This week we catch action on the Norfolk Southern Lafyette Division between Shadeland, Indiana and Tolono, Illinois. Also, we catch a Decatur and Eastern train at La Place, IL. Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen and enjoy the trains!! Please like, share, subscribe and thanks for watching!
Union Pacific locomotives 5340 and 7630 lead a intermodal north at Sidney, Illinois
Union Pacific locomotives 5340 and 7630 lead a intermodal past one of many old corn cribs that dart the landscape along the UP Villa Grove Subdivision as they head north at Sidney, Illinois on August 17th, 2024.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 240.
A eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway mixed freight makes its way across Decatur Lake…
August 24th, 2024 – A eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway mixed freight makes its way across Decatur Lake, just outside Decatur, Illinois on the NS Lafyette District. From what I can find online the construction on the bridge was completed in 1907 by the Wabash railroad.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 3619 and 9750 lead NS 148 mixed freight at Sidney, IL
Norfolk Southern 3619 and 9750 lead NS 148 mixed freight as it stretches across the southern Illinois landscape as it heads east outside of Sidney, Illinois under cloudy weather, on the NS Lafayette District on August 17th, 2024.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 210.
A Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad local with Wisconsin & Southern 3870 works the yard at Decatur, Illinois
A Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad local with Wisconsin & Southern 3870 leading the way, works the yard at Decatur, Illinois, on August 24th, 2024.
According to Wikipedia: The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco Companies operating in eastern Illinois and western Indiana.
In January 2018, CSX Transportation announced that it was seeking offers to buy the Decatur Subdivision and the Danville Secondary Subdivision as part of a system-wide sale of low-traffic routes, and in July, Watco, via the DREI, was identified as the winning bidder. Following regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board, The DREI began operations on September 9, 2018.
The DREI operates two intersecting routes totaling 126.7 miles (203.9 km)—the former Decatur Subdivision between Montezuma, Indiana and Decatur, Illinois, and the former Danville Subdivision between Terre Haute, Indiana and Olivet, Illinois. It interchanges traffic with CSX, the Eastern Illinois Railroad, the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Canadian National Railway, and the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad is headquartered in Decatur, Illinois.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 440mm, f/6, 1/1250, ISO 80.
In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo I caught these two Norfolk Southern freight trains at Decatur, IL
In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo I caught these two Norfolk Southern freight trains meeting at the WABIC Diamond in Decatur, Illinois on August 24th, 2024,on the NS Lafayette District.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 10-25 @15mm, f/4, 1/800, ISO 200.
August 31st, 2024 – Episode 87 Saturday Edited Video from Jim Pearson Photography
This week’s video is of some of the last Norfolk Southern Triple Crown RoadRailers (NS 255 WB and 256 EB) running between Sidney and Decatur, Illinois on the NS Lafayette District on the 17th and 24th of August 2024 from the ground and the air. Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen and enjoy the trains!! Please like, share, subscribe and thanks for watching! Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to Subscribe and Ring the Notification Bell so you won’t miss any of my future videos! Have a blessed day everyone!!
Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate Road Heritage Unit 8100 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 at Decatur, IL
Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate Road Heritage Unit 8100 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 eastbound as it passes the over the WABIC Diamond at Decatur, Illinois on August 24th, 2024, as they head east on the NS Lafayette District.
The NS RoadRailer trains are now a thing of the past as the last one ran on the 25th of August 2024, and the service has now been discontinued and the will transition fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 9839 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 255 westbound as the conductor gives a friendly wave…
Norfolk Southern 9839 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 255 westbound as the conductor gives a friendly wave, as they pass their counterpart NS 256, at Tolono, Illinois on August 24th, 2024, as they head west on the NS Lafayette District.
The NS RoadRailer trains are now a thing of the past as the last one ran yesterday, 25th of August 2024, and the service has now been discontinued and they will transition fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Nikon 24-70 @ 26mm, f/5, 1/1600, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 4340 leads a mixed freight westbound as it passes over the WABIC Diamond at Decatur, Illinois
Norfolk Southern 4340 leads a mixed freight westbound as it passes over the WABIC Diamond at Decatur, Illinois on August 24th, 2024, as they head west on the NS Lafayette District.
The NS RoadRailer trains are now a thing of the past as the last one ran yesterday, 25th of August 2024, and the service has now been discontinued and they will transition fully to standard double-stack trains.
From what I can find on the web: WABIC Junction (Diamond) next to the Wabash Depot Antique Mall in Decatur, Illinois, is where the Norfolk Southern’s Springfield-Hannibal/Brooklyn districts and Canadian National’s Peoria Subdivision cross. Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad also uses the diamond for switching sometimes.
WABIC is named for the Wabash (WAB) and Illinois Central (IC), which used to cross here back in the good ole days, but times have changed. There were LOTS more tracks back then, along with a tower, and the WAB/Norfolk & Western, Baltimore & Ohio, and IC, as well as the Pennsylvania Railroad crossed here in the past.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/5000, ISO 170.
Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (DERI) local heads east at La Place, Illinois
Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (DERI) local with WAMX 4244, 4134, 5909 and Wisconsin & Southern 3872 leading the way, passes through La Place, Illinois on August 24th, 2024, as they head east to Terre Haute, Indiana (where they interchange with CSX) on the former CSX Danville Subdivision (now the DERI).
According to Wikipedia: The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco Companies operating in eastern Illinois and western Indiana.
In January 2018, CSX Transportation announced that it was seeking offers to buy the Decatur Subdivision and the Danville Secondary Subdivision as part of a system-wide sale of low-traffic routes, and in July, Watco, via the DREI, was identified as the winning bidder. Following regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board, The DREI began operations on September 9, 2018.
The DREI operates two intersecting routes totaling 126.7 miles (203.9 km)—the former Decatur Subdivision between Montezuma, Indiana and Decatur, Illinois, and the former Danville Subdivision between Terre Haute, Indiana and Olivet, Illinois. It interchanges traffic with CSX, the Eastern Illinois Railroad, the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Canadian National Railway, and the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad is headquartered in Decatur, Illinois.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 100.
Canadian National 8820 leads a mixed freight as it pass the old Old Illinois Central Railroad Depot at Bethany, IL
Canadian National 8820 leads a mixed freight as it pass the old Old Illinois Central Railroad Depot at Bethany, Illinois as they head south on the CN Peoria Subdivision on August 24th, 2024.
According to waymarking.com, this station was built by the Illinois Central Railroad in 1923 and taken out of service in 1969. The building has seen several uses since that time and now appears vacant but in very good condition. Obvious additions have been made to the building’s exterior that contrast sharply with its original architecture.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 210.
Canadian National 3356 leads a mixed freight as it passes over the WABAC Diamond at Decatur, Illinois
Canadian National 3356 leads a mixed freight as it passes over the WABAC Diamond at Decatur, Illinois as they head south on the CN Peoria Subdivision on August 24th, 2024.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate Road Heritage Unit 8100 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 out of Tolono, IL
Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate Road Heritage Unit 8100 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 eastbound out of at Tolono, Illinois on August 24th, 2024, as they head east on the NS Lafayette District.
The NS RoadRailer trains are now a thing of the past as the last one ran yesterday, 25th of August 2024, and the service has now been discontinued and the will transition fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Nikon 24-70 @ 27mm, f/5, 1/1600, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 9839 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 255 westbound at Decatur, IL
Norfolk Southern 9839 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 255 westbound as it passes over the WABAC Diamond as they depart from Decatur, Illinois after a crew change on August 24th, 2024, as they head west on the NS Springfield/Hannibal District.
The NS RoadRailer trains are now a thing of the past as the last one ran yesterday, 25th of August 2024, and the service has now been discontinued and they will transition fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate Road Heritage Unit 8100 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 at Tolono, IL
Norfolk Southern Nickel Plate Road Heritage Unit 8100 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 eastbound as it passes the United Prairie and Premier Cooperative grain complexes at Tolono, Illinois on August 24th, 2024, as they head east on the NS Lafayette District.
The NS RoadRailer trains are now a thing of the past as the last one ran yesterday, 25th of August 2024, and the service has now been discontinued and the will transition fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 9839 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer NS 255, passing the rear of 256 at Sidney, IL
Norfolk Southern 9839 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer NS 255 as it passes the tail end of it’s counterpart, NS 256 at Sidney, Illinois on the NS Lafayette District on August 24th, 2024.
This is the end of an era for this scene with RoadRailers as both trains are being changed over to Intermodals and today was the last run for eastbound 256 and the 25th was the last run for NS 255.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 9905 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train NS 256 Eastbound at Sidney, Illinois
Norfolk Southern 9905 leads Triple Crown RoadRailer train as it stretches across the southern Illinois landscape running as eastbound NS 256 outside of Sidney, Illinois under cloudy weather along the NS Lafayette District on August 17th, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will become a thing of the past as of the weekend of 24-25th of August 2024, as the service will be discontinued and transitioned fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However, on August 12th, 2024, they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 220.
NS 255 Triple Crown RoadRailer train westbound at Sidney, Illinois on the Lafayette District
Norfolk Southern 9800 leads NS 255 Triple Crown RoadRailer train westbound as it passes through the curve outside of Sidney, Illinois on the NS Lafayette District on August 17th, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will become a thing of the past as of the 24-25th of August 2024 as the service will be discontinued and transitioned fully to standard double-stack trains.
According to Wikipedia: A RoadRailer is a trailer or semi-trailer that can be hauled on roads by a tractor unit and then by way of a fifth wheel coupling, operate in a unit train on railway lines. The RoadRailer system allows trailers to be pulled by locomotives without the use of flatcars, instead attaching trailers directly to bogies.
Triple Crown, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway, remains a user of RoadRailer transportation as of 2022. However on August 12th, 2024 they announced the last RoadRailer Trains would be running the weekend of August 24 and 25, 2024. The RoadRailer trains will be replaced temporarily with Trailer on Flat Car (TOFC) service before transitioning fully to a standard double-stack container trains.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm, f/25, 1/350, ISO 1400.
May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – The conductor on a Union Pacific freight walks past the American Flag…
May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – The conductor on a Union Pacific freight walks past the American Flag on his engine in the yard at Salem, Illinois.
According to the Union Pacific Website: When we added the flag to our locomotives more than a decade ago – at the suggestion of an employee after 9/11 – we followed the tradition of having the Union (the blue field of stars) lead the way, such that on the right-hand side of the vehicle (“passenger side”), the flag would appear reversed.
Further, the flag was painted to convey the motion of forward movement as if it were billowing with the speed of the locomotive. Having the Union forward on both sides is the overwhelming choice anytime the flag is portrayed on a transport vehicle, from NASA space shuttles to Air Force One.
Tech Info: Nikon D100, Nikon 70-300mm @ 80mm, f/14, 1/400, ISO 400.
May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – BNSF 2819 heads past the old interlocking tower at Shattuc, Illinois
May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – BNSF 2819 heads past the old interlocking tower at Shattuc, Illinois on BNSF’s Beardstown Subdivision as it crosses over the Illinois Subdivision.
From what I gather from the web, CSX closed the Illinois Subdivision through here at one point and used it for car storage, but then I find references to the line being used now by The Prairie Line, a shortline out of O’Fallon, IL (I’m now told the shortline hasn’t materialized yet). BNSF still owns and uses the Bardstown Sub. I’m also told that the diamond was removed in 2019, at least temporarily.
In the past this tower controlled the movements of trains on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad along with the B&O Railroad. It was closed sometime in the 1980’s and from what I can find on the web it was torn down in late 2014. I’ve also found reports where it was bought by a collector and moved. Whichever is correct, this picture isn’t to be replicated again today since the tower is now gone.
If you’d like to read a great piece on the tower, check out this article on The Trackside Photographer by Tom Gatermann, who visited the tower the same year as me.
http://thetracksidephotographer.com/tag/shattuc-tower/
Photograph the towers when and where you can as they continue to disappear from the railroad landscape.
Tech Info: Nikon D100, Sigma 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/8, 1/800, ISO 400.