WEB-07.25.19 CATS LYNX arriving at 25th Street, Charolette, NC

Charlotte Area Transit System Blue line train…

July 25, 2019 – A Charlotte Area Transit System Blue line train approaches the 25th Street Station in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to Wikipedia… The Lynx Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 19.3-mile (31.1 km) line goes from its northern terminus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in University City through NoDa, Uptown, and South End then paralleling South Boulevard to its southern terminus just north of Interstate 485 at the Pineville city limits. There are 26 stations in the system, the light rail portion of which carries an average of over 23,200 passenger trips every day. It is the first major rapid rail service of any kind in North Carolina, and began operating seventy years after the previous Charlotte streetcar system was disbanded in 1938, in favor of motorized bus transit. It opened on November 24, 2007 between I-485/South Boulevard and 7th Street as the first rail line of the Charlotte Area Transit System. Fares were not collected as part of the opening celebration. Regular service with fare collection commenced the next day.

WEB-07.25.19 The Firebird 1, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Charlotte, NC

Devotees call her “Firebird,” “Disco Chicken,” even “Big Bird”

July 25, 2019 – Devotees call her “Firebird,” “Disco Chicken,” even “Big Bird” but her proper name is “Le Grand Oiseau de Feu Sur l’Arche,” or “The Large Bird of Fire on the Arch.” I captured this Long Exposure view of her late last night outside the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.

WEB-07.24.19 CSX Q583 NB on Monroe Sub under NS SB Line at Catawba, SC

CSXT 3184 leads Q583, under the NS SB Line…

July 24, 2019 – CSXT 3184 leads Q583, under the NS SB Line at Catawba, South Carolina as it heads north on the Monroe Subdivision. I missed a over and under shot by about 5 minutes with an unusual afternoon P83 move on the NS line, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

WEB-07.23.19 L&C Railroad train 12 & 14 at yardl, Richburg, SC

Lancaster and Chester Railroad train 14…

July 23, 2019 – Lancaster and Chester Railroad train 14, with 2829 leading, picks up their eastbound loads at the yard in Richburg, South Carolina as train 12, with 7092 leading, waits in the siding so it can begin its return westbound move.

WEB-07.06.19 CSX Q028-06 NB at South Latham 2, Hopkinsville, Ky

CSX Q028-06 passes through the signals…

July 6, 2019 – CSX Q028-06 passes through the signals at the north end of Latham Siding at Hopkinsville, Kentucky as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision.

11

Looking up!

July 20, 2019 – Today as I and fellow photographer, Tom Wortham, were waiting to judge a photography contest at Dixon in Webster County, Kentucky, I found another light for my ongoing series. Hope you enjoy!

WEB-07.13.19 NS 167 EB at East Douglas, Princeton, IN

Norfolk Southern 167 pulls out of the east end…

July 13, 2019 – Norfolk Southern 167 pulls out of the east end of the Princeton, Indiana yard at East Douglas, as it pulled up to County Road 350 where it waited for two westbounds to pass, before it continued east on the NS Southern East District.

67303687_2839906276024251_1847806561234190336_o

BNSF 7726 leads a manifest train up the Cajon Pass…

September 27, 2011 – BNSF 7726 leads a manifest train up the Cajon Pass as the sun dips low in the sky on its way east on the Cajon Subdivision, just below the famous Hill 582, below the Cajon Summit in southern California.

WEB-07.09.19 CSX SB Grain, Center Street, Madisonville, Ky

CSXT 3091 and 3088 lead a loaded grain train…

July 9, 2019 – CSXT 3091 and 3088 lead a loaded grain train through the Center Street crossing in downtown Madisonville, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision, on a beautiful summer afternoon.

WEB-07.10.19 CSX W222-10 NB at Mortons Junction, Mortons Gap, Ky

CSXT 226 leads CSX W222-10…

July 10, 2019 – CSXT 226 leads CSX W222-10 as it splits the signals at Mortons Junction as it pulls north on the Henderson Subdivision at Mortons Gap, Kentucky.

WEB-07.13.19 NS 71T loaded coal at East Douglas, Princeton, IN

Norfolk Southern loaded coal train 71T…

July 13, 2019 – Norfolk Southern loaded coal train 71T snakes its way down the grade at East Douglas on the NS Southern-East District at Princeton, Indiana as it heads for Duke Energy at Mt. Carmel, Illinois.

WEB-07.15.19 LoRam Ditcher working at South Atkinson, Madisonville, Ky

LoRam Badger Ditching machine, DC-2…

July 15, 2019 – LoRam Badger Ditching machine, DC-2, works along the power siding at the south end of CSX’s Atkinson Yard at Madisonville, Kentucky, as it works its way north on the Henderson Subdivision.

According to the Loram website: The Badger Ditcher is a self-propelled ditch cleaner that is capable of moving 1,000 tons of material every hour, excavating at up to 22 feet from the center of the track. The Loram ditch cleaner creates a properly sloped ditch that intercepts and diverts water away from the track. The ditcher’s high-speed, high-performance ditching wheel digs in and picks up mud and water. As the wheel digs the ditch, water begins to flow.

The Badger Ditcher helps manage, remedy and prevent the damaging effects from a host of penetrating water sources, including direct precipitation, groundwater migration, springs and trapped water, saturation and seepage. Ditch maintenance best practices using the Badger Ditcher lets railroads improve vital drainage for the subgrade, lower the water table, control run-off and promote free flow from the ballast section that can extend the effective duration of undercutting and ballast cleaning cycles.

WEB-07.13.19 NS 167 EB at Lyle Station, Princeton, IN

NS 167, led by NS 9412, passes Consolidated Grain and Barge Company…

July 13, 2019 – NS 167, led by NS 9412, passes Consolidated Grain and Barge Company at Lyles Station, MP 157, as it heads east on the NS Southern West District at Lyles Station, Indiana.

According to Wikipedia, Lyles or Lyles Station is an unincorporated community in Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana. The community dates from 1849, although its early settlers first arrived in the 1830s, and it was formally named Lyles Station in 1886 to honor Joshua Lyles, a free African American who migrated with his family from Tennessee to Indiana around 1837. Lyles Station is one of Indiana’s early black rural settlements and the only one remaining.

The rural settlement reached its peak in the years between 1880 and 1912, when major structures in the community included the railroad depot, a post office, a lumber mill, two general stores, two churches, and a school. By the turn of the twentieth century,

Lyles Station had fifty-five homes, with a population of more than 800 people. The farming community never fully recovered from the Great Flood of 1913, which destroyed much of the town. Most of its residents left for economic reasons, seeking opportunities for higher paying jobs and additional education in larger cities.

By 1997 approximately fifteen families remained at Lyles Station, nearly all of them descended from the original settlers.