CSX M498, with the New York Central heritage 1877 unit leading, meets CSX M513 at the south end of the siding at Slaughters, Kentucky as it heads north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on October 19th, 2024.
According to the CSX Website: January 3, 2024 – A CSX locomotive commemorating the New York Central Railroad has become the eighth unit in CSX’s heritage locomotive fleet.
Designated CSX 1853 in recognition of the year the NYC was founded, the newest heritage unit was repainted in a special design combining the current CSX colors with the traditional gray and white of the NYC system. The NYC heritage unit has been placed into regular revenue service, proudly carrying the NYC colors across the CSX network.
All of the heritage unit paint schemes have been created at the CSX Waycross Locomotive Shop, where employees performed the challenging work of applying the unique designs. Click below to watch a video of CSX 1853 rolling out of the Waycross shop and hear employees describe the 22-day effort to repaint the unit.
At its height, the New York Central system encompassed more than 11,000 track miles and provided vital transportation service between New England and the Midwest. It merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to become the Penn Central in 1968 and later became part of Conrail.
A majority of former NYC lines were acquired by CSX in 1998, and today CSX employees continue to operate trains across the primary NYC routes that have been carrying freight and supporting the U.S. economy for more than a century.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 110.