Canadian National 3211 and 2866 lead the daily CSX Q532 as it heads through the curve at McKenzie, Tennessee on the CSX Memphis Subdivision as it makes its way to Nashville, TN on May 10th, 2021 from Memphis, TN.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
May 10th, 2021 was my first ever day of chasing on this shortline railroad, the Kentucky-West Tennessee (KWT) Railway. Here we find Z978 (KWT 1809 and 304 leading) as it pulls out of the trees just west of Gleason, Tennessee under stormy skies.
The KWT is owned by the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad who owns or leases 116 railroads across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The KWT Owns or leases 72 miles of track between Kentucky and Tennessee and interchanges with the CSX at Bruceton, TN. It was bought by the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad in 2005.
#trainphotography#railroadphotography#trains#railways#dronephotography#jimpearsonphotography
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
CSXT 3078 leads Q029 southbound as it departs from Casky Yard, after performing a crew change. Here it meets CSXT 5110 leading a northbound freight as it approaches the Casky Holdout switch off the south lead at Hopkinsville, KY on April 22nd, 2021 on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 100mm, f/4.5, 1/1250, ISO 360.
One Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) crew departs the Calvert City Terminal loop with BNSF 6252 leading from the DPU end of a empty coal train as a newly arrived PAL train prepares to drop its load on May 7th, 2021 at Calvert City, Kentucky.
Calvert City Terminal is located at Mile 14 on the lower Tennessee River, near its confluence with the Ohio River, Calvert City Terminal is strategically located on the Paducah and Louisville Railroad in a large industrial park at Calvert City, Kentucky. This central location provides ready access to BNSF, CNIC, UP, NS, and CSX railroads, as well as the Tennessee, Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers.
They provide rail & barge loading, rail & barge unloading, short and long-term storage, and material blending services.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/730, ISO 100.
CSX K650 makes its way past the north end of the siding at Kelly, Kentucky as CN 5759, BCRAIL 4646 and CN 5618 lead the way on May 12th, 2021 on the Henderson Subdivision with a load of ethanol.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
Something you don’t see very often is a SD40-2 leading on a train such as this loaded ethanol K423 train on April 18th, 2021 departing from Springfield, TN as it leads two Canadian Pacific units south on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.
CSXT 5419 heads up work train J056 as it heads south across the bridge on the Tennessee River at New Johnsonville, Tennessee on the CSX Bruceton Subdivision.
This railroad bridge crosses over the Tennessee River at New Johnsonville, TN and connects Humpreys and Benton Counties and runs next to the Hickman Lockhart Memorial highway Bridge. It is a multiple through truss bridge with vertical lift section for barge traffic, was built in 1945, and still in use.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
Paducah and Louisville Railways specialty painted University of Kentucky unit 2012 leads a loaded coal train through the unloading pit at Calvert City Terminal as it prepares to unload its coal on May 7th, 2021 at Calvert City, Kentucky.
Calvert City Terminal is located at Mile 14 on the lower Tennessee River, near its confluence with the Ohio River, Calvert City Terminal is strategically located on the Paducah and Louisville Railroad in a large industrial park at Calvert City, Kentucky. This central location provides ready access to BNSF, CNIC, UP, NS, and CSX railroads, as well as the Tennessee, Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
On May 5th, 2021 CSX hot intermodal Q029-05 is framed by trees as it passes under the highway 41 overpass as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at Adams, Tennessee.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 with a 1.4 teleconverter @ 750mm, f/8.5, 1/250, ISO 1000.
CSX Q533, with CSXT 3319 and 833 leading, pull past CSXT Operation Red Block Caboose 900068 (Cross Tracks Safely), after dropping a string of 27 cars off in the yard at New Johnsonville, Tennessee on the CSX Bruceton Subdivision during its daily run between Nashville and Memphis, TN.
According to the CSX Website: Operation RedBlock is CSX’s Drug and Alcohol Peer Prevention Program that is a union-initiated, management-supported program that uses peer involvement to prevent employee use of alcohol and/or drugs while on duty or subject to call. More than 3,000 operating employees at CSX are trained as prevention committee volunteers. Volunteers initiate activities and projects designed to educate co-workers about Operation RedBlock.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/400, ISO 100.
In a scene that’s repeated all across the world, everyday on different railroads, two freight trains pass each other on May 10th, 2021 on the Canadian Nationals Fulton Subdivision as they meet at Rives, TN at dusk.
CN 3281 brings up the DPU end of a southbound iron ore train as it holds in the siding while a very short and fast local passes, with CN 4908 leading the way as it returns to the CN yard at Fulton, Kentucky.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 185mm, f/5, 1/250, ISO 1000.
Ohio River Scenic Railway BUGX 1752 (EMD FP9A) leads the last train of the day, on May 1st, 2021, as it approaches the Ohio River Flood Wall opening at Tell City, Indiana as the late evening sun rakes across the landscape with its string of passenger cars.
BUGX 1752 is an ex-CN Rebuilt EMD that is leased now by the Ohio River Scenic Railway from Dieselmotive Company of Northern California. It is a former Canadian National FP9A unit, which was recently sold by Pioneer RailCorp affiliate Keokuk Junction Railway to Dieselmotive and has become one of their lease units.
Ohio River Scenic Railway is headquartered out of Tell City, Indiana and they run through Perry and Spencer Counties in southern Indiana on the weekends. For more and updated information visit their website at https://www.ohiorivertrain.com/ and take a ride behind this beautiful locomotive!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm @ 550mm, f/6.5, 1/1250, ISO 1000.
Today was my first ever catch of this shortline railroad, the Kentucky-West Tennessee (KWT) Railway. Here we find Z978 as it pulls through a tunnel of trees and undulating tracks as it departs Dresden, Tennessee on May 10th, 2021 on the KWT’s run between Dresden and McKenzie, Tennessee.
The KWT is owned by the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad who owns or leases 116 railroads across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The KWT Owns or leases 72 miles of track between Kentucky and Tennessee and interchanges with the CSX at Bruceton, TN. It was bought by the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad in 2005.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600mm with a 1.4 teleconverter @ 850mm, f/9, 1/500, ISO 900.
Ohio River Scenic Railway BUGX 1752 (EMD FP9A) leads the last train of the day, on May 1st, 2021, as it waits to depart from Troy, Indiana from downtown, where their passengers were allowed to disembark for a walk around the riverfront and downtown.
BUGX 1752 is an ex-CN Rebuilt EMD that is leased now by the Ohio River Scenic Railway from Dieselmotive Company of Northern California. It is a former Canadian National FP9A unit, which was recently sold by Pioneer RailCorp affiliate Keokuk Junction Railway to Dieselmotive and has become one of their lease units.
Ohio River Scenic Railway is headquartered out of Tell City, Indiana and they run through Perry and Spencer Counties in southern Indiana on the weekends. For more and updated information visit their website at https://www.ohiorivertrain.com/ and take a ride behind this beautiful locomotive!
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.
The American Duchess, a river cruise paddle-wheeler owned and operated by American Queen Steamboat Company passes under southbound Canadian National U72481-05 on the bridge over the Ohio River between Metropolis, IL and West Paducah, KY. U72481-05 is carrying a load of Iron ore from Keenan, MN to Convent, LA on the CN Bluford Subdivision.
According to Wikipedia: The American Duchess is a river cruise paddle-wheeler owned and operated by American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC). It is the third addition to their fleet and is advertised as being the most luxurious option of the line’s vessels. The riverboat’s itineraries include routes on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, and Illinois Rivers.
Before it was American Duchess, this vessel was originally designed and built for Isle of Capri Casinos as a casino boat named Bettendorf Capri.
After going land-based, Isle of Capri sold the paddle-wheeler to AQSC in 2016. On October 16, 2016, Bettendorf locals gathered on the levee to give their farewell to the 21-year-old casino boat and watched her pull off the riverbank to sail south to undergo her reconstruction.
Contracted to Bollinger Shipyards in Morgan City, Louisiana, the vessel would be gutted, remodeled, and relaunched as a river cruise liner the following year. The conversion from a casino boat to an overnight passenger vessel involved the removal of over 1,000 slot machine bases and 1,200 steel chairs, the construction of new dividing walls to form 83 passenger cabins, the addition of a crew hold, a completely new interior layout and design, modifications to propulsion and a new exterior paint job.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 2013 (University of Louisville Unit) and 4518 lead the Louisville Gas and Electric (LG1) as it snakes its way out of the Warrior Coal loadout on May 8th, 2021 at Nebo, Kentucky on the 2021 National Train Day.
According to the Web: National Train Day is a holiday thats honors the history of the train in the U.S and promotes rail travel for all Americans. Its observed annually on the Saturday closest to the 10th of May every year and is an opportunity for everyone to learn about how trains have revolutionized civilization and united a country at the same time.
National Train Day was invented in May of 2008 by Amtrak. They wanted a way to promote rail travel, to spread information about trains to the public, and to reiterate the history of trains, so they invented this holiday. In 2011, Amtrak used the holiday as a part of its 40th-anniversary celebration. Amtrak discontinued National Train Day in 2015 to replace it with Amtrak Train Days, but people all over the world continue to celebrate this holiday as it was originally imagined.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/240, ISO 100.
CSX Q647 rolls past the head end of CSX K442 at the north end of the siding at Rankin, Kentucky as it makes its way south on the Henderson Subdivision on May 7th, 2021 where it prepares to pass Progress Rail 7205 (SD70ACe-T4), trailing behind Canadian Pacific 9736.
According to Wikipedia: Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products, and diesel engines for the rail industry.
The company is owned by Caterpillar through its subsidiary Progress Rail. Electro-Motive Diesel traces its roots to the Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation, a designer and marketer of gasoline-electric self-propelled rail cars founded in 1922 and later renamed Electro-Motive Company.
In 1930, General Motors purchased Electro-Motive Company and the Winton Engine Co. and in 1941 expanded EMC’s realm to locomotive engine manufacturing as Electro-Motive Division.
In 2005, GM sold EMD to Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners, which formed Electro-Motive Diesel to facilitate the purchase. In 2010, Progress Rail completed the purchase of Electro-Motive Diesel from Greenbriar, Berkshire, and others.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
We get trains on the CSX Henderson Subdivision from time to time that haul windmill motors and housings, but this is the first I can recall being led by a Canadian National and Union Pacific locomotive!
It was early morning on May 4th, 2021 when I first heard that this train was finally making its way up the Henderson Subdivision from Nashville, Tennessee. I found this out after I had already committed to going to Evansville, Indiana to chase CSX W992-28, the high and wide move that was tied down at Harwood Siding in Evansville.
Well, after getting there and sitting waiting for a crew (it had been there more than 12hrs) I decided if I wanted a chance to catch a shot and video of W986 that I needed to head back south.
Of course, I did catch the high and wide move the next day and if you haven’t already you can see a shot of it on any of my sites and a video will be coming soon, but back to W986.
I had planned to catch this train at Rahm where it comes across the Ohio river into Evansville, but with the weather and darkening skies I decided not to chance missing it where I could get a shot with my drone, so I made my way to the north end of Anaconda at Robards, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision and caught it heading south there with CN 2852 leading.
As you can tell from the photo the light was fading fast and the train was moving fast! I didnt have time to do much more than get the drone up and in position before the train hit this spot. If I had gotten there a bit earlier, I probably would have boosted my ISO a little, to up the shutter speed, but actually I think I like the little bit of motion blur on the lead unit as it gives a feeling of speed! Details below on the Tech stuff!
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/80, ISO 100.
When you’re running at 25 mph and only 5 mph through switches, it pretty much takes forever to get anywhere as with CSX W992-28 as it heads south across the Red River trestle at Adams, Tennessee on the CSX Henderson Subdivision with CSXT #9 leading on May 5th, 2021. It left Evansville, Indiana around midnight and ended up tying down at Courtland, TN where it covered 125 miles in about 12 hours.
Based on past moves this looks like another GE generator that is bound for Florida. Still trying to find out and will add it to the caption once I do.
This was an Emmert International train move with CSXT #9 as power and BBCX 1002 as the trailing manned caboose with what appeared to be a steam generator of some sort that was being hauled on their BBCX1000 Schnabel Railcar.
According to the Emmert International website: “Emmert International’s BBCX1000 Schnabel Railcar is specifically designed to carry heavy (up to 1 million pounds) and oversized loads in such a way that the load itself makes up part of the car. The load is suspended between the two ends of the cars by lifting arms; the lifting arms are connected to a pivot above an assembly of pivots and frames that carry the weight of the load and the lifting arm.”
For loads not designed to be part of the car Emmert International’s BBCX1000 is equipped with a deck designed to carry the loads in standard configuration up to 836,000 pounds. Customized decks can be manufactured to increase the overall payload weight.
Emmert International’s BBCX1000 is equipped with hydraulic equipment that will either lift the load vertically or horizontally shift the load while in transit to clear obstructions along the cars route.
With 20 axles (ten for each half) containing four trucks connected by a complex system of span bolsters its tare (unloaded) weight without deck is 424,000 lbs. The BBCX1000’s empty car length is 115′ 10″ with a maximum length with the loading deck at 168′ 9″. Maximum vertical load shifting ability is 14″ and the maximum horizontal load shifting ability is 22″. The heavy-duty AAR railcar mechanical designation is LS.
Emmert Internationals BBCX1000 Schnabel Railcar is accompanied by the BBCX 1002 Caboose and BBCX1003 flat car that carries the deck when not in service. The
BBCX1000 is pulled by special train service and requires 2 operators who control the BBCX 1000 railcar ride in the caboose.
I’ll be posting a video on this move in a few days on my YouTube Channel and here on Facebook, once I get it edited.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 200.
On May 1st, 2021 I chased the BUGX 1752 between Tell City and Troy, Indiana for my first time on the Ohio River Scenic Railway with good friend Ryan Scott! This nose shot photograph was shot as Infrared and really like the way it turned out!
Last fall I started dabbling into the realm of Infrared (IR) photography, specifically to apply it to railroad photography, but with the onset of winter I put it on the back burner as IR just doesnt work as well without the greenery, at least for what I want.
I even started a group here on Facebook for Infrared Train Photography if any of my subscribers are interested in the technique!
BUGX 1752 is an ex-CN Rebuilt EMD that is leased now by the Ohio River Scenic Railway from Dieselmotive Company of Northern California. It is a former Canadian National FP9A unit, which was recently sold by Pioneer RailCorp affiliate Keokuk Junction Railway to Dieselmotive and has become one of their lease units.
Tech Info: Fuji X-T1, RAW, 18-35 @18mm. f/5.6, 1/40, ISO 3200 with a 720nm IR Filter.
Just something you don’t see much these days is a caboose on the end of a train, such as here where the B&Q 185th Anniversary Caboose bringing up the rear of CSX Q0648 as it passes the signal at the north end of Gibson Siding at Princeton, Indiana on the CSX CE&D Subdivision on May 1st, 2021.
I still remember as clear as day the times when this was an everyday occurrence and even manned with a crew, but today, it’s a rare occurrence and almost never with a crew. Mostly they’re in museums or used as shoving platforms for a crew when they’re working a yard or industrial complex that requires the conductor to ride on the end of the train as the engine shoves the train.
According to Wikipedia: A caboose is a manned North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damage to equipment and cargo, and overheating axles.
Originally flatcars fitted with cabins or modified box cars, they later became purpose-built with projections above or to the sides of the car to allow crew to observe the train from shelter. The caboose also served as the conductor’s office, and on long routes included sleeping accommodations and cooking facilities.
A similar railroad car, the brake van, was used on British and Commonwealth railways (the role has since been replaced by the crew car in Australia). On trains not fitted with continuous brakes, brake vans provided a supplementary braking system, and they helped keep chain couplings taut.
Cabooses were used on every freight train in the United States until the 1980s, when safety laws requiring the presence of cabooses and full crews were relaxed. Developments in monitoring and safety technology, such as lineside defect detectors and end-of-train devices, resulted in crew reductions and the phasing out of caboose cars. Nowadays, they are generally only used on rail maintenance or hazardous materials trains, as a platform for crew on industrial spur lines when it is required to make long reverse movements, or on heritage and tourist railroads.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100.