The wires have come down, but the pole line remains, some poles even having what look like new crossarms. Thirty years later, this location s probably completely closed in with vegetation.

One of the Southern agents in Opelika either had a warped sense of humor, or maybe just did not like me. Whatever the reason, he on multiple occasions gave incorrect info about what trains were w... (more)

A trio of SD40-2s leads an eastbound freight past the last remnant of the passenger platforms that once ran down the north and west sides of the shared (CofG/SOU/NS and WofA/FL/SBD/CSX) Opelika de... (more)

Early in the Family Lines era a pair of SCL Hamlet-NOLA run-through trains were established utilizing the Western Railway of Alabama between Atlanta and Montgomery. In the photo, 216 - with the us... (more)

Southern's long-distance local bumps across the Western with the usual assortment of log flats. In the background is a boxcar still in CofG colors, and the hood of a Southern diesel, one of two t... (more)

Returning from a run to Lafayette and Roanoke with a short train, #7 has just entered the WofA main for a short trackage rights hop down the hill to Opelika. The Southern folks are probably eyein... (more)

Another transitional model, the C39-8's boxy form-follows-function look reminded some fans of late model Alcos. That's CSX's former Western Railway of Alabama that 8572 is crossing, and the shado... (more)

A westbound NS train bound for Birmingham passes a couple of Opelika landmarks; one well-known, one not so well known. In the distance is the Lee County Courthouse, probably the most prominent bu... (more)

For many years, Southern/NS served Lafayette (and until 1982, Roanoke) with a turn out of Opelika. By 1994, the NS had ceased keeping power in Opelika, so the turn originated in Columbus, GA. A fe... (more)

The return leg of the Lafayette turn drops down into Opelika on CSX's Atlanta-Montgomery main using trackage rights dating back decades to Central of Georgia/Western Railway of Alabama days.

The NS (Central of Georgia) turn to Lafayette (Trains 7/8 in pre-CSX days) used about two miles of rights over the CSX (Western Railway of Alabama) between Opelika and Roanoke Junction. Here, #7 ... (more)

A lone SD40-2 of Norfolk and Western heritage sits tied down with a over a dozen MoW gondolas. This train will be here for a few days picking up scrap ties along the right of way as the last bit ... (more)

A pair of Southern Belles look great in the afternoon light as they pull an empty Herzog ballast train through town. No visiting of Historic Opelika for the crew today since they're only an hour ... (more)

A pair of gray KCS motors rumble into Opelika with over 6300 feet of train in tow. The city is well into the Holiday Spirit as the annual Christmas Tree greets this train when it comes into the h... (more)

The homebound leg of the daily turn out of Montgomery drops down the grade into Opelika with a switcher subbing for the usual second B30-7.