**Read Description For Background Information**
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On February 16th, 2024, exactly a week after chasing Lancaster & Chester (video card to it is at the beginning of this video if you want to check it out!), a few railfan buddies of mine and I decided to venture out towards the southern tip of South Carolina to chase to infamous "Pickens Railway". A railroad with some rich history, having older GEs and Alcos (those are stored at Docheno past Belton, SC) on their roster. Pickens is specifically well-known to be the only operator of GE U18Bs (6 of them plus 2 Ex-Conrail & Ex-CSX B40-8s) in regular daily use in the classic CSX MOW orange paint scheme. We would follow the Belton Job from Gluck at the shops to Anderson where they interchange with NS and Belton where they interchange with Greenville & Western. It has been a long time coming catching Pickens since it's a railroad I've been wanting to capture as long as I first heard about them years ago. After graduating UNC Charlotte and waiting for my apartment lease to end, I decided then for that small time period to drive down to South Carolina and see them. It was worth every penny I spent on gas to and from there, seeing 1970s technology in action, hearing that aggressive yet throaty chug of the 8 cylinder turbocharged FDL engines, the use of classic horns like the Leslie RS5T, RS3L, & Nathan Airchime New Cast P5, it all felt like a blast from the past. Seeing Greenville & Western interchange with Pickens was a bonus too with their GP30 and GP9. That basically sums up everything prefacing this long awaited video and I for sure had a good time putting this all together.
That is today's upload! Please show some love to this if you liked it! Don't forget to comment, rate, like, and subscribe for more content like this! Also hit that notification bell beside the subscribe button so YOU can be the first to be notified when a new video comes out! It certainly goes a long way. This is CJ, until next time!
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Train 1:
Pickens Belton Job
[Ex-SCL] [Ex-SBD] [Ex-CSX] PICK U18B 9500 (Fouled RS5T)
[Ex-SCL] [Ex-SBD] [Ex-CSX] PICK U18B 9502 (Mutt SU3L / R25, R31, S44)
Train 2:
Pickens Anderson Job
[Ex-SCL] [Ex-SBD] [Ex-CSX] PICK U18B 9508 (NC P5)
[Ex-SCL] [Ex-SBD] [Ex-CSX] PICK U18B 9507 (RS3L)
Train 3:
Greenville & Western (Belton, SC - Pelzer, SC)
[Ex-ATSF] [Ex-BNSF] GRLW GP30 4204 (NF K3LA)
[Ex-B&O] [Ex-ECBR] GRLW GP9 3752 (NC P5)
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Railfanning Equipment:
-Canon 77D (Pictures)
-Sony FDR-AX53 4K Camcorder
-iPhone XR (Secondary Cam)
-Sony HDR-CX240 HandyCam (Ground Cam)
-SLIK Pro 700DX Professional Tripod
-Uniden BC75XLT Scanner w/ Diamond Antenna
-Adobe Premiere Elements 2018
-Windows Movie Maker
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0:00 - Intro
0:20 - Gluck, SC (Pickens Shop Facility)
0:55 - Both Belton & Anderson Crews Starting Up The U18Bs
3:45 - Both Jobs Rolling Out of The Shops To Start Their Day
6:00 - Anderson Job Coupling To The Rear of Belton Job
6:40 - Both Jobs Getting Ready To Roll Out
8:40 - Belton Job Pulling Up To Work Michelin Star Manufacturing/ First Quality Paper
11:40 - Anderson Job Pulling Up Behind Belton Job To Drop Off Cars
13:40 - Belton Job Pulling Up To Work NS Interchange In Downtown Anderson
15:10 - Birds Eye View of The Belton Job Working The Interchange
16:10 - S-Curve East of Downtown Anderson, SC
18:18 - Broadway Creek Near Sloan, SC
21:20 - Belton Cemetery
25:10 - Belton Job Pulling Up To The PKHP/GRLW Interchange in Belton, SC
27:45 - Both U18Bs Going Engine Lite To Honea Path To Work Packaging Corporation of America
28:05 - Docheno (Deadline - Alcos, Switchers, & A Gutted U18B Used For Parts)
29:50 - Belton Job Heading Down Honea Path Past Docheno
31:45 - Both U18Bs Heading Back To Belton Interchange With A Few Boxcars
33:43 - Belton Job Rolling Past Gary Farm
34:55 - Belton Job Returning To The Interchange
35:53 - Both Greenville & Western And Pickens Pulling Up To Interchange
38:10 - U18Bs Recoupling To The Rest of Their Train
38:45 - Pickens Pulling Into Belton Yard First With Inbounds For GRLW
42:20 - GRLW Picking Up Pickens' Drop Offs
44:45 - Pickens Departing Belton Yard With Outbounds
47:20 - GRLW Reversing Into Belton Yard
48:30 - Pickens Rolling Past The Belton Veterans Memorial
50:35 - Tree Tunnel Between Belton & Anderson
52:00 - Belton Job Returning To Downtown Anderson To Work Interchange
55:35 - Belton Job Working An Industry Just Before Sayre Street
56:20 - Belton Job Heading Back To The Shops On The Gluck Spur
58:24 - Outro