September Chase

A week of late-summer vacation in a beautiful cabin outside Blue Ridge — belonging to dear friends — gave me the opportunity, among other things, to chase the McCaysville run from the car. I'm not up in north Georgia all that often, so I figured I would strike while the iron was hot. As many other chasers before me know, the Blue Ridge Scenic is not an easy route to handle by car. Although I am sure there are dozens of beautiful spots for shots along the river and railroad right of way, keeping up with the train by car means most of those are out of reach in a single chase. Given that constraint, there are less than a half dozen great spots in each direction. But I managed to hit all my goals, only arriving a bit late for one grade crossing. One can only take those curves so fast.

Not that the two blue road switchers aren't lovely, but I was pleased to show up in Blue Ridge the night before and see silver/red Geep #8705 on the point for the northbound run. Veteran BRSR fans remember well, I'm sure, when that color scheme was the only option for tourist power. But with the twin units now adored in that good-looking BRSR blue — no doubt a nod to the L&N — the Georgia Northeastern scheme is a nice treat for a newcomer like me. Besides, I'm still a sucker for first gen Geeps still dressed up for work and turning a wheel. Incredible to realize these motors are approaching 75 years old. As for September 5, we had a great chase. The cooler mountain air and lush woods made burning up the back roads quite enjoyable. My wonderful wife even pitched in by snapping additional stills for me as the train inched across that great Toccoa River truss span. I sure do love this hobby.