Canadian National 3050 leads a loaded coal train as it passes through Chiles Junction on its way south on the CN Bluford Subdivision at West Paducah, Kentucky on July 23rd, 2021.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
CSX Q026 heads through downtown Mortons Gap, Ky with CSXT 1776, Honoring our Veterans Unit, trailing as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision in this Infrared photograph shot just short of Mortons Junction, where the cut off track that bypasses downtown Earlington and Madisonville, Ky on July 15th, 2021.
I’m really enjoying this new look for me and my railfan work! I hope you are as well!
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Irex 11mm, f/4.5, 1/250, ISO 800.
BNSF 8775 and 5913 lead a loaded coal train through the loop at 4 Rivers Terminal at West Paducah, Kentucky as the terminal’s unit GMTX 2144 sits in a house track during the operation on July 23rd, 2021.
Four Rivers Marine Terminal (FRT) is owned by SCH Services, LLC, and located at West Paducah, KY at Ohio River mile marker 943. Four Rivers has an annual throughput capacity of 10 MM tons. Illinois Basin and Powder River Basin coals are transferred from railcar to barge here.
According to SCH Services Website: It is primarily designed as a direct train-to-barge transfer terminal, FRT offers its customers an unparalleled combination of access to major waterways and multiple Class I railroads. Our connection to the Paducah and Illinois Railroad gives FRT direct access to the BNSF, CN, and PAL railroads. Considering only the modern Olmsted Lock and Dam separates the terminal from the Mississippi River, FRT presents a unique option for rail-bound shipments destined for both southeastern customers and export through New Orleans. Four Rivers Terminal boasts a double, 150-car rail loop, coupled with a material handling system capable of transloading 4,000 tons of dry bulk material per hour.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.
Newly refurbished Eastern Maine Railway (EMRY) 6403, Owned by the New Brunswick Southern Railway (NBSR), trails as the third unit on the northbound Paducah to Centralia, IL BNSF local as it pulls north at Chiles Junction in West Paducah, Kentucky with BNSF 7901 and 6147 leading the way on July 23, 2021.
Locomotive 6403 is the second of six units that are being refurbished by Progress Rail at Mayfield, KY, for NBSR out of Saint John, NB, Canada. The other units are 6402-6406 and they are all SD70M-2 units and were former NS locomotives.
According to Wikipedia: The Eastern Maine Railway Company Limited (reporting mark EMRY) is a 99.5 mi U.S. short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of “Irving Transportation Services”, a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.
EMRY was established as a corporate entity on November 10, 1994, by J.D. Irving Ltd. to purchase the 99.5 mile right of way and physical railway assets of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Mattawamkeag Subdivision rail line within the state of Maine, running from its eastern terminus at the CanadaUnited States border, this being the midpoint of the Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge at Vanceboro, west to Brownville Junction.
Both EMRY and NBSR began operations on January 6, 1995, approximately 1 week after Canadian Pacific Railway abandoned operations of its Canadian Atlantic Railway (CAR) subsidiary on December 31, 1994. In addition to owning the former CPR tracks in Maine, EMRY was an operating entity for the first several months of existence and had running rights over its sister company NBSR’s tracks from the International Boundary east to the yard at McAdam, New Brunswick. In spring 1995 Irving Transportation Services consolidated its railway operations as Eastern Maine Railway Company Limited came under NBSR operational control.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
Running elephant style, NS 9524, 3630, 1078 and 9598 lead train 148 (Avondale Yard – Kansas City, MO to East Yard – Decatur IL) as it passes the old Wabash Station on July 21st, 2021 on the NS Brooklyn District, as it arrives at Decatur, Illinois and approaches the Wabash/IC Crossover, before entering the yard, finishing its daily run.
According to Wikipedia: The Decatur station, also known as the Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency, is a historic railway station located at 780 East Cerro Gordo Street in Decatur, Illinois. Built in 1901, the station served trains on the Wabash Railroad, the most economically significant railroad through Decatur. Architect Theodore Link designed the Classical Revival building. Amtrak discontinued service to the station in the 1983, and it has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Restored in 2002, it is now houses the Wabash Depot Antique Mall and sits close to the WABIC (Wabash – Illinois Central) railroad crossover. During its peak in 1907 there were 72 daily passenger trains, today, there are none that stop here.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
CSXT 3213 snakes its way through the valley after passing through Mortons Junction on June 16th, 2021 as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision at Mortons Gap, Kentucky with its hot intermodal train.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 800.
I love a good S curve, combined with a long lens to help bring in tight for what I refer to as in your face photography rail photography! Throw in the look of Infrared and this is pretty much what I come back with! Its CSXT 946 as it leads CSX Q647 south at Nortonville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision on July 20th, 2021.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 70-300 @ 280mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 400.
I don’t normally railfan on Sunday mornings as I run the live broadcast of our church services, but when I got word that the CSX Law Enforcement locomotive was leading CSX Q025 I was hoping (praying) things would work out where I could get a shot of it coming through the north end of Hanson, KY on the Henderson Subdivision on July 18th, 2021.
My church is about 5 miles from this spot, and I stopped by there early at 10am and set everything up for the live broadcast (5 iPhone Cameras) as I had reports that the train had passed through Henderson, KY at 9:50am and I got to Hanson at 10:30. Eight minutes later the train crested the hill in time for me to capture this infrared view of Q025 passing through the tunnel of trees with my converted Fuji XT-1 and able to make it back to church with 10 minutes to spare, before services began! Answered prayers!
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 400.
CSX Q025 pulls up grade out of the valley with CSXT 3115 leading the way at Mortons Junction on the Henderson Subdivision as it heads south at Mortons Gap, KY in this infrared shot on July 16th, 2021.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Sigma 150-600 @ 300mm, f/8, 1/500, ISO 400.
Well, I finally made the plunge and had my Fuji XT-1 mirrorless camera converted to infrared (IR)! I’ve been toying with this idea for some time as I’ve always loved the look of black and white IR photography and have thought that the subject of railroads would lend themselves to this technique! Even at 71 years old it’s never too late to learn something new! I hope you all enjoy my journey!
In this shot we find CSXT 3313 as pulls off the Earlington cutoff at Mortons Junction at Mortons Gap, Kentucky on its way north on the Henderson Subdivision on July 16th, 2021 with loaded Grain Express train CSX G371.
I’m really loving the starkness that the B&W infrared photography gives me in these images!
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Fuji 18-55 @ 55mm, f/4, 1/1000, ISO 200.
CSXT 6025 leads CSX W001 inspection train as it passes through Mortons Junction at Mortons Gap, Kentucky with Southern Pacific Birch Grove, CSX Florence and TGC2 Geometry Car trailing, as they make their way south on the Henderson Subdivision on July 13, 2021.
Research from a friend reveals: Built by The Budd Company in 1950 as 6 double bedroom, 10 roomette sleeping car 9020 for service on the Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles-New Orleans “Sunset Limited.” The car was acquired by Amtrak in 1971 and renumbered 2696. Converted to Heritage 10-6 sleeper with handicapped roomette in 1980 and renumbered to 2451 and named Birch Grove.
The Car was retired in 1995 and sold to Cincinnati Railway Company. It was upgraded 2002-03 and had a complete interior upgrade in 2005. As of 2014 it was owned by the Cincinnati Railway Company.
CSX purchased the Birch Grove car from the Cincinnati Railway in September of 2020 and from what I find online they plan to use it as part of its executive fleet. They also bought the dome car Moonlight Dome from them for the same reason.
According to Wikipedia: A track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) is an automated track inspection vehicle on a rail transport system used to test several parameters of the track geometry 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. The cars use a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.
One of the earliest track geometry cars was Car T2 used by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Project HISTEP (High-Speed Train Evaluation Program). It was built by the Budd Company for Project HISTEP to evaluate track conditions between Trenton and New Brunswick, NJ, where the DOT had established a section of track for testing high-speed trains, and accordingly, the T2 ran at 150 miles per hour or faster.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
Well, I finally made the plunge and had my Fuji XT-1 mirrorless camera converted to infrared (IR)! Ive been toying with this idea for some time as I’ve always loved the look of black and white IR photography and have thought that the subject of railroads would lend themselves to this technique! Even at 71 years old it’s never too late to learn something new! I hope you all enjoy my journey!
In this shot we find CSXT 322 as it leads a high and wide load of windmill parts consisting of motors and housings as it heads north through downtown Mortons Gap, Kentucky on its way north on the Henderson Subdivision on July 15th, 2021.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, RAW, Irex 11mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 200.
CSXT 6025 leads CSX W001 as it passes through Breton, Kentucky, southbound with Southern Pacific Birch Grove, CSX Florence and TGC2 Geometry Car, as they make their way down the Henderson Subdivision on July 13, 2021.
Research from a friend reveals: Built by The Budd Company in 1950 as 6 double bedroom, 10 roomette sleeping car 9020 for service on the Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles-New Orleans “Sunset Limited.” The car was acquired by Amtrak in 1971 and renumbered 2696. Converted to Heritage 10-6 sleeper with handicapped roomette in 1980 and renumbered to 2451 and named Birch Grove. The Car was retired in 1995 and sold to Cincinnati Railway Company. It was upgraded 2002-03 and had a complete interior upgrade in 2005. As of 2014 it was owned by the Cincinnati Railway Company.
CSX purchased the Birch Grove car from the Cincinnati Railway in September of 2020 and from what I find online they plan to use it as part of its executive fleet. They also bought the dome car Moonlight Dome from them for the same reason.
According to Wikipedia: A track geometry car (also known as a track recording car) is an automated track inspection vehicle on a rail transport system used to test several parameters of the track geometry 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. The cars use a variety of sensors, measuring systems, and data management systems to create a profile of the track being inspected.
One of the earliest track geometry cars was Car T2 used by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Project HISTEP (High-Speed Train Evaluation Program). It was built by the Budd Company for Project HISTEP to evaluate track conditions between Trenton and New Brunswick, NJ, where the DOT had established a section of track for testing high-speed trains, and accordingly, the T2 ran at 150 miles per hour or faster.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
Trainsets from the Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA) WeGo Star, formerly known as the Music City Star sit, tied down in their yard at Lebanon, TN, on the Nashville, and Eastern Railway line.
According to Wikipedia, The WeGo Star is a commuter rail service running between Nashville and Lebanon, Tennessee. The service uses the existing track of the Nashville and Eastern Railroad. The line stops at seven stations: Riverfront, Donelson, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Martha, Hamilton Springs and Lebanon. The operation covers 32 miles of rail line. Service began on September 18, 2006.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
This was my first time chasing the Tennessee Moonshine Sippin’ Excursion Train from the Tennessee Central Railway Museum (TCRX), which operates out of Nashville, TN, on June 12th, 2021. While it was a hot and muggy day, me and fellow railfan Ryan Scott, of Steelrails, had a great time chasing this train from Nashville to Watertown, TN and back, along the Nashville, and Eastern Railway line.
Here Tennessee Central Railway Museums E8 unit, 6902 runs around it’s train at Watertown in preparation for their return trip to Nashville.
According to their website: EMD E8 6902 was built as New York Central 4084 in 1953. This unit would’ve been at the head end of many name trains of the Central’s Great Steel Fleet; including the 20th Century Limited, the Empire State Express, and the Ohio State Limited, among others. The E8 (termed DPA-5e by NYC) would serve in passenger service through the Penn Central merger, and commuter service for New Jersey Transit, before settling down at the New Georgia Railroad in 1992. When the latter operation folded, a museum member purchased this unit for use on the Broadway Dinner Train, which prompted the silver and maroon colors worn today.
Since 1989, TCRM has been running passenger excursions from Nashville to points east such as Lebanon, Watertown, Baxter, Cookeville, and Monterey, Tennessee.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
The nice evening light on the Henderson Subdivision bathes the scene as the CSX Presidents Passenger train P001 starts its run across the Ohio River Bridge at Henderson, KY. CSX GEVO units 3310, 3271 leads with CSXT 1 & 2 trailing as they pull 11 cars at a little over 1,000 ft long. CSX had problems with PTC on CSXT 1 & 2 and thats why they GEVOS led the train on June 10th, 2021.
CSX has repainted two of its F40PH locomotives, to be used on this business train, into predecessor Baltimore & Ohio’s blue, gray, and black paint scheme. CSX1 is former 9998 (former Amtrak 288) and from what I can find out CSXT 2 is the former F40PH 9993 (former Amtrak 395). The other F40s are expected to be painted in the same scheme in the coming months as they are cycled through the shops.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
CSXT 3322 and 322 lead as CSX J801-06 creeps along as it starts to load at the Warrior Coal mine loop, just outside of Nebo, Kentucky on June 7th, 2021 under stormy skies. This train comes out of CSX Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Ky where it will return to after loading and be combined with another loaded coal train of similar length before heading south on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 100.
Canadian National U72481-05 heads southbound over the Ohio River bridge between Metropolis, IL and West Paducah, KY carrying a load of Iron ore from Keenan, MN to Convent, LA on the CN Bluford Subdivision as it and the bridge cast long and deep shadows on the waters below on May 7th, 2021.
According to Wikipedia: The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. First described in 1866, it is the chief iron ore mining district in the United States. The district is located largely in Itasca and Saint Louis counties. It has been extensively worked since 1892 and has seen a transition from high-grade direct shipping ores through gravity concentrates to the current industry exclusively producing iron ore (taconite) pellets.
There are three iron ranges in northern Minnesota, the Cuyuna, the Vermilion, and the Mesabi. Most of the world’s iron ore, including that contained in northern Minnesota, was formed during the middle Precambrian period.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
A loaded Norfolk Southern Duke Energy coal train pulls west from the Charger mine at the HBD-DED Ayrshire just outside Winslow, Indiana as NS 224, a daily Louisville to St. Louis train, waits on the NS Southern East-West District main for it to clear Hatfield Junction on May 1st, 2021.
The lash-up on 224 is Norfolk Southern NS 4096 GE AC44C6M DC to AC Rebuilt (C40-9), NS 1844 EMD SD70ACU DC to AC Rebuilt (SD70), and NS 1068 EMD SD70ACe Erie Heritage Unit and runs daily from Louisville to St. Louis.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
The Canadian National Fulton to Paducah (FUPD) local, led by CN 5485 and 8887, pulls off the Maxon Branch at the CN/PAL diamond in West Paducah, KY as it heads south on the CN Bluford Subdivision on its way back to Fulton, Ky after interchanging with the Paducah and Louisville Railway.
I really love shooting with my long lens, but its something you really have to learn to use, to be affective! Very hot days can be very difficult due to heat distortion causing heat waves through out your photo. Sometime the effect can be good, others not. Im surprised this one came out as well as it did as the temperature was just over 90.
The other thing is how the longer lens can really compress and distort the look of the tracks, which is what it has done here in this shot. This was shot at 850mm with my Sigma 150-600 with a 1.4 teleconverter.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 w/1.4 teleconverter @ 850mm, f/9, 1/2000, ISO 1100.
CSX President’s Passenger train P001 heads south as it passes under the old Louisville and Nashville Railroad coaling towers at Sullivan, IN, on the CE&D Subdivision, with CSX GEVO units 3310, 3271 leading and CSXT 1 & 2 trailing as they pull 11 cars at a little over 1,000ft long southbound on June 10th, 2021. They were leading due to issues with the DPU on the F units, which have since been fixed.
CSX repainted two of its F40PH locomotives, to be used on its business train, into predecessor Baltimore & Ohio’s blue, gray, and black paint scheme. CSX1 is former 9998 (former Amtrak 288) and from what I can find out CSXT 2 is the former F40PH 9993 (former Amtrak 395. The other F40s are expected to be painted in the same scheme in the coming months as they are cycled through the shops.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.