Southern railroading wasn’t complete without pulpwood. Enjoying your videos. Keep em coming

@cbt1960

3 жыл бұрын

I agree. Sure miss those days. Thanks for watching.

Quality and sounds are amazing! Those geeps and S5T horn are incredible! Thanks for posting

@cbt1960

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, it was an RCA video camera it worked well for sure. That’s until I dropped it from a moving rail speeder. I’ve got more video from back then that I’ll be uploading in the near future.

The Ole Chessie!

@cbt1960

Жыл бұрын

Good ole days!

Very Nice video ! Thanks for sharing !

I wish I’d gone up there more. Thanks

So glad to stumble upon this. This is the second video I’ve found with a train going in the tunnel to and from Flomaton. Definitely a history in the making!

Now mostly of the line's now abandoned to near Flomaton

@cbt1960

Ай бұрын

Yep it’s gone now. The tunnel has a trail going up to the mouth on the south end.

This was good. Not that I am an authority on all locomotives, but those seem to be rare shots of that chessie high hood locomotive 5730. Few railroads (mostly Southern RR ) had those, although I forget the gp 7s and 9s were built as high-hoods. Great video, thank you.

Thanks for uploading these videos from the 90s showing railroading in southern AL. I first discovered trains in '92 up in Louisville where I'm from. Explored the old L&N throughout KY, TN, and north AL, but never further south. Sad to know the Selma sub was cut. I knew of Flomaton from its famed coaling tower bearing the classic L&N gilded lettering logo that remained for so long after steam was retired 42:50. And I understand Flomaton was an important gateway to maritime industries, Gulf terminals, and other railroads. What happened? Was it decline in revenue traffic or something else?

@cbt1960

10 ай бұрын

I wish I’d been able to get a lot more videos but my camera met an untimely death when it fell from a railroad motorcar running about 25 mph. I’ve got a few more but having a little trouble finding them. When I do I’ll upload them. Flomaton is a junction between several port cities along both the Florida, Alabama and Louisiana cost. It was a good place to watch trains up until Hurricane Katrina hit. It took almost a year to rebuild the CSX along the coast. And in the meantime tonnage got diverted, much of it over the newly opened Meridian Speedway. Much of it never came back. Flomatwas was a busy place at one time with the PD Sub tying into the M&M Sub. there in addition to the line to Selma. Traffic patterns have changed with CSX moving most Florida bound traffic through Montgomery and down through Waycross, GA and then Florida instead of across the Panhandle. And now CSX is planning to move a percentage of there remaining Texas and Mexico bound tonnage from Montgomery to Meridian, MS and then across the Meridian Speeedway west. I suspect this will decrease even more the train frequencies south of Montgomery all the way to New Orleans. Time will tell I guess. Thanks for watching!

@Nethanel773

10 ай бұрын

@@cbt1960 Thanks for supplying the history on that. Sorry to see a unique part of L&N history going the way. Same thing happened with the EK Sub, though it wasn't routing issues, but declining revenue. If Flomaton as a rail hub was ever abandoned, maybe a small rail museum could be set up there one day, seriously. Not out of the realm of possibility. I've seen hot spots, both former and active, with basic setup for public access and history and media. Something similar could be set up off Old Flomaton Rd with the L&N coaling tower nearby. Actually, a non-profit called Kentucky Rail Heritage bought acreage on the former Ravenna terminal along the abandoned EK Sub to convert the site to large scale museum. Again, Flomaton was unique on the Old Reliable for Deep South and Gulf Coast railroading and industry. Even a pullover off the road could have some tribute placed there.

@cbt1960

10 ай бұрын

@@Nethanel773 I believe they’ll always be enough business out of Mobile and along the Gulf Coast to keep trains moving through Flomaton but I doubt it’ll ever be as busy as it was 20 years ago. Also unfortunately the old L&N coaling tower was demolished last year. Another piece of railroad history gone. Another interesting fact is that the railroad tunnel at Tunnel Springs north of Flomaton on the Selma line was said to be the geographically southernmost tunnel in the continental U.S. The line through it was taken out several years ago. I have a video of a train going through it on KZread.

Really be something if someone will bring back this line as a scenic railway

@cbt1960

2 жыл бұрын

Yes it would have made a nice scenic railroad. Unfortunately the section through the tunnel has been turn out.

I have a train bell #2622 any body know about these bells ,the era they were in service, thanks

Does the depot at Petermon still exist ?

@cbt1960

3 жыл бұрын

It’s been years since if been over there but looking at google earth street view it is still there.

@SassyRailfan

Жыл бұрын

@@cbt1960 it’s still there. It’s a museum now