On August 12th, 2023, Conductor Nick Jochim climbs aboard CSX Heritage series locomotive 1973, the Chessie System unit, after throwing several switches to align his empty coal train E002, into the south end of Atkison Yard at Madisonville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision.

According to Wikipedia: The three railroads that would make up the Chessie System had been closely related since the 1960s. C&O had acquired controlling interest in B&O in 1962, and the two had jointly controlled WM since 1967.

Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987.

On November 1, 1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form CSX Corporation. Initially, the three Chessie System railroads continued to operate separately, even after Seaboard’s six Family Lines System railroads were merged into the Seaboard System Railroad on December 29, 1982. That began to change in 1983, when the WM was merged into the B&O. The Chessie image continued to be applied to new and re-painted equipment until July 1, 1986, when CSXT introduced its own paint scheme. In April 1987, the B&O was merged into the C&O. In August 1987, C&O merged into CSX Transportation, a 1986 renaming of the Seaboard System Railroad, and the Chessie System name was retired.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 420.

CSX Heritage series locomotive 1973, the Chessie System unit, is bathed in the light of the setting sun as it rounds the curve on the north end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky as it leads empty coal train E002, bound for Atkison Yard in Madisonville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision on August 12^th, 2023. As of this morning (13^th) the train is waiting its turn to load at Warrior Coal loop, just outside Madisonville.

According to Wikipedia: The three railroads that would make up the Chessie System had been closely related since the 1960s. C&O had acquired controlling interest in B&O in 1962, and the two had jointly controlled WM since 1967.

Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated under the Chessie name from 1973 to 1987.

On November 1, 1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form CSX Corporation. Initially, the three Chessie System railroads continued to operate separately, even after Seaboard’s six Family Lines System railroads were merged into the Seaboard System Railroad on December 29, 1982. That began to change in 1983, when the WM was merged into the B&O. The Chessie image continued to be applied to new and re-painted equipment until July 1, 1986, when CSXT introduced its own paint scheme. In April 1987, the B&O was merged into the C&O. In August 1987, C&O merged into CSX Transportation, a 1986 renaming of the Seaboard System Railroad, and the Chessie System name was retired.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 140.

CSX Heritage series locomotive 1982, the Seaboard System unit, heads north through Mortons Junction at Mortons Gap, Kentucky, as it leads CSX I026 northbound on the Henderson Subdivision on July 4th, 2023.

According to Wikipedia: The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. (reporting mark SBD) was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.

Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashville and Clinchfield—as the “Family Lines System”. In 1980, SCLI merged with the Chessie System to create the holding company CSX Corporation; two years later, CSX merged the Family Lines railroads to create the Seaboard System Railroad.

In 1986, Seaboard renamed itself CSX Transportation, which absorbed the Chessie System’s two major railroads the following year.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 140.

The newly released CSX Heritage series locomotive, 1976, Conrail Quality unit, passes through the crossing in downtown Sebree, Kentucky, on CSX M513 south, as it heads down the Henderson Subdivision as the DPU, on July 31st, 2023.

According to Wikipedia: Conrail (reporting mark CR), formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company’s legal name. It continues to do business as an asset management and network services provider in three Shared Assets Areas that were excluded from the division of its operations during its acquisition by CSX Corporation and the Norfolk Southern Railway.

The federal government created Conrail to take over the potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and Erie Lackawanna Railway. After railroad regulations were lifted by the 4R Act and the Staggers Act, Conrail began to turn a profit in the 1980s and was privatized in 1987. The two remaining Class I railroads in the East, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), agreed in 1997 to acquire the system and split it into two roughly equal parts (alongside three residual shared-assets areas), returning rail freight competition to the Northeast by essentially undoing the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad that created Penn Central. Following approval by the Surface Transportation Board, CSX and NS took control in August 1998, and on June 1, 1999, began operating their respective portions of Conrail.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 120.

One of the new CSX Heritage series locomotives, the Baltimore & Ohio unit 1827, leads CSX hot intermodal I028 as it makes its way past the old depot at Princeton, Indiana, on July 17^th, 2023, as it heads north on the CSX CE&D Subdivision.

The station was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored. It served the C&EI and L&N railways during its day and was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued in the late 1960s and today it is home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored Wabash caboose.

According to Wikipedia: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States with its first section opening in 1830.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway took financial control of the B&O in 1963.[52] On May 1, 1971, Amtrak had taken over all the remaining non-commuter routes of the B&O. The B&O already had a controlling interest in the Western Maryland Railway. In 1973 the three railroads were brought together under one corporate identity, the Chessie System, although they continued to operate as separate railroads.

In 1980 the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, a holding company that owned the Seaboard Coast Line, the Louisville & Nashville, the Clinchfield, and the Georgia Railroad, agreed to form CSX Corporation. SCL Industries was renamed the Seaboard System Railroad (SBD) in 1983, the same year that the Western Maryland Railway was completely absorbed into the B&O. SBD was renamed CSX Transportation (CSX) in 1986. On April 30, 1987, the B&O’s corporate existence ended when it was absorbed into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which merged into CSX Transportation on August 31 of that year.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 210.

One of the new CSX Heritage series locomotives, the Seaboard System unit 1982, leads on CSX I025 as it headed south just out of Sebree, Ky, on July 6th, 2023 along the Henderson Subdivision.

According to Wikipedia: The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. (reporting mark SBD) was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.

Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads”notably the Louisville & Nashville and Clinchfield”as the “Family Lines System”. In 1980, SCLI merged with the Chessie System to create the holding company CSX Corporation; two years later, CSX merged the Family Lines railroads to create the Seaboard System Railroad.

In 1986, Seaboard renamed itself CSX Transportation, which absorbed the Chessie System’s two major railroads the following year.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 120.