The crew on CSX K423 conducts a roll-by inspection on hot intermodal, CSX Q028 as they roll through the siding at the south end of Slaughters, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, as their loaded Ethanol train with BNSF 9100 leading sits on the main on March 25th, 2021.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 460mm, f/6, 1/1000, ISO 640.
March 25th, 2021 – Railfan action showing, CSX, CN, BNSF, NS and UP Action on the CSX Henderson Subdivision between Romney at Nortonville, KY and Slaughters, KY.One train of note was the northbound CN empty ethanol train with Canadian National 3246, 2235, 2518, 2605 and 2293 as power.
The CSX Henderson Subdivision usually sees foreign power on a regular basis these days and March 25th, 2021 was defiantly a busy one, with a lot of interesting moves for me to chase and photograph!
Here we have loaded southbound ethanol train K423 (Bensenville, IL to Tampa, FL), with BNSF 9100 and 4418 leading, on its way south as it meets an empty ethanol train K644 (Chicago, IL Jacksonville, FL) with Canadian National 3246, 2235, 2518, 2605 and 2293 at Slaughters, Kentucky, as it waits in the siding to continue its move on north on the Henderson subdivision.
Unit trains of one type or another are some of my favorite trains to photograph and video and when you throw into the mix foreign power on top of that and it makes me want to chase all day long!! I just love the uniformity of the cars, like snakes winding their way along the landscape.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 100.
If you recall from my March 3rd, 2021 post, I got a text at about 10 minutes till 7am that CSX K811-28, a phosphate train, with three BNSF units on it was headed south on the Henderson Subdivision and I decided to get out of bed and give chase!
It was about 45 miles later at Guthrie, Ky when I finally got ahead of it enough to where I could launch the drone, after they stopped after getting red signal due to track work being done ahead at Cedar Hill, TN.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
HLCX lease unit 1058 heads up a BNSF local as it sits on the main in front of the Honeywell plant at Metropolis, Illinois waiting for a new crew to take over their train before continuing its night move north on the BNSF Beardstown Subdivision.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 50mm f/1.4, 1/15, ISO 2000.
On January 2nd, 2020 a empty BNSF grain train sits in the siding at Reevesville, Illinois as a empty CN coal train heads north, on CNs Bluford Subdivision, under the old Illinois Central Steam Train coaling tower.
According to Wikipedia: A coaling tower, coal stage or coaling station was a facility used to load coal as fuel into railway steam locomotives. Coaling towers were often sited at motive power depots or locomotive maintenance shops.
Coaling towers were constructed of wood, steel-reinforced concrete, or steel. In almost all cases coaling stations used a gravity fed method, with one or more large storage bunkers for the coal elevated on columns above the railway tracks, from which the coal could be released to slide down a chute into the waiting locomotives coal storage area. The method of lifting the bulk coal into the storage bin varied. The coal usually was dropped from a hopper car into a pit below tracks adjacent to the tower. From the pit a conveyor-type system used a chain of motor-driven buckets to raise the coal to the top of the tower where it would be dumped into the storage bin; a skip-hoist system lifted a single large bin for the same purpose. Some facilities lifted entire railway coal trucks or wagons. Sanding pipes were often mounted on coaling towers to allow simultaneous replenishment of a locomotives sand box.
As railroads transitioned from the use of steam locomotives to the use of diesel locomotives in the 1950s the need for coaling towers ended. Many reinforced concrete towers remain in place if they do not interfere with operations due to the high cost of demolition incurred with these massive structures.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/120, ISO 400.
Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA) crews work on dropping cars from a BNSF train at the St. Louis Madison yard at Venice, Illinois with BNSF 7477 and 4051 as power.
According to the TRRA website: “Since 1889, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis has played a vital role in the railroad operations and growth of the St. Louis metropolitan area on November 7th, 2020.
The Association was originally created to satisfy the need for an efficient, safe, and economical method of interchanging rail traffic at the railroad hub of St. Louis, Missouri: the “Gateway to the West.”
Over 120 years later, the employees of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis make the same commitment to efficiency, safety, and value to our customers, owners, and the public with each new day.”
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @220mm, f/6.3, 1/1600, ISO 560.
BNSF 9196 leads SPC1 as it comes off the P&I Railroad Branch onto Chiles Junction with a empty coal drag in West Paducah, Kentucky as it heads north onto the Bluford Subdivision as the setting sun bathes the train in its warm glow.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.DCIM\100MEDIA\DJI_0751.JPG
BNSF SPC1 arriving at Paducah, Ky A infrared view from November 17th, 2020 of BNSF 6092, 6370 and 9196 heads up empty coal drag SPC1 as a Paducah and Louisville Railway crew pulls it into the north end of the yard at Paducah, Kentucky from Calvert City Terminal. Here a fresh BNSF crew will pickup the train and take it on north for another load of coal.
#infraredtrainphotography Tech Info: Fuji XT-1 with a Fuji 18-55 @ 26mm, f/5.6, 1/110, ISO 3200 and a 720nm IR filter.
Waiting on a fresh crew at Calvert City, Ky
On November 17th, 2020 BNSF 6092, 6370 and 9196 head up empty coal drag SPC1 as it sits in the loop at Calvert City Terminal (CCT)waiting for a fresh crew from the Paducah and Louisville Railway to ferry the train back to their yard at Paducah, Kentucky. There a fresh BNSF crew will pickup the train and take it on north for another load of coal.
CCT offers its customers unprecedented flexibility through its rail & barge loading, rail & barge unloading, short- & long-term storage, and material blending services.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
BNSF Leading the Way
BNSF 688 and 8355 lead Potash train CSX K810 as they take the siding at the south end of the Slaughters Siding, preparing to meet CSX Q025 at Slaughters, Kentucky as the head north on the Henderson Subdivision on October 17, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 400.
Southbound at Mortons Gap. Ky
BNSF 6357 heads up loaded ethanol train CSX K707 with a very dirty CP 8555 as it heads south out of Mortons Gap, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision with a long and heavy ethanol train.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 200.
Ethanol Train Meet at Mortons Junction
BNSF 6357 heads up loaded ethanol train CSX K707 as waits on the Earlington Cutoff at Mortons Junction, as empty ethanol train CSX K423 heads north on the Earlington main, on the Henderson Subdivision at Mortons Gap, Ky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 200.
September 14, 2020 – BNSF 5794 and 6299 lead a loaded coal train through the loop at the Calvert City Terminal in Calvert City, Kentucky as it is halfway through unloading its train.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
August 13, 2020 – BNSF 5954 leads CSX intermodal Q028-12 (Atlanta, GA – Chicago, IL) as it tops the rise while passing CSX Q647 in the siding at Kelly, Kentucky, as 28 heads north on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Full Frame Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 370mm, f/9, 1/1250, ISO 900.
August 13, 2020 – BNSF 5954 leads CSX Q028-12 across the diamond at Trident as it heads north with a 10,000+ foot intermodal on the Henderson Subdivision at Madisonville, Ky.
Tech Info: Full Frame Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm, f/6.3, 1/500, ISO 1600.
June 2, 2020 – A BNSF 3920 leads a intermodal train as it pulls out of the siding at River Junction on the BNSF River Subdivision at Terrell, Arkansas.
Tech Info: Full Frame Nikon D800, RAW, Irex 11mm, f/11, 1/1250, ISO 100.
June 2, 2020 – A BNSF manifest train passes the Plum Point Energy Station at Osceola, AR as it heads north on the BNSF River Subdivision.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 490mm, f/10, 1/1250, ISO 400.
May 27, 2020 – BNSF 9259 heads up loaded coal train as it comes around a curve just south of Centralia, Illinois as it heads south on the BNSF Beardstown Subdivision.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 400mm, f/6, 1/1000 at ISO 320.
June 23, 2006 – Blast From The Past – It was a hot, dry day as a Piggyback with BNSF 5232 leading headed east, meeting a Mixed freight headed up by BNSF 4438 waiting to head west toward Bakersfield, in horseshoe curve in the valley at Caliente, California as they made their way through the Tehachapi Mountains on the UP Mojave Subdivision.