Excursion Reality.

As I planned it, this trip begins in Hamlet, NC. Schedule departure of Amtrak Silver Star is 6:29 AM. I arrived at the station in real railfan style, more than an hour early. It was still dark and in that time, three trains pass through. The Star is running late and will not arrive until 7:15. This gives the advantage to board in day light.



The delay in the Star lessened the time before the Carolinian would come through. I did have time to reconnoiter the area for the best location to video. I began with the east crossing and to my surprise was a east bound NS freight.



After the beginning of the train passed, I continued my reconnoitering. There were two other railfans in the parking lot in the next block. I was told that that train was being pushed up the hill. The trained stalled out and they brought in an engine from Durham. Unfortunately, they disconnected the pusher below the station so I did not get video.

After the freight went through, I set myself up for the arrival of the northbound Carolinian, running late, by the way. I went south of the station, as it allowed for arrival. After it stopped, I went to north of the station and actually made it before the train left, so here is the Carolinian coming and going.



Not all railfan trips are exclusive railroad oriented. After the Carolinian I went for lunch. I was told that the drug store still had a lunch counter. I came across this example of public art at the entrance to Fidelity Bank.

After an early lunch I went back toward the train station. There was a couple of other examples of public art that I wanted to photograph. However, I was surprised by another eastbound NS freight.



I did cross the tracks to the City Hall and got the following two pieces of public art.

Before boarding the southbound Piedmont, I would like to say a word about Cary, NC as a connecting point. The station is very comfortable, being recently remodeled and upgraded. Two carriers merging make the amount of activity more encouraging. Two grade crossing, one on each side of the station give is great for video. Another one or two blocks yields good locations.

Boarding the Piedmont was approximately noon and on time. According to schedule I would arrive in Greensboro and 20 minutes later the northbound Piedmont would come. Our train was a few minutes late, making the meeting of the trains, in the Greensboro station. You can see the leaving of my train as I film the arrival of the other, with the overlap seen in both videos.