Members and friends of the St. Albans Chesapeake and Ohio Modelers Inc. spent a quiet Saturday eating, visiting friends and touring the CSX (formally C&O) Locomotive Shops. July 10th the grill was fired up, hamburgers and hot dogs were cooked and served along with homemade treats. Everyone relaxed and caught up on each other's goings ons.

Thanks and a big tip of the hat to SACOM member, Brian Gessel, who arranged to get our group an amazing tour of the CSX Huntington Locomotive Shops. Brian gained access for our group to nearly every area of the shops and even managed to have shop foreman, Mr. George Hunter speak to us and explain the shops various functions. Mr. Hunter shared many stories of his years working on the railroad in the shops.

Though the shops are manned with a skeleton staff on weekends and there wasn't any heavy work in progress, our group was instructed on basic safety precautions. Within the few guidelines for our own safety, we were allowed to see and photograph just about everything in the shop.

We also visited the paint booth and saw yard slug 1016, gleaming in a new coat of CSX YN3 blue and gold. The Alco heritage of the MT6 is obvious when you see the angled corners of the hood. SD70M 4682 was still in the paint booth waiting for a final coat of clear.

Even steam era fans took notice when we walked by the "Dead Line" of locos waiting out their last days, being picked over for usable parts. The faded yellow of a Chessie GP40 standing out among the gray CSX carcasses indicated the constant passing of time. Was it that long ago that those shiny yellow, orange and blue engines were the newest and greatest thing on the railroad?

It was great to see the modern Dash 8s, SD70s and other big engines being repaired. However, while walking through some of the older parts of the shop you couldn't help daydream about the great C&O steamers like G9s, K3s and H8s that were serviced in the same spaces now occupied by EMD and GE's best.

Seeing the inner workings of a major railroad brings home the huge task railroaders perform everyday. Everything in the shops is large and heavy by their very nature. The inherent danger or working in this environment is glaringly evident, with everything from dangerous chemicals, hot equipment and high voltage to complete locomotives lifted and carried overhead on a regular basis. Almost everything in the shop is weighed in tons not pounds. It doesn't take long in the shop to see why "SAFETY FIRST" is the motto all over the railroad.

I have no hesitation in saying a great time was had by all present. Tours of this nature are rare in this day and age. The knowledge gained will be an asset as SACOM continues toward the goal of sharing railroad history with models.