WEB-05.27.19 CSX V752 heads west with CP 8867 Leading at Thurmond, WV

Canadian Pacific 8867 pulls CSX V752-26…

May 27, 2019 – Canadian Pacific 8867 pulls CSX V752-26 empty grain train westbound away from the Depot on the New River Subdivision at Thurmond, West Virginia. The line off to the right across the bridge is the RJ Corman West Virginia Line.

According to Wikipedia, Thurmond is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States, on the New River. The population was five at the 2010 census. During the heyday of coal mining in the New River Gorge, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The town was the filming location for John Sayles’ 1987 movie Matewan since it still possesses many of the characteristics of a 1920s Appalachian coal town.

Today, much of Thurmond is owned by the National Park Service for the New River Gorge National River. The C&O passenger railway depot in town was renovated in 1995 and now functions as a Park Service visitor center. The entire town is a designated historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

WEB-05.25.19 NS 217 heads West out of Roanoke, VA

A late westbound Norfolk Southern 217…

May 25, 2019 – A late westbound Norfolk Southern 217 heads west out of Roanoke, Virginia on the Christiansburg District, through the North Yard, as it passes a large string of NS locomotives. The units are being stored as part of precision scheduled railroading, being sold to short lines or other railroads although some are for rebuilds, which are mainly the standard cab SD70’s. The rest are probably destined for the scrap yard.

WEB-05.27.19 Cass Shays in the yard at Night 1, Cass, WV

Cass Scenic Railroad Shays 4, 2, and 11, sit in the yard…

March 26, 2019 – Cass Scenic Railroad Shays 4, 2, and 11, sit in the yard after a day of work at Cass, West Virginia, as lighting lights the sky from an approaching storm. Only person working this late night shift is the hostler, William H Taylor, who will keep the fires and water in the engines up to speed for another day of work. Thanks Bill for all the help in getting our night shots!!

WEB-05.27.19 CSX Coal Train meet at Thurmond, WV

CSXT 169 leads a loaded coal train eastbound at Thurmond, West Virginia…

May 27, 2019 – CSXT 169 leads a loaded coal train eastbound at Thurmond, West Virginia as a empty westbound coal waits in the siding. The line off across the bridge in front of 169 is the RJ Corman.

According to Wikipedia, Thurmond is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States, on the New River. The population was five at the 2010 census. During the heyday of coal mining in the New River Gorge, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The town was the filming location for John Sayles’ 1987 movie Matewan since it still possesses many of the characteristics of a 1920s Appalachian coal town.

Today, much of Thurmond is owned by the National Park Service for the New River Gorge National River. The C&O passenger railway depot in town was renovated in 1995 and now functions as a Park Service visitor center. The entire town is a designated historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

WEB-05.27.19 Cass Shay #11 in the yard at Night 1, Cass, WV

Well, after a three day whirlwind trip…

May 28, 2019 – Well, after a three day whirlwind trip with fellow railfan Ryan Scott, of IndianaRails, to Tennessee, Virgina, West Virginia and Kentucky we both got back home last night. A big shout out to all the folks that helped us out along the way, especially Daniel Alls, Walter Scriptunas II, Jul Esp, Bryan Burton, Gavin Wilkes and all the others that responded to our posts for questions and help in the different areas we visited! Without your help and input the trip would have been a lot less successful! Got a lot of pictures to work through and many posts yet to come from this 4 day trip!

According to Wikipedia: Shay #11 was built in 1923 and went originally to Hutchinson Lumber Company, Feather Falls, California. This Shay is best known as the Feather River #3 and it’s also a class C shay, #11, weighs 103-tons. It began service at Cass in 1999.

This morning’s image was shot the night of May 26th after a spring storm made its way through the Cass Scenic Railroad area and is of Shay #11 at rest in the yard after a days work at Cass, West Virginia. Shooting at night and in the rain can be challenging, but probably the hardest part is getting out the door!

My kit bag for this type of shooting is a golf umbrella and a large microfiber cloth to dry off the camera and lens with when drops make it past the umbrella! Of course a good sturdy tripod is a must as well. I typically set the camera on manual and adjust for the specific scene, with the camera controls set to a 3 second delay before the shutter is tripped. This raises the mirror and lets things settle before taking the photo. ISO and length of exposure all depend on the lighting, but they’re set manually as well. This particular shots technical details are: Nikon D800, Sigma 24-70 lens @ 26mm, ISO 1000 (full frame cameras are great) f/8 for 30 seconds in RAW.

WEB-05.24.19 Cass Shay #2 pushes uphill, Cass, WV

Cass Scenic Railroad’s #2 Shay engine…

May 26, 2019 – Cass Scenic Railroad’s #2 Shay engine pushes hard as it moves a load of passengers up the mountain to Whittaker after passing through the grade crossing on Gum Road at Cass, West Virginia. 

The Cass Scenic Railroad is Geared Steam, USA, boasting the largest collection of operating geared steam locomotives in the world. The railroad was originally part of West Virginia Pulp & Paper’s (later Mower Lumber Company) massive timber operations centered within the small community of Cass, West Virginia, situated deep within the Appalachian Mountains

Shay No. 2 — (Mayo Lumber No. 4) – 1928; Pacific Coast Class (PC-13). Shay No. 2 was reportedly the only Pacific Coast Shay ever built as a wood-burner. The locomotive was converted to oil firing before delivery new to Mayo Lumber Co., Paldi (Vancouver Island) British Columbia as No. 4. Cass Scenic Railroad

WEB-05.20.19 CSX Q501 SB at LN Depot, Hopkinsville, Ky

CSXT 82 leads Q501 as it passes the old L&N Depot…

May 20, 2019 – CSXT 82 leads Q501 as it passes the old L&N Depot at Hopkinsville, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at sunset. This depot has developed structural issues in the last year and is currently sitting empty because of it.

According to the city of Hopkinsville an estimate for repairs are over $900,000 and with today’s tariffs that price will probably go up. Unfortunately the city doesn’t even have a tenant that wants to occupy the station.

The West Ky Chapter of the NRHS group has made some suggestions for uses and they are going to look into them along with some possible grants for the repairs, but at this point it doesn’t look real good. The building has started sinking in from the area where the turrets are located and on the west side of the building toward the middle of the structure. If you know someone willing to help save this station have them contact the city of Hopkinsville, Ky.

WEB-05.18.19 CSX Q026-17 with CSXT 911 leading NB departing Casky, Hopkinsville, KY

CSXT 911, the newly painted CSX locomotive Honoring our 1st Responders…

May 18, 2019 – CSXT 911, the newly painted CSX locomotive Honoring our 1st Responders, heads up intermodal Q026 with CSXT 5286 trailing as departs CSX’s Casky Inspection Yard at Hopkinsville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision after a crew change. The DPU for the train was the other newly painted unit CSXT 1776, the Honoring our Veterans. This was the maiden run for both these units on the Henderson Subdivision and neither disappointed the railfans and viewers that watched and photographed them on their way to Chicago. Well done CSX on both units!

WEB-05.18.19 CSX Q026-17 with CSXT 911 leading NB at Casky, Hopkinsville, KY

CSXT 911, the new CSX locomotive Honoring our 1st Responders…

May 18, 2019 – CSXT 911, the new CSX locomotive Honoring our 1st Responders, heads up intermodal Q026 with CSXT 5286 trailing as it arrives at CSX’s Casky Inspection Yard at Hopkinsville, Ky. The train made a crew change before the train continued northbound on the Henderson Subdivision. The DPU for the train was the other newly painted unit CSXT 1776, the Honoring our Veterans. This was the maiden run for both these units on the Henderson Subdivision and neither disappointed the railfans and viewers that watched and photographed them on their way to Chicago. Well done CSX on both units!

WEB-05.15.19 SVTX coal train at SITRAN Dock, Mt. Vernon, IN

Savatrans SVTX 1982 and 1912…

May 15, 2019 – Savatrans SVTX 1982 and 1912 head up a recently unloaded coal train at the Sitran Dock at West Franklin, Indiana as the train waits for a relief crew to show up to take it for another load. The Chris Cline Group are owners of the company “Savatrans” which purchased three ES44AC locomotives that operate from Sugar Camp Mine in Akin, IL to West Franklin, IN near the Mount Vernon/West Franklin area. In the background putting out all the steam is the Abengoa Bioenergy plant.

WEB-05.15.19 CSXT 33 leaving AB Brown Power Plant, Mt. Vernon, IN

CSXT 33 heads up an empty coal train…

May 15, 2019 – CSXT 33 heads up an empty coal train as it heads down the Vectren lead from the A.B.Brown Power Plant, outside of Evansville, Indiana. The A. B. Brown Generating Station is a four-unit, 700 megawatt power plant, located on the northern bank of Ohio River, 8 miles east of Mount Vernon, Indiana and 5 miles southwest of Evansville, Indiana just west of the Posey-Vanderburgh County Line and is serviced by CSX via the Evansville Western Railway.

WEB-05.04.19 Indiana Southern Railroad IPL coal train 3 at Oakland City, IN

Indiana Southern Railroad, ISRR 3388…

May 4, 2019 – Indiana Southern Railroad, ISRR 3388 EMD SD40-2 Indianapolis power and light (IPL) coal train sits tied down on the main south of Oakland City, Indiana as it waits for a new crew just short of county road 250.

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 186 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 Washington in Daviess County, Petersburg in Pike County, Oakland City in Gibson County, Elberfeld in Warrick County and Daylight in Vanderburgh County before terminating in Evansville along the former New York Central’s Evansville & Indianapolis Branch.

WEB-05.04.19 CSX Q512 NB at King, Princeton, IN

A northbound CSX Q512 passes the signals…

May 4, 2019 – A northbound CSX Q512 passes the signals at at Middle King, at Princeton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision, with CSXT 4384 as the trailing unit that used to be referred to as the Clinchfield logo unit. I’m told It received the unauthorized yellow stripes and the word Clinchfield on the nose the night before the 74th Santa Train. CSX took the Clinchfield off the nose and the Clinchfield logo off the side but left the stripes.