The GP30 lives on if not only in body such as the #2324 pictured here at Charlotte. Coverted to road slugs and mated with GP40-2"mother" units, CSX uses these tandems in any number of assignments. Dan Robie copyright 2012

            West Virginia and North Carolina Rails

 History has been a motivating element in my life and as it applies to the rail scene is no different;in fact, that pursuit is my favorite aspect of the hobby because it entails exploration and comparing today with yesterday. It is noted that although the internet has proliferated the growth of the hobby, the predominant interest that seems to prevail is the pursuit of the present day scene as in train "chasing", photography and video, and even the complexities of rail operations. While this majority is creating a tremendous volume of the present for future reference,those who research and document the steadily disappearing rail remnants from yesteryear are fewer in number. Fortunately,their efforts are preserving for generations to come a database of information that will be priceless as the years pass. On a personal level, the latter is more on par with my primary interest.

The seed was planted during the mid 1960s when as a young lad, I would watch from my hillside perch the switchers of the New York Central work the Charleston, WV  East End sidings. Exposure to the ill-fated Penn Central expounded my interest and with multiple family ties to the B&O Railroad, it was only natural that this passion would  run in the blood and continue to the present day. Hence,I have been active in various forms of railroad interest for over forty years. Because it is a multi-dimensional hobby, the interests have overlapped such as modeling and train watching or photography and historical research, for example. There have been brief periods that I was not active in the hobby at all for reasons ranging from priorities in personal life to simply taking a break for a periods of time. Overall, though, the interest has been for the most part consistent and as I get older, will likely remain that way.

Why West Virginia and North Carolina? One is my former home and the other is the current one. I am at an age that I have literally split my lifetime equally residing in one or the other. It would only make sense that I give both as near equal billing as possible because of the time spent trackside in both states.  There are similarities with both concerning railroads as well as obvious contrasts that offer unlimited opportunities. And not to totally confine content, there will be universal rail topics not specific to either state as well as a category targeting general history,nature,and scenic topics of both states which are of interest as well.

This is an "experiment" in progress to develop a feel for creating a web page that will undoubtedly be modified as time progresses. My intention is to cover rail in different formats such as past history, the contemporary scene, and even specific topics to be presented over the life of this site. Whether the information documented here will remain permanently or be replaced periodically has not yet been decided. This will truly be a "see what works best"type of undertaking.

I hope you find the site both enjoyable and informative. Welcome!


                                                                                                                                            Dan Robie