CSX K443 southbound at Kelly, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision BNSF 5202 and KCS 4677 lead CSX K443, a loaded ethanol train, southbound past the north end of Kelly Siding on the Henderson Subdivision at Kelly, Ky on April 22nd, 2021. I tried catching this train at the south end of Slaughters, Hanson and at Nortonville, but ended up arriving at each of my spots as the train was passing through them! It seemed like every traffic light was red and every car that drove 10mph under the speed limit was between me and my next spot!! It happens sometimes and while I didn’t get the shots I wanted at each of those locations, I did at several others such as this one at Kelly! Sometimes you must be persistent in your pursuit of photos! Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.

CSX K443 southbound at Kelly, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision

BNSF 5202 and KCS 4677 lead CSX K443, a loaded ethanol train, southbound past the north end of Kelly Siding on the Henderson Subdivision at Kelly, Ky on April 22nd, 2021.

I tried catching this train at the south end of Slaughters, Hanson and at Nortonville, but ended up arriving at each of my spots as the train was passing through them! It seemed like every traffic light was red and every car that drove 10mph under the speed limit was between me and my next spot!! It happens sometimes and while I didn’t get the shots I wanted at each of those locations, I did at several others such as this one at Kelly! Sometimes you must be persistent in your pursuit of photos!

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.

A rainbow of power waits at Kelly, Ky for a loaded coal to pass The early morning sun sends shadows and beautiful light across this scene, as CSX K442-19 waits in the siding at the north end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky, with Canadian Pacific 8519, 9359, KCS 4699 and Ferromex 4054 as power, for loaded CSX coal train N040 to clear the way on April 20th, 2021. K442 was a combined empty ethanol train, heading back north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision with a length of 12,500 feet and with that length, there were only a few places along the line between Nashville, TN and Evansville, IN where they could meet other trains, and Kelly siding is one of those spots. I’d been following the progress of this train for a couple days and thanks to a heads up from fellow railfan Reed Reding about it being north of Nashville and then another railfan, Steve Miller that it was passing through Hopkinsville, Ky I decided it was time to get dressed (about 7:30am) and head south to find this interesting move! About 20 miles later I found it waiting in the siding at Kelly in plenty of time to catch it and then chase it back to Madisonville, catching it a few more times! Thanks to Reed and Steve, along with all the other railfans along the lines with updates!! This shot wouldn’t have happened without you!! Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.

A rainbow of power waits at Kelly, Ky for a loaded coal to pass

The early morning sun sends shadows and beautiful light across this scene, as CSX K442-19 waits in the siding at the north end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky, with Canadian Pacific 8519, 9359, KCS 4699 and Ferromex 4054 as power, for loaded CSX coal train N040 to clear the way on April 20th, 2021.

K442 was a combined empty ethanol train, heading back north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision with a length of 12,500 feet and with that length, there were only a few places along the line between Nashville, TN and Evansville, IN where they could meet other trains, and Kelly siding is one of those spots.

I’d been following the progress of this train for a couple days and thanks to a heads up from fellow railfan Reed Reding about it being north of Nashville and then another railfan, Steve Miller that it was passing through Hopkinsville, Ky I decided it was time to get dressed (about 7:30am) and head south to find this interesting move! About 20 miles later I found it waiting in the siding at Kelly in plenty of time to catch it and then chase it back to Madisonville, catching it a few more times!

Thanks to Reed and Steve, along with all the other railfans along the lines with updates!! This shot wouldn’t have happened without you!!

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.

KCS southbound at Kelly, Kentucky It's not everyday we get Kansas City Southern (KCS) leading any kind of train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, so when I got reports from friends up the line to the north that CSX K443 was southbound with two coming I had to get trackside! This shot from January 20th, 2021 captures KCS 4605 and 4192 leading K443 south at the north end of Kelly siding at Kelly, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision as it's long string of tank car's loaded with ethanol, string off into the distance like a giant anaconda. Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 100.

KCS southbound at Kelly, Kentucky

It’s not everyday we get Kansas City Southern (KCS) leading any kind of train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, so when I got reports from friends up the line to the north that CSX K443 was southbound with two coming I had to get trackside!

This shot from January 20th, 2021 captures KCS 4605 and 4192 leading K443 south at the north end of Kelly siding at Kelly, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision as it’s long string of tank car’s loaded with ethanol, string off into the distance like a giant anaconda.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 100.

KCS 4605 leads ethanol tanks through Nortonville , Ky It's not everyday we get Kansas City Southern leading any kind of train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, so when I got reports from friends up the line to the north that CSX K443 was southbound with two of them I had to get trackside and one of my plans was to catch it as a vertical shot of it snaking it's way through the S curve at Nortonville, Ky! Not sure why it's lights were off as it glided south on track one on January 30th, 2021, because when I caught it with the drone at the south end of Slaughters, Ky the main headlight and one ditch light were working. However here everything was out and the same applied when it hit Crofton and Kelly, Ky, even when it was blowing the crossings. At least the number boards were lit! I'm guessing something happened as they had to change out an engine once they got to Casky Yard in Hopkinsville, Ky. Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @170mm f/9, 1/800, ISO 900.

KCS 4605 leads ethanol tanks through Nortonville, Ky

It’s not everyday we get Kansas City Southern leading any kind of train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, so when I got reports from friends up the line to the north that CSX K443 was southbound with two of them I had to get trackside and one of my plans was to catch it as a vertical shot of it snaking it’s way through the S curve at Nortonville, Ky!

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @170mm f/9, 1/800, ISO 900.

KCS leads a southbound ethanol train at Slaughters, Ky It's not everyday we get Kansas City Southern leading any kind of train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, so when I got reports from friends up the line to the north that CSX K443 was southbound with two coming I had to get trackside! It was a gray, overcast, drizzling rain kind of day that keeps folks inside normally, but when word got out about it's move then there were railfans waiting its arrival between here where I caught it a the south end of Slaughters, Kentucky, all the way to Nashville, Tennessee and I'm sure points south on January 30th, 2021. The hardest thing really about shooting pictures in bad weather is really just getting out the door!! I personally keep a couple large golf umbrellas just for this occasion! However on this occasion I really wanted to put my Air 2 drone up for a shot that would show the tank train disappearing off into the distance and fortunately the rain slacked off enough where I could do so and this is the resulting photograph shot in the 48mp mode on the drone. The weather resulted in a slower shutterspeed that I wanted and I didn't want to boost the ISO so I settled for just a tad of blur on the locomotive, which gives the feeling of the speed of the train! Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/160, ISO 100.

KCS leads a southbound ethanol train at Slaughters, Ky

It’s not everyday we get Kansas City Southern leading any kind of train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, so when I got reports from friends up the line to the north that CSX K443 was southbound with two coming I had to get trackside!

It was a gray, overcast, drizzling rain kind of day that keeps folks inside normally, but when word got out about it’s move then there were railfans waiting its arrival between here where I caught it a the south end of Slaughters, Kentucky, all the way to Nashville, Tennessee and I’m sure points south on January 30th, 2021.

The hardest thing really about shooting pictures in bad weather is really just getting out the door!! I personally keep a couple large golf umbrellas just for this occasion!

However on this occasion I really wanted to put my Air 2 drone up for a shot that would show the tank train disappearing off into the distance and fortunately the rain slacked off enough where I could do so and this is the resulting photograph shot in the 48mp mode on the drone. The weather resulted in a slower shutterspeed that I wanted and I didn’t want to boost the ISO so I settled for just a tad of blur on the locomotive, which gives the feeling of the speed of the train!

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/160, ISO 100.

CN Illinois Central Heritage Unit meets KCS at Dexter, MO Canadian National (CN) Illinois Central Heritage Unit 3008 passes a crew change on a SB crew change on a KCS unit, as it leads empty oil train; ONUCS-01 north on Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision, after making its own crew change at the Union Pacific Terminal at Dexter, Missouri on December 2nd, 2020. Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.

CN Illinois Central Heritage Unit meets KCS at Dexter, MO

CN Illinois Central Heritage Unit meets KCS at Dexter, MO

Canadian National (CN) Illinois Central Heritage Unit 3008 passes a crew change on a SB crew change on a KCS unit, as it leads empty oil train; ONUCS-01 north on Union Pacific’s Chester Subdivision, after making its own crew change at the Union Pacific Terminal at Dexter, Missouri on December 2nd, 2020.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.

Kansas City Southern leads CSX K413-29 at Crofton, Ky A light snow streaks trough the sky as loaded ethanol train CSX K413 heads south, with Kansas City Southern 4107 & Canadian Pacific 8849 leading, as it splits the signals on November 30th, 2020 as it makes its way south on the Henderson Subdivision. Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 400.

Kansas City Southern leads CSX K413-29 at Crofton, Ky

A light snow streaks trough the sky as loaded ethanol train CSX K413 heads south, with Kansas City Southern 4107 & Canadian Pacific 8849 leading, as it splits the signals on November 30th, 2020 as it makes its way south on the Henderson Subdivision.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 400.

September 27, 2020 - Kansas City Southern 4054 and 4744 lead loaded ethanol train, CSX K443-26, as it pulls out of the south end of Rankin siding as it continues its move south on the Henderson Subdivision at Rankin, Kentucky. Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.

Kansas City Southern 4054 and 4744 lead loaded ethanol train…

September 27, 2020 – Kansas City Southern 4054 and 4744 lead loaded ethanol train, CSX K443-26, as it pulls out of the south end of Rankin siding as it continues its move south on the Henderson Subdivision at Rankin, Kentucky.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.

November 3, 2018 - A CSX mixed freight, carrying a tank car on a flat, with Kansas City Southern 4866 and 4198 leading, pass the I.U. Interlocking tower as it east on the Indianapolis Terminal Subdivision at Indianapolis, Indiana. - #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

November 3, 2018 – A CSX mixed freight, carrying a tank car on a flat…

November 3, 2018 – A CSX mixed freight, carrying a tank car on a flat, with Kansas City Southern 4866 and 4198 leading, pass the I.U. Interlocking tower as it east on the Indianapolis Terminal Subdivision at Indianapolis, Indiana. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

July 31, 2018 – CSX 431 and KCS 4655 lead W080, a ballast train…

July 31, 2018 – CSX 431 and KCS 4655 lead W080, a ballast train, through the signals at the north end of the siding at Kelly, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

CSX Q501-12 at the south end of Harwood in Evansville, Indiana

April 12, 2018 A new train, CSX Q501-12 (Chicago to Nashville), heads through the south end of Harwood at Evansville, Indiana with KCS 3937 leading the way as it heads south on the CE&D Subdivision. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 passes Q028 at Trenton, Ky

August 23, 2017 – Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 (Chicago, IL-Atlanta, GA) south, with BNSF 4980 trailing, as it passes it’s counterpart, northbound Q028 in the siding at Trenton, Ky, as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.

I wanted this shot bad and in the rush I failed to check my shutter speed on my Fuji XT-1. The photo ended up being about 5 stops over exposed! While I lost some details in the highlights, mostly evident in the ballast and sky, at least I recovered it well enough to make this post. The key to recovery is that the photo was shot as a RAW file, as all my images are shot and processed as RAW files.

If you don’t shoot in RAW and your camera is able to do so, you’re not using the full potential of your camera’s sensor! When shooting and processing in RAW format you capture every bit of detail and data that your sensor can capture, whereas JPG doesn’t. This photo wouldn’t have seen the light of day as a JPG. Just food for thought!!

If you’re looking for a tutorial for using RAW here’s the one I bought and learned from:

https://www.creativelive.com/courses/adobe-camera-raw-optimizing-enhancing-retouching-jack-davis?via=catalog-class_2

Of course there’s a lot of free classes out there also on YouTube, but this one is the best I’ve found.

If you’ve never visited Creativelive it’s a great resource and if you watch the live broadcast then there’s no charge! Once it broadcasts, or if you want to go back and review the video over and over again then it’s available for purchase as the RAW course. It’s a great resource!

CSX Q029-23 southbound with KCS 4771, Nortonville, Ky

August 23, 2017 – Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 (Chicago, IL-Atlanta, GA) through the S curve approaching the north end of Romney where he’ll take the siding, with BNSF 4980 trailing, as it heads south at Nortonville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision. In the background you can see where CSX workers are cutting the bank back as part of their double tracking of the Romney siding to the Nortonville siding project that is ongoing.

CSX Q029-23 SB at Red River Cut, Adams, TN

August 23, 2017 – Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 (Chicago, IL-Atlanta, GA) through the cut just south of the Red River bridge at Adams, Tennessee, with BNSF 4980 trailing, as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision. I like most of us seem not to shoot as many verticals of trains, or many other subjects these days. The computer monitors and TV’s have conditioned us too much to the horizontal format! I for one plan to do better! After all, it doesn’t take much to turn the camera!CSX Q029-23 SB at Red River Cut, Adams, TN