January 15, 2018 – Day 77 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Quietness

January 15, 2018 – Day 77 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Quietness – As I stood taking the photo looking down the tracks at the crossing in front of my home, the snow dampened the sounds surrounding the scene as the tracks disappeared into infinity at dusk. Good leading lines in your pictures can help draw your viewers into your photograph! #iphone7plus

Paducah and Louisville Railway 2104 leads a local…

January 5, 2018 – Paducah and Louisville Railway 2104 leads a local as it pulls through the curve southbound, leading up to highway 1337 crossing at Richland, Ky, as the last light of day fades from the winter’s day.

Paducah and Louisville Railway local…

November 14, 2017 – A Paducah and Louisville Railway local backs onto the Norfolk Southern line at LS Junction in Louisville, Ky as does interchange work with PAL 2100 leading.

Paducah & Louisville Railway’s “Salute to our Veterans” unit at West Yard, Madisonville, Ky

November 7, 2017 – While this photo of Paducah and Louisville Railway’s “Salute to our Veterans” locomotive 2129 trailing on a northbound local at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky was taken several days ago, I felt today was the appropriate day to post it. I salute all the railroaders, railfans and others that have served our county! It’s an honor to be counted among your ranks!

Veterans Day is a U.S. legal holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars. In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I, then known as “the Great War.” Commemorated in many countries as Armistice Day the following year, November 11th became a federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became legally known as Veterans Day. While it’s celebrated on the Friday before or Monday after if it falls on a weekend to allow for the federal holiday, the 11th is the traditional day of celebration.

Norfolk Southern northbound loaded Coal at Big Clifty, Ky

October 31, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 7679 leads a loaded coal train across the trestle at Big Clifty, Ky as it heads north toward Louisville, Ky on the Paducah and Louisville Railway as the last light of Halloween begins to fade from the sky.NS NB loaded Coal at Big Clifty, Ky

BNSF 6397 at Paducah and Louisville Railway yard, Paducah, Ky

August 15, 2017 – A BNSF empty coal train pulls past the tower in the Paducah and Louisville Railway yard at Paducah, Ky as it pulls through the yard where it tied down after unloading its train at Calvert City Loadout. The overhead track is the CN line.

PAL 4511 SB loaded coal train at Richland, Ky

October 11, 2017 – A loaded Paducah and Louisville Railway coal train heads south through the western Kentucky countryside, as it crosses over Bradley Sisk Road crossing on its way south at Richland, Ky.

PAL MOW at West Yard, Madisonville, Ky

May 10, 2013 – A bit of a blast from the past of two maintenance of way workers for the Paducah and Louisville Railroad work, in a light rain, on a switch at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky.

ex-BNSF Units at PAL Yard, Paducah, Ky

September 2, 2017 – Well, today was my day for catching long strings of power! Not only did I catch the Paducah and Louisville Railway local between Madisonville and Paducah, Ky, but when I got to the PAL Yard at Paducah I found this string of ex-BNSF units destined for Progress Rail. There’s 13 of them in all and I couldn’t get a shot where I could read all their numbers.

Paducah and Louisville Railway meet at GV Junction, Gilbertsville, Ky

September 2, 2017 – A southbound Paducah and Louisville Railway local (right) pulls past a northbound empty coal train after a meet and crew swap at GV Junction in Gilbertsville, Ky. The local, with 9 units went on to Paducah, Ky and the coal train continued on north towards Warrior Coal in Nebo, Ky where it would pick up its next load of coal.

PAL local with 9 Units SB at Kentucky Dam, Gilbertsville, Ky

September 2, 2017 – A Paducah and Louisville Railway local heads south across the bridge at Kentucky Dam, outside of Gilbertsville, Ky, with a string of nine units. PAL has decided to start moving any power left in the yard at Madisonville, Ky on Saturdays back to Paducah, KY, hince the train with so much power. The units were 4523, 4510, 4502, 2118, 2111, 2110, 2109, 2120 and 2117.

Loram Rail Grinder 514 at Richland, Ky

 

August 31, 2017 – This afternoon I had just got home from railfanning and was sitting on my front porch here in Richland, Ky, when Paducah and Louisville high rail trucks pulled up to the crossing in front of my house and 4 workers got out with flags in their hands. Well, I figured something different was going on and grabbed my camera and walked down the hill to the crossing.

Loram Rail Grinder 514 was working it’s way north along the PAL and it appeared to be a brand new rail grinder. My 5-year old nephew Damion called it a rail polisher! They spent several minutes as they grinded across the defect detector and crossing in front of the house, before they headed on north.

Some days things just come to me, others I have to go looking! LOL

Looking for CSXT 323!!!

August 15, 2017 – This morning about 10am CSXT 323 leading, with the L&N Herald on it, passed my house in Richland, Ky headed south toward Calvert City Loadout. I didn’t have time to give chase so I figured I give it enough time to get there and start its way around the loop.

So I headed down about 1pm, following the Paducah and Louisville line which the train takes to Calvert City, Ky. I checked Princeton Yard to make sure it wasn’t there and it wasn’t so I headed on down to the loadout.

When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find this empty BNSF train getting ready to depart toward Paducah, Ky. There was another train in the loop and so I figured the CSX train had already started around and decided to head down to the Paducah and Louisville Yard and get some shots of the BNSF train there, as it would take awhile for CSXT 323 get get back around the loop where I wanted to shoot it.

Well, I got the shots at Paducah I wanted, plus a few others that I’ll share over the next few days, and headed back to Calvert City, as I figured I had given the train there enough time for the engine to move around the loop where I could photograph it.

Well, I arrived back and a train was right where I figured it would be, but it wasn’t CSX, but a loaded P&L coal train from Warrior Coal in Madisonville! So, now I’m still trying to figure out where they put the CSX train as I checked all the accessible sidings between Princeton and Calvert City. So, I’m guessing they put it into the siding at Dawson Springs, Ky as I didn’t stop there and check of course. You can’t see the head end of a train in the siding there anyway as it’s about 1/2 mile from any crossing and around a curve.

Some days just don’t go as planned! LOL Still got a few nice shots and stopped for some great BBQ on the way home! Maybe I’ll get lucky and catch it tomorrow on its way back north!

PAL 2129 on Local at East Diamond lead, Madisonville, Ky

August 2, 2017 – A Paducah and Louisville Railway local sits on the East Diamond lead, with 2129 leading, as they wait for CSX Q102 to make its way north on the Earlington Cutoff as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision.

PAL Salute the Troops 2127 at West Yard, Madisonville, Ky

August 8, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville 2127, “Support the Troops,” engine, leads the afternoon local as it makes its way through the yard while 2101 waits on the first track in the yard. You can’t tell from the shot but a CSX loaded coke train was creeping down the main waiting for the local to clear so it could continue its run to Calvert City load out. A busy afternoon at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky.

PAL 2129 on Local at East Diamond, Madisonville, Ky

August 2, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville 2129 leads the local off the East Diamond lead onto the Henderson Cutoff as it makes its way north to CSX’s Atkinson Yard to do interchange work on the Henderson Subdivision.