| In 1994, NS mothballed the Childersburg to Birmingham section of the P-Line due to flooding from tropical storm Alberto. NS continued to run some trains using a connection track to a wye on the N-Line in Childersburg, to run to Birmingham, via Wilton. On this October 1998 day, I was getting my hair cut in Sylacauga. The barber shop was just a couple of blocks from the EARY / NS interchange. As the barber was finishing up on my haircut, I heard the train horn of a wb. With just a 45 mph speed limit on the P-Line and an even slower speed limit on the connector track, I knew I could easily catch this military train in Childersburg (I had not seen the motive power at this point). I raced to the connector track in Childersburg (adjacent to the old Childersburg High School location) and lo, and behold, I snap this UP snoot-nose SD40-2 leading 2 other UP units on this military move. This is one of the most unusual sightings I'd ever seen on the P-Line. NS reopened the Childersburg / Birmingham section of the P-Line sometime in 1999. |