ronically, the last time I ran on the Saluda line, it was March of 2012, two and a half years ago. The ironic bit was that what I wrote here was a complaint about the changing club dynamics, the economy and general aging that was making a session here so difficult.

Happily Jim brought his layout back after years and years down. And happily we had crew enough to run all the trains (except one local). But for its part, the railroad did what it was supposed to do: simulating running two branches of the N&S lines around Asheville (the W and the A&S). I even got to crank open the computer and dispatch most of the session.

Odd, later on, to take my old favorite (720, that mile-long coal run) and ease down those forested slopes with new-guy Mike hanging back on the midtrain. Even through we set the retainers, the train got a little away from us and we rumbled through the Saluda speed marker at 9mph (one mile per hour above posted, so I’m going to hear about that from the front office). But it was good in a familiar way to run this railroad again. It’s comfortable and fun.

Thanks for hosting, Jim!

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