June 15, 2019 – RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A #1940 and 1941 pulling a string of dining cars, rounds the curve heading past the Jim Beam Distillery, on the RJC Bardstown Line at Shepherdsville, Kentucky.
NS freight passes the old depot on the CNO&TP Second District at Danville, Kentucky
June 15, 2019 – A southbound NS freight passes the old depot on the CNO&TP Second District at Danville, Kentucky as it meets a northbound intermodal that is preparing to go north where it’ll take the NS Louisville District towards Louisville, Ky, north of the city.
According to American-rails.com, It used to be called the Rathole Division when it was the Southern Railway and is often remembered as a road with relatively flat and tangent main lines due to the region in which it operated. However, the system did feature its share of steep, circuitous main lines such as Saluda Grade in western North Carolina and its famed “Rathole Division” through Kentucky and Tennessee that reached as far north as Cincinnati.
Technically, this stretch of the Southern main line was known as the 2nd District of subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (CNO&TP), which was plagued for years by numerous tunnels resulting in its famous nickname by the crews which operated over it.
Over the years the Southern worked to daylight or bypass these obstacles as the route saw significant freight tonnage, a task finally completed during the 1960s. Today, the Rathole remains an important artery in Norfolk Southern’s vast network.
RJ Corman Dinner Train at Limestone Junction, Ky…
June 15, 2019 – RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A #1940 and 1941 pulls into Limestone Junction, Ky with a string of dining cars, on the RJC Bardstown Line. This is the turn around point for the train, where the engines run around their train before heading back to Bardstown.
According to the RJC Dinner Train brochure, Limestone Springs Junction is located at MP: 24 and is the final attraction along the route. This old-English style depot is presently owned by the Jim Beam company, but in the past it reportedly housed numerous famous and wealthy passengers on the second floor of its overnight facilities. The depot also served as a filming location for the 1981 movie Stripes featuring Bill Murray and John Candy.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train…
June 15, 2019 – RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A # 140 and a string of dinning cars, passes the Samuels Bourbon Rickhouses, which are used to store barrels of bourbon, on the RJC Bardstown Line at Deatsville, Kentucky. The Rickhouses store barrels of bourbon.
Established in 1988, R. J. Cormans My Old Kentucky Dinner Train provides guests with a one-of-a-kind dining experience that they wont soon forget. Visitors are invited to enjoy a gourmet meal of their choice prepared and served on board our restored 1940s dining cars.
Guests board the train at the historic train depot in Bardstown, where they can visit the My Old Kentucky Dinner Train gift shop and enjoy a glass of bourbon from the full-service bar. The seasonal menu features several delicious dining options for guests to choose from. The meal is served during a 37-mile round trip journey through Kentuckys scenic countryside, where visitors see views of Jim Beam distillery, Jesse James safe house and the Jackson Hollow Trestle in the Bernheim Forest.
A member of the crew on CSX R900-11…
June 12, 2019 – A member of the crew on CSX R900-11 prepares to do a roll-by inspection on CSX Q588-12 as it passes their BNSF rerouted empty coal train at the north end of Rankin siding as they both head north on the Henderson Subdivision.
CSXT 5484 leads Q029 off the south end…
June 12, 2019 – CSXT 5484 leads Q029 off the south end of the Ohio River Bridge as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision at Henderson, Ky.
CSX Z901-03, a rerouted BNSF loaded coal train…
June 5, 2019 – CSX Z901-03, a rerouted BNSF loaded coal train due to flooding, pulls up the grade at Mortons Junction, as it makes its way south on CSX’s Henderson Subdivision at Mortons Gap, Ky with BNSF 8526 in the lead.
Gary Cassell, the engineer on Cass Scenic Railroad…
May 24, 2019 – Gary Cassell, the engineer on Cass Scenic Railroad Shay #11 waits patiently as his son Andy who is the fireman, fills the tank with water, as they prepare for their day of operation at Cass, West Virginia.
CSXT 3189 rounds the curve at Nortonville, Ky
May 29, 2019 – CSXT 3189 rounds the curve at Nortonville, Ky as it leads an empty coal train south on the Henderson Subdivision.
Like trains, I enjoy photographing old barns…
May 27, 2019 – Like trains, I enjoy photographing old barns when I find them, such as this 11mm view just outside of Cass at Green Bank, West Virginia under skies threatening rain.
CSXT 33 heads up an empty coal train…
May 15, 2019 – CSXT 33 heads up an empty coal train as it passes a string a tank cars at Evansville Western’s Belknap Siding, after coming off the Vectren lead from the A.B.Brown Power Plant, outside of Evansville, Indiana. The A. B. Brown Generating Station is a four-unit, 700 megawatt power plant, located on the northern bank of Ohio River, 8 miles east of Mount Vernon, Indiana and 5 miles southwest of Evansville, Indiana just west of the Posey-Vanderburgh County Line and is serviced by CSX via the Evansville Western Railway.
Norfolk Western 611…
May 25, 2019 – Norfolk Western 611 sits in the shed at the Virginia Transportation Museum in Roanoke, Virginia as I captured this shot of it’s drivers. I’ve photographed this engine numerous times over the years, but I’ve still yet to catch it in operation! It’ll happen someday!
Evansville Western Railway local, with 3840 leading…
May 15, 2019 – Evansville Western Railway local, with 3840 leading, passes the CountryMark Co-Op LLP Refinery area at Mount Vernon, Indiana as works its way to their small yard just past the refinery.
Crews work to get Cass Scenic Railroad Shays 4, 2, and 11…
March 26, 2019 – Crews work to get Cass Scenic Railroad Shays 4, 2, and 11, ready for a new day of work at Cass, West Virginia.
CSX Z901-03, a rerouted BNSF loaded coal train…
June 5, 2019 – CSX Z901-03, a rerouted BNSF loaded coal train due to flooding, snakes its way through the “S” curve, as it makes its way south on the Henderson Subdivision at Nortonville, Ky with BNSF 8526 in the lead.
Yeah, some days the timing is just off…
June 5, 2019 – Yeah, some days the timing is just off, like with this meet between J732 and Q025 just south of Oak Hill on the Henderson Subdivision at Nortonville, Ky. When it happens, you just move on because there’ll be another meet somewhere, sometime!
Norfolk Southern 9058 leads a loaded coil train…
June 4, 2019 – Norfolk Southern 9058 leads a loaded coil train westbound on the Louisville District at Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, bound for AK Steel at Rockport, Indiana.
CSXT 262 leads a northbound mixed freight…
May 25, 2019 – CSXT 262 leads a northbound mixed freight as it prepares to pass the Chesapeake & Ohio 5828 diesel on display at the C&O Museum in Clifton Forge, VA, on CSX’s Allegheny Subdivision.
Like trains, I enjoy photographing old barns…
May 27, 2019 – Like trains, I enjoy photographing old barns when I find them, such as these. However, I really enjoy it when I find something out of the ordinary to include with the barn such as this shot of the Green Bank Telescope just outside of Cass at Green Bank, West Virginia.
According to Wikipedia: The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, West Virginia, US is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. The Green Bank site was part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) until September 30, 2016. Since October 1, 2016, the telescope has been operated by the newly separated Green Bank Observatory. The telescope honors the name of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd who represented West Virginia and who pushed the funding of the telescope through Congress.
The Green Bank Telescope operates at meter to millimeter wavelengths. Its 100-meter diameter collecting area, unblocked aperture, and good surface accuracy provide superb sensitivity across the telescope’s full 0.1116 GHz operating range. The GBT is fully steerable, and 85% of the entire local celestial hemisphere is accessible. It is used for astronomy about 6500 hours every year, with 20003000 hours per year going to high-frequency science. Part of the scientific strength of the GBT is its flexibility and ease of use, allowing for rapid response to new scientific ideas. It is scheduled dynamically to match project needs to the available weather. The GBT is also readily reconfigured with new and experimental hardware. The high-sensitivity mapping capability of the GBT makes it a necessary complement to the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the Expanded Very Large Array, the Very Long Baseline Array, and other high-angular resolution interferometers. Facilities of the Green Bank Observatory are also used for other scientific research, for many programs in education and public outreach, and for training students and teachers.
The telescope began regular science operations in 2001, making it one of the newest astronomical facilities of the US National Science Foundation. It was constructed following the collapse of a previous telescope at Green Bank, a 90.44 m paraboloid erected in 1962. The previous telescope collapsed on 15 November 1988 due to the sudden loss of a gusset plate in the box girder assembly, which was a key component for the structural integrity of the telescope.
Norfolk Southern 847 leads 22A west as it pulls through the Montgomery Tunnels…
May 25, 2019 – Norfolk Southern 847 leads 22A west as it pulls through the Montgomery Tunnels east of Christiansburg, Virginia. The Tunnel is a Twin bore tunnel near Christiansburg, VA and during the steam era O. Winston Link took several photos here of the Norfolk and Western Railway as part of his B&W night series. One such image was a wide angle version of NW 708; Train no. 3, westbound at Montgomery Tunnel. Mr. Has and his son, Dan were standing watching the train as it exited the tunnel at night.The tunnel was built in about 1890 and are currently on the NS Christiansburg District.
Found this neat old, haunted looking house…
May 27, 2019 – Found this neat old, haunted looking house, on the road after leaving the Cass Scenic Railroad bound for home. We actually drove past it and then turned around and went back to shoot it. It is located outside Dunmore, West Virginia. I’m sure in it’s day it was a magnificent place!