Haven't Seen Black Diamonds In Forever. A recent change in CSX's routing has brought unit coal trains to New York. As part of the detours around Baltimore to accommodate tunnel work, CSX C748/E748 (Baltimore, MD) will now run through New York & New Jersey after being "swapped" with M409/M410 (Selkirk, NY-Waycross, GA), which will now go through PA via Norfolk Southern. While a few loaded coal trains have passed through here during an unrelated detour in recent years, it has been decades since they were a regular sight in this area. On Thursday, April 10, 2025, CSXT 386 leads the first detoured C748-08 over Iona Island near Bear Mountain, New York with the Bear Mountain Bridge in the background.
YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/V6Gpqyoom-g
Full resolution pics and prints:
https://www.riverrailphoto.com/freighttrains/e3c5f5fbb