Three cars from the Carolinian wreck were being deadheaded on yesterday's (8/6/2005) southbound 73 (Piedmont). I was on that train, and there was hardly an open seat to be found among the three revenue coaches. Hooray for the Piedmont!
The consist was as follows:
GP40 1792 City of Raleigh
F59PHI 1755 City of Salisbury
Lounge 400201 Pamlico Sound
Coach 400002 Dogwood
Coach 400004 Long Leaf Pine
Coach 400005 Scotch Bonnet
followed by the deadhead cars:
Capstone Coach 82033
Cafe 28357
Business Class 26032
I guess they needed the extra engine in order to keep the rather tight schedule of the Piedmont, which is normally run with a very short consist. It proved to be futile, however, as there were a number of problems along the way, including a stalled freight, NS 351, just east of Burlington, several slow orders, and an extended dwell time at Greensboro while waiting for the NB Carolinan (80) to leave the platform. The train eventually got to Charlotte approximately 1 hour late.
It was kind of strange to see Amfleets being pulled by an NCDOT locomotive. Photos (taken at the Charlotte station)
here and
here. Sorry, I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't have time to find a better angle.