A set of six Paducah and Louisville GP-38s head north over the CSX Henderson Subdivision at Monarch in Madisonville, Ky with a mostly loaded rock train on March 30th, 2023. The power was PAL 2107, 2112, 2119, 3811, 2121 and one other unit.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 140.
CSX empty coke train, B426 with UP power sits in front of the yard office at Atkinson Yard, at Madisonville, Ky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on March 22nd, 2023, as local L385 departs southbound to Reed Minerals at Drakesboro, Ky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 130.
CSX I025 heads south as it meets empty potash train, B244 in the siding at the north end of the siding at Trenton, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on March 31st, 2023.
CSX B244 is a fairly new, as-needed potash train off the CP that runs between Chicago, IL and Tampa, FL. The power on this move is CSX 3443, KCS 4728, CP 8933 and CP 8021.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 180.
Canadian National 3270 leads a mixed freight as it snakes its way out of the yard at Fulton, Ky after a crew change, as they head north up the CN Cairo Subdivision, on March 25th, 2023.
Im told that on average 10-15 trains a day pass through Fulton, Ky, making it a busy place! Railfanning is best in the morning and the afternoon into the evening. The CN Cairo, CN Fulton Subdivisions and the West Tennessee Railroad all come together here at Fulton. Also, Amtrak has a depot here and is a flag stop for the City of New Orleans, and is an unstaffed station; with no agent and no assistance.
The first railroad deed was sold in 1857, and construction reached Pontotoc in 1859. At that time Fulton was referred to as the end of the line by the United States Government and all mail was addressed to this extent. In 1896, the Illinois Central Railroad owned the two railroad lines that crossed Fulton, which saw 30 passenger trains a day and 3,000 freight cars that picked up or delivered cargo. The freight cars would usually have bananas that would stop in Fulton to be re-iced and then shipped to rest of the country. Through this process, Fulton became known as the “Banana Capital of the World”.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 220.
Paducah and Louisville 3811, 2121 and 2100 head up a southbound military train loaded with armor from Ft. Knox, Ky, at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky as the last light of the day fades on April 4th, 2023. A new crew onboard prepares their train for departing for Paducah, Ky where I’m told the equipment will be picked up by BNSF or CN to continue its move.
In the yard you can see a lot of RJ Corman equipment where they have been working on redoing the yard tracks for the past week or so.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1 second, ISO 210.
#trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #dronephotography #trainphotographer #railroadphotographer #jimpearsonphotography #kentuckytrains #csx #csxrailway #MadisonvilleKy #mavic3classic #drones #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone #PaducahandLouisvilleRailway, PALrailway #militarytrain
Digital Art Photo of CSX empty coke train, B426 with UP power heads north at Breton, Ky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on March 22nd, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 150.
#trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #dronephotography #trainphotographer #railroadphotographer #jimpearsonphotography #kentuckytrains #csx #csxrailway #BretonKy #mavic3classic #drones #trainsfromtheair #trainsfromadrone #csxhendersonsubdivison
The American History Train, being led by Nickel Plate Road (NKP) steam locomotive 765, sits next to the old New York Central Depot on September 24th, 2022, at Pleasant Lake, Indiana.
NKP 765 was pulling the American History Train between Pleasant Lake from Angola, Indiana during the annual American History Days Festival. It took guests back to the 1940s for a living history experience. The passengers then got a 45-minute layover at Pleasant Lake where they visited with WWII reenactors, listened to live music and much more.
According to Wikipedia: Pleasant Lake depot is also known as the New York Central Railroad Depot and is a historic train station located at Pleasant Lake, Steuben Township, Steuben County, Indiana. It was built in 1882 by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and is a one-story, rectangular, Gothic Revival style frame building. It has a gable roof and is clad in board and batten siding.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as the Pleasant Lake Depot.
Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class “S-2” 2-8-4 “Berkshire” type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the “Nickel Plate Road”.
No. 765 continues to operate in mainline excursion service and is owned and maintained by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and was also added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 1996.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Union Pacific Railroad 7756 leads as it heads north on CSX B426, at Breton, Ky with an empty coke train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on March 22nd, 2023, bound for another load at Proviso, IL (UP). This train is returning from its run to Calvert City, Ky loadout, via the Paducah and Louisville Railway to drop off a load of coke.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 190.
LoRam shoulder ballast cleaner SBC-2401 kicks up a dust storm as it makes its way north on the CSX Henderson Cuttoff through the beautiful spring countryside of Mortons Gap, Kentucky on May 10th, 2022, as it moves slowly along cleaning the ballast on both sides of the rails.
Shoulder ballast cleaning consists of removing ballast at the end of the ties, screening the ballast, and discarding fines and fouling material and restoring the good ballast to the shoulder. Integrated scarifiers break open end of tie mud pockets, removes fines, and restores ballast voids in the shoulders and under the tie ends and release damaging trapped water.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 130.
CSX M512 makes its way north from the location know as Monarch on the railroad as it heads north at Madisonville, Ky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on March 20th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 280.
A southbound CSX I025, with a string of autoracks carrying Tesla’s, passes through the North end of Kelly, Ky as it meets M648 waiting in the siding for them to pass through on June 8th, 2022, on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 120.
On June 24th, 2022, I caught Norfolk Southern Heritage unit 8114 “Norfolk Southern” as it prepared to begin loading at the Warrior Coal Loop outside Nebo, Kentucky! It’s one of 20 locomotives painted as Heritage units by NS. It’s been just over 10 years since the first engine rolled out and I’ve been fortunate to have photographed all 20 of them out working on the road!
According to the NS website: As part of its 30th anniversary celebration in 2012, NS painted 20 new locomotives in the color schemes of predecessor railroads. The commemorative units quickly became known as NS’ Heritage Locomotives.
Since the 1820s, hundreds of railroad companies were built, merged, reorganized, and consolidated into what eventually became Norfolk Southern, itself created from the consolidation of Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway in 1982. In 1999, Norfolk Southern acquired a portion of Conrail. The Heritage Locomotives represent railroads that played significant roles in Norfolk Southern’s history. The first unit, Conrail 8098, rolled out of Altoona, Pa., March 15, and the final one, Lackawanna 1074, rolled out of Muncie, Ind., on June 27, 2012.
Each paint scheme was modified to fit contemporary locomotives while staying as true as possible to the original designs. Norfolk Southern employees in Altoona and Chattanooga, Tenn., painted GE ES44AC locomotives, while the EMD SD70ACe units were painted at Progress Rail Services’ facility in Muncie, Ind. The Heritage Locomotives are used in freight service across Norfolk Southern’s 19,500-mile, 22-state network.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 130.
Norfolk Southern 1053 and Grand Trunk 5860 in original paint, lead and empty rail train through the countryside between Union City, TN and Fulton, Ky as they head north on the CN Fulton Subdivision, on March 25th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 110.
CSX 7015 leads CSX B231 passes over a short bridge at Mortons Gap, Ky, with a train of Phosphate Loads, as it heads north on March 18th, 2023. The loads run from Mulberry, FL, to Bensenville, IL (CP) via the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 280.
Canadian Pacific 8830 heads up CSX 212 as it clears the signal at the north end of Casky with a train with Phosphate Empties, as it heads south from Bensenville, IL (CP) to Mulberry, FL, on March 18th, 2023, at Hopkinsville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 110.
Northbound CSX M648 is stopped short of Monarch at Madisonville, Kentucky with the CSXT 911, Honoring First Responders locomotive leading, on the Henderson Subdivision on March 9th, 2023. It was waiting on two southbound trains to clear Arklow, north of Madisonville, so they didn’t block crossings through downtown.
CSXT 911 is painted in vibrant red with white and gold striped accents along with the logo of program partners First Responders Children’s Foundation and Operation Gratitude. It also features generic police, fire and emergency medical services logos.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 150.
CSXT 739 leads loaded grain train G419 southbound past the old Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad Depot after our first snowfall of the year on the Henderson Subdivision on January 7th, 2022. The snow which began to fall on the 6th brought a total of 4-6 inches of snow to the region and caused delays on the railroad due to switch problems along the line due to the snow and cold.
According to Wikipedia: “The L &N Railroad Depot in the Hopkinsville Commercial Historic District of Hopkinsville, Kentucky is a historic railroad station on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1892.
The year 1832 saw the first of many attempts to woo a railroad to Hopkinsville. This first attempt was to connect Hopkinsville to Eddyville, Kentucky. In 1868 Hopkinsville finally obtained a railroad station, operated by the Evansville, Henderson, & Nashville Railroad. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad acquired the railroad in 1879.
The Hopkinsville depot is a single-story frame building with a slate roof. It has six rooms: A Ladies Waiting room (the room closest to the street), a General Waiting Room, a Colored Waiting Room, a baggage room (the furthest room from the street), a ticket office (the only room which connected to all three waiting rooms), and a ladies’ restroom. Immediately outsides were warehouses for freight, usually tobacco.
Its last long-distance (passenger) train was the Louisville and Nashville’s Georgian, last operating in 1968.
During its operating years, the Hopkinsville depot was a popular layover spot for those traveling by train. It was the only Louisville & Nashville station between Evansville, Indiana and Nashville, Tennessee where it was legal to drink alcohol. Hopkinsville got the nickname “Hop town” due to train passengers asking the conductors when they would arrive at Hopkinsville, so they could “hop off and get a drink”.
The Hopkinsville L & N Railroad Depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1975. CSX, which bought out the Louisville & Nashville, still run trains on the tracks next to the depot, but do not stop.”
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 110.
CSXT 6481 leads local L385 as they deliver tank cars of LP Gas to Fortner Gas in Madisonville, Ky, just off the CSX Morganfield Branch on March 16th, 2023, under stormy skies.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 150.
Southbound Union Pacific 8144 leads PAL WW1 as it exits the Paducah and Louisville Railway tunnel at Dawson Springs, Kentucky on its way south to Calvert City, Kentucky with a loaded coke train on March 13th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 100.
Northbound CSX M648 passes under the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Monarch at Madisonville, Kentucky with the CSXT 911, Honoring First Responders locomotive leading, on the Henderson Subdivision on March 9th, 2023.
CSXT 911 is painted in vibrant red with white and gold striped accents along with the logo of program partners First Responders Childrens Foundation and Operation Gratitude. It also features generic police, fire and emergency medical services logos.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 170.
CSXT 3242 leads CSX M513 on its journey south after passing Anaconda at Robards, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision on March 9th, 2023 and the unique dwarf signals on the spur that leads out into an industrial area at Sebree, Kentucky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 180.