Going Away shot – Looks can be deceiving as in this going away shot that looks like it is coming at us, as I caught Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 1072, Illinois Terminal, and NS 8090 bringing up the rear of a loaded coal train on April 7th, 2022, as it headed north on the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Central City, Kentucky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1500, ISO 130.
Norfolk Southern Illinois Terminal Heritage Unit, 1072, brings up the rear of Paducah and Louisville Railway WYX4, a loaded coal train, as it crosses over the 148 high and 891 ft. long, Big Clifty bridge, at Big Clifty, Kentucky on its way north on April 7th, 2022.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 120
Norfolk Southern Heritage unit 8100, Nickel Plate Road, and Canadian National 5702 lead CSX Q512-24 (Radnor Yard – Nashville, TN – Avon, IN Daily) as it pulls out of the yard at Casky after picking up 10 loads of truck frames at Hopkinsville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 24th, 2022.
One of the things I like about railfanning the Henderson Subdivision is because we get all kinds of interesting and different foreign power that runs up and down the line! While most of it is CSX, we do get a mix of just about every major railroad on this line at some point in time during each week. You never know when its coming, but when it does as with this unit, railfans gather along the tracks for their own crack at capturing their own images of the move and Im no exception!
While you cant control the weather for these shots, railroads operate in all kinds of weather and so Im trackside when the train is! Hardest thing about shooting in bad weather is getting out the door in my opinion! A large golf umbrella helps a lot!!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 210mm, f/4.5, 1/125, ISO 280.
Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 1072, Illinois Terminal, and NS 8090 bring up the rear of a coal train as they at the Warrior Coal Mine loop, outside Madisonville, Kentucky on March 18th, 2022.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100.
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Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 1072, Illinois Terminal, and NS 8090 bring up the rear of a northbound loaded coal train on the Paducah and Louisville Railway as they pass a CSX Loaded coal train in the Pond River Siding, west of Madisonville, Kentucky on March 18th, 2022.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 150.
Norfolk Southern Heritage unit 8100, Nickel Plate Road, and Canadian National 5702 lead CSX Q512-24 (Radnor Yard – Nashville, TN – Avon, IN Daily) pulls up the Casky lead as it heads north into the yard at Casky to pick up 10 loads of truck frames at Hopkinsville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 24th, 2022.
One of the things I like about railfanning the Henderson Subdivision is because we get all kinds of interesting and different foreign power that runs up and down the line! While most of it is CSX, we do get a mix of just about every major railroad on this line at some point in time during each week. You never know when its coming, but when it does as with this unit, railfans gather along the tracks for their own crack at capturing their own images of the move and Im no exception!
While you cant control the weather for these shots, railroads operate in all kinds of weather and so Im trackside when the train is! Hardest thing about shooting in bad weather is getting out the door in my opinion! A large golf umbrella helps a lot!!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-24mm @ 16mm, f/4.5, 1/800, ISO 720.
Norfolk Southern Heritage unit 8100, Nickel Plate Road, and Canadian National 5702 lead CSX Q512-24 (Radnor Yard – Nashville, TN – Avon, IN Daily) pulls through Trenton, Kentucky on a cold, wet, foggy and rainy late afternoon as it heads north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on February 24th, 2022.
One of the things I like about railfanning the Henderson Subdivision is because we get all kinds of interesting and different foreign power that runs up and down the line! While most of it is CSX, we do get a mix of just about every major railroad on this line at some point in time during each week. You never know when its coming, but when it does as with this unit, railfans gather along the tracks for their crack at their own capture of the move and Im no exception!
While you cant control the weather for these shots, railroads operate in all kinds of weather and so Im trackside when the train is! Hardest thing about shooting in bad weather is getting out the door in my opinion! A large golf umbrella helps a lot!!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 230mm, f/5.3, 1/800, ISO 900.
Norfolk Southern railway Savannah & Atlanta 1065 Heritage Unit leads NS 167 as it passes through Southern Crossover over the CSX CE&D Subdivision at Princeton, Indiana, on its way east on the NS East-West District on December 3rd, 2021. This unit completes my goal of photographing all the 20 NS Heritage units!
According to the NS Website: Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SR, EMD) began life as the Brinson Railway in 1906, slowly expanding from Savannah toward the Northwest. It was consolidated with other small railroads to become the Savannah & Atlanta in 1917. Central of Georgia bought the S&A in 1951.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 130.
Norfolk Southern Savannah and Atlanta Heritage unit 1065 leads NS 167, as it passes Consolidated Grain and Barge Company at Lyles Station, MP 157, as it heads east on the NS Southern West District at Lyles Station, Indiana on December 3rd, 2021. Catching this unit completes my goal of photographing all 20 of the NS Heritage units out in the Wild.
According to the NS Website: Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SR, EMD) began life as the Brinson Railway in 1906, slowly expanding from Savannah toward the Northwest. It was consolidated with other small railroads to become the Savannah & Atlanta in 1917. Central of Georgia bought the S&A in 1951.
According to Wikipedia, Lyles or Lyles Station is an unincorporated community in Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana. The community dates from 1849, although its early settlers first arrived in the 1830s, and it was formally named Lyles Station in 1886 to honor Joshua Lyles, a free African American who migrated with his family from Tennessee to Indiana around 1837. Lyles Station is one of Indiana’s early black rural settlements and the only one remaining.
The rural settlement reached its peak in the years between 1880 and 1912, when major structures in the community included the railroad depot, a post office, a lumber mill, two general stores, two churches, and a school. By the turn of the twentieth century,
Lyles Station had fifty-five homes, with a population of more than 800 people. The farming community never fully recovered from the Great Flood of 1913, which destroyed much of the town. Most of its residents left for economic reasons, seeking opportunities for higher paying jobs and additional education in larger cities.
By 1997 approximately fifteen families remained at Lyles Station, nearly all of them descended from the original settlers.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 130.
Norfolk Southern railway Savannah & Atlanta 1065 Heritage Unit leads NS 167 as it passes the restored depot at Princeton, Indiana, on its way east along the NS East-West District on December 3rd, 2021. This unit completes my goal of photographing all the 20 NS Heritage units!
According to the NS Website: Savannah & Atlanta Railway (SR, EMD) began life as the Brinson Railway in 1906, slowly expanding from Savannah toward the Northwest. It was consolidated with other small railroads to become the Savannah & Atlanta in 1917. Central of Georgia bought the S&A in 1951.
According to the Gibson County website: Constructed in 1875 and beautifully restored, the Princeton Depot is the only remaining depot structure in Gibson County. Once housing the C&EI and L&N railways, it was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued from the depot in late 1960. Today the depot stands as a nostalgic reminder of the importance railroads have played in Gibson County’s history.
The Princeton Train Depot is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored WABASH train caboose.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 120.
Canadian National Illinois Central “Death Star” heritage unit 3008, passes the searchlight and dwarf signals as it heads north on the Union Pacific Chester Subdivision with an empty tank train on December 2nd, 2020 at Scott City, Missouri.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 240mm, f/5.3, 1/1000, ISO 200.
With a fresh crew on board, Canadian National 3023, the new Elgin Joliet & Eastern Heritage unit, (EJ&E) waits for an incoming empty coal train to get into the siding at CP South Oaks in Fulton, Kentucky before heading on south with U700, a loaded Pet Coke Train, on CNs Bluford subdivision at Fulton, Kentucky on November 21st, 2020.
According to a press release from CN: This is one of six locomotives representing the railways that have joined their team since their privatization, 25 years ago. Each one features the colors of the railway at the time it merged with CN as well as the logo specially created to commemorate the quarter century of our IPO. These acquisitions propelled our service farther than any other North American railway, similar to our IPO propelled CN to new heights. The engines release so far are 3115 BC Rail; 8952 Grand Trunk Western; 8898 CN; 3008 Illinois Central; 3069 Wisconsin Central; and 3023 Elgin, Joliet & Eastern.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/120, ISO 400.
September 13, 2020 – Norfolk Southern 168, with NS Pennsylvania Heritage unit 8102 leading on the NS Southern East District, departs the west end of the siding at Ayrshire Township, Indiana as it heads west toward St. Louis, MO.
Tech Info: Full Frame Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 150mm, f/5.6, 1/1600, ISO 360.
September 13, 2020 – I got word from a fellow railfan out of Louisville, Austin Bell, that Norfolk Southern 168 was headed west from Louisville, Kentucky with NS Pennsylvania Heritage unit 8102 leading on the NS Southern East District. He knew it was one of three that I still needed to fill my collection of the 20 Heritage Paint Units that NS has put out. (Now I need NS 1065 and NS 1700)
I typically don’t railfan Sundays as I do church and edit the videos from the live stream in the afternoon and update our web locations with the same. However, I answered the call this afternoon and made the 1.5 hour drive to Princeton, Indiana to capture this shot of the train as it heads west through the yard at Princeton with my drone!
I actually caught it starting at west end of Ashire, Indiana and chased it to Princeton and was able to catch it at several spots along the route with my D800 and the drone, but in this case the drone won out because of the new angle it gives me!
I also met up with a lot of railfan friends that were trackside for the same train and got to finally meet Railfan Julian (6 year old railfan that loves trains) and his mom!
If you want to encourage young railfans I invite you to give his page a like here on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/railfan.julian.5
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 100.
July 17, 2020 – Norfolk Southern New Jersey Central Lines Heritage Unit 1071 leads NS 172 across the NS/CSX diamond at 4th Street in Louisville, Kentucky as it heads north on the Louisville District.
Tech Info: Full Frame Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 280mm, f/5.6, 1/320, ISO 100.
May 27, 2020 – Norfolk Southern Railway Wabash heritage unit 1070 enters the S curve at Albion, Illinois, as it leads NS 224 westbound on the NS Southern-West District.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 350mm, f/5.6, 1/640sec, ISO 560.
May 27, 2020 – Norfolk Southern Railway Wabash heritage unit 1070 passes through Golden Gate, Illinois, as it leads NS 224 through stormy weather on its way west on the NS Southern-West District.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Irex 11mm, f/5.6, 1/640sec, ISO 160.
May 27, 2020 – Norfolk Southern New York Central heritage unit 1066 passes Consolidated Grain & Barge Co. silos at Wayne City, Illinois as it heads west on the NS Southern-West District. It was running engine light, with two other engines in trail, as NS D51as it headed down the line to pick up empty grain cars.
This was one of of the last three NS Heritage units that I haven’t caught till now, so only 2 left till I’ve photographed all 20 of the NS Heritage fleet. Now I need to catch the Savannah & Atlanta Railway and the Pennsylvania Railroad to complete my NS Heritage picture set.
Today was a great day of railfanning with Ryan Scott and Eli Noble!! Many more shots from the day yet to come!
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm, f/5.6, 1/640sec, ISO 125.
May 27, 2020 – Norfolk Southern Wabash heritage unit 1070 approaches milepost 147, just west of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, as it leads NS 224 through the rain on its way west on the NS Southern-West District.
Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 600mm, f/6.3, 1/640sec, ISO 250.