I got married the very next day after this video was made and am still married. Also, when this video was made, I lived in Lexington Ky right next to the Southern mainline and I could watch trains out my living room window and my bedroom window. Miss those days.

Lovely LOUD Nathan P5 horns....the sound of the Southern Railway.

Crazy how much the horn on that second train sounds like a K5LLA.

Oh how I do miss seeing EMD SD40-2's running long hood forward on the Southern, use to watch them all day long climbing Erlanger Hill on the old CNO&TP.

There's is nothing better than Southern Railway GM's screaming at Saluda! Keep'em coming my friend!

thank you gretta ,Southern still rules my heart .I grew up in Mississippi with a rail 140 feet from my bedroom window .the sound would metal clinck me into a good deep sleep in late evening every night .I never go long without a beautiful railroad memory chugging through my mind .I live in central N.Carolina now and I am close enough to the Southern line that I hear the same train air horns that I heard as a young country hick other than the pretty cotton we have here its the oldest memory I can recall .long live the Southern R R .long live good memories of youth .

That's some unique footage, like you described consumer video equipment was very cumbersome in the early days, with a full size video tape deck, a camera and often a separate battery pack, you had to haul 20-30lb of equipment around. Besides that this kit was ridiculously expensive, at what were 4-5 average months wages of that period at least. But thankfully some people had this kit and used it to good effect, for recording every day things that disapeared and are not more than a memory, like those trains Footage of a Southern railroad consist roaring up Saluda grade is as rare as a 400 carat diamond, and that's what this recording is, a diamond. Despite it's age and blurred video the sound quality is still remarkable, I remember that the video quality wasn't much better on fresh recordings, that's just what it was in 1983.

Love the High hood long hood foward..

Learned to love SR diesels back in the early 70s. Used to go to a park sit at the overlook watching diesel engines climb the graded trestle between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Beautiful sight

I was working on a track survey thru there in 1985. I almost jumped out of the FRA test car T-10. It was an old Budd SPV, and it's brakes wouldn't hold us as we started to head downhill. 2 Southern (actually Norfolk Southern but no repaint yet!) SDs following us just in case sped up and coupled onto us in the fly, then slowed us to the proper speed. I had the door open and the front vestibule open and trap door sprung. I was the forward observer and didn't wan to be an airbag. Puckered up quite well. I had more adventures, wrote about them in TRAINS, Sept 09, Riding the rails with Riley. " Hope to get there again someday.

This is some nice vintage footage here!

Who the hell would give an awesome Saluda grade video like this a thumbs down? Screw those people

Railroading at its best !

never new this existed until recently .....but I lived by a Southern main line as a kid(fort mill /Charlotte by old PTL property).....one spring(85) a coupler broke on a s.bound mixed freight,believe it or not,me and a buddy were allowed to climb aboard[ I don't know what kindda power it was] but it was actually running short-hood forward and the conductor gave us these small cold waters with the railroads name on it,but I mainly remember being in awe of how complex it seemed inside despite when I see cabs now they look spacious.........the tour didn't last long and I never had that happen again but I know the Southern had lifers working for them........

Old Southern Railways never die they become part of Norfolk Southern

miss the old Southern 😢😢😢😢

MOUNTAIN RAILROADING BABY! Would be cool to see some of the old roads again.....like the Clinchfield.

This is great history lesson on the Southern Saluda grade

Thanks for posting this! That little station with the caboose and the town look like a model railroad come to life! I cranked the sound as soon as I heard those SD40-2s coming. lol

shame about the line being washed out hope someone will open up the line again soon

Long hood forward.....yay!

Having lived here in south Carolina for closed to a year! I've been fascinated with saluda grade! Having been to Horseshoe curve cranberry grade and sand patch! all these grades are mind bogglingly steep though cranberry grades been abandoned. But Saluda grade was the greatest or should I say the steepest of all! Hopefully one day NS will reactivate it!Or perhaps sections can be sold off for tourist trains! in

That's awesome Tom! I lived in Roan Mountain TN., which was approx 40-45 mins from Erwin. CRR was and is my favorite RR. Great memories indeed. Even though a fallen flag, I still like finding good vids about it. There is one, on you tube, that I can't recall immediatley that shows a dispatcher in Erwin doing his thing. Saluda however, was definitely a good example of man against mountains. Thanks for the vid and response Tom!

Southern railroad had exactly 9 years to the day to live at this point

amazing K5LLA at 2:30!

A lot of things were better in 1983!

I can remember standing on the corner of 176 and Main Street, Saluda watching the trains coming up the hill, as a teenager. I went away serving in The Air Force to come back and learned the route had been closed. Anyplace else up there in the area worth visiting?

The depot was moved to its current spot later in 1983 or the year later

amazing, 3 SD40-2s in screaming notch 8 for just 13 or 14 loads? Plus they needed dynamic brakes just to get the 3 engines down the hill safely. That's a steep hill.

AWESOME video!!! Loved seeing trains come up Saluda when I was a kid! Only thing that beats the sound of those diesels screaming in Notch-8 is the 611 barking up the hill!@bearcatftball61 the TR line from Hendersonville to Brevard last I heard was in the early stages of abandonment by NS to be converted into a trail.

One of the steepest RR grades in the US. Sad that it is no longer in service.

yes it was........the merger had already taken place,and by the relaxed nature or the crew,I'd say a great chance........Thankyou for asking because it's a huge factor in my life and I do believe I missed my calling to be a hogger..........

Thankfully they had dynamic braking by then.....

I wonder how many coupler knuckles were broken on this grade? Especially without Helpers on the rear! Watch out for slack! Great video!

Get on it Big Green!

Sounds so much like seaboard coastline Emporia, VA 1983

Why didn't they give the brakeman a proper caboose?

been a railroader for 14+ years and i cannot figure out what the hell the tracks are at 4:00 besides the main. thtas like 300ft of track and thats it. anyone wanna comment?

2:30 is that a K5LLA horn?

Do you think any of the lines throughout Hendersonville will ever be used again?

What's the percentage

2:29

I love the Ole Southern, that's my baby!

Sory southern railroad had 7 years to the day to live Norfolk southern was official born 12 31 1990

RIP Southern Railway. It seems unlikely Saluda will ever see train traffic again. If that is the case, then abandonment proceedings should commence.

Not running anymore

hi everyone ,if anyone else trying to find out help getting a railroad job try Tarbetti Rail Work Tutor ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some awesome things about it and my work buddy got cool success with it.

Brakes are smoking