Special Trains
Circus trains, diesel excursions, high-wide movements, export locomotives, Maintenance of Way trains, and all other manner of unusual train movements are highlighted on this page! Click on each photo for an enlarged view.
RF&P GP7 no. 101 Final Excursion
In Spring of 2018, the Old Dominion Chapter of the NRHS announced that their venerable former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac GP7 no. 101 was to be permanently retired after 65 years of service. A final set of excursions were scheduled behind the locomotive on the DIllwyn branch of the Buckingham Branch railroad. The 17-mile excursion was cut short due to high water on the tracks (it had been raining heavily for weeks) and on the second run of the day, the old geep overheated and had to have a second locomotive added to its consist. Still, it was a fun, slow-speed chase of an interesting train on a photogenic line. I look forward to returning to the Dillwyn branch one day to capture the freight operations on the line!
Strates Carnival Train
After the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey circus went out of business in 2017, The James E. Strates carnival train became the last show train left in the United States. The company is proud to say that because they travel by train instead of by highway, they are able to bring much larger (read: heavier) rides to their carnival midway. In September of 2018, the carnival train passed through Northern Virginia on its way from Essex Junction, Vermont to Danville, Virginia. I was able to photograph the train at four different locations (Front Royal, Gainesville, Manassas and Bealeton) before I ran out of daylight. My only issue is that I can’t identify all of the rides in their folded-up truck-trailer configurations!
