June 9, 2018 – “Southern Ghost!” NS Heritage unit 8099, the Southern, prepares to pull away from another engine in the early evening fog at the Norfolk Southern yard at Princeton, Indiana. This unit has and is being used as the leader lately on the Duke Energy coal run between Alliance and Francisco load-outs. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #nsrailway #nsheritageunit
June 21, 2018 – Day 233 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Smile and a helping hand – Meet Kenny Hayes! An outgoing, helpful and nice gentleman that works two days a week at the convenience center at Earlington, Ky. He told me that he retired some years back from the IGA grocery market he used to own there and after awhile his wife “made” him get a part time job to get him out of the house! LOL, of course he told me this with a smile and laugh on his face! Anyway, he made for a great subject today! When youre out and about, engage people and ask them to take their picture! Most will say yes and be flattered that you asked!
June 20, 2018 – Day 232 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Designs in Nature – For today’s picture I wandered no further than in front of my porch! Sometimes interesting pictures and designs are right in front of you, such as with this hydrangea bush. Keep your eyes open to things around you!
June 15, 2018 – Lease Unit CEFX 3072, operated by Road and Rail Services, sits at the Toyota Plant at Princeton, Indiana as vehicles are loaded onto autoracks.
According to their website, Road & Rail Services was founded in 1987 by Tom and Pete Gerstle. From an initial contract to perform inspections on intermodal trailers, within three years, the company was performing pre-trip and other mechanical work for rail companies and manufacturers, and had grown to 110 employees.
Today, Road & Rail Services has expanded to nearly 2,000 employees working at 52 sites across 18 states. The companys diversified portfolio encompasses railroads, auto manufacturers and shippers of a wide range of commodities that move by rail, truck or barge, as they have expanded their offerings to include a comprehensive array of railcar, train and track services as well as automotive handling and transloading of commodities of all types. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway
May 31, 2018 – PAL 4516, the DPU end of a LG&E Paducah and Louisville Railway loaded coal train, makes it’s way across Trident off CSX’s Morganfield Branch and over the Henderson Subdivision. From there it heads through Atkinson Yard where it will make it’s way back onto its own line before heading on to Louisville, Ky later in the evening. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #pal #palrailway #paducahandlouisvillerailway
June 19, 2018 – Day 231 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Strategy Session – Damion and Elaina confer on doing battle during a Dragon game they both enjoy playing together on their tablets. Get down to the kid’s levels when taking their picture when you can. It will give your pictures a bit more impact!
June 18, 2018 – NS Heritage “Southern” unit, 8099, leads a loaded Duke Energy Coal train westbound past the restored depot at Princeton, Indiana, as a second train (Q0T) of 71T that runs from Francisco, IN to East Mt. Carmel, IN (Duke Energy). – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway #nsheritageunit
June 18, 2018 – Around 7pm CST Sunday, June 17th, a southbound CSX mixed freight, Q0513-17,(Avon, IN – Waycross, GA) derailed midway into it’s train just south of Princeton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision. The power for the train remained upright and the crew escaped without injury, according to reports. The initial thoughts are that the derailment was caused by a kink in the tracks due to the high heat, causing the train to derail close to the north end of King Siding, next to the Toyota tracks. The area was evacuated overnight tank cars, reportedly carrying propane burned off.
The derailment caused a major CSX route that includes the Henderson and CE&D Subdivisions to be out of service through the area, except for some local traffic. RJ Corman derailment and reportedly Hulcher services clean-up crews arrived early this morning and cleanup of the site is underway.
As of about 3pm CST the area was re-opened to residents and traffic. Just how long before the track is open to trains, remains unknown at this time. –#jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads#train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad
June 15, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 8343 leads NS 224 (Atlanta, GA-Kansas City, MO) west across the Walbash River at Mt. Carmel, Illinois with ex-Conrail D8-40CW leading the way on the Southern West District. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway
June 17, 2018 – Day 229 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Food!! – Pictures are all around you, such as this shot of the cook preparing my Mongolian BBQ this afternoon at one of our local restaurants. Keep your eyes open to all picture possibilities around you!!
June 6, 2018 – As the last light of dusk fades from the sky, Indiana Southern Railroad 3052 leads local PL-2 south through Elberfeld, Indiana as it heads to Evansville for interchange work with CSX.
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.
Indiana Southern Railroad operates 176 miles of track from Indianapolis to Evansville. From Mars Hill (a neighborhood on the southwest side of Indianapolis) southwest through Martinsville and Spencer to Bee Hunter in Greene County, the ISRR runs on tracks that once made up the majority of the former Indianapolis & Vincennes Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. State Route 67 parallels the ISRR along much of this section. From Bee Hunter to Elnora, the ISRR has trackage rights over the Indiana Rail Road. ISRR tracks resume from Elnora through Petersburg before terminating in Evansville, IN along the former New York Central’s Evansville & Indianapolis Branch.
The railroad’s traffic comes mainly from coal and grain products, including corn and soybeans. The ISRR hauled around 70,000 carloads in 2008. It also is supplying coal to the Edwardsport power plant since 2012. There are around 2 trains per week supplying it with coal and carrying byproducts from the plant. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #isrr #indianasouthernrailroad
June 16, 2018 – Day 228 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Hot Summer Day – Today my sister and I went to the W.C. Handy Blues and BBQ Festival in Henderson, Ky and although I shot a lot of pictures of the performers but, I still keep coming back to this photograph I shot of kids enjoying the spray park along the Ohio River. The music was great, but this picture wins the prize for my daily challenge.
June 15, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 8163 leads 70Q Extra (East Mt. Carmel, IN (Duke Energy) – East Mt. Carmel, IN (Sunrise Coal), as it arrives at the Load out in East Carmel, Indiana to pick-up a load at the newly located load-out. This is a new train that only has to travel a few miles from Duke Energy to load at the new facility. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #coaltrain #nsrailway
June 15, 2018 – Day 227 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Cat Ears – Today Elaina’s mamaw bought her a set of cat ears while they were at the store and when I asked her if I could take a picture of her new ears she said yes, with Tabatha! Sometimes when you want a photo of a little one in your life, it’s easier to ask them to take a picture of something they’re doing, wearing or have! Especially when they’re not in the mood for having their picture taken, you must be tricky! LOL
June 6, 2018 – I think this shot is a good example of how sometimes it’s worth turning around an getting a going away shot! Norfolk Southern 167 (Granite City, IL-Danville, KY) heads downgrade at Hatfield Junction with several flats of CAT Dozers, as it heads east on the NS Southern-East District at Oakland City, Indiana with NS 9237 leading the way. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway
June 14, 2018 – Day 226 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Princess – I had to work to get this photograph today! My niece Elaina was in a goof off crazy mood and wanted to do the silly face thing, or not look at the camera at all. I wanted a more serious portrait however and with persistence I was able to capture this moment. If you know what you want in your mind’s eye, be persistent and you’ll capture it!
From left, Jim, Javid and Ryan waiting to shoot some street running action at La Grange, Ky – Photo by Adam Hill
This past weekend my good friend Ryan Scott from the Ft. Branch, Indiana area and I set-out on a day-long trip to photograph trains between Princeton, Indiana and what started out to be Louisville, Ky, but turned out to be La Grange, Ky. Our plan was to meet up with a fellow railfan friend of ours from Facebook, Javid Beykzadeh. Little did I realize that I’d end up meeting several more friends from Facebook while we were at it including, Adam Hill, Josh Kellerman, and Erik Landrum.
The railfanning community is actually fairly large, if you take in the world and that’s pretty much what Facebook does for us. I have friends who are railfans from pretty much all over the world and it’s always cool to meetup in person in our travels in search of that perfect train picture!
All my family already know my obsession with trains and photographing them whenever I can. Even, my nieces and nephews know about my love for trains, and I hope that I’m passing some of that onto them, but I digress.
As railfan trips go, this was a really good one with Ryan and I photographing 5 different railroads before the day was over. Evansville Western Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Southern Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. As day road trips go for me railfanning, this was a really good one!
Some of our group photographing Southbound with BNSF War Bonnet 791 at La Grange, Ky, – Photo by Jim Pearson
Other favorite photos of mine from our day-long trip are posted below.
June 9, 2018 – There’s just something about the lure of street running trains and when you throw in a BNSF War Bonnet, well, it makes it even better. Here we have a southbound CSX Q231-08 as begins to make it’s way through downtown La Grange toward Louisville, Ky.
June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District. This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years.
June 9, 2018 – Here we find a crew getting NS Heritage 8099, Southern Unit, ready for pickup by an, Duke Energy coal train, at the NS Yard Office in Princeton, Indiana, after storms passed through the area. We got lots of great photographs, which you’ll see over the days to come and also met-up with several fellow railfans in person that we’ve been friends with on Facebook for sometime!
June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District. This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years.
June 6, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 167 (Granite City, IL-Louisville, KY) crests the hill leading up to the west end of Hatfield Junction with several flats of CAT Dozers, as it heads east on the NS Southern-East District at Oakland City, Indiana with NS 9237 leading the way, as the last light of the day begins to fade. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway
June 13, 2018 – Day 226 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Shadow Climber – We made a stop by the riverfront park in Owensboro, Ky today so Damion and Elaina so get in a little play time after we picked up some stuff and had lunch. Damion was starting his climb up this ladder set to where I was, and I loved the design of him and his shadow, coupled with the background of the play area! Shapes, designs and shadows can make for interesting photos! Keep an eye out for how you can incorporate them into your pictures!
June 9, 2018 – Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099 is illuminated from behind by a coal train working behind it at the NS Yard in Princeton Indiana as a light fog rolls through the area.
While I usually try to shoot my night photographs using a tripod with a low ISO, this shot was a handheld one, shot with a Nikon D800, using a 50mm f/1.4 lens at 1/160th at ISO 4,000. The bright red light comes from the FRED (flashing rear-end device) on the end of another train.
When shooting handheld with a high ISO like this at night, I find I get best results if I shoot at my widest f/stop and keep the camera on fast frame rate. Also, brace yourself, take a deep breath, let it out about halfway, hold it an then fire the shutter. Of course a stationary subject helps as well, but blurs can work as well if you have to go with a slower shutterspeed. Give it a try either way! If you don’t shoot, you won’t have anything for sure and the more you do it, the better you’ll get with shooting at night. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #norfolksouthernrailway #heritageunits
June 12, 2018 – Day 225 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Wolfie – Damion works at getting “Wolfie” settled into his high chair today at lunch with fellow members of the West Kentucky Photography Club.