A pair of Illinois Central Death Stars, 1007 & 1027 lead Canadian National A408 as it pulls from the south end of the siding at Edgewood, Illinois as it continues it’s move south on the Champaign Subdivision on December 5th, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
Today fellow railfan Cooper Smith and I along with a lot more were blessed because as of the night before this unit was supposed to pass through our area in the darkness of night! Fortunately we got word from fellow railfan Terry Redeker down the line that the train got recrewed earlier than planned and it would be to us in daylight!
Our first stop on this chase on December 2nd, 2020 we caught Canadian National (CN) Illinois Central Heritage Unit 3008 as it lead empty oil train; ONUCS-01 north on the Union Pacific’s Chester Subdivision, past the Martin Grain Company grain silos at Dexter, Missouri headed for Superior, WI.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
As the first light snow of winter 2020 steaks trough the sky the Engineer and Conductor of loaded ethanol train CSX K413-29 (Kansas City Southern 4107 & Canadian Pacific 8849) do a roll-by inspection at Romney of CSX Q026-29 on November 30th, 2020 as it makes its way north on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 200.
A light snow streaks trough the sky as loaded ethanol train CSX K413 heads south, with Kansas City Southern 4107 & Canadian Pacific 8849 leading, as it splits the signals on November 30th, 2020 as it makes its way south on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 400.
A a crew member steps off Canadian National (CN) 3023, the new Elgin Joliet & Eastern Heritage locomotive, (EJ&E) leading loaded Pet coke train U700, during a crew change before heading on south on CNs Fulton subdivision at CP South Oaks, south of Fulton, Kentucky on November 21st, 2020.
CN 3023 of six locomotives representing the railways that have joined Canadian National Railway since their privatization, 25 years ago. The CN engines released in heritage paint so far are 3115 BC Rail; 8952 Grand Trunk Western; 8898 CN; 3008 Illinois Central; 3069 Wisconsin Central; and 3023 Elgin, Joliet & Eastern.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 100.
![Paducah and Louisville Railway Shops
A mixture of power sits around the shop area at the Paducah and Louisville Railway shop in Paducah, Kentucky.
According to Wikipedia: The Paducah & Louisville Railway (reporting mark PAL) is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The 270-mile (430 km) line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August, 1986. The 223-mile (359 km) main route runs between Paducah and Louisville with branch lines from Paducah to Kevil and Mayfield, Kentucky and another from Cecilia to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The PAL interchanges with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Canadian National (CN), formerly Illinois Central Railroad, in Paducah. In Madisonville, the line interchanges with CSX Transportation (CSXT).
In Louisville, the line interchanges with the Indiana Rail Road (INRD), CSX Transportation (CSXT) and Norfolk Southern (NS). Class III line connections are at Princeton with the Fredonia Valley Railroad (FVRR) and at Louisville with the Louisville and Indiana Railroad (LIRC). The line today carries over 200,000 carloads of traffic on a CTC-controlled mainline with welded rail and even a section of double track nearly 20 miles (32 km) long between Paducah and just east of Calvert City. This is a huge improvement from the little amount of traffic and poor condition the line was in by the time the ICG had sold it.
Today it is a big regional class II railroad connecting with four class I railroads (listed above), as well as the three shortline connections it makes which are also listed above. It has 270 route-miles of track, of which 233 miles (375 km) are its mainline running between its namesake towns of Paducah and Louisville, as well as branch lines to Mayfield, Kevil, and Elizabethtown. The railroad serves "many chemical plants and other manufacturing companies, several coal mines, numerous clay and stone quarries, lumber and propane distributors, farm [including a few large grain elevators] and mine equipment suppliers, warehouses, transloads, bulk terminals, riverports, and one military base."
The parent company of the PAL, P&L Transportation, also operates the Evansville Western Railway and the Appalachian and Ohio Railroad.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.](https://www.jimpearsonphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/WEB-11.17.20-PAL-Shops-Paducah-Ky.jpg)
A mixture of power sits around the shop area at the Paducah and Louisville Railway shop in Paducah, Kentucky.
According to Wikipedia: The Paducah & Louisville Railway (reporting mark PAL) is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The 270-mile (430 km) line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August, 1986. The 223-mile (359 km) main route runs between Paducah and Louisville with branch lines from Paducah to Kevil and Mayfield, Kentucky and another from Cecilia to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The PAL interchanges with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Canadian National (CN), formerly Illinois Central Railroad, in Paducah. In Madisonville, the line interchanges with CSX Transportation (CSXT).
In Louisville, the line interchanges with the Indiana Rail Road (INRD), CSX Transportation (CSXT) and Norfolk Southern (NS). Class III line connections are at Princeton with the Fredonia Valley Railroad (FVRR) and at Louisville with the Louisville and Indiana Railroad (LIRC). The line today carries over 200,000 carloads of traffic on a CTC-controlled mainline with welded rail and even a section of double track nearly 20 miles (32 km) long between Paducah and just east of Calvert City. This is a huge improvement from the little amount of traffic and poor condition the line was in by the time the ICG had sold it.
Today it is a big regional class II railroad connecting with four class I railroads (listed above), as well as the three shortline connections it makes which are also listed above. It has 270 route-miles of track, of which 233 miles (375 km) are its mainline running between its namesake towns of Paducah and Louisville, as well as branch lines to Mayfield, Kevil, and Elizabethtown. The railroad serves “many chemical plants and other manufacturing companies, several coal mines, numerous clay and stone quarries, lumber and propane distributors, farm [including a few large grain elevators] and mine equipment suppliers, warehouses, transloads, bulk terminals, riverports, and one military base.”
The parent company of the PAL, P&L Transportation, also operates the Evansville Western Railway and the Appalachian and Ohio Railroad.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
Canadian National locomotives 5768 and 2864 head south across the Ohio River from Metropolis, Illinois with a mixed freight as they head south on the CN Bluford Subdivision, on November 21st, 2020.
According to the web: The Metropolis Bridge is a railroad bridge which spans the Ohio River at Metropolis, Illinois. Originally built for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, construction began in 1914 under the direction of engineer Ralph Modjeski. It has a single track jointly owned by Canadian National Railway, BNSF Railway and Paducah & Louisville Railway.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 200.
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
CN 2977 leads a mixed freight as it passes through Chiles Junction as it heads south on the CN Bluford Subdivision at West Paducah, Kentucky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
Port Harbor RR at the A&K Railroad Materials Yard
Port Harbor (PHRR) switcher 8166, PHRR America’s Central Port 2758, “Illini Terminal” No. 2301 and 2064 sit tied down on Saturday, November 7th, 2020 at the A&K Rail Yard in Granite City, Illinois, waiting for their next assignment.
According to Wikipedia: The Port Harbor Railroad (reporting mark PHRR) is a short-line railroad in Granite City, Illinois, serving an industrial port district known as America’s Central Port. PHRR began operations in 2004 as a subsidiary of the Respondek Railroad and connects with the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis at “WR Tower,” a major railroad junction in Granite City.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Bedford Park, IL – Jacksonville, FL
CSX hot intermodal Q025-28 passes under the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Arklow on October 28th, 2020 as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/160, ISO 100.
CSX Q028-10 Atlanta, GA – Chicago, IL
CSXT 5412 leads hot intermodal north Q028-10 across the Gum Lick Trestle between Kelly and Crofton, Kentucky as the last rays of the fall sunset rakes through the valley on the Henderson Subdivision on November 10th, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
Jacksonville, FL – Bedford Park, IL Daily
CSXT 3003 leads intermodal Q026-15 north on the Henderson Subdivision as it passes under the signals at the south end of Casky Yard on October 16, 2020 at Hopkinsville, Kentucky. It is one of four hot intermodals that run up and down the Henderson Sub and they are Q025 & Q029 SB along with their counterparts Q028 & Q026.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.
Waycross, GA – Avon, IN
The glow of the late evening sunset illuminates the sides of loaded coal hoppers on CSX N015 as it waits in the siding at Kelly, Kentucky, as CSXT 32 leads the daily Q512 north on the Henderson Subdivision on November 3rd, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 200.
Rolling meet at Nortonville, Ky
CSX Q512 heads north as it passes Q513, heading south, along the Henderson Subdivision on October 29, 2020 on a wet fall day.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/120, ISO 200.
PAL UK and U of L SB Load of Coal
Paducah & Louisville Railway 2012 (University of Kentucky) and 2013 (University of Louisville) locomotives lead a loaded coal train as it travels next to Ky Hwy 70 at Richland as it heads south to Calvert City, Kentucky after picking up another load at Warrior Coal loadout at Nebo, Ky, on October 27, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/120, ISO 200.
Southbound takes siding at Slaughters, Ky
A Southbound CSX Q501 takes the siding at the north end of Slaughters, Kentucky as it prepares to meet a northbound on the Henderson Subdivision on October 12, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 200.
Northbound at Mortons Gap, Ky
CSX K443 passes under highway 41 as it heads north at Mortons Gap, Kentucky along the Henderson Subdivision amid the color of fall on October 26, 2020.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 240, ISO 100.
Cross Roads
CSXT 5361 leads Q503 as it pulls away through the crossing at Romney as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision from Nortonville, Kentucky on October 16, 2020 at dusk.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/8, ISO 100.
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 with CSXT 5221 and 5461 leading the way.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 200.