After a not-terribly successful chase of the morning Cumberland Mine run, a friend and I (not learning from our mistake last time) got bored and decided to head over to Bailey Mine on Norfolk Southern's Manor Branch to see if a train was loading up. We got VERY lucky, as we caught T065 (B&P loads for Homer City) departing within 5 minutes of our arrival, and likely just before Sperry shut down the branch for inspection. With a semi-rare pair of YN2 AC4400CW's on the point, and having never chased the Manor Branch myself, we decided to give chase. We followed the train from Bailey to the street running in West Brownsville before (unsuccessfully) attempting to sprint back in time to catch the afternoon Cumberland Mine run. But, we did get a consolation prize in the form of a northbound loaded train on what I believe was the Loveridge Secondary.
These trains used to run with B&P locomotives in addition to using B&P hoppers, but that practice ended around 2019. In March 2023, the Homer City plant shut down, and many of the B&P hoppers sold, so there are no longer B&P trains loaded at Bailey.
CSX T065: AC44CWs 347, 234 (YN2)
(0:00) Intro
(0:15) Departing Time, PA
(1:33) Browns Creek Road
(2:20) W Roy Furman Highway
(2:51) Meeting empty sand at CP Gate
(4:20) Millsboro (CP "Blake")
(5:26) Fredericktown
(6:05) West Brownsville
Unidentified CSX loads AC44CWs 412 (should be "Spirit of Pittsburgh" IMO), 583
(8:21) Masontown
(12:48) Photos
