September 22, 2019 - The early morning sunlight bathes the nose of BNSF 5749 as it makes its way past NS DeButts Yard at Chattanooga, Tennessee with a loaded coal train as it heads along the CNO&TP Third District.

According to Wikipedia: The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (abbreviated: CNO&TP; (reporting mark CNTP)) is a railroad that runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, forming part of the Norfolk Southern Railway system.

The physical assets of the road were initially financed by the city of Cincinnati in the 1870s, and are still owned by the city. It is the only such long-distance railway owned by a municipality in the United States. The CNO&TP continues to lease that property and operates one rail line, the Cincinnati Southern Railway, between Cincinnati and Chattanooga.

The early morning sunlight bathes the nose of BNSF 5749…

September 22, 2019 – The early morning sunlight bathes the nose of BNSF 5749 as it makes its way past NS DeButts Yard at Chattanooga, Tennessee with a loaded coal train as it heads along the CNO&TP Third District.

According to Wikipedia: The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (abbreviated: CNO&TP; (reporting mark CNTP)) is a railroad that runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, forming part of the Norfolk Southern Railway system.

The physical assets of the road were initially financed by the city of Cincinnati in the 1870s, and are still owned by the city. It is the only such long-distance railway owned by a municipality in the United States. The CNO&TP continues to lease that property and operates one rail line, the Cincinnati Southern Railway, between Cincinnati and Chattanooga.

September 22, 2019 - CSX W032-17, with CSXT 4062 a SD40-3 leading, passes the depot at Stevenson, Alabama as it heads north on the Chattanooga Subdivision with a load of MOW equipment.

According to Wikipedia: The Stevenson Railroad Depot and Hotel are a historic train station and hotel in Stevenson, Alabama. They were built circa 1872 as a joint project of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, whose lines converged in Stevenson. When the Memphis & Charleston was purchased by the Southern Railway in 1898, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (who had taken over the N&C in 1880) took sole control of the depot and operated it until 1976. 

It was converted into a history museum in 1982. Both buildings are brick with gable roofs and Italianate details. The depot has a central, second-story tower that was added in 1887. The three-story hotel had a lobby, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor and eight large guest rooms on the upper floors. The buildings were listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1975 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The building is now operated as the Stevenson Railroad Depot Museum and features area railroad and Civil War artifacts

CSX W032-17, with CSXT 4062 a SD40-3 leading…

September 22, 2019 – CSX W032-17, with CSXT 4062 a SD40-3 leading, passes the depot at Stevenson, Alabama as it heads north on the Chattanooga Subdivision with a load of MOW equipment.

According to Wikipedia: The Stevenson Railroad Depot and Hotel are a historic train station and hotel in Stevenson, Alabama. They were built circa 1872 as a joint project of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, whose lines converged in Stevenson. When the Memphis & Charleston was purchased by the Southern Railway in 1898, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (who had taken over the N&C in 1880) took sole control of the depot and operated it until 1976.

It was converted into a history museum in 1982. Both buildings are brick with gable roofs and Italianate details. The depot has a central, second-story tower that was added in 1887. The three-story hotel had a lobby, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor and eight large guest rooms on the upper floors. The buildings were listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1975 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The building is now operated as the Stevenson Railroad Depot Museum and features area railroad and Civil War artifacts

September 6, 2019 - Soo Line/Wisconsin Central FP7 Number 2500-A sits in the station at Two Harbors, Minnesota  as the CN yard man and the engineer from our photo excursion train talk on the platform. Everyone from the photo excursion passenger train on the North Shore Scenic Railroad with are off the train shooting their photos of the train set, as we all wait for permission into the CN yard at Two Harbors so our train can be turned and head back to Duluth, Minnesota. 

According to Wikipedia: With steam operations on North American Railroads being converted to diesel operations, Electro-Motive, along with other locomotive builders, began building demonstrator units to be tested by various railroads. Electro-Motive built a set of three FP7 units, 7001 (A-unit) and 7002 & 7003 (B-units). In November 1949, Canadian Pacific Railway tested these units. Canadian Pacific owned most of the Soo Line, and after testing the three demonstrator units, they were sent to the Soo Line.

In April 1950, Soo Line ran the set from Minneapolis, MN to Portal, ND then Duluth, MN to Winnipeg. 7001 hosted the United Kingdom's Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, in its cab through North Dakota. Soo Line was so impressed with the set, that it purchased them for use on Wisconsin Central. In May 1950, they were delivered as WC 2500-A, 2500-B, and 2501-B.

WC 2500-A often pulled Soo's Laker from Chicago to Duluth. Although numbered as Wisconsin Central, 2500 was painted in Soo Line's maroon and gold scheme. In 1960 Wisconsin Central became part of the Soo Line, and 2500 was repainted into the red and gray Soo Line scheme. When passenger service was discontinued in the 1960s, 2500 was used to pull freight trains.

Soo Line/Wisconsin Central FP7 Number 2500-A…

September 6, 2019 – Soo Line/Wisconsin Central FP7 Number 2500-A sits in the station at Two Harbors, Minnesota as the CN yard man and the engineer from our photo excursion train talk on the platform. Everyone from the photo excursion passenger train on the North Shore Scenic Railroad with are off the train shooting their photos of the train set, as we all wait for permission into the CN yard at Two Harbors so our train can be turned and head back to Duluth, Minnesota.

According to Wikipedia: With steam operations on North American Railroads being converted to diesel operations, Electro-Motive, along with other locomotive builders, began building demonstrator units to be tested by various railroads. Electro-Motive built a set of three FP7 units, 7001 (A-unit) and 7002 & 7003 (B-units). In November 1949, Canadian Pacific Railway tested these units. Canadian Pacific owned most of the Soo Line, and after testing the three demonstrator units, they were sent to the Soo Line.

In April 1950, Soo Line ran the set from Minneapolis, MN to Portal, ND then Duluth, MN to Winnipeg. 7001 hosted the United Kingdom’s Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, in its cab through North Dakota. Soo Line was so impressed with the set, that it purchased them for use on Wisconsin Central. In May 1950, they were delivered as WC 2500-A, 2500-B, and 2501-B.

WC 2500-A often pulled Soo’s Laker from Chicago to Duluth. Although numbered as Wisconsin Central, 2500 was painted in Soo Line’s maroon and gold scheme. In 1960 Wisconsin Central became part of the Soo Line, and 2500 was repainted into the red and gray Soo Line scheme. When passenger service was discontinued in the 1960s, 2500 was used to pull freight trains.

September 10, 2019 - Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad 3896 and 4210 approaches heads toward the crossing at 1st Street at Terre Haute, Indiana as it heads onto the Danville Secondary Subdivision with a mixed freight.

According to Wikipedia: The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco Companies 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 Secondary 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 Paris, Illinois.

Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad 3896 and 4210…

September 10, 2019 – Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad 3896 and 4210 approaches heads toward the crossing at 1st Street at Terre Haute, Indiana as it heads onto the Danville Secondary Subdivision with a mixed freight.

According to Wikipedia: The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco Companies 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 Secondary 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 Paris, Illinois.