July 8, 2010 – A CSX MOW rail train crew works at the dangerous job of picking up old track through downtown Mortons Gap, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech info: Nikon D300, RAW, Nikon 70-300mm @ 300mm, f/7, 1/400 at ISO 500.
CSXT 154 & 395 as it led a maintenance of way train…
August 8, 2009 – During one of my many trips over the years to Summer Rail I caught CSXT 154 & 395 as it led a maintenance of way train, with two switches in gondolas, as it crossed over the Ohio River at Covington, Kentucky as it headed south off the C&O Railroad bridge from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit at Hatfield Junction…
April 29, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) as passes through Hatfield Junction, east of Oakland City, Indiana, as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District.
In 2012, Norfolk Southern celebrated 30 years of being formed, and painted 20 new locomotives in predecessor schemes to honor its heritage. GE ES44AC #8025 was painted into the Monongahela scheme.
According to Wikipedia: The Monongahela Railway (reporting mark MGA) was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC and PRR later succeeded by Penn Central Transportation. The company operated its own line until it was merged into Conrail on May 1, 1993.
Conrail would be bought in 1998 by Norfolk Southern and CSX. Eleven GE Class B23-7Rs (sometimes referred to as Super 7s), the Monongahela’s final locomotive fleet numbered 2300-2310, were renumbered 2030-2040 by Conrail, then divided between NS and CSX when they operationally took over Conrail operations in 1999.
Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 390mm, f/9, 1/1000 sec, ISO 560.
Digital Art – CSX Q028 meets Q513 at Hazelton, Indiana
April 28, 2020 – As the late afternoon light rakes across the scene we find the crew on CSX Q513 getting ready to do a roll by inspection on CSX Q028 as it heads north end of the siding at Hazelton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision on a beautiful spring day.
CSX Q028 meets Q513 at Hazelton, IN
April 28, 2020 – As the late afternoon light rakes across the scene we find the crew on CSX Q513 getting ready to do a roll by inspection on CSX Q028 as it heads north end of the siding at Hazelton, Indiana on the CE&D Subdivision on a beautiful spring day.
Tech: Nikon D800, Sigma 24-70 at 36mm, f/5, 1/800 @ ISO 125 in RAW.
Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, pulls NS 168…
April 29, 2020 – After working making a drop off at the yard in Princeton, Indiana, Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, pulls NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis, Mo.
Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 360.
Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit…
April 29, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 8025, Monongahela Heritage Unit, leads NS 168 (Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO) as it heads down the curve approaching the crossing on County Road 150 at Princeton, Indiana as it heads west on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis.
Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 200mm, f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 280.
NS Monongahela Heritage Unit at Princeton, IN
April 29, 2020 – Well, for the first time since this pandemic began I left the state today! One of the four remaining Norfolk Southern Heritage Units that I haven’t caught, NS 8025 (Monongahela) was leading NS 168 westbound from Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
In this shot I caught him after he passed the signals at East Douglas in Princeton, Indiana as it made its way on the NS Southern East-West District toward St. Louis.
Tech: Nikon D800, Lens: Irex 11mm @ f/9, 1/1000sec, ISO 200.
CSXT 380 heads up local J732 northbound at Mortons Gap, Ky
April 28, 2020 – CSXT 380 heads up local J732 (Casky, KY – Atkinson, KY) as it approaches the defect detector at Mortons Gap, Ky on its way north on the Henderson Subdivision.
Metra locomotive 190 runs as the trailing unit on CSX Q648…
April 27, 2020 – Newly rebuilt and repainted Metra locomotive 190 runs as the trailing unit on CSX Q648 as it passes through the S curve on main two at Nortonville, Ky as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision on its way to Chicago, Illinois.
The late evening light rakes across the base of Mormon Rocks…
October 20, 2008 – The late evening light rakes across the base of Mormon Rocks as UP 5958 and 6266 (ex-Southern Pacific Unit) lead a west bound freight down the Cajon Pass in southern California.
Local legend has it that the rocks were named for the Mormon pioneers who camped here after their descent from the pass ridgeline. Another legend calls the rocks the ‘Chanting Rocks,’ as when the wind would blow across the portholes in the rocks it was said the sound made was similar to a low chanting or singing.
CSX empty ballast train W086 takes the siding at Oak Hill…
April 20, 2020 – CSX empty ballast train W086 takes the siding at Oak Hill as it passes a northbound CSX 502-20 on the main as the ballast train makes heads under the I-69 overpass on its way south on the Henderson Subdivision.
The crew on CSX Geometry inspection train W001…
April 20, 2020 – The crew on CSX Geometry inspection train W001 conducts a roll-by inspection ballast train W086 at the north end of Robards Siding as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at Robards, Kentucky.
CSX Q503 heads south at the Hwy 41 overpass at Mortons Gap, Kentucky
April 23, 2020 – CSXT 805 and 5386 head up CSX Q503 as it heads south at the Hwy 41 overpass at Mortons Gap, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision under stormy skies.
Canadian Pacific 8044 leads an empty phosphate train…
April 20, 2020 – Canadian Pacific 8044 leads an empty phosphate train past the north end of the siding at Slaughters, Kentucky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.
CSX G217 meets Q502 at Oak Hill, Little Valley, Ky
April 20, 2020 – The engineer on loaded grain CSX train G217, keeps his eyes on the track ahead at Oak Hill, between Mortons Gap and Nortonville, Ky, as his train meets Q502 as they both make their way along the Henderson Subdivision.
Geometry Inspection train W001-20 at Robards, Ky
April 20, 2020 – CSXT G213 passes CSXT 6025 heading up Geometry Inspection train W001-20 as they inspect track two, just south of Anaconda at Robards, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision.
On the rear of the trains is the actual track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) which is an automated track inspection vehicle.
It used to test several geometric parameters of the track without obstructing normal railroad operations. Some of the parameters generally measured include position, curvature, alignment of the track, smoothness, and the cross level of the two rails.
It uses a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.
Metra engine 141 heads up an evening commuter train…
February 21, 2020 – Metra engine 141 heads up an evening commuter train as it heads out of Chicago, Illinois toward Norwood Park Station as the late evening light rakes across the downtown skyline.
Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) 2920 at Riverdale, IL
February 22, 2020 – Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) 2920 (SD20 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, Illinois, past the old control tower, as it works on building a train. From what I find online the unit was built in 1959 and was rebuilt by Illinois Central in 1980 from IC 2010. Then it went to NRE in 2/95, and was leased to IHB 9/96, before being purchased by IHB 6/2007.
According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which is double main track) and 266 miles of additional yard and siding track.
The IHB provides a wide variety of services, including industrial switching with 160 customers, generating 170,000 carloads of business annually. The IHB interchanges daily with 16 other rail carriers in Chicago. A growing fleet of approximately 1,400 freight cars is geared predominately to the steel industry. The industrial traffic base includes 4 of the 5 largest steel producers in the U.S. and a large aluminum processor, oil refineries, corn millers, grain elevators, chemical plants, warehouses, lumber transloading, and bulk transfer operations. IHB’s industrial traffic consists of 38% primary metals, 12% chemicals & petroleum products, 11% food products, 8% scrap iron, 7% coal & coke, 6% whole grain, as well as a variety of other products including lumber, paper, and aggregates. The IHB also operates as an intermediate switch carrier between the 12 trunk-line railroads for traffic interchanged between them in Chicago, generating an additional 475,000 revenue cars.
The IHB main line circles Chicago from near O’Hare to Northwest Indiana and roughly parallels Interstate 294 (Tri-state Expressway) and I-80/94. Its primary yard, Blue Island (a 44 class track hump yard) at Riverdale, IL lies in about the center of the railroad. Other major yards includes Gibson (in Hammond, IN) which only classifies cars of new autos and Michigan Avenue Yard (in East Chicago) which serves the extensive steel plants which accounts for IHB’s primary business. From East Chicago, the IHB operates east for an additional 16 miles on trackage rights to access Burns Harbor, IN and Portage, IN, which includes Indiana’s International Port.
CSXT 380 leads empty coal train E013-13 NB at Romney…
April 14, 2020 – CSXT 380 leads empty coal train E013-13 as it passes a weed sprayer crew at CP Romney as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision at Mannington, Ky.
CSXT 7005 leads Q025-17 past a crew working…
April 17, 2020 – CSXT 7005 leads Q025-17 past a crew working on a switch at Anaconda, south of Robards, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision with a stack train.
In case you’re wondering about the “Begin OS sign,” from what I find on the web it is an old time term used by telegraph operators and train dispatchers to indicate that a train has passed a particular location on a subdivision. “OS” means “on sheet” referring to the fact that the train dispatcher has recorded train movement on the train sheet he maintained each 24 hour period. It also means Originating Station, the first station on each subdivision from which a train is authorized to occupy the main track.