October 24, 2019 – CSX Intermodal Q028-23 heads north on the Henderson Subdivision as it approaches the Hubert Reid Road Crossing at Earlington, Ky on a beautiful fall afternoon. The switch that goes off to the right is the seldom used house track at Earlington.
According to Wikipedia: Founded in 1870 by the St. Bernard Coal Co., Earlington was named a year later upon its incorporation for John Baylis Earle, the man who stuck the first pick into the hillside at the opening of Hopkins County’s first commercial coal mine. Earle was a lawyer who was central to developing the coal industry in the region.
Shortly after the town was founded, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad completed its line from Henderson to Earlington, and became the primary hauler in the area. The town boomed as both a coal center and as the center of L&N operations on the Evansville line.