Paducah and Louisville Railway local Z464, with PAL 2109, 2110, 2111 and 2118, back into CSX Atkinson Yard at Madisonville, Kentucky with what appears to be a newly rebuilt locomotive, CAGX 1039 (can’t find any information on this leasing company) with Ardent Mills Markings trailing in the line of power on February 25th, 2022.
I’m told it is an ex CNW 1625…GP7. that was acquired by NRE on 3/28/2013 and the placard in the window lists it as NRE 501. Now it’s moving south as CAGX 1039 and headed to ADM in Tampa, Florida.
According to Wikipedia: Ardent Mills was born out of a long history of community mills coming together. We are an independent joint venture by combining ConAgra Mills™ and Horizon Milling® and we have over 150 years of rich milling history. Our history is tied to the legacies of the individual mills and facilities that form us, and we’re proud to look towards the future with an appreciation of the past.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 110.
#trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways #dronephotography #trainphotographer #railroadphotographer #jimpearsonphotography
On a freezing cold afternoon CSX Z464, a Paducah and Louisville Railway, Louisville Gas and Electric coal train, waits on the PeeVee Spur as a CSX team works on clearing a downed tree in its path at Madisonville, Ky on February 3rd, 2022.
After it was cut, the rest of the team man handled the cut piece off the track and the train continued its trip to Warrior Coal mine close to Nebo, Ky. The storm that moved across the country covered the trees with ice and this tree, along with many others throughout the path of the storm, fell due to the added weight of the ice.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 420mm, f/8, 1/400, ISO 2000.
LORAM Railgrinder 401 sits south of Princeton, Kentucky on the Paducah and Louisville Railway on a beautiful fall afternoon on November 11th, 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, 1/320, ISO 140.
Reading Northern Blue Mountain Railroad switcher 1546 passes the sand tower as it works the yard at Port Clinton, Pennsylvania on a beautiful fall morning on November 5th, 2021
According to Wikipedia: The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (reporting mark RBMN), sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on 300 miles (480 km) of track. Its mainline consists of the Reading Division between Reading and Packerton and the Lehigh Division between Lehighton and Dupont. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal.
Passenger excursions also run on RBMN tracks. The RBMN itself operates excursion service from Reading and Port Clinton to Jim Thorpe, while the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (LGSR) offers service between Jim Thorpe and Lehigh Gorge State Park.
According to their website: Locomotive 1546 is an EMD SW-1500, built in Feb 1970 and is ex CR 1606; Indianapolis Union Rwy 28; nee EMD demo 112. It is passing engine 5017, an EMD SD50, built in November of 1984 and is ex UP 5017; nee MP 5017.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-20 @19mm, f/4.2, 1/320, ISO 400.
Reading & Northern 2010 heads up a freight train as it passes under the signal bridge at Pulpit, on its way south out of their yard at Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, bound for Redding, PA on November 5th, 2021.
This location must be one of the most railfan friendly rail operations I’ve encountered in a long time! Our first day here we met up with fellow railfan Ryan Bruno who railfans the area a lot and he gave us the tour and told us all we had to do is stop at the yard office, sign in and they’d give us a pass to shoot in the yard, while keeping all normal safety practices in mind! We had a great time! This photo was taken on our second day chasing the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad, after returning for the early morning sun. It was worth it!
They run a passenger service with Steam, but we arrived a week too late to photograph their steam operations.
According to Wikipedia: The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (reporting mark RBMN), sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on 300 miles (480 km) of track. Its mainline consists of the Reading Division between Reading and Packerton and the Lehigh Division between Lehighton and Dupont. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal.
Passenger excursions also run on RBMN tracks. The RBMN itself operates excursion service from Reading and Port Clinton to Jim Thorpe, while the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (LGSR) offers service between Jim Thorpe and Lehigh Gorge State Park.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
The DPU end of Paducah and Louisville Railway Louisville Gas and Electric loaded coal train brings up the rear as it heads north past Pond Rivers siding on October 25th, 2021, with the entire train in view from this drone viewpoint on a stormy fall afternoon, east of Madisonville, Ky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
In this infrared photo we find Evansville Western Railway 4517, 4519 and 6002 as they sit tied down at the entrance of the Mt. Vernon Transfer Terminal, while they wait for their next assignment at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. There wasn’t a coal train in the transloading facility so the only thing I can figure is they were waiting to pick up cars at the Port of Indiana.
According the EVWR website: The Mt. Vernon Transfer Terminal is a coal-loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Coal is delivered to Mt. Vernon by both rail and truck. The terminal has a capacity of 8 million tons per year with existing ground storage. Mt. Vernon is capable of receiving and unloading 105-car unit trains of coal via EVWR (with direct connections to the majority of Class I railroads) that can transfer to ground storage and/or direct to barge(s).
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 400, October 13th, 2021.
X marks the spot! I keep returning to this location known as Monarch, where the CSX Henderson Subdivision passes under the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Madisonville, KY, as someday I’ll catch a train on both lines at the same time! It’s just a matter of patience, determination, and a lot of luck! It hasn’t happened yet, but it will!
Here we find Paducah and Louisville Railway’s (PAL) Louisville Gas and Electric loaded coal train as it heads north with PAL 2013, University of Louisville locomotive leading the way, on October 25th, 2021, passing over the CSX Henderson Subdivision at Arklow, as the fall color begins to show in the trees.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/160, ISO 100.
Indiana Southern Railroad (ISRR) 3371, 3388, 3372 and 3387, lead an empty coal train north at Washington Township, Indiana, as the crew takes the train to Elnora, IN where they tied it down for the Indiana Railroad (INRD) to pick up. The INRD crew will then take the train on their railroad to Bear Run Mine at Dugger, IN for another load of coal for the Petersburg Generating Station at Petersburg, IN.
According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Southern Railroad (reporting mark ISRR) is a short line or Class III railroad operating in the United States state of Indiana. It began operations in 1992 as a RailTex property and was acquired by RailAmerica in 2000. RailAmerica was itself acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in December 2012. They operate 186 miles of track from Indianapolis to Evansville, Indiana.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 500mm, f/6.3, 1/640, ISO 400.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 4518 leads a southbound load of coal over the Tradewater River at Dawson Springs, Kentucky, with a splash of fall color beginning to show in the surrounding trees.
According to Wikipedia: The Paducah & Louisville Railway is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The 270-mile line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August of 1986.
The 270-mile (430 km) line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August 1986 and the 223-mile (359 km) main route runs between Paducah and Louisville, with branch lines from Paducah to Kevil and Mayfield, Kentucky, and another from Cecilia to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The PAL interchanges with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Canadian National (CN), formerly Illinois Central Railroad, in Paducah
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/730, ISO 100.
Indiana Southern Railroad (ISRR) 3371, 3388, 3372 and 3387, lead an empty coal train north, past Kent Grain in Plainville, Indiana on October 9th, 2021. The crew will take the train to Elnora, IN where they tie it down for the Indiana Railroad (INRD) to pick up. The INRD crew will then take the train on their railroad to Bear Run Mine near Dugger, IN for another load of coal for the Petersburg Generating Station at Petersburg, IN.
According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Southern Railroad (reporting mark ISRR) is a short line or Class III railroad operating in the United States state of Indiana. It began operations in 1992 as a RailTex property and was acquired by RailAmerica in 2000. RailAmerica was itself acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in December 2012. They operate 186 miles of track from Indianapolis to Evansville, Indiana.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/4000, ISO 100.
Fellow railfans Cooper Smith, Ryan Scott and I spent about 5 hours railfanning southern Indiana on October 9th, 2021 and were fortunate enough to catch 5 different railroads operating in the area! We caught RJ Corman, Canadian Pacific, (Cooper and I), CSX, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Southern and Ryan caught BNSF for his fifth railroad. A great day of railfanning!
Here we find Indiana Southern Railroad (ISRR) 3371, 3388, 3372 and 3387, as they lead an empty coal train north, past Thomas Siding at Washington Township, Indiana, as the crew takes the train to Elnora, IN where they tied it down for the Indiana Railroad (INRD) to pick up. The INRD crew will then take the train on their railroad to Bear Run Mine at Carlisle, IN for another load of coal for the Petersburg Generating Station at Petersburg, IN.
According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Southern Railroad (reporting mark ISRR) is a short line or Class III railroad operating in the United States state of Indiana. It began operations in 1992 as a RailTex property and was acquired by RailAmerica in 2000. RailAmerica was itself acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in December 2012. They operate 186 miles of track from Indianapolis to Evansville, Indiana.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/4000, ISO 110.
Paducah and Louisville 4504 and 4522 (UK paint scheme) roll across Interstate 69 at Madisonville, Kentucky as they head north with their loaded coal train, bound for the Louisville Gas and Electric power plant in the Kosmosdale neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky on October 5th, 2021.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 120.
The daily Canadian National Fulton to Paducah (FUPD) local, led by CN 8887 and 5485 passes newly refurbished NB Southern 6401 at the north end of the Paducah and Louisville Railway yard at Paducah, KY on June 29th, 2021, to do its interchange work.
Locomotive 6401 was the first of six units that are being refurbished by Progress Rail for NBSR out of Saint John, NB, Canada. The other units are 6402-6406 and they are all SD70M-2 units.
According to Wikipedia: The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited (reporting mark NBSR) is a 131.7 mi (212.0 km) Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of “Irving Transportation Services”, a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
Infrared photo of Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad units WAMX 4244 and 4234 as they lead local 101 on its way to Terre Haute, Indiana as it passes through Carmargo, Illinois on July 21st, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: “The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco operating in eastern Illinois and western Indiana.
In January 2018, CSX Transportation announced that it was seeking offers to buy the Decatur Subdivision and the Danville Secondary Subdivision as part of a system-wide sale of low-traffic routes, and in July, Watco, via the DREI, was identified as the winning bidder. Following regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board, The DREI began operations on September 9, 2018.
The DREI operates two intersecting routes totaling 126.7 miles (203.9 km)the former Decatur Subdivision between Montezuma, Indiana and Decatur, Illinois, and the former Danville Subdivision between Terre Haute, Indiana and Olivet, Illinois. It interchanges traffic with CSX, the Eastern Illinois Railroad, the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Canadian National Railway, and the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad is headquartered in Decatur, Illinois.”
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, sensor converted to 720nm B&W IR, Fuji 18-55 @33mm, f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 200.
Paducah and Louisville Railway University of Kentucky Locomotive 4522 and PAL 4504 lead a northbound loaded Louisville Gas and Electric Coal train through a wetlands area as they depart on the Warrior Coal Mine lead, just west of Madisonville, Kentucky, on their way north to Louisville under partly cloudy summer skies.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 110, September 13, 2021.
I spent the afternoon of August 17th, 2021, chasing the Paducah and Louisville Railway LG1 loaded coal train from Madisonville to Eastview, Kentucky. The latter was my goal for this chase as hadn’t photographed the cut at Eastview before and it has been on my list for a while.
I got to the location about 10 minutes before the train and checked out the scene with my Nikon first as the cut is right up against the bridge on Meeting Creek Road and I wasnt sure I wanted or even needed to use the drone at this location. After consideration I decided to launch the drone as I felt it could give me the best platform for a shot that would offer the best perspective that was different from other photos Ive seen taken from here.
With the drone in place, it was a short wait as I captured Paducah and Louisville University of Kentucky locomotives 4522 and 2012 lead the Louisville Gas & Electric loaded coal train as it started its way north through the cut at Eastview, Kentucky.
Tech Info: Wide Photo: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
Paducah and Louisville (PAL) 2104 and 2101 lead as they pull an empty rock train from the Scotty’s Rock Yard loop, at their complex outside Madisonville, Kentucky, as they prepare to head north to Litchfield, KY, for another load of rock, on September 15th, 2021.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
Paducah and Louisville Railway University of Kentucky Locomotive 4522 and PAL 4504 lead a northbound loaded Louisville Gas and Electric Coal train through a wetlands area as they depart on the Warrior Coal Mine lead, just west of Madisonville, Kentucky, on their way north to Louisville.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100, September 13, 2021.