CSX loaded rail train W471, being led by CSXT 5403, waits in the siding at Crofton, Kentucky for northbound CSX hot intermodal, I128, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 27th, 2025.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 400.
CSX loaded rail train W471 pulls slowly while dropping rail as they pass the site where the last wooden bridge was located on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on Davis Road, north of Crofton, Kentucky on February 27th, 2025. CSX built a new road for residents to access their homes on the right side of this shot and have since torn down the old wooden bridge that used to cross over the tracks at this location.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
Union Pacific 5890 leads CSX W017, a brand new loaded continuous rail train, as it heads south as it passes the north end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky on March 4th, 2025, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
Union Pacific 5890 leads CSX W017, a brand new loaded continuous rail train, as it passes the signals at the south end of the siding at Crofton, Kentucky on March 4th, 2025, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 120.
A CSX ballaster works on the recently repaired track from the M501 derailment site on the cutoff track for the CSX Henderson Subdivision, just outside of Mortons Gap, Ky, on March 3rd, 2025. The derailment happened in the early morning hours on March 2nd, 2025, as the train was approaching Mortons Junction, after B&P Enterprises out of Mississippi worked on removing the cars and repairing the tracks.
I’m told that a broken drawbar was likely what caused the derailment, but that’s not official. No one was injured in this event. The track is currently back open with a speed restriction.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 120.
In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo, we catch loaded rail train W471 as it heads south at Romney, Nortonville, Kentucky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on February 27th, 2025.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 10-24 @24mm, f/5, 1/500, ISO 400.
CSX loaded rail train W471, being led by CSXT 5403, waits in the siding at Crofton, Kentucky as CSX hot intermodal, I128, heads north on the main, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 27th, 2025.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/4000, ISO 180.
CSXT 3122 leads M647 as it passes loaded rail train W471, being led by CSXT 5403 at Romney, Nortonville, Kentucky as they both make their way south on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 27th, 2025. Once passed, the rail train continued their work of dropping rail between Romney and Crofton, Ky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
CSX ballast regulator BR 201409, with a digital camo paint scheme, works under the north main street overpass at Madisonville, Ky on January 30th, 2025, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Nikon Z30, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 320mm, f/5.6, 1/2500, ISO 2800.
CSXT 4758 leads W008 with two FRA inspection cars, DOTX 218 and DOTX 220 as they pass the grain facility at Hopkinsville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on November 20th, 2024.
From what I can find on the FRA Website, DOTX-218 is a Gage Restraint Measurement Vehicle and DOTX-220 Track Geometry Car.
DOTX 218 Gage Restraint Measurement System (GRMS) vehicle procured in May 2004, is a state-of-the-art deployable GRMS vehicle which utilizes a 5th split railroad axle to laterally load the head of both adjacent rails of railroad track in order to measure rail motion under a combined vertical and later load for the detection of weak ties and fasteners. It has a unique suspension system which maintains alignment and apply continuous loads perpendicular to the rails regardless of the roll, pitch or vertical movement of the carbody on its suspension, or the curvature of the track; lifts and lowers split axle for testing and stowage; and orients split axle so that wheels are tangent to rails as track curvature varies.
DOTX 220 measures track geometry parameters, i.e., track gage, alignment, track surface (cross level, warp, profile) and calculate limiting train speed in curves. Fully equipped with non-contact sensors, the TGMS computes track geometry parameters at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour. Data can be processed to 200 miles per hour.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/5, 1/3200, ISO 100.
August 8, 2009 – During one of my many trips over the years to Summer Rail I caught CSXT 154 & 395 as it led a maintenance of way train, with two switches in gondolas, as it crossed over the Ohio River at Covington, Kentucky as it headed south off the C&O Railroad bridge from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tech Info: Nikon D700, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 200mm, f/8, 1/500. ISO 640.
The sun has set, and dusk has arrived over the CSX Henderson Subdivision at Crofton, Kentucky on July 19th, 2024, and a parade of track working equipment, and men have began working their way south through town during the first week of a three-week work curfew on the line. CSX has been running most of their trains during daylight hours to allow track workers to replace ties, crossings and other types of maintenance work on the subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/15, ISO 140, -2.0 exposure compensation for the highlights.
CSX G366 pulls northbound approaching Anaconda at Robards, Kentucky on July 5th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision. G366 is normally just an empty grain train, here it was hauling a long string of maintenance of way equipment which will be used in an upcoming CSX work curfew that is scheduled to begin on the subdivision in the next week or so.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 150.
CSX I025 meets G366 at Anaconda, just north of Sebree, Kentucky as it heads south on July 5th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision. G366 is normally just an empty grain train, but today it was hauling a long string of maintenance of way equipment which will be used in an upcoming CSX work curfew that is scheduled to begin on the subdivision in the next week or so.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 110.
This week we chase along the CSX Henderson Subdivision including during the total Solar Eclipse and several other interesting moves one of which is a CSX MOW Ditching Machine and some foreign power! Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen, enjoy and please like, share, subscribe, and thanks for watching!
![A Loram Rail grinder makes its way through the Cajon Pass in Southern California in April of 1995.
I spent a lot of years railfanning the pass between 1981 and 1995! It's a great place to catch trains and I've been back several times over the years since then.
In fact I'm headed back again this coming September for a week or so to see how much it has changed since I was last there several years ago. In fact, it was before I had a drone, so I'm really looking forward to railfanning from the air this next trip!
According to Wikipedia: Cajon Pass is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault, it has an elevation of 3,777 ft (1,151 m).[1] Located in the Mojave Desert, the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass area is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Cajon Pass is at the head of Horsethief Canyon, traversed by California State Route 138 and railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Improvements in 1972 reduced the railroad's maximum elevation from about 3,829 to 3,777 feet (1,167 to 1,151 m) while reducing curvature. Interstate 15 does not traverse Cajon Pass, but rather the nearby Cajon Summit. The entire area, Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit, is often referred to as Cajon Pass, but a distinction is made between Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit.
Nikon F3 Camera, Nikon 300mm lens, f/stop and shutter speed not recorded](https://www.jimpearsonphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WEB-04.1995-LoRam-in-Cajon-Pass-1170x762.jpg)
A Loram Rail grinder makes its way through the Cajon Pass in Southern California in April of 1995.
I spent a lot of years railfanning the pass between 1981 and 1995! It’s a great place to catch trains and I’ve been back several times over the years since then.
In fact I’m headed back again this coming September for a week or so to see how much it has changed since I was last there several years ago. In fact, it was before I had a drone, so I’m really looking forward to railfanning from the air this next trip!
According to Wikipedia: Cajon Pass is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault, it has an elevation of 3,777 ft (1,151 m).[1] Located in the Mojave Desert, the pass is an important link from the Greater San Bernardino Area to the Victor Valley, and northeast to Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass area is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Cajon Pass is at the head of Horsethief Canyon, traversed by California State Route 138 and railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Improvements in 1972 reduced the railroad’s maximum elevation from about 3,829 to 3,777 feet (1,167 to 1,151 m) while reducing curvature. Interstate 15 does not traverse Cajon Pass, but rather the nearby Cajon Summit. The entire area, Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit, is often referred to as Cajon Pass, but a distinction is made between Cajon Pass and Cajon Summit.
Nikon F3 Camera, Nikon 300mm lens, f/stop and shutter speed not recorded
A Loram Badger Ditcher Machine, DC-2, heads north out of the siding at Crofton, Kentucky as W055-13, on April 12th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
According to their website: Loram’s Badger Ditcher is a self-propelled ditch cleaner that can move 1,000 tons of material every hour, excavating at up to 22 feet from the center of the track. The Loram ditch cleaner creates a properly sloped ditch that intercepts and diverts water away from the track. The ditcher’s high-speed, high-performance ditching wheel digs in and picks up mud and water. As the wheel digs the ditch, water begins to flow.
The Badger Ditcher helps manage, remedy, and prevent the damaging effects from a host of penetrating water sources, including direct precipitation, groundwater migration, springs and trapped water, saturation, and seepage. Ditch maintenance best practices using the Badger Ditcher lets railroads improve vital drainage for the subgrade, lower the water table, control run-off, and promote free flow from the ballast section that can extend the effective duration of undercutting and ballast cleaning cycles.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 240.
A Loram Badger Ditcher Machine, DC-2, heads north past Arklow at Madisonville, Kentucky, as W055-13, on April 12th, 2024, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
According to their website: Loram’s Badger Ditcher is a self-propelled ditch cleaner that can move 1,000 tons of material every hour, excavating at up to 22 feet from the center of the track. The Loram ditch cleaner creates a properly sloped ditch that intercepts and diverts water away from the track. The ditcher’s high-speed, high-performance ditching wheel digs in and picks up mud and water. As the wheel digs the ditch, water begins to flow.
The Badger Ditcher helps manage, remedy, and prevent the damaging effects from a host of penetrating water sources, including direct precipitation, groundwater migration, springs and trapped water, saturation, and seepage. Ditch maintenance best practices using the Badger Ditcher lets railroads improve vital drainage for the subgrade, lower the water table, control run-off, and promote free flow from the ballast section that can extend the effective duration of undercutting and ballast cleaning cycles.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 150.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 3812 leads a loaded ballast train as they cross over Clear Creek as they work on dropping ballast between Richland and Madisonville, Kentucky on March 12th, 2024.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/8, 1/2000, ISO 140.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 3812 leads a loaded ballast train as they work on dropping ballast between Richland and Madisonville, Kentucky on March 12th, 2024, as spring starts to show in the surrounding area.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/8, 1/2000, ISO 140.
During our run to Seattle, Washington my sister and I traveled along the Columbia River Gorge on our recent trip and the only Union Pacific Equipment I caught on this day was this Maintenance of Way Equipment at The Dalles in Oregon. It was busy picking up ties on the Portland Subdivision, down from The Dalles Dam, on June 20th, 2023, with UP 958200 leading.
At the far end of the equipment, you can see where they are picking up ties along the right-of-way and I’ll be posting another shot showing that end tomorrow morning. An unusual and cool looking piece of equipment for sure!
From what I can find online Union Pacific took delivery of the RELCO built MOW work train set #958200 in July 2019. The set is made up of special flats/gons and a rebuilt SD-40-2 locomotive (former number unknown). The trailing unit was numbered UP 958201.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 180