CN Cairo Subdivision – Jim Pearson Photography

Canadian National 3270 leads four units on a mixed freight as it pulls out of the yard at Fulton, Ky

Canadian National 3270 leads four units on a mixed freight as it pulls out of the yard at Fulton, Ky after a crew change, as they head north up the CN Cairo Subdivision, on March 25th, 2023.

I’m told that on average 40-60 trains a day pass through Fulton, Ky, making it a busy place! Railfanning is best in the morning and the afternoon into the evening. The CN Cairo, CN Fulton Subdivisions and the West Tennessee Railroad all come together here at Fulton. Also, Amtrak has a depot here and is a flag stop for the City of New Orleans, and is an unstaffed station; with no agent and no assistance.

The first railroad deed was sold in 1857, and construction reached Pontotoc in 1859. At that time Fulton was referred to as the end of the line” by the United States Government and all mail was addressed to this extent. In 1896, the Illinois Central Railroad owned the two railroad lines that crossed Fulton, which saw 30 passenger trains a day and 3,000 freight cars that picked up or delivered cargo. The freight cars would usually have bananas that would stop in Fulton to be re-iced and then shipped to rest of the country. Through this process, Fulton became known as the “Banana Capital of the World”.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.

Canadian National 3270 leads a mixed freight as it snakes its way out of the yard at Fulton, Ky

Canadian National 3270 leads a mixed freight as it snakes its way out of the yard at Fulton, Ky after a crew change, as they head north up the CN Cairo Subdivision, on March 25th, 2023.

Im told that on average 10-15 trains a day pass through Fulton, Ky, making it a busy place! Railfanning is best in the morning and the afternoon into the evening. The CN Cairo, CN Fulton Subdivisions and the West Tennessee Railroad all come together here at Fulton. Also, Amtrak has a depot here and is a flag stop for the City of New Orleans, and is an unstaffed station; with no agent and no assistance.

The first railroad deed was sold in 1857, and construction reached Pontotoc in 1859. At that time Fulton was referred to as the end of the line by the United States Government and all mail was addressed to this extent. In 1896, the Illinois Central Railroad owned the two railroad lines that crossed Fulton, which saw 30 passenger trains a day and 3,000 freight cars that picked up or delivered cargo. The freight cars would usually have bananas that would stop in Fulton to be re-iced and then shipped to rest of the country. Through this process, Fulton became known as the “Banana Capital of the World”.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 220.

CN 5761 headed south at Fulton, Kentucky

On April 3rd, 2021 Canadian National 5761 pulls away from the fuel racks on the CN Bluford Subdivision, as it passes the fuel racks on the CN Cairo Subdivision, on its way south with a manifest at Fulton, Kentucky as the last bit of sunlight rakes across the scene. The tracks on the other side of the engine are the West Tennessee Railroad, which interchanges with the CN here at Fulton.

Fulton is also an Amtrak intercity train stop where the station is a flag stop on the City of New Orleans route, served only when passengers have tickets to and from the station. This is an unstaffed station; there is no agent and no assistance, and it normally passes through here in the dark.

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 550mm, f/8.5, 1/400, ISO 500.

Crews on board “The J,” ex-Elgin Joliet and Eastern, EJE 703 EMD GP38-2 work…

February 24, 2018 – Crews on board “The J,” ex-Elgin Joliet and Eastern, EJE 703 EMD GP38-2 work on building a train at the Canadian National Yard in Fulton, Kentucky.

According to Wikipedia, The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (reporting mark EJE) was a Class I railroad, operating between Waukegan, Illinois and Gary and Porter Indiana. The railroad served as a link between Class I railroads traveling to and from Chicago, although it operated almost entirely within the city’s suburbs, and only entered Chicago where it served the U.S. Steel South Works on the shores of Lake Michigan. Nicknames for the railroad included “The J” and “The Chicago Outer Belt Line”. At the end of 1970, the EJ&E operated 164 miles of track and carrying 848 million ton-miles of revenue freight in that year alone.

On September 26, 2007, the Canadian National Railway announced that it planned to purchase a majority of the EJ&E, leaving a portion of the line in Indiana to be reorganized as the Gary Railway. The purchase was approved on December 24, 2008 by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, and the deal was consummated effective February 1, 2009. In the years immediately following the merger, the railroad existed as a subsidiary of Canadian National, and EJ&E locomotives that were repainted into CN colors were sub-lettered for the EJ&E.

On December 31, 2012, Canadian National announced that the merger of the EJ&E into Wisconsin Central Ltd. (Another railroad subsidiary of CN) had been completed, and would take effect the following day. On January 1, 2013, the EJ&E effectively ceased to exist.

The J 703 with GTW and CN at Fulton, Ky

February 24, 2018 – “The J,” ex-Elgin Joliet and Eastern, EJE 703 EMD GP38-2 works in the Canadian National Yard at Fulton, Kentucky as a CN freight pulls to a stop in the background and a partially obscured Grand Trunk Western 6224 sits tied down behind a yard office.

“The J,” ex-Elgin Joliet and Eastern, EJ&E 703…

February 24, 2018 – “The J,” ex-Elgin Joliet and Eastern, EJ&E 703 EMD GP38-2 works on building a train at the Canadian National Yard in Fulton, Kentucky.

According to Wikipedia, The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (reporting mark EJE) was a Class I railroad, operating between Waukegan, Illinois and Gary and Porter Indiana. The railroad served as a link between Class I railroads traveling to and from Chicago, although it operated almost entirely within the city’s suburbs, and only entered Chicago where it served the U.S. Steel South Works on the shores of Lake Michigan. Nicknames for the railroad included “The J” and “The Chicago Outer Belt Line”. At the end of 1970, the EJ&E operated 164 miles of track and carrying 848 million ton-miles of revenue freight in that year alone.

On September 26, 2007, the Canadian National Railway announced that it planned to purchase a majority of the EJ&E, leaving a portion of the line in Indiana to be reorganized as the Gary Railway. The purchase was approved on December 24, 2008 by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, and the deal was consummated effective February 1, 2009. In the years immediately following the merger, the railroad existed as a subsidiary of Canadian National, and EJ&E locomotives that were repainted into CN colors were sub-lettered for the EJ&E.

On December 31, 2012, Canadian National announced that the merger of the EJ&E into Wisconsin Central Ltd. (Another railroad subsidiary of CN) had been completed, and would take effect the following day. On January 1, 2013, the EJ&E effectively ceased to exist.

CN Fulton Yard, Fulton, KY

February 14, 2018 – During today’s visit to the Fulton, Ky area I caught CN 2465, IC 1024, GTW 79197 Caboose and CN 5416 tied down in the Canadian National Railway yard at Fulton, on a gloomy, overcast, rainy Valentines day. Hardest thing about photographing in bad weather is getting out the door! Bringing along a large golf umbrella helps a lot as well! LOL –

BNSF 4151 SB at Buda, Fulton, KY

February 14, 2018 – BNSF 4151 and 758 pull a mixed freight onto track 2 at the north end of Buda, as it heads south on CN’s Cairo Subdivision at Clinton, Ky.

BNSF 4151 SB at Farmer’s Gin, Clinton, KY

February 14, 2018 – BNSF 4151 and 758 pull a mixed freight past a string of Anhydrous Ammonia cars at Farmer’s Gin Co., as it heads south on CN’s Cairo Subdivision at Clinton, Ky.