Southbound Union Pacific 8144 leads PAL WW1 as it exits the Paducah and Louisville Railway tunnel at Dawson Springs, Kentucky on its way south to Calvert City, Kentucky with a loaded coke train on March 13th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 100.
March 4th, 2023 – Episode 9 – In this week’s edited rail video we catch rail action on the CSX Henderson Subdivision and Paducah and Louisville Railway! In addition to CSX and PAL power we also see Canadian National and Union Pacific power! Enjoy and please Like, Share and Subscribe!
Brightline’s Orange 2 trainset rolls over the Red River trestle with Union Pacific 4477 leading the way as it heads south on the CSX Henderson subdivision on CSX S993, at Adams, Tennessee, on February 13th, 2023.
According to the GoBrightline Facebook page, ‘’This completes our fleet of 10 train sets and is the final of the five new trains for our Orlando extension! We cant wait to welcome Bright Orange 2 to our Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Orlando. Safe travels, and see you soon, Bright Orange 2!’’
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 200.
UP 5970 leads CSX S988 as it heads south at Anaconda at Robards, Kentucky with two new Brightline Green and Pink commuter train sets, as they head for Florida, on the Henderson Subdivision on July 16th, 2022.
These train sets were built by Siemens in Sacramento, California and are destined for service along Brightline’s routes in Florida.
According to Wikipedia: Brightline is a privately run intercity rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida that runs on track owned by Florida East Coast Railway. An extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport is expected to open in 2023.
Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States. Its development started in March 2012 as All Aboard Florida by Florida East Coast Industries; a Florida real estate developer owned by Fortress Investment Group. Construction began in November 2014 and the route opened in January 2018.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000 ISO 100.
UP 5970 leads CSX S988 as it heads south through the S Curve at Nortonville, Kentucky with two new Brightline Green and Pink commuter train sets, as they head for Florida, on the Henderson Subdivision on July 16th, 2022.
These train sets were built by Siemens in Sacramento, California and are destined for service along Brightlines routes in Florida.
According to Wikipedia: Brightline is a privately run intercity rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida that runs on track owned by Florida East Coast Railway. An extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport is expected to open in 2023.
Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States. Its development started in March 2012 as All Aboard Florida by Florida East Coast Industries; a Florida real estate developer owned by Fortress Investment Group. Construction began in November 2014 and the route opened in January 2018.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
A Union Pacific loaded coal train heads across the bridge over the Kansas River towards Santa Fe Junction on the Kansas City Terminal Railroad (KCT) High Line at on June 29th, 2022.
The bridge is KCTs double deck, double track crossing of the Kansas River. The odd-looking silver towers on the bridge are lift mechanisms to raise the bridge in the event of flooding and are not connected most of the time. The upper deck line was primarily used by passenger trains from UP and Rock Island, moving to and from Kansas through the KC Union Station. Today primarily freight trains use this bridge.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO.
A Union Pacific loaded coal train heads across Santa Fe Junction on the Kansas City Terminal Railroad (KCT) High Line at sunset as it approaches Tower #3, on June 29th, 2022.
Santa Fe Junction sees on average over 100 trains a day and it hosts the double decked railroad (ATSF Double Deck Railroad) bridge that crosses the Kansas River into Missouri, a triple crossing in addition to Tower 3, which is used by maintenance of way these days. The junction is partly in Missouri and Kansas and sees BNSF, UP, KCT, Amtrak, KCS, NS and CP traffic.
The Kansas City Terminal Railway Company (KCT) is a Class III railroad located in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. KCT serves as a terminal railroad for its five Class I railroad owners (Union Pacific, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific). Amtrak also operates over the KCT providing passenger service to and from Union Station. Currently the second largest rail hub in the United States, KCT owns and dispatches 95 miles of track spanning Missouri and Kansas.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/8000, ISO 110 underexposed by 3 stops for the sun.
Union Pacific 8897 brings up rear as DPU on a grain train as it heads across Santa Fe Junction on the Kansas City Terminal Railroad (KCT) High Line, while BNSF 7767 and 3947 lead a westbound train past Tower #3 on June 30th, 2022.
Santa Fe Junction sees on average over 100 trains a day and it hosts the double decked railroad (ATSF Double Deck Railroad) bridge that crosses the Kansas River into Missouri, a triple crossing in addition to Tower 3, which is used by maintenance of way these days. The junction is partly in Missouri and Kansas and sees BNSF, UP, KCT, Amtrak, KCS, NS and CP traffic, from what I saw during my visit.
The Kansas City Terminal Railway Company (KCT) is a Class III railroad located in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. KCT serves as a terminal railroad for its five Class I railroad owners (Union Pacific, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific). Amtrak also operates over the KCT providing passenger service to and from Union Station. Currently the second largest rail hub in the United States, KCT owns and dispatches 95 miles of track spanning Missouri and Kansas.
According to the website railfanguides.us Santa Fe Junction Interlocking is easily the busiest location for trains in Kansas City and trains from any of the five railroads which jointly own KCT can be seen here. Tower #3 was closed in 1969 when a central dispatching center replaced it and all the other towers KCT had at the time.
The black bridge is KCTs double deck, double track crossing of the Kansas River. The odd-looking silver towers on the bridge are lift mechanisms to raise the bridge in the event of flooding and are not connected most of the time. The upper deck line was primarily used by passenger trains from UP and Rock Island, moving to and from Kansas through the KC Union Station. Today primarily freight trains use this bridge.
The tracks through the junction have been reduced or changed around over the years, but the area remains one of KCs Busiest locations.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Union Pacific 2116 and 1825 lead a mixed freight southbound across the Floyd River on the Worthington Subdivision amid a maze of bridges at Sioux City, Iowa on June 3rd, 2022, on a beautiful Spring Day.
According to the Sioux City History Website: When Sioux City first began to grow, most people arrived by either steamboat or stagecoach. In the eastern United States, railroads were being built to connect all major cities. The first railroad to develop in Iowa was in 1865, along the Mississippi. However, plans were soon developed to expand the system to all major Iowa cities.
Sioux City developers knew that if the town wanted to become a major city, it would need to be one of the first to have railroad access. Not only did railroads move people, but they also moved materials and manufactured goods.
In the fall of 1866, a large crowd of local businessmen, bankers, and speculators met with a gentleman named W.W. Walker. He was a representative of John Blair, a wealthy eastern railroad developer. Mr. Blair was planning on building the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad. This railroad would connect the city with the main line which ran through Missouri Valley. This would give the city connections all the way to Chicago and back east. All the city and county had to do was provide free land for the tracks and for the depot. The county agreed to donate the land in February of 1867. The deal was struck.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 120.
Two Union Pacific Railroad freights meet on the MacArthur Bridge on the TRRA MacArthur Subdivision in downtown St. Louis, Missouri on May 21st, 2022, under stormy skies. I really wanted to fly my drone for this shot, but unfortunately this area was a FAA no fly zone for drones.
According to Wikipedia: The MacArthur Bridge is a truss bridge that connects St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois over the Mississippi River. The bridge was initially called the “St. Louis Municipal Bridge” and known popularly as the “Free Bridge” due to the original lack of tolls. Tolls were added for auto traffic beginning in 1932. In 1942, the bridge was renamed for Douglas MacArthur.
Upon completion, the structure was the largest double-deck steel bridge in the world.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @ 40mm, f/3.5, 1/640, ISO 125.
Union Pacific 7495 leads CSX K423, a loaded ethanol tank train out of the siding at the south end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky as it continues its south movement on the CSX Henderson Subdivision with a second UP and a Canadian Pacific unit trailing on November 1st, 2021.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 120.
CSX W989 with Union Pacific 2603 leading snakes through the S curve at Nortonville, Kentucky with a brand new Brightline inter-city Trainset as it heads south as on the Henderson Subdivision to Florida on October 8th, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: Brightline is a privately run inter-city rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida. Brightline began operating over its current route in January 2018 and the company is currently building an extension to the Orlando International Airport which is expected to enter service in 2022.
As of August 2020, it is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States. The line was developed starting in March 2012 as All Aboard Florida by Florida East Coast Industries, a Florida real estate developer owned by Fortress Investment Group. Construction began in November 2014 on stations and improvements to tracks owned by the Florida East Coast Railway, which at the start of construction, was also owned by Fortress (it was sold in January 2018).
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 100.
Union Pacific 2603 leads a brand new Brightline inter-city Trainset as it heads south as CSX W989 on the Henderson Subdivision at CSX Casky yard in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on its way south to Florida on October 8th, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: “Brightline is a privately run inter-city rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida. Brightline began operating over its current route in January 2018 and the company is currently building an extension to the Orlando International Airport which is expected to enter service in 2022.
As of August 2020, it is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States. The line was developed starting in March 2012 as All Aboard Florida by Florida East Coast Industries, a Florida real estate developer owned by Fortress Investment Group. Construction began in November 2014 on stations and improvements to tracks owned by the Florida East Coast Railway, which at the start of construction, was also owned by Fortress (it was sold in January 2018).
In late 2018, it was announced that Virgin Group would become a minority investor in the railroad and would provide rights to rebrand the service as Virgin Trains USA. In August 2020 they reverted to the Brightline name, ending the branding deal, claiming that Virgin had not provided the agreed investment money.”
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Engineer Ed Dickens keeps an eye on the track ahead as Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 heads north on the UP Chester Subdivision somewhere south of Chester, Illinois, as they make the way to St. Louis, MO during the trains recent tour around central united states on August 28th, 2021.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 340mm, f/5.6, 1/1600, ISO 320.
The crew of Union Pacific 7814 leads a northbound autorack as it crosses the Kaskaskia River on the UP Chester Subdivision at Brewerville, Illinois in Infrared on August 28th, 2021.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, sensor converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 70-300 @220mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 200.
The conductor and others on the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 crew keeps an eye on the tracks ahead as they round the curve after crossing the Kaskaskia River bridge on the UP Chester Subdivision at Brewerville, Illinois, as they make the way to St. Louis, MO, the last stop on this leg of their journey.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 165mm, f/5, 1/1600, ISO 200, August 28, 2021.
A southbound CSX led mixed freight holds at the signals in downtown Corning, Arkansas on Friday, August 27th, 2021, on the UP Hoxie subdivision, as they wait for the arrival of steam locomotive, UP 4014, the big boy in this infrared shot.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 70-300 @ 70mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 200.
Union Pacific 4014, the Big Boy, heads north on UPs Hoxie Subdivision at Jacksonville, Arkansas as part of its 2021-month long tour around the United States on August 27th, 2021!
Here engineer Ed Dickens keeps an eye on the tracks ahead as it approaches the N JP Wright Loop Road crossing, perhaps scanning for the legendary the Loop Road Monster (Bigfoot) which has been sighted in this rural area in the past, but there wasnt any sight of him during the big boys run through the area! I guess bigfoot doesnt like steam trains nearly as much as the throngs of railfans that chased it!
UP 4014 is an articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive that was manufactured by the American Locomotive Company. There were a total 25 of these giants built and of the eight remaining locomotives this is the only operational one.
The Big Boy was on a month-long tour around the Midwest through, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming before arriving home in Cheyenne, Wyoming on September 7th.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 150mm, f/6, 1/1600, ISO 320.
Union Pacific steam locomotive 4014, the Big Boy, with its entire train in view, passes the Farmers Elevator complex as it heads north on the UP Hoxie Subdivision at Newport, Arkansas on August 27th, 2021. Here it is on the leg of its trip from Little Rock, AR to Poplar Bluff, MO during its month-long tour around the Union Pacific line.
The Big Boy is an articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive which was manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York in 1941. There were a total 25 of these giants built and of the eight remaining locomotives this is the only operational one.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100, August 27, 2021.
Engineer Ed Dickens watches the road ahead in this Infrared photograph of the Union Pacific Big Boy, as it approaches a crossing north of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas on the Hoxie Subdivision, during its run between Little Rock and Poplar Bluff on August 27, 2021.
UP 4014 is an articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive that was manufactured by the American Locomotive Company. There were a total 25 of these giants built and of the eight remaining locomotives this is the only operational one.
The Big Boy is on a month-long tour around the Midwest through, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming before heading home to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, sensor converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 70-300 @200mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 200.