This week’s Saturday Infrared photo is of CSX local L391 as it approaches the US 41 overpass at Mortons Gap, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision on its way south to Hopkinsville, KY after doing it’s work at Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Ky on May 5th, 2022.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 50mm, f/4.5, 1/110, ISO 200.
Cass Scenic Railway Shay locomotive number 11, (C-90-3) passes through the crossing at Back Mountain Road as it starts the climb up the mountain, during the Cass Rail Heritage Photography Weekend, at Cass, West Virginia on November 5th, 2022
Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now WestRock), Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet (of lumber during its lifetime. In 1901 work started on the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge railroad, which climbs Back Allegheny Mountain.
The railroad eventually reached a meadow area, now known as Whittaker Station, where a logging camp was established for the immigrants who were building the railroad. The railroad soon reached the top of Gobblers Knob, and then a location on top of the mountain known as ‘Spruce’. The railroad built a small town at that location, complete with a company store, houses, a hotel, and a doctor’s office. Work soon commenced on logging the red spruce trees, which grew in the higher elevations.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/4, 1/640, ISO 220.
CSXT 1776, Honoring our Veterans Unit leads CSX I028 northbound through downtown Sebree, KY, on the Henderson Subdivision on November 30th, 2022 with a loaded intermodal train.
On April 30, 2019, CSX unveiled locomotives 911 and this one, 1776. The two locomotives were created to honor the first responders and veterans. Another special unit, CSX 3194, was unveiled on August 22, 2019, in honor of the law enforcement.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone, RAW, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 110.
Canadian National 2233 and Union Pacific 7845 head up a southbound grain train as the daily BNSF local sits on the track to the left waiting to head north at Chiles Junction in West Paducah, Kentucky on November 23rd, 2022. The BNSF local has just dropped off and picked up its interchange work with the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Paducah and waiting its turn to head across the Ohio River toward Metropolis, Illinois.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100.
CSXT 993 heads up CSX intermodal I028 as it passes M513, in the siding, at the north end of Slaughters, Ky as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision on January 4th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
CSXT 3368 and 4538 head up a very long loaded coal train, C015, as it approaches Pembroke, Kentucky on January 12th, 2022, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision out of Casky Yard at Hopkinsville, Ky. The coal on this train comes from White Oak Mine on the Evansville Western Railway in Indiana and runs back to the Seminole Electric Seminole Generating Station at Bostwick, FL.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 110.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 4516 and 4503 pull their empty coal train under the coaling temple at the Warrior Coal Mine loop, outside of Nebo, Kentucky as they prepare to load another train bound for the Louisville Gas & Electric power plant, outside of Louisville, Ky on January 12th, 2023.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 100, -.7 stop.
This week’s Saturday Infrared photo is of Cass Scenic Railway Shay locomotive number 11, (C-90-3) heads upgrade through the forest during the Rail Heritage Photography Weekend photo shoot at Cass, West Virginia on November 5th, 2022.
According to Wikipedia: Cass Scenic Railroad, is an 11-mile (18 km) long heritage railway owned by the West Virginia State Rail Authority and operated by the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad. The park also includes the former company town of Cass and a portion of the summit of Bald Knob, the highest point on Back Allegheny Mountain.
Founded in 1901 by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (now WestRock), Cass was built as a company town to serve the needs of the men who worked in the nearby mountains cutting spruce and hemlock for the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company, a subsidiary of WVP&P. At one time, the sawmill at Cass was the largest double-band sawmill in the world. It processed an estimated 1.25 billion board feet (104,000,000 cu ft; 2,950,000 m3) of lumber during its lifetime. In 1901 work started on the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railroad, which climbs Back Allegheny Mountain.
The railroad eventually reached a meadow area, now known as Whittaker Station, where a logging camp was established for the immigrants who were building the railroad. The railroad soon reached the top of Gobblers Knob, and then a location on top of the mountain known as ‘Spruce’. The railroad built a small town at that location, complete with a company store, houses, a hotel, and a doctor’s office. Work soon commenced on logging the red spruce trees, which grew in the higher elevations.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 10-24 @ 13mm, f/4, 1/180, ISO 500.
The 1880 Train, Black Hills Central Railroad locomotive crew on 108 rounds a curve as they head through the Black Hills on the way to Keystone, SD on May 30th, 2022, under stormy skies.
According to their website: Locomotive #108 joined its nearly identical twin, #110, at the beginning of the 2020 season following a four-year restoration. It is a 2-6-6-2T articulated tank engine that was built by the Baldwin Locomotives Works in 1926 for the Potlatch Lumber Company. It later made its way to Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and eventually to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington.
The acquisition and subsequent restoration of locomotive #108 completed a more than 20-year goal of increasing passenger capacity which began with the restoration of #110 and the restoration of multiple passenger cars. Both large Mallet locomotives (pronounced “Malley”) can pull a full train of seven authentically restored passenger cars, up from the four cars utilized prior to their addition to the roster.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 110.
Nickel Plate Road (NKP) 765 leads the American History Train as they begin to run out of Pleasant Lake, Indiana along the Indiana Northeastern Railroad, as they head back to Angola, Indiana to pick up another load of passengers on September 24th, 2022.
NKP 765 was pulling the American History Train between Pleasant Lake from Angola, Indiana during the annual American History Days Festival. It took guests back to the 1940s for a living history experience. The passengers then got a 45-minute layover at Pleasant Lake where they visited with WWII reenactors, listened to live music and much more.
According to Wikipedia: Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class “S-2” 2-8-4 “Berkshire” type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the “Nickel Plate Road”.
No. 765 continues to operate in mainline excursion service and is owned and maintained by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and was also added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 1996.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/3000, ISO 130.
Saturday, October 29th, 2022, the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) ran their Office Car Special (OCS) between Calvert City, Kentucky to just north of Barkley Dam to the railroad location known as Eureka, about 10 miles round trip. This event was in conjunction with their company picnic at Calvert City and the passengers were employees and their families. Here we catch them as they cross Barkley Dam at Grand Rivers, Kentucky.
The consist was led by their 35th anniversary units PAL 2021 and 1986, followed by PAL 10, a generator car, built from an ex-L&N Milk Car that was manufactured in January 1958. Next was PAL II – lounge car or diner car from what I can find online, then PAL 1 “Bluegrass State I” business or lounge car, (ex-ICG 2, exx-IC 6, exxx-16). If anyone has more information on these cars, Id apricate your comments. The trailing engine is PAL 2127, Salute to our Troops locomotive, which led the train heading southbound to Calvert City, KY.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 120.
With the wigwag signals swinging, Nevada Northern Railway steam locomotive 93 begins to pull a string of ore cars through a crossing at Ely, Nevada, during the museums 2022 Winter Photo Charter event on February 12th, 2022.
According to Wikipedia: The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
Wigwag is a nickname for a type of railroad grade crossing signal once common in North America, referring to its pendulum-like motion that signaled the approach of a train. The device is generally credited to Albert Hunt, a mechanical engineer at Southern California’s Pacific Electric (PE) interurban streetcar railroad, who invented it in 1909 for safer railroad grade crossings. The term should not be confused with its usage in Britain, where “wigwag” generally refers to alternate flashing lights, such as those found at modern level crossings.
According to the NNRY website, #93 is a 2-8-0 that was built by the American Locomotive Company in January of 1909 at a cost of $17,610. It was the last steam locomotive to retire from original revenue service on the Nevada Northern Railway in 1961 and was restored back into service in 1993.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @ 19mm, f/7.1, 1/800, ISO 110.
Nevada Northern Railway engine 93 backs through the yard from the engine house to the coaling tower and water tank as engineer Jim Montague watches his fireman, Will Ebbert, finishes throwing a switch.
They were moving the engine into place to get things lined up for the museums Winter Photo Charter night shoot at Ely, Nevada, as the setting sun, bathed the scene in dramatic light on the evening of February 11th, 2022.
Locomotive #93 is a 2-8-0 that was built by the American Locomotive Company in January of 1909 at a cost of $17,610. It was the last steam locomotive to retire from original revenue service on the Nevada Northern Railway in 1961 and was restored to service in 1993.
According to Wikipedia: “The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon Sigma 150-600mm @ 280mm, f/5.6, 1/800, ISO 360.
Meadow River Lumber Company steam locomotive, Heisler No. 6, leads a freight train past a wetlands area at Hosterman, West Virginia during the Mountain Rail WV, Rail Heritage Photography Weekend. The event was held at the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, Durbin, WV, and Cass Scenic Railroad, Cass, WV, from November 4-6th, 2022.
According to Wikipedia: The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad (reporting mark DGVR) is a heritage and freight railroad in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It operates the West Virginia State Rail Authority-owned Durbin Railroad and West Virginia Central Railroad (reporting mark WVC), as well as the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in Virginia.
Beginning in 2015, DGVR began operating the historic geared steam-powered Cass Scenic Railroad, which was previously operated by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources as part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Saturday Infrared photo – Drama is one of the major things I like about the look of black and white Infrared photography of trains! It produces a great look for that I love, as with this shot of empty CSX grain express train, G304 as it rounds the curve coming into downtown Mortons Gap, Kentucky shows as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 18-250 @ 22mm, f/4, 1/550, ISO 200.
Mower Lumber Company steam locomotive, Shay No. 2, heads through the countryside, outside Cass, West Virginia, with a short freight train, on November 6th, 2022, during the Mountain Rail WV, Rail Heritage Photography Weekend at the Cass Scenic Railroad, Cass, WV, from November 4-6th, 2022.
According to the Cass website: Shay #2, a Pacific Coast Shay, was constructed in July of 1928 for the Mayo Lumber Company of Paldi, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A Pacific Coast Shay is a souped-up model of the class C-70 3 truck Shay. The Pacific Coast features superheat, a firebox that is 13 inches longer, lower gear ratio, steel cab, cast steel trucks, and steel girder frame. A feature of the steel girder frame is the large opening for exposing stay bolts.
Also, the cylinders were designed so they attached only to the locomotive frame, rather than to the boiler shell as in other Shays. This allowed for easier access and maintenance. #2 is the only Shay of its kind in the east. Shay #2, originally a wood burner, spent its working commercial life with four companies in British Columbia including Lake Logging Company, Cowichan Lake B.C. and Western Forest Industries, Honeymoon Bay, B.C. Later converted to burn oil then rebuilt to burn bituminous coal at Cass, #2 is the only known Shay to have used all three types of fuel. The locomotive ended its career switching cars on Vancouver docks in 1970, making it one of the last commercially used Shays.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-24mm @ 11mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 140.
CSXT 993 leads hot intermodal I028 across the Ohio River from Henderson, Kentucky as it heads north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision at Rahm, Indiana on January 4th, 2022. From here it heads down the long viaduct over the flood plain into Evansville, IN as it makes its run from Duval Yard at Jacksonville, FL to Bedford Park, IL (Chicago).
The CSX Henderson Subdivision is part of the Nashville Division, and it runs between Nashville, Tennessee, and Evansville Indiana for a length of about 145.3 miles of mainline track. On average it sees around 20-30 trains a day, with four of them being hot intermodals.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 120.
CSXT 866 leads a short I026 intermodal (Duval Yard – Jacksonville, FL to Bedford Park, IL) under the North Main Street overpass on January 3rd, 2023, as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision at Madisonville, Kentucky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 100.
Nevada Northern Railway steam locomotive #93 pulls out into the early morning light at Ely, Nevada during the final day of their 3-day Winter Photography Charter on February 12th, 2022.
Locomotive #93 is a 2-8-0 that was built by the American Locomotive Company in January of 1909 at a cost of $17,610. It was the last steam locomotive to retire from original revenue service on the Nevada Northern Railway in 1961 and was restored to service in 1993.
According to Wikipedia: “The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
The museum is situated at the East Ely Yards, which are part of the Nevada Northern Railway. The site is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places as the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops and is also known as the “Nevada Northern Railway Complex”. The rail yards were designated a National Historic Landmark District on September 27, 2006.
The site was cited as one of the best-preserved early 20th-century railroad yards in the nation, and a key component in the growth of the region’s copper mining industry. Developed in the first decade of the 20th century, it served passengers and freight until 1983, when the Kennecott Copper Company, its then-owner, donated the yard to a local non-profit for preservation. The property came complete with all the company records of the Nevada Northern from its inception.”
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-24mm @ 10mm, f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 125.
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