Skip to your favorite locomotive using the list below:
Norfolk Western- 1:25
Nickel Plate Road- 2:56
Virginian- 4:33
Wabash- 6:20
Illinois Terminal- 7:52
New York Central- 8:54
Pennsylvania- 10:28
Penn Central- 11:47
Erie- 12:43
Lackawanna- 14:26
Jersey Central- 16:49
Reading- 18:50
Lehigh Valley- 20:44
Monongahela- 22:22
Conrail- 23:25
Savannah & Atlanta- 25:04
Southern- 26:05
Conclusion- 28:14
It isn't often that a railfan event comes along that is honestly and truly impressive. This was one of those events. With a few hundred rail buffs convening in Spencer, North Carolina to see all 20 heritage units in one, the event was a very unique experience, and one that many will not forget. So sit back, find you favorite locomotive from the list above, and enjoy seeing the "Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit Family Portrait!"
I should preface this video by saying that we ended up here quite by accident. Months earlier, we had planned a trip to Roanoke, VA to enjoy the area and possibly see some of the newly painted heritage units. I found out later, that wouldn't be possible, because they would all be centered in one place (not Roanoke). Figuring we would see them eventually, the family and I still went on a trip to Roanoke. It was not until we were there that I realized how close to Spencer we actually were. So we decided to hop in the car in the early morning and drive down to the North Carolina Transportation Museum.
We arrived at about noon, when all of the locomotives had been removed from the roundhouse (except for 3 of the Southern Family units, for reasons unbeknownst to me). Due to a shortage of crews, they chose to abandon the given schedule, and bring each of the locomotives in one by one, which in my opinion was very cool. All in all, it took about 3 hours, and the whole thing was truly an impressive sight. (And believe me, editing 3 hours of footage to exactly a half hour is not by any means an easy task!) Enjoy!