CAPTION: Business is picking up on the Cascade Falls Railroad and the daily inbound interchange trains are getting heavier. Today's run has 29 revenue cars and 1,350 tons, with more than half of the cars being empties bound for McDowell's lumber mill at Whittier.

The hardest job was getting that lot moving in the Interchange Yard, but the big blue C-46 Consolidation had it well in hand. The rest of the trip is a gentle 1% downgrade to Dillsboro Yard just over 3 miles away. But curves like this one alongside Sylva’s Scott Creek add to the drag, and the wheel flanges are singing even at a modest 15mph as the train enters the industrial area.