September 5, 1997, Mineral Point, Pennsylvania.

The day started out with a thick fog hugging the valley floor.

Fog not withstanding, Conrail operated a parade of trains over its former Pennsylvania Railroad main line.

Photographer Mike Gardner and I had driven down overnight from New England and were on-hand to capture the action.

Midday, thunder to the west signaled the approach of a unit coal train.

I made this trailing view of Conrail SD50 6711 wearing relatively new ‘Conrail Quality’ paint as the train crawled upgrade.

It was another great day on the late Conrail system!

Tracking the Light examines Conrail on the 50th anniversary of its creation!