May 8, 2020 - Louisville and Indiana Railroad Honoring Our Veterans units 3001 & 3002 bask in the late evening light outside the shops at Jeffersonville, Indiana. According to Wikipedia and the Internet: The Louisville and Indiana Railroad is a Class III railroad that operates freight service between Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, with a major yard and maintenance shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is owned by Anacostia Rail Holdings. The 106-mile line was purchased from Conrail in March 1994. The logo on the units were designed by Tyler Hardin and depicts silhouettes of three soldiers from different eras against a backdrop of the American flag. The design, framed by the LIRC keystone, includes five stars for the branches of the service and the legend “Honoring Our Veterans.” A soldier in the center wears a contemporary helmet, flanked by a pair of soldiers, one wearing a World War I-era “Doughboy” helmet and the other an M1 helmet from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The locomotives are 3,000 h.p. SD40-2 units numbered 3001 and 3002, and were repainted during a recent upgrade at Metro East Industries Inc. in Fairview Heights, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis. The units are leased from CIT Rail.

Louisville and Indiana Railroad Honoring Our Veterans units…

May 8, 2020 – Louisville and Indiana Railroad Honoring Our Veterans units 3001 & 3002 bask in the late evening light outside the shops at Jeffersonville, Indiana.

According to Wikipedia and the Internet: The Louisville and Indiana Railroad is a Class III railroad that operates freight service between Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, with a major yard and maintenance shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is owned by Anacostia Rail Holdings. The 106-mile line was purchased from Conrail in March 1994.

The logo on the units were designed by Tyler Hardin and depicts silhouettes of three soldiers from different eras against a backdrop of the American flag. The design, framed by the LIRC keystone, includes five stars for the branches of the service and the legend “Honoring Our Veterans.” A soldier in the center wears a contemporary helmet, flanked by a pair of soldiers, one wearing a World War I-era “Doughboy” helmet and the other an M1 helmet from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

The locomotives are 3,000 h.p. SD40-2 units numbered 3001 and 3002, and were repainted during a recent upgrade at Metro East Industries Inc. in Fairview Heights, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis. The units are leased from CIT Rail.

May 8, 2020 - The late afternoon sunlight rakes across the shop area at MG Rail (MGRI) as locomotives 2002, 2001 and 700 sit next to their engine house in Jeffersonville, Indiana. I had never heard of this shortline, but thankfully good friend Ryan Scott of SteelRails has and navigated us to MG's yard just before crews took two of the engines out of the yard with loaded hoppers for interchange work. The shortline is owned and operated by Consolidated Grain and Barge (CG&B). It operates within the Clark Maritime Center, near Jeffersonville, Indiana. MGRI switches out several industries within the Maritime center and stages them at connections to CSX and Louisville & Indiana. Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @210mm, f/1.7, 1/1600 sec at ISO 900.

MG Rail shops at Jeffersonville, Indiana

May 8, 2020 – The late afternoon sunlight rakes across the shop area at MG Rail (MGRI) as locomotives 2002, 2001 and 700 sit next to their engine house in Jeffersonville, Indiana. I had never heard of this shortline, but thankfully good friend Ryan Scott of SteelRails has and navigated us to MG’s yard just before crews took two of the engines out of the yard with loaded hoppers for interchange work.

The shortline is owned and operated by Consolidated Grain and Barge (CG&B). It operates within the Clark Maritime Center, near Jeffersonville, Indiana. MGRI switches out several industries within the Maritime center and stages them at connections to CSX and Louisville & Indiana.

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @210mm, f/1.7, 1/1600 sec at ISO 900.

April 29, 2020 - Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) across the Wabash River bridge at Mt. Carmel, Illinois as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis. Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 450mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec, ISO 640.

Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit at Mt. Carmel, IL

April 29, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) across the Wabash River bridge at Mt. Carmel, Illinois as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis.

Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 450mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec, ISO 640.

April 29, 2020 - Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) as it heads down the curve approaching the crossing on County Road 150 at Princeton, Indiana as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis. Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 180mm, f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 400.

Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit at Princeton, IN

April 29, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) as it heads down the curve approaching the crossing on County Road 150 at Princeton, Indiana as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis.
Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 180mm, f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 400.

April 29, 2020 - Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) as passes through Hatfield Junction, east of Oakland City, Indiana, as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District. In 2012, Norfolk Southern celebrated 30 years of being formed, and painted 20 new locomotives in predecessor schemes to honor its heritage. GE ES44AC #8025 was painted into the Monongahela scheme. According to Wikipedia: The Monongahela Railway (reporting mark MGA) was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC and PRR later succeeded by Penn Central Transportation. The company operated its own line until it was merged into Conrail on May 1, 1993. Conrail would be bought in 1998 by Norfolk Southern and CSX. Eleven GE Class B23-7Rs (sometimes referred to as Super 7s), the Monongahela's final locomotive fleet numbered 2300-2310, were renumbered 2030-2040 by Conrail, then divided between NS and CSX when they operationally took over Conrail operations in 1999. Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 390mm, f/9, 1/1000 sec, ISO 560.

Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit at Hatfield Junction…

April 29, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) as passes through Hatfield Junction, east of Oakland City, Indiana, as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District.

In 2012, Norfolk Southern celebrated 30 years of being formed, and painted 20 new locomotives in predecessor schemes to honor its heritage. GE ES44AC #8025 was painted into the Monongahela scheme.

According to Wikipedia: The Monongahela Railway (reporting mark MGA) was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC and PRR later succeeded by Penn Central Transportation. The company operated its own line until it was merged into Conrail on May 1, 1993.

Conrail would be bought in 1998 by Norfolk Southern and CSX. Eleven GE Class B23-7Rs (sometimes referred to as Super 7s), the Monongahela’s final locomotive fleet numbered 2300-2310, were renumbered 2030-2040 by Conrail, then divided between NS and CSX when they operationally took over Conrail operations in 1999.

Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 390mm, f/9, 1/1000 sec, ISO 560.

April 28, 2020 - As the late afternoon light rakes across the scene we find the crew on CSX Q513 getting ready to do a roll by inspection on CSX Q028 as it heads north end of the siding at Hazelton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision on a beautiful spring day. Tech: Nikon D800, Sigma 24-70 at 36mm, f/5, 1/800 @ ISO 125 in RAW.

Digital Art – CSX Q028 meets Q513 at Hazelton, Indiana

April 28, 2020 – As the late afternoon light rakes across the scene we find the crew on CSX Q513 getting ready to do a roll by inspection on CSX Q028 as it heads north end of the siding at Hazelton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision on a beautiful spring day.

April 28, 2020 - As the late afternoon light rakes across the scene we find the crew on CSX Q513 getting ready to do a roll by inspection on CSX Q028 as it heads north end of the siding at Hazelton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision on a beautiful spring day. Tech: Nikon D800, Sigma 24-70 at 36mm, f/5, 1/800 @ ISO 125 in RAW.

CSX Q028 meets Q513 at Hazelton, IN

April 28, 2020 – As the late afternoon light rakes across the scene we find the crew on CSX Q513 getting ready to do a roll by inspection on CSX Q028 as it heads north end of the siding at Hazelton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision on a beautiful spring day.

Tech: Nikon D800, Sigma 24-70 at 36mm, f/5, 1/800 @ ISO 125 in RAW.

April 29, 2020 - After working making a drop off at the yard in Princeton, Indiana, Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, pulls NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis, Mo. Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 360.

Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, pulls NS 168…

April 29, 2020 – After working making a drop off at the yard in Princeton, Indiana, Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, pulls NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis, Mo.

Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 360.

April 29, 2020 - Well, for the first time since this pandemic began I left the state today! One of the four remaining Norfolk Southern Heritage Units that I haven't caught, NS 8025 (Monongahela) was leading NS 168 westbound from Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. In this shot I caught him after he passed the signals at East Douglas in Princeton, Indiana as it made its way on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis. Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Irex 11mm @ f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 200.

NS Monongahela Heritage Unit at Princeton, IN

April 29, 2020 – Well, for the first time since this pandemic began I left the state today! One of the four remaining Norfolk Southern Heritage Units that I haven’t caught, NS 8025 (Monongahela) was leading NS 168 westbound from Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

In this shot I caught him after he passed the signals at East Douglas in Princeton, Indiana as it made its way on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis.

Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Irex 11mm @ f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 200.

February 22, 2020 - Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) 2920 (SD20 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, Illinois, past the old control tower, as it works on building a train. From what I find online the unit was built in 1959 and was rebuilt by Illinois Central in 1980 from IC 2010. Then it went to NRE in 2/95, and was leased to IHB 9/96, before being purchased by IHB 6/2007. According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which is double main track) and 266 miles of additional yard and siding track. The IHB provides a wide variety of services, including industrial switching with 160 customers, generating 170,000 carloads of business annually. The IHB interchanges daily with 16 other rail carriers in Chicago. A growing fleet of approximately 1,400 freight cars is geared predominately to the steel industry. The industrial traffic base includes 4 of the 5 largest steel producers in the U.S. and a large aluminum processor, oil refineries, corn millers, grain elevators, chemical plants, warehouses, lumber transloading, and bulk transfer operations. IHB's industrial traffic consists of 38% primary metals, 12% chemicals & petroleum products, 11% food products, 8% scrap iron, 7% coal & coke, 6% whole grain, as well as a variety of other products including lumber, paper, and aggregates. The IHB also operates as an intermediate switch carrier between the 12 trunk-line railroads for traffic interchanged between them in Chicago, generating an additional 475,000 revenue cars. The IHB main line circles Chicago from near O'Hare to Northwest Indiana and roughly parallels Interstate 294 (Tri-state Expressway) and I-80/94. Its primary yard, Blue Island (a 44 class track hump yard) at Riverdale, IL lies in about the center of the railroad. Other major yards includes Gibson (in Hammond, IN) which only classifies cars of new autos and Michigan Avenue Yard (in East Chicago) which serves the extensive steel plants which accounts for IHB's primary business. From East Chicago, the IHB operates east for an additional 16 miles on trackage rights to access Burns Harbor, IN and Portage, IN, which includes Indiana's International Port.

Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) 2920 at Riverdale, IL

February 22, 2020 – Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) 2920 (SD20 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, Illinois, past the old control tower, as it works on building a train. From what I find online the unit was built in 1959 and was rebuilt by Illinois Central in 1980 from IC 2010. Then it went to NRE in 2/95, and was leased to IHB 9/96, before being purchased by IHB 6/2007.

According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which is double main track) and 266 miles of additional yard and siding track.

The IHB provides a wide variety of services, including industrial switching with 160 customers, generating 170,000 carloads of business annually. The IHB interchanges daily with 16 other rail carriers in Chicago. A growing fleet of approximately 1,400 freight cars is geared predominately to the steel industry. The industrial traffic base includes 4 of the 5 largest steel producers in the U.S. and a large aluminum processor, oil refineries, corn millers, grain elevators, chemical plants, warehouses, lumber transloading, and bulk transfer operations. IHB’s industrial traffic consists of 38% primary metals, 12% chemicals & petroleum products, 11% food products, 8% scrap iron, 7% coal & coke, 6% whole grain, as well as a variety of other products including lumber, paper, and aggregates. The IHB also operates as an intermediate switch carrier between the 12 trunk-line railroads for traffic interchanged between them in Chicago, generating an additional 475,000 revenue cars.

The IHB main line circles Chicago from near O’Hare to Northwest Indiana and roughly parallels Interstate 294 (Tri-state Expressway) and I-80/94. Its primary yard, Blue Island (a 44 class track hump yard) at Riverdale, IL lies in about the center of the railroad. Other major yards includes Gibson (in Hammond, IN) which only classifies cars of new autos and Michigan Avenue Yard (in East Chicago) which serves the extensive steel plants which accounts for IHB’s primary business. From East Chicago, the IHB operates east for an additional 16 miles on trackage rights to access Burns Harbor, IN and Portage, IN, which includes Indiana’s International Port.

April 4, 2006 - Blast From The Past - CSXT 8584 leads a mixed freight past the signals approaching the southern crossover, where CSX and Norfolk Southern crossover on the CSX CE&D Subdivision, as it heads north through Princeton, Indiana.

CSXT 8584 leads a mixed freight…

April 4, 2006 – Blast From The Past – CSXT 8584 leads a mixed freight past the signals approaching the southern crossover, where CSX and Norfolk Southern crossover on the CSX CE&D Subdivision, as it heads north through Princeton, Indiana. Jim Pearson Photography

April 4, 2006 - Blast From The Past - Norfolk Southern 8479 leads a mixed freight eastbound as the setting sun produces a golden glow as the train makes its way out of Princeton, Indiana on the NS Southern East District.

Norfolk Southern 9479 leads a mixed freight…

April 4, 2006 – Blast From The Past – Norfolk Southern 9479 leads a mixed freight eastbound as the setting sun produces a golden glow as the train makes its way out of Princeton, Indiana on the NS Southern East District.

February 22, 2020 - Indiana Harbor Belt 4015 and 4017 approach the diamond at Dolton, Illinois on track two as they head west on the Indiana Harbor Belt line where they cross over the Union Pacific Villa Grove Subdivision headed back toward their Blue Island yard.

Indiana Harbor Belt 4015 and 4017 at Dolton, Illinois

February 22, 2020 – Indiana Harbor Belt 4015 and 4017 approach the diamond at Dolton, Illinois on track two as they head west on the Indiana Harbor Belt line where they cross over the Union Pacific Villa Grove Subdivision headed back toward their Blue Island yard.

February 22, 2020 - Indiana Harbor Belt 2920 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, IL as IHB 2160 works it's own job during a cold winters morning as IHB caboose 54 sits waiting to be the shoving platform on its next assignment. According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which is double main track) and 266 miles of additional yard and siding track. The IHB provides a wide variety of services, including industrial switching with 160 customers, generating 170,000 carloads of business annually. The IHB interchanges daily with 16 other rail carriers in Chicago. A growing fleet of approximately 1,400 freight cars is geared predominately to the steel industry. The industrial traffic base includes 4 of the 5 largest steel producers in the U.S. and a large aluminum processor, oil refineries, corn millers, grain elevators, chemical plants, warehouses, lumber transloading, and bulk transfer operations. IHB's industrial traffic consists of 38% primary metals, 12% chemicals & petroleum products, 11% food products, 8% scrap iron, 7% coal & coke, 6% whole grain, as well as a variety of other products including lumber, paper, and aggregates. The IHB also operates as an intermediate switch carrier between the 12 trunk-line railroads for traffic interchanged between them in Chicago, generating an additional 475,000 revenue cars. The IHB main line circles Chicago from near O'Hare to Northwest Indiana and roughly parallels Interstate 294 (Tri-state Expressway) and I-80/94. Its primary yard, Blue Island (a 44 class track hump yard) at Riverdale, IL lies in about the center of the railroad. Other major yards includes Gibson (in Hammond, IN) which only classifies cars of new autos and Michigan Avenue Yard (in East Chicago) which serves the extensive steel plants which accounts for IHB's primary business. From East Chicago, the IHB operates east for an additional 16 miles on trackage rights to access Burns Harbor, IN and Portage, IN, which includes Indiana's International Port.

Indiana Harbor Belt 2920 backs…

February 22, 2020 – Indiana Harbor Belt 2920 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, IL as IHB 2160 works it’s own job during a cold winters morning as IHB caboose 54 sits waiting to be the shoving platform on its next assignment.

According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which i… See More

January 30, 2020 - Indiana Railroad (INRD) 9013 leads an empty coal train as it waits for a signal to enter the wye for the Indianapolis Subdivision mainline, after leaving the Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Station at Sullivan, Indiana.

Indiana Railroad (INRD) 9013 leads…

January 30, 2020 – Indiana Railroad (INRD) 9013 leads an empty coal train as it waits for a signal to enter the wye for the Indianapolis Subdivision mainline, after leaving the Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Station at Sullivan, Indiana.

January 26, 2020 - The Crew on CSX K815 (empty phosphate train) keeps a watchful eye, next to Canadian Pacific Heritage Unit 7011, as CSX autorack train Q217 passes it at Middle King south of Princeton, Indiana as it heads south on CSX's CE&D Subdivision. Canadian Pacific Railway No. 7011, is one of several recently released SD70ACu (Rebuilt by Progress Rail in Mayfield, Ky) units delivered in heritage paint with script lettering. I along with 11 other railfans stood at the crossing on County Road 550 waiting for K815 to continue it's move south, but after 6+ hours sitting in the siding watching other trains pass, it unfortunately didn't continue it's move before it got dark. In fact, last word we heard from the scanner was that the Danville, IL crew was waiting for a crew bus to take them off their train and that another K-train would hook into K815 and take it on to Evansville, Indiana. Don't know what the issue with the train was, but there was a lot of speculation and rumors of course, ranging from low priority to engine problems. Some days things just happen! I'm thankful for my 150-600mm lens which allowed me this shot from the road crossing as the train was probably 1/3 of a mile away. This shot was made @ 600mm on my full frame camera and then cropped in Adobe RAW.

Crew on CSX K815 at middle kings, Princeton, Indiana

January 26, 2020 – The Crew on CSX K815 (empty phosphate train) keeps a watchful eye, next to Canadian Pacific Heritage Unit 7011, as CSX autorack train Q217 passes it at Middle King south of Princeton, Indiana as it heads south on CSX’s CE&D Subdivision.

Canadian Pacific Railway No. 7011, is one of several recently released SD70ACu (Rebuilt by Progress Rail in Mayfield, Ky) units delivered in heritage paint with script lettering.

I along with 11 other railfans stood at the crossing on County Road 550 waiting for K815 to continue it’s move south, but after 6+ hours sitting in the siding watching other trains pass, it unfortunately didn’t continue it’s move before it got dark. In fact, last word we heard from the scanner was that the Danville, IL crew was waiting for a crew bus to take them off their train and that another K-train would hook into K815 and take it on to Evansville, Indiana.

Don’t know what the issue with the train was, but there was a lot of speculation and rumors of course, ranging from low priority to engine problems. Some days things just happen! I’m thankful for my 150-600mm lens which allowed me this shot from the road crossing as the train was probably 1/3 of a mile away. This shot was made @ 600mm on my full frame camera and then cropped in Adobe RAW. Many thanks to all the folks that kept us informed on the movement of this unit!

January 23, 2020 - Indiana Railroad (INRD) Veterans Unit 4005 sits tied down next to a loaded coal train at Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Station at Sullivan, Indiana along with INRD units 9009 & 9001, while waiting for their next crew. The Merom Generating Station is a 2-Unit, 1080-MW rated coal-fired power plant located between Merom, Indiana and Sullivan, Indiana. It is owned by Hoosier Energy, a Touchstone Energy cooperative. The plant has been in operation since 1982. It was announced by the company a few days ago that the plant will be shut down sometime in 2023, affecting the jobs of approximately 185 workers. According to Indiana Public Media's website: Hoosier Spokesperson Greg Seiter says the decision is in large part a cost savings move. "We’re looking at potentially saving our members in excess of $700 million over the next two decades," he says. That’s in part because Hoosier Energy won’t be locked into coal, which is more expensive. It can diversify its mix, including using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. While it's a few years off, if you plan to catch the INRD servicing this power plant with coal, you had better do it sooner than later!

Indiana Railroad Veterans Unit 4005…

January 23, 2020 – Indiana Railroad (INRD) Veterans Unit 4005 sits tied down next to a loaded coal train at Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Station at Sullivan, Indiana along with INRD units 9009 & 9001, while waiting for their next crew.

The Merom Generating Station is a 2-Unit, 1080-MW rated coal-fired power plant located between Merom, Indiana and Sullivan, Indiana. It is owned by Hoosier Energy, a Touchstone Energy cooperative. The plant has been in operation since 1982.

It was announced by the company a few days ago that the plant will be shut down sometime in 2023, affecting the jobs of approximately 185 workers.

According to Indiana Public Media’s website: Hoosier Spokesperson Greg Seiter says the decision is in large part a cost savings move.

“We’re looking at potentially saving our members in excess of $700 million over the next two decades,” he says.

That’s in part because Hoosier Energy won’t be locked into coal, which is more expensive. It can diversify its mix, including using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.

While it’s a few years off, if you plan to catch the INRD servicing this power plant with coal, you had better do it sooner than later!