This week we catch CSX M512 with a string of M1 Tanks, I026 with the Seaboard System Heritage Unit and a meet between I128 and M647 at Mortons Junction, Mortons Gap, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision! Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen and enjoy the trains!! Please like, share, subscribe and thanks for watching!
Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) 4523 military train crew change at Madisonville, Ky
Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) 4523 leads an 8,100ft loaded military train as a crew change takes place at West Yard in Madisonville, Kentucky, on May 17th, 2024.
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.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 200.
A loaded southbound ethanol train, CSX B647 with Kansas City Southern Gray Ghost…
A loaded southbound ethanol train, CSX B647 with Kansas City Southern Gray Ghost 4567, KCS 4162 and Norfolk Southern 9649 leading, heads south as it approaches Casky Yard at Hopkinsville, Kentucky on April 15th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
The Henderson Subdivision sees foreign power quite often and this train is one example of it. This train runs from Bensenville, IL (CPKC) to Lawrenceville, GA, as needed.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 120.
CSX intermodal I128 passes through downtown Sebree, Ky
CSX intermodal I128 passes through downtown Sebree, Ky, on June 13th, 2024, as they head north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 110.
CSX M512 heads north past the siding at Slaughters, Kentucky with M1 Tanks
CSX M512 heads north past the siding at Slaughters, Kentucky, on June 13th, 2024, with a string of 30 M1 Tanks in their consist as they head north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 120.
CSXT 3251 leads a southbound loaded grain train past the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot, Madisonville, Ky
CSXT 3251 leads a southbound loaded grain train past the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot in downtown Madisonville, Kentucky, on June 13th, 2024, on the Henderson Subdivision.
This depot was originally dedicated in 1929 and last saw passenger service about 1968 when L&N built an office at Atkinson Yard in Madisonville and the passenger train service was moved to that location. Currently the station is owned by the city of Madisonville and houses one of the hubs of the Kentucky Innovation Stations, which helps courageous entrepreneurs, creative business founders, high-growth startups, and savvy investors star in their own success stories.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100.
CSX M512 heads north past the siding at Slaughters, Kentucky
CSX M512 heads north past the siding at Slaughters, Kentucky, on June 13th, 2024, with a string of 30 M1 Tanks in their consist as they head north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
CSX I025 passes the Earlington-Madisonville cutoff at Mortons Junction in Mortons Gap, Kentucky
CSXT 3320 and 5414 lead on CSX I025 as it passes the Earlington-Madisonville cutoff at Mortons Junction in Mortons Gap, Kentucky, on June 13th, 2024, on the Henderson Subdivision as it makes its way south.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
CSX Seaboard System Heritage Locomotive 1982 passes the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot…
CSX Seaboard System Heritage Locomotive 1982 passes over Arch Street at the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot in downtown Madisonville, Kentucky, on June 13th, 2024, as it leads CSX I026 north on the Henderson Subdivision.
This depot was originally dedicated in 1929 and last saw passenger service about 1968 when L&N built an office at Atkinson Yard in Madisonville and the passenger train service was moved to that location. Currently the station is owned by the city of Madisonville and houses one of the hubs of the Kentucky Innovation Stations, which helps courageous entrepreneurs, creative business founders, high-growth startups, and savvy investors star in their own success stories.
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 with 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, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 140.
Saturday Infrared photo, we catch CSXT 5407 leading CSX I128…
In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo, we catch CSXT 5407 leading CSX I128 north after coming off the Gum Lick Trestle, north of Kelly, Kentucky, on May 30th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 10-24mm @ 10, f/5.6, 1/450., ISO 400.
CSX hot intermodal I025, right, passes M513 at the south end of Atkinson Yard…
CSX hot intermodal I025, right, passes M513 at the south end of Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Kentucky on April 23rd, 2024, as they head south on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100.
CSX M513 heads south along the power siding at CSX Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Kentucky
CSX M513 heads south along the power siding at CSX Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Kentucky on May 7th, 2024, as they head south on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
CSX local 391 southbound at Mortons Junction, Mortons Gap, Kentucky
CSX local 391 comes off the cutoff onto the Henderson Main, at Mortons Junction at Mortons Gap, Ky, as it makes the return trip to Casky Yard in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on May11th, 2024 after working on drop off and pickups at CSX Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Ky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 120.
Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) 4523, 4142, 2101 and 2104, lead an 8,100ft military train at Gilbertsville, Ky
Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) 4523, 4142, 2101 and 2104, lead an 8,100ft military train across the Tennessee River at Kentucky Dam at Gilbertsville, Kentucky, on May 17th, 2024.
The crew took the train on to Paducah, Ky where it was tied down for the night. Where it went beyond there I’ve not heard, but in the past BNSF has picked up these moves and took them on west.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 160.
Norfolk Southern 168 passes 174 in the NS Yard at Burnside, Kentucky
Norfolk Southern 168 passes 174 in the NS Yard at Burnside, Kentucky during the golden hour as it heads north on the NS CNO&TP (Rathole) Second District on June 7th, 2024.
According to American-rails.com, It used to be called the Rathole Division when it was the Southern Railway and is often remembered as a road with relatively flat and tangent main lines due to the region in which it operated. However, the system did feature its share of steep, circuitous main lines such as Saluda Grade in western North Carolina and its famed “Rathole Division” through Kentucky and Tennessee that reached as far north as Cincinnati.
Technically, this stretch of the Southern main line was known as the 2nd District of subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (CNO&TP), which was plagued for years by numerous tunnels resulting in its famous nickname by the crews which operated over it.
Over the years the Southern worked to daylight or bypass these obstacles as the route saw significant freight tonnage, a task finally completed during the 1960s. Today, the Rathole remains an important artery in Norfolk Southern’s vast network.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm, f/6.3, 1/200, ISO 450.
Norfolk Southern New York Central Heritage unit 1066 leads NS 167 as it heads south at Keno cut…
Norfolk Southern New York Central Heritage unit 1066 leads NS 167 as it heads south at Keno cut on the NS CNO&TP (Rathole) Second District, south of Tateville, Kentucky, on June 7th, 2024.
This was my second trip to chase the Rathole and again didn’t make it all the way to Danville, Ky like I had planned as me and fellow railfan Ryan Scott (SteelRails) decided to go to High Bridge, Ky instead and then ran out of time shooting there! We’re already panning another trip to chase north from Danville.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, Sigma 150-600 @ 350mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 320.
Norfolk Southern intermodal 28C heads northbound across High Bridge on June 8th, 2024 at High Bridge, Ky
Norfolk Southern intermodal 28C heads northbound across High Bridge on June 8th, 2024, crossing the Kentucky River on the NS CNO&TP First District at Highbridge, Kentucky.
According to Wikipedia: The High Bridge is a railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades, that rises approximately 275 feet from the river below and connects Jessamine and Mercer counties in Kentucky. Formally dedicated in 1879, it is the first cantilever bridge constructed in the United States. It has a three-span continuous under-deck truss used by Norfolk Southern Railway to carry trains between Lexington and Danville. It has been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
In 1851, the Lexington & Danville Railroad, with Julius Adams as chief engineer, retained John A. Roebling to build a railroad suspension bridge across the Kentucky River for a line connecting Lexington and Danville, Kentucky west of the intersection of the Dix and Kentucky rivers. In 1855, the company ran out of money and the project was resumed by Cincinnati Southern Railroad in 1873 following a proposal by C. Shaler Smith for a cantilever design using stone towers designed by John A. Roebling (who designed the Brooklyn Bridge).
The bridge was erected using a cantilever design with a three-span continuous under-deck truss and was opened in 1877 on the Cincinnati Southern Railway. It was 275 feet (84 m) tall and 1,125 feet (343 m) long: the tallest bridge above a navigable waterway in North America and the tallest railroad bridge in the world until the early 20th century. Construction was completed using 3,654,280 pounds of iron at a total cost of $404,373.31. In 1879 President Rutherford B. Hayes and Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman attended the dedication.
After years of heavy railroad use, the bridge was rebuilt by Gustav Lindenthal in 1911. Lindenthal reinforced the foundations and rebuilt the bridge around the original structure. To keep railroad traffic flowing, the track deck was raised by 30 feet during construction and a temporary trestle was constructed. In 1929, an additional set of tracks was built to accommodate increased railroad traffic and the original limestone towers were removed.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 160.
Norfolk Southern intermodal 29F heads southbound across High Bridge on June 8th, 2024
Norfolk Southern intermodal 29F heads southbound across High Bridge on June 8th, 2024, crossing the Kentucky River on the NS CNO&TP First District at Highbridge, Kentucky.
According to Wikipedia: The High Bridge is a railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades, that rises approximately 275 feet from the river below and connects Jessamine and Mercer counties in Kentucky. Formally dedicated in 1879, it is the first cantilever bridge constructed in the United States. It has a three-span continuous under-deck truss used by Norfolk Southern Railway to carry trains between Lexington and Danville. It has been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
In 1851, the Lexington & Danville Railroad, with Julius Adams as chief engineer, retained John A. Roebling to build a railroad suspension bridge across the Kentucky River for a line connecting Lexington and Danville, Kentucky west of the intersection of the Dix and Kentucky rivers. In 1855, the company ran out of money and the project was resumed by Cincinnati Southern Railroad in 1873 following a proposal by C. Shaler Smith for a cantilever design using stone towers designed by John A. Roebling (who designed the Brooklyn Bridge).
The bridge was erected using a cantilever design with a three-span continuous under-deck truss and was opened in 1877 on the Cincinnati Southern Railway. It was 275 feet (84 m) tall and 1,125 feet (343 m) long: the tallest bridge above a navigable waterway in North America and the tallest railroad bridge in the world until the early 20th century. Construction was completed using 3,654,280 pounds of iron at a total cost of $404,373.31. In 1879 President Rutherford B. Hayes and Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman attended the dedication.
After years of heavy railroad use, the bridge was rebuilt by Gustav Lindenthal in 1911. Lindenthal reinforced the foundations and rebuilt the bridge around the original structure. To keep railroad traffic flowing, the track deck was raised by 30 feet during construction and a temporary trestle was constructed. In 1929, an additional set of tracks was built to accommodate increased railroad traffic and the original limestone towers were removed.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 180.
Saturday Infrared photo, we catch Norfolk Southern 4821 leading CSX B210…
In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo, we catch Norfolk Southern 4821 leading CSX B210 south at Crofton, Kentucky on May 30th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 10-24mm @ 14mm, f/5.6, 1/950., ISO 400.
June 8th, 2024 – Episode 75 – Saturday Edited Video from Jim Pearson Photography
This week we’re chasing trains between Robards and Crofton, Kentucky including CSX M502 at Hanson, Ky with CSX Locomotive 1899 Honoring the Pere Marquette Heritage Locomotive leading. That and also some CP and BNSF action! Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen, enjoy and please like, share, subscribe!
CSX M502 through the south end of Atkinson Yard at Madisonville, Ky with CSX Pere Marquette Heritage Unit
CSX M502 through the south end of Atkinson Yard at Madisonville, Ky with CSX Pere Marquette Heritage Unit, 1899, leading the way on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on May 20th, 2024.
According to a CSX Press Release: May 1, 2024 – CSX has introduced the latest addition in its heritage locomotive series, paying homage to the rich history of the Pere Marquette Railroad. This new unit showcases the Pere Marquette’s legacy, dating back to its inception on November 1, 1899.
The Pere Marquette Railroad, operating in the Great Lakes region of the United States and parts of southern Ontario, Canada, derived its name from Jacques Marquette, a notable French Jesuit missionary credited with founding Michigan’s first European settlement in Sault Ste Marie. After years of operation, the company merged with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) on June 6, 1947, eventually becoming part of the renowned CSX network.
The design of the Pere Marquette heritage locomotive was meticulously crafted by employees at the CSX Waycross Locomotive Shop. According to CSX Carman Painter Eric Lee, “We had to measure each stripe precisely and position the words just right to ensure it captured the look of the original design. It took us about four days just to lay out the stripes before we could begin painting.”
A fascinating tidbit related to the history of Pere Marquette is its cameo in the 2004 film “The Polar Express.” The steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225 served as the inspiration for the train depicted in the movie, with audio recordings of the actual locomotive in operation featured in the film. Interestingly, the locomotive had been donated to Michigan State University and was exhibited near the university’s football stadium. The author of “The Polar Express” book drew inspiration from seeing this locomotive on display during childhood, solidifying its place in popular culture.
CSX’s dedication to honoring the history and significance of the Pere Marquette Railroad through this new locomotive underscores the company’s commitment to preserving and celebrating the heritage of American railroads. Keep an eye out as this remarkable piece of history moves across the CSX network, bridging the past with the present.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 100.