Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 1072, Illinois Terminal, and NS 8090 bring up the rear of a northbound loaded coal train on the Paducah and Louisville Railway as they pass a CSX Loaded coal train in the Pond River Siding, west of Madisonville, Kentucky on March 18th, 2022.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 150.
Norfolk Southern Heritage unit 8100, Nickel Plate Road, and Canadian National 5702 lead CSX Q512-24 (Radnor Yard – Nashville, TN – Avon, IN Daily) pulls up the Casky lead as it heads north into the yard at Casky to pick up 10 loads of truck frames at Hopkinsville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 24th, 2022.
One of the things I like about railfanning the Henderson Subdivision is because we get all kinds of interesting and different foreign power that runs up and down the line! While most of it is CSX, we do get a mix of just about every major railroad on this line at some point in time during each week. You never know when its coming, but when it does as with this unit, railfans gather along the tracks for their own crack at capturing their own images of the move and Im no exception!
While you cant control the weather for these shots, railroads operate in all kinds of weather and so Im trackside when the train is! Hardest thing about shooting in bad weather is getting out the door in my opinion! A large golf umbrella helps a lot!!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-24mm @ 16mm, f/4.5, 1/800, ISO 720.
Norfolk Southern Heritage unit 8100, Nickel Plate Road, and Canadian National 5702 lead CSX Q512-24 (Radnor Yard – Nashville, TN – Avon, IN Daily) pulls through Trenton, Kentucky on a cold, wet, foggy and rainy late afternoon as it heads north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 24th, 2022.
One of the things I like about railfanning the Henderson Subdivision is because we get all kinds of interesting and different foreign power that runs up and down the line! While most of it is CSX, we do get a mix of just about every major railroad on this line at some point in time during each week. You never know when its coming, but when it does as with this unit, railfans gather along the tracks for their crack at their own capture of the move and Im no exception!
While you cant control the weather for these shots, railroads operate in all kinds of weather and so Im trackside when the train is! Hardest thing about shooting in bad weather is getting out the door in my opinion! A large golf umbrella helps a lot!!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 230mm, f/5.3, 1/800, ISO 900.
CSX K442 (Hookers Point – Tampa, FL to Bensenville, IL) a empty ethanol train snakes off into the distance, being led by Norfolk Southern 7607, Union Pacific 3898 and BNSF 6872, waits in the siding at the north end of Kelly, Kentucky for an track inspector to get by, on January 17th, 2022.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 120.
Norfolk Southern railway Savannah & Atlanta 1065 Heritage Unit leads NS 167 as it passes through Southern Crossover over the CSX CE&D Subdivision at Princeton, Indiana, on its way east on the NS East-West District on December 3rd, 2021. This unit completes my goal of photographing all the 20 NS Heritage units!
According to the NS Website: Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SR, EMD) began life as the Brinson Railway in 1906, slowly expanding from Savannah toward the Northwest. It was consolidated with other small railroads to become the Savannah & Atlanta in 1917. Central of Georgia bought the S&A in 1951.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 130.
Norfolk Southern 4290 leads an empty coal train out of Brownsville, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River on the NS Mon line on a beautiful fall morning.
According to Wikipedia: The Mon Line is an 85-mile-long Norfolk Southern rail line which runs along the Monongahela River for most of its route.
The predecessor of this line is the Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Charleston Railroad. The northern portion (Pittsburgh to West Brownsville) of the line is the former main line of the Monongahela Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the southern portion (West Brownsville to Waynesburg) was once part of the Monongahela Railway’s Waynesburg Southern Branch.
Its northern terminus was formerly at the junction with the Panhandle Route at the Panhandle Bridge in Pittsburgh, and its southern terminus was near Brownsville, Pennsylvania where it had a connection to the Monongahela Railway.
Conrail transferred the West Brownsville to Waynesburg trackage from the Waynesburg Southern Branch to the former main line of the PRR Monongahela Division and it became the new Mon Line.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 200.
Norfolk Southern 9790 leads a eastbound intermodal on the NS Reading Number 2 line at Belt Line Junction as it approaches the George Street overpass at Reading, Pennsylvania as the last light of day rakes across the scene on November 4th, 2021. This location is where the Pottsville Branch main starts off the Reading line and heads into the NS Reading Yard.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @ 70mm, f/4.5, 1/200, ISO 6400.
#trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #jimpearsonphotography #trainphotographer #railroadphotographer
Norfolk Southern railway 4024 leads NS 125 east across the Patoka River at Winslow, Indiana after departing Ayrshire, eastbound on the NS Southern East District on December 3rd, 2021.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern 7603 and 8410 approach the western entrance to the Gallitzin Tunnel at Gallitzin, Pennsylvania as they head west on the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line on November 3rd, 2021, with an empty coal train.
According to Wikipedia: The Gallitzin Tunnels in Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, are a set of three adjacent tunnels through the Allegheny Mountains in western Pennsylvania. They were completed in 1854, 1855, and 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of the cross-state route that includes the nearby Horseshoe Curve to the east. Their ownership has since passed to Penn Central Transportation Company, then to Conrail, and most recently to the Norfolk Southern Railway. The tunnels are currently used by Norfolk Southern freight trains and Amtrak Pennsylvanian passenger trains.
The first tunnel, which is the middle of the three bores through the mountain, was built by the PRR from 1851 to 1854. Originally named “Summit” Tunnel, it is 3,612 feet long at an elevation of 2,167 feet above mean sea level and is known today as the Allegheny Tunnel.
The second tunnel, the southernmost of the bores, was constructed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855 as part of the New Portage Railroad (NPRR). In 1857, the PRR bought the New Portage Railroad from the Commonwealth and appropriated the “Allegheny” name for its “Summit” tunnel. The PRR took the New Portage Tunnel out of service shortly thereafter. In the 1890s, it was expanded to two tracks and used as the primary route for eastbound traffic.
The third tunnel, the Gallitzin Tunnel, was begun in 1902 and opened in 1904 immediately to the north of the Allegheny Tunnel.
In the early 1990s, Conrail (with money from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) enlarged the Allegheny and New Portage Tunnels to accommodate double-stack container on flatcar (COFC) trains. The New Portage Tunnel was opened for eastbound COFC traffic in 1993. The Allegheny Tunnel was enlarged from its original 1854 cross-section to contain two tracks for that could be used for double-stack rail transport in either direction. The work was completed in September 1995, and the Gallitzin Tunnel (which was not enlarged) was taken out of service.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-24 @ 22mm, f/4.5, 1/800, ISO 560.
Norfolk Southern Savannah and Atlanta Heritage unit 1065 leads NS 167, as it passes Consolidated Grain and Barge Company at Lyles Station, MP 157, as it heads east on the NS Southern West District at Lyles Station, Indiana on December 3rd, 2021. Catching this unit completes my goal of photographing all 20 of the NS Heritage units out in the Wild.
According to the NS Website: Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SR, EMD) began life as the Brinson Railway in 1906, slowly expanding from Savannah toward the Northwest. It was consolidated with other small railroads to become the Savannah & Atlanta in 1917. Central of Georgia bought the S&A in 1951.
According to Wikipedia, Lyles or Lyles Station is an unincorporated community in Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana. The community dates from 1849, although its early settlers first arrived in the 1830s, and it was formally named Lyles Station in 1886 to honor Joshua Lyles, a free African American who migrated with his family from Tennessee to Indiana around 1837. Lyles Station is one of Indiana’s early black rural settlements and the only one remaining.
The rural settlement reached its peak in the years between 1880 and 1912, when major structures in the community included the railroad depot, a post office, a lumber mill, two general stores, two churches, and a school. By the turn of the twentieth century,
Lyles Station had fifty-five homes, with a population of more than 800 people. The farming community never fully recovered from the Great Flood of 1913, which destroyed much of the town. Most of its residents left for economic reasons, seeking opportunities for higher paying jobs and additional education in larger cities.
By 1997 approximately fifteen families remained at Lyles Station, nearly all of them descended from the original settlers.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 130.
Norfolk Southern 4414 leads a freight train westbound across the Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River at Rockville, Pennsylvania on the NS Pittsburgh line as they head for Enola Yard at Enola, PA on November 5th, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: The Rockville Bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built, with forty-eight 70-foot spans and a total length of 3,820 feet (1,160 m). The bridge crosses the Susquehanna River about 5 miles (8 km) north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The eastern end is in Rockville and the western end is just south of Marysville. Completed in 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it remains in use today by the Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian route.
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979.
The first bridge at the site was a one-track wooden truss. It opened on September 1, 1849, when the PRR began operating over it. The Northern Central Railway began to use it after abandoning their Marysville Bridge. It was replaced in 1877 with a double-track iron truss bridge.
The third and current bridge was built between April 1900 and March 1902 by Drake & Stratton Co., which built the eastern half, and H.S. Kerbaugh, working from the west. The laborers were Italian or local.
Control of the bridge passed to Penn Central after the PRR merger in 1968, then to Conrail and finally the Norfolk Southern.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern railway Savannah & Atlanta 1065 Heritage Unit leads NS 167 as it passes the restored depot at Princeton, Indiana, on its way east along the NS East-West District on December 3rd, 2021. This unit completes my goal of photographing all the 20 NS Heritage units!
According to the NS Website: Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SR, EMD) began life as the Brinson Railway in 1906, slowly expanding from Savannah toward the Northwest. It was consolidated with other small railroads to become the Savannah & Atlanta in 1917. Central of Georgia bought the S&A in 1951.
According to the Gibson County website: Constructed in 1875 and beautifully restored, the Princeton Depot is the only remaining depot structure in Gibson County. Once housing the C&EI and L&N railways, it was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued from the depot in late 1960. Today the depot stands as a nostalgic reminder of the importance railroads have played in Gibson County’s history.
The Princeton Train Depot is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored WABASH train caboose.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 120.
Norfolk Southern 9629 leads an intermodal train as they chase the sun west past the Alto Tower next to the 17th Street overpass at Altoona, Pennsylvania as they head west on the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line on November 3rd, 2021.
Alto tower went vacant for the first time in over 97 years back on June 16th, 2012 when signal crews shifted the authority from the Alto control operator to a NS train dispatcher, according to a NEWSWIRE report by TRAINS Magazine.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/40, ISO 110.
Well, during my recent week long trip to Pennsylvania I did several interesting Live videos along the way and I thought I’d share them with you all in a post. If you don’t want to miss any of my future videos please Like my YouTube Channel and ring the notification bell so you won’t miss any! https://www.youtube.com/c/JimPearsonPhotography
Locomotives galore sit outside the Norfolk Southern Juniata Locomotive Shops in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania in this birds-eye view on November 3rd, 2021. The shops are just part of the large complex called Altoona Works, or Altoona Terminal.
According to Wikipedia: Altoona Works (also known as Altoona Terminal) is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1850 and 1925 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and related equipment. For many years it was the largest railroad shop complex in the world.
From the NS Website: At our Juniata locomotive shop in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Norfolk Southern regularly recycles locomotives into more efficient machines, benefiting both customers and the environment. We can strip a locomotive down to the bare frame and completely rebuild it, including the engine, alternator, wiring, cab, trucks, combos and running gearall in 6.5 days.
NS also operates our own indoor locomotive emissions-testing facility, unique among railroads, which allows us to test locomotives year-round to increase fuel efficiency and meet EPA regulations.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/120, ISO 120.
Norfolk Southern 4041 leads an intermodal through Horseshoe Curve at Altoona, Pennsylvania as it heads west on the NS Pittsburgh Line on a beautiful fall afternoon, on November 3rd, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: Horseshoe Curve is a three-track (though originally four) railroad curve on Norfolk Southern Railway’s Pittsburgh Line in Blair County, Pennsylvania. The curve itself is about 2,375 feet long and 1,300 feet in diameter; it was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to lessen the grade to the summit of the Allegheny Mountains. It eventually replaced the time-consuming Allegheny Portage Railroad, the only other route across the mountains for large vehicles. Because of the Allegheny Mountains geoform, in and around Altoona – and almost perfectly at “The Curve” – westbound traffic goes south and eastbound traffic goes north. So, in terms of final destination, the southern side of “The Curve” is where trains leave to go west, and vice versa.
The rail line has been important since its opening, and during World War II the Curve was targeted by Nazi Germany in 1942 as part of Operation Pastorius. The Curve was later owned and used by Pennsylvania Railroad successors Penn Central, Conrail, and Norfolk Southern. Horseshoe Curve was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and it became a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2004.
Horseshoe Curve has long been a tourist attraction; a trackside observation park was completed in 1879. The Park was renovated and a visitor center built in the early 1990s. The Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona manages the center, which has exhibits pertaining to the curve.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100 -1 stop.
Norfolk Southern 167 passes through downtown Oakland City, Indiana as it crosses over the Indiana Southern line at the diamond, on its way east along the NS Southern East District with five locomotives and NS 4452 leading the charge on October 9th, 2021!
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Fellow railfans Cooper Smith, Ryan Scott and I spent about 5 hours railfanning southern Indiana on October 9th, 2021, were we caught 5 different railroads operating in the area! We caught RJ Corman, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Southern and Ryan caught BNSF for his sixth railroad after we parted company. A great day of railfanning!
Here we find Norfolk Southern 167 as it begins its slow roll at East Douglas as it departs from Princeton, Indiana on the NS Southern West District, through the partially harvested farm fields.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Norfolk Southern train 148 heads east past Illinois Terminal Railroad sleeper car 535 as it sits next to the Illinois Terminal Company Train Station in Harristown, Illinois on the NS Springfield-Hannibal District on July 21st. 2021.
A web search shows the car was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1911 as an Interurban trailer car and was renovated into a sleeper in 1930 where it operated as a sleeper until 1941. The station was built in 1910 and currently houses Sanders Harristown Depot Antiques.
According to Wikipedia: The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company (reporting marks “ITC”), known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1956.
When Depression era Illinois Traction was in financial distress and had to reorganize, the Illinois Terminal name was adopted to reflect the line’s primary money-making role as a freight interchange link to major steam railroads at its terminal ends, Peoria, Danville, and St. Louis. Interurban passenger service slowly was reduced, ending in 1956.
Freight operation continued but was hobbled by tight street running in some towns requiring very sharp radius turns. In 1956, ITC was absorbed by a consortium of connecting railroads.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 110.
July 23, 2021 – Newly refurbished Eastern Maine Railway (EMRY) 6403, Owned by the New Brunswick Southern Railway (NBSR), trails as the third unit on the northbound Paducah to Centralia, IL BNSF local as it pulls north at Chiles Junction in West Paducah, Kentucky with BNSF 7901 and 6147 leading the way. Then we catch Norfolk Southern 110 as it heads north across the Union Pacific Diamond at Mount Vernon, Illinois on the NS Southern West District on the same day.
#trainvideo #railroadvideo #trains #railways #jimpearsonphotography
Tech Info: Shot on an iPhone 11pro and edited using Adobe Premiere Pro.