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
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.
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.
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.
September 19, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville Railway 2111 heads up a local as it pulls from the Oak Street Yard in Louisville , Ky.
September 2, 2017 – A southbound Paducah and Louisville Railway local heads south out of Princeton, KY and meets a northbound empty coal at GV Junction in Gilbertsville, KY, where they did a crew swap.
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.
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.
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.
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
August 22, 2017 – A lone crow waits out a summer rainstorm by sitting on a rail next to a string of Paducah and Louisville power sitting at West Yard in Madisonville, Ky.
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!
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.
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.
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.
July 19, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville local with 2128, Salute the Veterans Unit, 2119 and 2112, pull a string a cars out of West yard at Madisonville, Ky as the conductor keeps an watchful eye on the operation at the switch.
March 27, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville Railway’s “Salute the Troops” engine 2121 with 3807 trailing sits tied down at West Yards in Madisonville, Ky. It’s been working a ballast train that’s part of a MOW crew which has been working the area for a couple weeks now.
I’ve added a new page under my Railfanning section on Railfanning the Paducah and Louisville Railroad.
This is by no means a complete list of places to shoot along the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL). I’ll update this list as time goes by. If you have a favorite spot send me a google map link and I’ll add it to the list. I know there’s a bunch around Louisville and Paducah I haven’t found yet.
NS runs trains via Louisville on the PAL to Madisonville to pick up coal, usually at Warrior in Nebo, Ky. CSX, UP and NS run coal/coke trains between Madisonville and Calvert City, Ky to the coal loadout there. BNSF and UP I’ve found running to Calvert City also from Paducah.
For the most part the Paducah and Louisville Railway follows Highway 62 most of the way between Paducah and Louisville, Ky. It does leave it from time to time, but it always comes back to 62. If you keep in mind which side of the highway the tracks are on you can take side roads to check out the crossings. There’s many of them I haven’t listed here. These are my favorites from a picture standpoint. (Click here for More)
July 19, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 8160 leads northbound train through Paducah and Louisville’s West Yard at Madisonville, Ky with a freshly loaded coal train from Warrior Coal and a Kansas City Southern unit trailing.
July 19, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville Railway 2129 backs into West Yard at Madisonville, Ky as it works on building a southbound local, as a set of light engines waits on the main.
July 5, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 7317 leads a loaded coal train down the Warrior Wye, approaching the Pleasantview Road overpass as it heads to the Paducah and Louisville Railway main to where it will continue north from Madisonville, Ky.
July 19, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 8160 leads a loaded coal train off the Warrior Wye onto the Paducah and Louisville main heading north at Madisonville, Ky as a PAL local, with 2112 leading, waits to head north behind it.