WEB-07.15.19 LoRam Ditcher working at South Atkinson, Madisonville, Ky

LoRam Badger Ditching machine, DC-2…

July 15, 2019 – LoRam Badger Ditching machine, DC-2, works along the power siding at the south end of CSX’s Atkinson Yard at Madisonville, Kentucky, as it works its way north on the Henderson Subdivision.

According to the Loram website: The Badger Ditcher is a self-propelled ditch cleaner that is capable of moving 1,000 tons of material every hour, excavating at up to 22 feet from the center of the track. The Loram ditch cleaner creates a properly sloped ditch that intercepts and diverts water away from the track. The ditcher’s high-speed, high-performance ditching wheel digs in and picks up mud and water. As the wheel digs the ditch, water begins to flow.

The Badger Ditcher helps manage, remedy and prevent the damaging effects from a host of penetrating water sources, including direct precipitation, groundwater migration, springs and trapped water, saturation and seepage. Ditch maintenance best practices using the Badger Ditcher lets railroads improve vital drainage for the subgrade, lower the water table, control run-off and promote free flow from the ballast section that can extend the effective duration of undercutting and ballast cleaning cycles.

WEB-07.13.19 NS 167 EB at Lyle Station, Princeton, IN

NS 167, led by NS 9412, passes Consolidated Grain and Barge Company…

July 13, 2019 – NS 167, led by NS 9412, passes Consolidated Grain and Barge Company at Lyles Station, MP 157, as it heads east on the NS Southern West District at Lyles Station, Indiana.

According to Wikipedia, Lyles or Lyles Station is an unincorporated community in Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana. The community dates from 1849, although its early settlers first arrived in the 1830s, and it was formally named Lyles Station in 1886 to honor Joshua Lyles, a free African American who migrated with his family from Tennessee to Indiana around 1837. Lyles Station is one of Indiana’s early black rural settlements and the only one remaining.

The rural settlement reached its peak in the years between 1880 and 1912, when major structures in the community included the railroad depot, a post office, a lumber mill, two general stores, two churches, and a school. By the turn of the twentieth century,

Lyles Station had fifty-five homes, with a population of more than 800 people. The farming community never fully recovered from the Great Flood of 1913, which destroyed much of the town. Most of its residents left for economic reasons, seeking opportunities for higher paying jobs and additional education in larger cities.

By 1997 approximately fifteen families remained at Lyles Station, nearly all of them descended from the original settlers.

WEB-06.27.19 Burgess Falls 2, Cookeville, TN

Burgess Falls State Park…

June 27, 2019 – Burgess Falls State Park is a state park and state natural area in Putnam County and White County, Tennessee. According to Wikipedia: Burgess Falls State Park is a state park and state natural area in Putnam County and White County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The park is situated around a steep gorge in which the Falling Water River drops 250 feet (76 m) in elevation in less than a mile, culminating in a 136-foot (41 m) cataract waterfall.

WEB-07.03.19 CSX W001-03 Geomerty Train SB at Oak Hill, Nortonville, Ky

CSX W001-03 Track Inspection Geometry Train…

July 3, 2019 – CSX W001-03 Track Inspection Geometry Train heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at Oak Hiil, between Nortonville, and Mortons Gap, Kentucky with the Florence, Columbus and a Track Geometry Car.

According to Wikipedia: A track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) is an automated track inspection vehicle on a rail transport system used to test several geometric parameters of the track without obstructing normal railroad operations.

Some of the parameters generally measured include position, curvature, alignment of the track, smoothness, and the crosslevel of the two rails. The cars use a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.