June 27, 2019 – Nashville & Eastern locomotives 8585 and 5939 sit next to RJ Corman 8572 sit outside the shops at their yard in Lebanon, Tennessee. RJ Corman purchased the line last year and took over operations the first of part of 2019. You can’t really tell much from this shot but the engine on the far right has been repainted, but the major change is on the sides of the nose where it has NRE in large letters with Nashville Eastern across the middle and the standard RJC lettering and paint.

According to their press release: R. J. Corman Railroad Company announced the finalization of an agreement to acquire the Nashville & Eastern Railroad Corp. (NERR), Nashville & Western Railroad Corp. (NWR), Transit Solutions Group, a commuter rail operation, and three related operating entities. The closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals, and R. J. Corman is expected to take over operations in January 2019.

The Nashville & Eastern family of companies were founded in 1986, marking the beginning of the restoration of the freight rail operations in central Tennessee. In that year, William Drunsic, president and founder, worked alongside his partners to lease approximately 110 miles of nearly abandoned track from the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Nashville and Eastern Railroad Authority, forming the NERR. In the years since, Mr. Drunsic has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure repairs and improvements, started up operations of the 18-mile NWR, and initiated commuter rail service on the Music City Star.