NS Christiansburg District

(East)

ADA

(West)

Ada is the last hamlet passed before the tracks enter Bluefield yard, and is where the tracks are accessible from public roads (WV Route 112) again after disappearing into the hills at Blake. I-77 passes over the tracks in between, but that cannot be considered a safe location for picture taking.

Running as train 419, a Union Pacific SD70M delivers an entire shiny trainload of brand new CEFX hoppers in November 2005. Built by FreightCar America in their new facility in the old East End Shops complex in Roanoke, many of these cars had been completed just two or three days earlier.

Train 17M nears the end of its climb to Bluefield in January 2004.

After Train S21 made most of its run over the Christiansubrg District through rain and under clouds, as seen on the Ingleside and Oakvale pages, the sun finally broke out of the clouds and lit up the wings on the nose of Union Pacific SD70M 4948.

Assisted by a faded ATSF warbonnet, train 185 negociates the S-curves east of the Ada grade crossings in March 2003. This train was also photographed at Bluefield.