02/15/2026
B(NS)F // 2.2.2026
Three Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotives are in charge of Norfolk Southern eastbound mixed freight 118 (Bellevue, OH to Linwood, NC) as gravity accelerates them through the curve at North Fork on the floor of Ellett Valley. Due to a recent shortage of motive power on NS's roster to handle the current traffic volumes, they have opted to lease a number locomotives from other railroads like BNSF to supplement their own fleet.
This track is a section of the former Virginian Railway, which ran from Deepwater, WV to Sewalls Point in Norfolk, VA (now part of the US naval base there). This particular stretch between Mullens, WV and Roanoke, VA was once an electric railroad (with overhead wires powering freight locomotives, while passenger trains were still pulled by steam), with the power plant located in Narrows, VA. The Virginian chose this type of power supply due to the mountainous nature of the terrain in this territory: trains drifting downgrade would use their motors as regenerative brakes, sending power back into the overhead wires, which could assist other freight trains ascending the other side of the hill as they followed behind. However, this electrification was discontinued when the Virginian merged into the Norfolk & Western railway in 1959, since the N&W preferred the time-saving simplicity of keeping the same diesel locomotives on the train the whole length of its trip across the rail network, rather than switch them out for electric locomotives halfway through. Ultimately, the N&W would itself merge with the Southern Railway in 1982 to form Norfolk Southern, which still operates the line today.
BNSF 8151: ES44C4
BNSF 8116: ES44C4
BNSF 5800: ES44AC
