Tennessee Ghost Train

On a disused stretch of railroad tracks in the woods of Tennessee stands an abandoned train. Just a locomotive and two passenger cars make up the train which sits between a creek and a wooded hillside. The French language signs inside the cabins suggest an origin in Quebec, or at least Canada, which seems a long way to drive a train just to leave it to rot in the forest.

Our schedule the day we visited was tight, and we were running short on daylight. We did luckily manage to get here just before dusk, and the dying pale winter light seemed good for photography. So it was with a deep, resigned sigh that I greeted the roar or several ATVs arriving, bearing several equally loud rednecks. The noise wasn’t as much of a concern as was the headlights on their vehicles, which they left idling and facing the train. It seemed to ruin the natural lighting that was quickly fading all around us. However, as the final shot hopefully shows, it wound up giving the locomotive a certain glow that made the shot. You never know what may yet prove to be a boon.