Railfanning the Paducah and Louisville Railway

March 27, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville Railway’s “Salute the Troops” engine 2121 with 3807 trailing sits tied down at West Yards in Madisonville, Ky. It’s been working a ballast train that’s part of a MOW crew which has been working the area for a couple weeks now.

I’ve added a new page under my Railfanning section on Railfanning the Paducah and Louisville Railroad.

This is by no means a complete list of places to shoot along the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL). I’ll update this list as time goes by. If you have a favorite spot send me a google map link and I’ll add it to the list. I know there’s a bunch around Louisville and Paducah I haven’t found yet.

NS runs trains via Louisville on the PAL to Madisonville to pick up coal, usually at Warrior in Nebo, Ky. CSX, UP and NS run coal/coke trains between Madisonville and Calvert City, Ky to the coal loadout there. BNSF and UP I’ve found running to Calvert City also from Paducah.

For the most part the Paducah and Louisville Railway follows Highway 62 most of the way between Paducah and Louisville, Ky. It does leave it from time to time, but it always comes back to 62. If you keep in mind which side of the highway the tracks are on you can take side roads to check out the crossings. There’s many of them I haven’t listed here. These are my favorites from a picture standpoint. (Click here for More)

CSX X581-24 SB at Kelly, Ky

July 24, 2017 – CSX X581-24 CITIRAIL 1511 leads a loaded manifest train, with 4 CSX and 1 UP unit trailing, south through the signals at the north end of Kelly Siding at Kelly, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision.

CSX R530 SB with UP power, Nortonville. Ky

July 25, 2017 – CSX R530, running with Union Pacific Power, snakes its way through the curve approaching the north end of Romney where it will take the siding to wait for hot intermodal Q028 to pass, at Nortonville, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.

PAL Switching at West Yard, Madisonville, Ky

July 19, 2017 – Paducah and Louisville Railway 2129 backs into West Yard at Madisonville, Ky as it works on building a southbound local, as a set of light engines waits on the main.

NS 7317 NB on Warrior Lead at Madisonville, Ky

July 5, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 7317 leads a loaded coal train down the Warrior Wye, approaching the Pleasantview Road overpass as it heads to the Paducah and Louisville Railway main to where it will continue north from Madisonville, Ky.

NS 8160 loaded coal at West Yard, Madisonville, Ky

July 19, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 8160 leads a loaded coal train off the Warrior Wye onto the Paducah and Louisville main heading north at Madisonville, Ky as a PAL local, with 2112 leading, waits to head north behind it.

CSX Q647 SB at Casky, Hopkinsville, Ky

July 13, 2017 – CSX Q647 with CSXT 65 leading, heads south past Casky Holdout at Hopkinsville, Ky as it passes CSX 7789 leading a mixed freight, on the Henderson Subdivision.

CSX Q025 SB at Pembroke, Ky

July 13, 2017 – CSX Q025 passes the signals at the south end of Pembroke, Ky as it heads south with it’s hot intermodal train on the Henderson Subdivision as Q647 works a pickup in the Casky Yard in the distance at Hopkinsville, Ky.

CSX Q513-12 SB at Nortonville, Ky

July 13, 2017 – CSX Q513-12 passes through the cut leading up to the north end of Romney siding as it makes it’s way south on the Henderson Subdivision at Nortonville, Ky.

CSX Q647 SB at Earlington, Ky

July 13, 2017 – CSX Q647 with CSXT 65 leading, heads south through Earlington, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision.

CSX Q512-12 NB at Nortonville, Ky

July 13, 2017 – CSX Q512-12 passes CSX construction crews as they pull out of the siding at the north end of Romney at Nortonville, Ky heading north on the Henderson Subdivision. The construction crews are continuing work on creating a two track main by joining the sidings at Romney and Nortonville.

CSX Q515 SB at McDonald Rd, Sebree, Ky

July 4, 2017 – CSX Q515 (Indianapolis, IN – Waycross, GA), with CSX 291 leading, approaches the McDonald Rd Crossing, north of Sebree, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.

CSX Q580 NB at McDonald Rd, Sebree, Ky

July 4, 2017 – CSX Q580 (Hamlet, NC – Evansville, IN), with Union Pacific 5111 and 7474 as power, approaches the McDonald Rd Crossing, north of Sebree, Ky as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision.

NS 7317 NB off Warrior Wye at Madisonville, Ky

July 5, 2017 – Norfolk Southern 7317 leads a loaded coal train off the Warrior Wye, during a light rain, onto the Paducah and Louisville Railway main as it heads north at Madisonville, Ky.

CSX Q645 with Metra 180, SB at Madisonville, Ky

July 4, 2017 – Thanks to a heads up from Ryan Scott and others to the north, I caught Metra 180, Village of Bensenville, as the trailing unit on CSX Q645 as it headed south on the Henderson Subdivision through Madisonville, Ky.

CSX Q572-26 NB at N. Romney, Nortonville, Ky

June 28, 2017 – CSX Q572-26 snakes its way through the curve just north of Romney siding as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision past construction that will join the two sidings at Nortonville, Ky together and create a two track main.