Leaning into the tight curve just west of WD Cabin, export coal for Mexico running as a T999-01 are on the last leg of the journey on the Big Sandy Subdivision heading for Russell Yard on the Kanawha Sub. While traffic on the line was essentially cut off due to the closing of the terminal at Erwin, TN on the former Clinchfield and subsequent rerouting of through traffic, life is beginning to slowly flow back into the coalfields of eastern Kentucky under a new presidential administration and the reopening of mines sold by bankrupt mining companies to new spinoff operations. While levels may not return to pre-2008 levels, seeing between 3 and 6 coal trains a day on the line is a good day for the Big Sandy Sub, where most of the C&O-era signals remain governing trains in both directions.
