Norfolk Southern 1053 and Grand Trunk 5860 in original paint, lead and empty rail train through the countryside between Union City, TN and Fulton, Ky as they head north on the CN Fulton Subdivision, on March 25th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 110.
LORAM Railgrinder RG414 grinds through the S curve at Nortonville, Kentucky as it makes its way south on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on May 23rd, 2022.
According to LORAM’s Website: Rail grinding is the cornerstone of virtually every railroad maintenance program. It maximizes the life and value of rail assets through precision removal of fatigued metal, restoration of the rail head profile and removal of rail defects which are the optimization goals of an effective rail grinding program.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 150mm, f/5, 1/320, ISO 3200.
LORAM Railgrinder RG414 grinds through a curve as it makes its way south at Nortonville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on May 23rd, 2022.
According to LORAMs Website: Rail grinding is the cornerstone of virtually every railroad maintenance program. It maximizes the life and value of rail assets through precision removal of fatigued metal, restoration of the rail head profile and removal of rail defects which are the optimization goals of an effective rail grinding program.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 390mm, f/6, 1/250, ISO 3600.
LoRam shoulder ballast cleaner SBC-2401 makes its way north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision out of Mortons Gap, Kentucky on May 11th, 2022, as it moves slowly along cleaning the ballast on both sides of the rails.
Shoulder ballast cleaning consists of removing ballast at the end of the ties, screening the ballast, and discarding fines and fouling material and restoring the good ballast to the shoulder. Integrated scarifiers break open end of tie mud pockets, removes fines, and restores ballast voids in the shoulders and under the tie ends and release damaging trapped water.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm, f/6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500.
CSXT 911 leads B419 with a loaded coke train as it meets Loram shoulder ballast cleaner SBC-2401 waiting in the siding at the north end of Slaughters, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision on May 15th, 2022. The coke train made its way to Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, KY where it was picked up by the Paducah and Louisville Railway and taken on their line to the Calvert City Terminal at Calvert City, KY.
CSXT 911 is one of several specialty painted units that CSX has painted in the last few years and this unit honors First Responders.
The shoulder ballast cleaner removes ballast at the end of the ties, screens the ballast and discards fines and fouling material and restoring the good ballast to the shoulder. Integrated scarifiers break open end of tie mud pockets, removes fines, and restores ballast voids in the shoulders and under the tie ends and release damaging trapped water.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, Altitude 61ft, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 140.
LoRam shoulder ballast cleaner SBC-2401 makes its way north on the CSX Henderson Cuttoff through the beautiful spring countryside of Mortons Gap, Kentucky on May 10th, 2022, as it moves slowly along cleaning the ballast on both sides of the rails.
Shoulder ballast cleaning consists of removing ballast at the end of the ties, screening the ballast and discarding fines and fouling material and restoring the good ballast to the shoulder. Integrated scarifiers break open end of tie mud pockets, removes fines, and restores ballast voids in the shoulders and under the tie ends and release damaging trapped water.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
What appears to be a CSX Harsco Mark IV tamper leads the way as it and other equipment make their way through the crossovers at Nortonville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on April 5th, 2022, after finishing some track work between Romney and Oak Hill on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 280mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 2000.
LORAM Railgrinder 401 grinds its way north on the Paducah and Louisville Railway on a beautiful fall afternoon as it crosses over the CSX Henderson Subdivision at Arklow in Madisonville, Kentucky on November 15th, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: A railgrinder (or rail grinder) is a maintenance of way vehicle or train used to restore the profile and remove irregularities from worn tracks to extend its life and to improve the ride of trains using the track. Rail grinders were developed to increase the lifespan of the tracks being serviced for rail corrugation. Rail grinding is a process that is done to stop the deformation due to use and friction on railroad tracks by removing deformations and corrosion. Railroad tracks that experience continual use are more likely to experience corrugation and overall wear.
Rail grinders are used to grind the tracks when rail corrugation is present, or before corrugation begins to form on the tracks. Major freight train tracks use rail grinders for track maintenance based on the interval of tonnage, rather than time. Transit systems and subways in major cities continue to use scheduled rail grinding processes to combat the corrugation common to heavily used tracks. Rail-grinding equipment may be mounted on a single self-propelled vehicle or on a dedicated rail-grinding train which, when used on an extensive network, may include crew quarters. The grinding wheels, of which there may be more than 100, are set at controlled angles to restore the track to its correct profile.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
CSXT 6025 leads CSX W001 inspection train as it splits the signals on the north end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky with Southern Pacific Birch Grove, CSX Florence and TGC2 Geometry Car trailing, as they make their way south on the Henderson Subdivision on July 13, 2021.
Research from a friend reveals: Built by The Budd Company in 1950 as 6 double bedroom, 10 roomette sleeping car 9020 for service on the Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles-New Orleans “Sunset Limited.” The car was acquired by Amtrak in 1971 and renumbered 2696. Converted to Heritage 10-6 sleeper with handicapped roomette in 1980 and renumbered to 2451 and named Birch Grove.
The Car was retired in 1995 and sold to Cincinnati Railway Company. It was upgraded 2002-03 and had a complete interior upgrade in 2005. As of 2014 it was owned by the Cincinnati Railway Company.
CSX purchased the Birch Grove car from the Cincinnati Railway in September of 2020 and from what I find online they plan to use it as part of its executive fleet. They also bought the dome car Moonlight Dome from them for the same reason.
According to Wikipedia: A track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) is an automated track inspection vehicle on a rail transport system used to test several parameters of the track geometry without obstructing normal railroad operations. Some of the parameters generally measured include position, curvature, alignment of the track, smoothness, and the cross level of the two rails. The cars use a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.
One of the earliest track geometry cars was Car T2 used by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Project HISTEP (High-Speed Train Evaluation Program). It was built by the Budd Company for Project HISTEP to evaluate track conditions between Trenton and New Brunswick, NJ, where the DOT had established a section of track for testing high-speed trains, and accordingly, the T2 ran at 150 miles per hour or faster.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
On August 4th, 2021, I was headed home with my niece Elaina this afternoon as we passed over the crossing at the Paducah and Louisville Railway yard at Madisonville, Kentucky when I spotted this scene with GMS2 track geometry car sitting pretty much by itself and did an immediate U-turn! The light, sky, clouds, and car were just screaming to me to be photographed in Infrared! After trying different angles and lenses this in the shot I ended up liking the best!
From Wikipedia: “A track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) is an automated track inspection vehicle on a rail transport system used to test several parameters of the track geometry without obstructing normal railroad operations. Some of the parameters generally measured include position, curvature, alignment of the track, smoothness, and the cross level of the two rails. The cars use a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.”
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Fuji 18-55 @32.9mm, f/5, 1/500, ISO 200.
CSXT 6025 leads CSX W001 inspection train as it passes through Mortons Junction at Mortons Gap, Kentucky with Southern Pacific Birch Grove, CSX Florence and TGC2 Geometry Car trailing, as they make their way south on the Henderson Subdivision on July 13, 2021.
Research from a friend reveals: Built by The Budd Company in 1950 as 6 double bedroom, 10 roomette sleeping car 9020 for service on the Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles-New Orleans “Sunset Limited.” The car was acquired by Amtrak in 1971 and renumbered 2696. Converted to Heritage 10-6 sleeper with handicapped roomette in 1980 and renumbered to 2451 and named Birch Grove.
The Car was retired in 1995 and sold to Cincinnati Railway Company. It was upgraded 2002-03 and had a complete interior upgrade in 2005. As of 2014 it was owned by the Cincinnati Railway Company.
CSX purchased the Birch Grove car from the Cincinnati Railway in September of 2020 and from what I find online they plan to use it as part of its executive fleet. They also bought the dome car Moonlight Dome from them for the same reason.
According to Wikipedia: A track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) is an automated track inspection vehicle on a rail transport system used to test several parameters of the track geometry without obstructing normal railroad operations. Some of the parameters generally measured include position, curvature, alignment of the track, smoothness, and the cross level of the two rails. The cars use a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.
One of the earliest track geometry cars was Car T2 used by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Project HISTEP (High-Speed Train Evaluation Program). It was built by the Budd Company for Project HISTEP to evaluate track conditions between Trenton and New Brunswick, NJ, where the DOT had established a section of track for testing high-speed trains, and accordingly, the T2 ran at 150 miles per hour or faster.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
Today while out railfanning with fellow rail enthusiast and Facebook follower, Gary Winsett, we ran by the AB Brown power plant at West Franklin, Indiana to see if they were any trains there to catch and stumbled upon track crews from Alltrack Inc, working on placing a new track panel on the lead going into the power plant.
We were fortunate enough to get there just in time for me to grab this shot on April 9th, 2021 of the crew working a new section of track in place right before the overpass on Lower Mt. Vernon Road, in a great spot for photographing these modern-day Gandy Dancers at work.
According to Wikipedia: Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers in the United States, more formally referred to as “section hands”, who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines.
According to their website: Alltrack Inc. was established in March of 1988 by Lee Clark, Lester Binegar, and Robert Butler to perform railroad construction and maintenance work in the Indiana area. In January of 1998 Jim & Jon Lawyer bought the business and later moved their operations to Pendleton, IN. Alltrack Inc. has grown in recent years to service the entire Midwest & parts of the South.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-14mm @10mm, f/5, 1/1000, ISO 180.
Looking at this photograph of hot intermodal CSX Q026 passing a tied down CSX W017 rail train just north of the yard at Guthrie, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision, you wouldnt know what transpired over 7 hours before their arrivals here! Well, heres what happened!
On March 20th, 2021 at approximately 9am CSX Q513 (12,000+ feet long) was about halfway through Adams, Tennessee when their train ripped a coupler completely out of a refrigerated car about 2/3 through their train and went into full emergency, which ended up causing a major problem on the Henderson Subdivision!
Since the train separated on the main, nothing could get around it and before it was over all four hot intermodals on the Henderson Subdivision, Q029, Q025, Q026 and Q028, were now delayed, as were many other trains, including this rail train as a result!
They finally figured out a plan that worked where the power from Q029 was brought up from Guthrie, Ky and hooked onto the rear of Q513 to hold the last 1/3 of Q513 in place.
Q513 then pulled the front 2/3 of their train south into the siding at Cedar Hill, Tennessee where a bracket was welded onto the reefer car, to hold the EOT device, as a new coupler couldnt be installed due to the damage.
The power on Q513 then pulled away from its train at Cedar Hill, where it went out the south end of the siding and back north on the main to pickup the rest of its train.
They then brought the rest of Q513 back to Cedar Hill where they backed into the siding and hooked onto the rest of their train. By this time the crew was now out of time and they the train down, till a fresh crew showed up later to take it on south.
Finally, Q029, Q025 and loaded a loaded coal train went on south where Q026 and Q028 were waiting to come north, and the railroad got to moving again!
As a result of all this, the rail train, which sat at the south end of Trenton, Ky for all this time, ended up being brought on up to Guthrie where their train was also tied down just short of the crossing at Park Street.
The crew was sent to a hotel and Im not sure if its because they ran out of time or if the dispatcher didnt want a slow speed train (30mp train and 10mph through turnouts and sidings) on the line as everything had been backing up for six hours!
Just another day on the railroad!!
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
CSXT 8060 leads CSX W035, a loaded Maintenance of Way train, under the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Monarch as it heads north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision at Madisonville, Kentucky on March 13th, 2021 under winter cloudy skies.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.
Well, that’s what they call it when the train crew is getting close to being out of crew time, based on the laws that govern how long they can work. When they get to this point, they’re trying to get to a spot they can do a crew change or tie their train down.
A good friend Charles Lavender gave me a heads up that this W035 was northbound with loaded Maintenance of Way train coming out of Goodlettsville, TN on March 13th, 2021.
I was still at home when I got the word and at least 30 minutes from Casky Yard in Hopkinsville, Kentucky where I planned on catching it. There were also unconfirmed reports that they would tie the train down at Casky as well.
Well, I got to the first exit for Hopkinsville when I got word from another fellow railfan, Steve Miller, that the train had already cleared the yard and was continuing north, which had me changing to my second spot at Kelly, Kentucky.
This train was flying, partly because they were running out of time and also, because hot intermodal CSX Q028 was hot on his tail!!
As I launched the drone and found my spot in the sky, dark clouds and the light band prefect between them and the ground helped add drama to the scene!!, I knew I had my favorite shot for this train! All in all, a hectic and rushed chase, but I was able to get my drone at three different locations and still able to do a live video of the move north at Crofton, Kentucky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.
It’s February 16th, 2021 and a cool 10 degrees outside (even colder with the wind chill) as two Paducah and Louisville Railway employees work on clearing snow and ice from the switches at West Yard in Madisonville, Kentucky.
On shortline and regional railroads this scene is repeated a lot, even on many of the class ones, epically with the recent snow front that moved through much of south in areas that normally don’t get snow! I’m told that CSX in the Nashville area had crews doing this same thing all around the city!
Remember, it’s not always about the power on the railroad! It’s folks behind the scenes like the maintainers, MOW folks, Dispatchers, ect. that make it all move!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 185mm f/5, 1/1250, ISO 100 -0.7 Exp. Comp.
LORAM Maintenance at Madisonville, Ky
Crews work on the grinding wheels of LORAM Grinder 4 as it sits just south of the Paducah and Louisville Railway yard at Madisonville, Kentucky on a crisp cool fall morning on November 10th, 2020.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @450mm, f/6, 1/640, ISO 320.
Northbound Geometry Train
Running under the remnants of Hurricane Zeta, CSXT 9969 passes the granary at Pembroke, Kentucky with geometry train W003 as it inspects the Henderson Subdivision between Nashville, TN and Evansville, IN on a rainy fall afternoon.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 720.