Well, just as forecasted the snow began to fall with quite a furry yesterday afternoon so I headed to the junction at Mortons Gap, Kentucky to see if I could get a couple long lens shots of it falling to the ground, as it didn’t look like we were going to get much on this cold, wintery January 27th, 2021.

From my vantage point just below the rise of Mortons Junction I waited with my Sigma zoom lens set to 480mm and listened as CSXT 797 led a doubled up train set make its way up the grade toward me and my waiting lens as the train made its way north on the Henderson Subdivision.

Click, click, click… in other words, I shot a lot as it peeked over the rise of the hill, and this shot of it starting down toward Earlington, Kentucky on the main, was my favorite shot! The light on the rails as the track beings to veer away from my vantage point lit up to help draw the viewers eye into the scene!

One of my favorite things about shooting with this lens is that it gives me the ability to get shots from a safe public spot trackside and also allow me plenty of time to do so safely! Plus, the added bonus where it gives such a unique look as well! Always look for interesting angles in your shots that help draw your viewers eye to the subject of your photograph.

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 480mm, f/5, 1/800, ISO 640.

CSX K870-12 approaches the John Rivers Road Crossing at Casky Yard in Hopkinsville, Kentucky as CP 9364 and CEFX 1002 head a 8,500ft loaded potash “Test” train south on the Henderson Subdivision.

CN has been running these potash trains for awhile and I’m told this is a test train from CP to look at the feasibility of doing the same on a regular basis on CSX. The train also had CP 8135 and 9739 as mid-train DPU units.

According to Wikipedia: Potash includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. The name derives from pot ash, which refers to plant ashes or wood ash soaked in water in a pot, which was the primary means of manufacturing the product before the Industrial Era. The word “potassium” is derived from “potash”.

Potash is produced worldwide in amounts exceeding 90 million tons per year, mostly for use in fertilizer. Various kinds of fertilizer-potash constitute the single greatest industrial use of the element potassium in the world. Potassium was first derived in 1807 by electrolysis of caustic potash (potassium hydroxide).

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @460mm f/10, 1/1250, ISO 900.

I could hear the rumble of the train as it pulled hard upgrade coming north at Kelly, Kentucky before CSXT 293 crested the top of the rise as it headed up CSX Q512-13 on the Henderson Subdivision, making for this nice long lens shot (700mm) on a cold late winter afternoon in Western Kentucky. The long lens exaggerates the wavy look of the tracks.

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 with a 1.4 teleconverter @700mm f/10, 1/1250, ISO 1400.

CSX W991-29 heads north on the Henderson Subdivision as it approaches milepost 214, just south of Guthrie, Kentucky on December 5th, 2020 with a High and Wide load for General Electric, running at a steady 25mph.

The GE high and wide load is carried on GECX 021155 a Heavy load, 16-axle, depressed center flat car, which is owned by General Electrical Gas Turbine division. The car is 147 feet 10 inches long and the load deck length is 38 feet according to what I find on the web. It Was built in May of 1995 and is used to transport heavy gas turbines built by General Electric. A Kasgro Rail Corporation (KRL) caboose 072 brings up the rear with a full crew. The caboose and engine crews kept a close eye on clearances as they made their way north!

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Irex 11mm, f/4, 1/1000, ISO 100.

During our first bit of snowfall here in western Kentucky, I caught CSXT 3415 leading CSX Q648 north through the curve at the north end of Kelly, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision on November 30th, 2020.

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 185mm, f/5.3, 1/500, ISO 320.