Indiana Southwestern Railway 912 & 806 at Harwood Yard in Evansville, Indiana


December 26, 2017 – Pioneer Lines PREX 912 (GP9) and 806 (GP8) sit idle in the yard at the Indiana Southwestern Railway at their Harwood Yard in Evansville, Indiana the day after Christmas. I hadn’t been to this location before fellow railfan William Crupper took me by there today. I’m sure someone’s mentioned it before though, perhaps Ryan Scott?

I’d love to catch them out working in the Evansville area sometime. Can anyone tell me when they run their trains and any sort of a schedule when I might catch them leaving? Also, any info on industries they pick-up at would be nice to know as well!

According to Wikipeda: Indiana Southwestern Railway (reporting mark ISW) is a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp, operator of several short-line railroad companies. The ISW is a Class III railroad, and operated on 17 miles of track from Evansville, Indiana, northward to Cynthiana, Indiana. That track is currently out of service but switching still occurs in ISW’s yard and surrounding industries.

The line was originally operated as part of an Illinois Central Railroad line that ran all the way to Newton, Illinois. Illinois Central sold off the line south of Browns, Illinois, to Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation; the line went through a succession of operators, all of which had to contend with the line’s ancient bridge over the Wabash River near Grayville, Illinois. The bridge suffered damage from floods on more than one occasion, and one span finally collapsed completely around 1999.

Pioneer bought the line and its Evansville shops in 2000 from the Evansville Terminal Railway. However, when Pioneer stopped shipping grain, the track had to be dismantled and salvaged at the close of 2011. Only the small stretch from the interchange northwest of Evansville to just north of their yard is still used, a distance of about 4 miles.

The dates back to 1881 as part of the Evansville and Peoria Railroad, which then became part of the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railway through a series of purchases. The PD&E became part of Illinois Central in 1900. The ISW is currently the only remaining in-service segment of the PD&E south of Mattoon, Illinois.

NS 8104 Lehigh Valley at Squaw Creek Mine, Boonville, Indiana

December 26, 2017 – “Twas the night before Christmas” when empty Norfolk Southern coal train D435-24, with Lehigh Valley Heritage Unit 8104 pulled to a stop outside the Squaw Creek Mine at Booneville, Indiana, where it still sits the day after Christmas, waiting for a crew to take it on into the mine for loading. With the holidays over crews across the nation will soon once again begin to move their trains.

CSX Q513 with SunRail 110 SB at Nortonville, Ky


December 15, 2017 – CSX Q513 heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at Nortonville, Ky with SunRail Commuter Service unit 110 trailing as the fifth unit. Ties are finally being laid for the connection of the sidings at Romney and Nortonville to produce about a six mile stretch of a new two track main.

According to Wikipedia: SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida area. Service began on May 1, 2014. Phase 1 comprises 31 miles (50 km) with 12 stations along the former CSX Transportation “A” Line connecting Volusia County and Orange County through Downtown Orlando. The extensions proposed for Phase 2 would add a new northern terminus at DeLand and four more stations southward, terminating at Poinciana in Osceola County. It is expected to be fully completed sometime in 2017. Formerly known as “Central Florida Commuter Rail”, the SunRail system is financed by the state and Federal governments and the counties it serves. SunRail is Florida’s second commuter rail system after South Florida’s Tri-Rail.

SunRail opened on May 1, 2014 with over 10,000 passengers riding the trains on opening day. In 2015 the system saw 957,800 passenger trips, for an overall average of 3,800 paying riders per weekday.

CSX J726-20 on MH&E at Drakesbrough, Ky

December 20, 2017 – A light rain falls as CSXT 4319 (GP38-2) & 2046 (GP38-3) on CSX J726-20 heads north to run around its train at the Harsco, Black Beauty Abrasives yard in Drakesboro, Ky on CSX’s MH&E Branch. This is the only train that currently runs on the MH&E and up until a few weeks ago it only ran during darkness. Now it runs on Monday and Wednesday, leaving out of Madisonville’s Atkinson Yard in the morning, giving an opportunity to photograph rail action on the branch.

CSX Q647-21 SB with New Haven 6699 at Hopkinsville, Ky

December 21, 2017 – Connecticut DOT locomotive 6699, in New Haven paint scheme, trails as the last locomotive on CSX Q647-21 as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at Hopkinsville, Ky. From what I can find out it’s headed for a rebuild and from I’m told it’s supposed to be going to NRE in Mount Vernon, Indiana. Why it wasn’t dropped in Evansville, Indiana for the Evansville Western to Pickup I’m not sure. If anyone knows I’d appreciate info in a comment! It looks like it’s a ex-CSXT 2189/SBD 6280/CRR 2009(GP38).

CSX J726-14 waits for Q026 to pass at Anaconda, Sebree, Ky

December 14, 2017 – CSX local J726-14 prepares to back onto Main 2 as it backs out of the Anaconda Spur after picking up two car loads of aluminum ingots at Century Aluminum in Sebree, Ky, as intermodal CSX Q026-14 heads north on the Henderson Subdivision from Main 1. The new two track main that runs from Sebree, Ky to Robards is now open and running traffic.