I was walking along a railroad bridge across the Potomac River when a locomotive suddenly appeared right next to me. I wanted to take this and another picture of what turned out to be two engines, but the bridge was shaking so violently, it was literally impossible to even get the camera to my eye. Luckily Tim wasn’t quite on the bridge yet and was able to get the shots. I’m really impressed by trains, so it was fascinating to watch this incredibly long one up close, although I’m glad I wasn’t in the tunnel ahead as the noise would have been deafening.

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly unsharp.

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We took an hour-and-a-half drive the other day to historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Due to its strategic location at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, it hosted the first ferry and then first railroad bridge across the Potomac and served as the only rail link between the Northern and Southern states during the Civil War. It was also the site of the famous raid by abolitionist John Brown on the town’s arsenal in 1859 in the hope of starting a slave revolt across the South, which was put down by then-Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee. Brown was subsequently tried and hanged for treason.

Well, this was a surprise, posted earlier: