vivekshreeni7897]

Are these the original 567D3 engines or rebuilt on the gp35

[@SOU5111]

They had 567D3A engines, as far as I am aware not rebuilt, and were getting close to retirement.

[@vivekshreeni7897]

@@SOU5111 thank you for your reply They sounded similar that is why I asked.Also we had GT16 models built by emd in our country they were classified as wdm4 and had 567D3 engines so I have a interest in old emd turbo engines.Do you know which turbo sounded louder the 567d3 or 645e3 and do the 567D3s sound similar to the 567D3As.Also were southern's gp30s rebuilt with 645 power assemblies or not.any videos of 567D2 engines pls tell me.Why don't your videos have southern sd24s were they sold or what.By the way nice video you are preserving heritage those times were golden😀👍

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

Wish they would have painted the southern heritage in the tuxedo scheme

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

i'm not I just like the southern tuxedo scheme. Your the one whos bitching

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

why because they merged with N&W?

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

for me i love N&W and Southern so NS was a perfect merge

[@Danvers97]

Why did ns have to start chopping the noses on these beauties?? This is how locomotives should look, tuxedo paint, high noses, and ugly sounding horns. Thats why the southern was so great.

[@ericoxner326]

I live in monroe nc where the seaboard air line was now csx.Anyway I had family in charlotte nc.I would some times speed the weekend.Not far from where my family relatives lived.The seaboard crossed the southern.Some times at night I could hear their horns.I used to be able to tell you which horns belong to which.Because southern had a higher pitched sound to their horns.And seaboard had a lower pitched sound to their horns.Rail roads used to have their own personnel ways.

[@sharkheadism]

Probably because the high nose stopped being an option after a certain point. The NS only started getting safety cabs because manufacturers stopped offering conventional cabs.