January 26, 2020 - The Crew on CSX K815 (empty phosphate train) keeps a watchful eye, next to Canadian Pacific Heritage Unit 7011, as CSX autorack train Q217 passes it at Middle King south of Princeton, Indiana as it heads south on CSX's CE&D Subdivision. Canadian Pacific Railway No. 7011, is one of several recently released SD70ACu (Rebuilt by Progress Rail in Mayfield, Ky) units delivered in heritage paint with script lettering. I along with 11 other railfans stood at the crossing on County Road 550 waiting for K815 to continue it's move south, but after 6+ hours sitting in the siding watching other trains pass, it unfortunately didn't continue it's move before it got dark. In fact, last word we heard from the scanner was that the Danville, IL crew was waiting for a crew bus to take them off their train and that another K-train would hook into K815 and take it on to Evansville, Indiana. Don't know what the issue with the train was, but there was a lot of speculation and rumors of course, ranging from low priority to engine problems. Some days things just happen! I'm thankful for my 150-600mm lens which allowed me this shot from the road crossing as the train was probably 1/3 of a mile away. This shot was made @ 600mm on my full frame camera and then cropped in Adobe RAW.

Crew on CSX K815 at middle kings, Princeton, Indiana

January 26, 2020 – The Crew on CSX K815 (empty phosphate train) keeps a watchful eye, next to Canadian Pacific Heritage Unit 7011, as CSX autorack train Q217 passes it at Middle King south of Princeton, Indiana as it heads south on CSX’s CE&D Subdivision.

Canadian Pacific Railway No. 7011, is one of several recently released SD70ACu (Rebuilt by Progress Rail in Mayfield, Ky) units delivered in heritage paint with script lettering.

I along with 11 other railfans stood at the crossing on County Road 550 waiting for K815 to continue it’s move south, but after 6+ hours sitting in the siding watching other trains pass, it unfortunately didn’t continue it’s move before it got dark. In fact, last word we heard from the scanner was that the Danville, IL crew was waiting for a crew bus to take them off their train and that another K-train would hook into K815 and take it on to Evansville, Indiana.

Don’t know what the issue with the train was, but there was a lot of speculation and rumors of course, ranging from low priority to engine problems. Some days things just happen! I’m thankful for my 150-600mm lens which allowed me this shot from the road crossing as the train was probably 1/3 of a mile away. This shot was made @ 600mm on my full frame camera and then cropped in Adobe RAW. Many thanks to all the folks that kept us informed on the movement of this unit!

January 23, 2020 - Indiana Railroad (INRD) Veterans Unit 4005 sits tied down next to a loaded coal train at Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Station at Sullivan, Indiana along with INRD units 9009 & 9001, while waiting for their next crew. The Merom Generating Station is a 2-Unit, 1080-MW rated coal-fired power plant located between Merom, Indiana and Sullivan, Indiana. It is owned by Hoosier Energy, a Touchstone Energy cooperative. The plant has been in operation since 1982. It was announced by the company a few days ago that the plant will be shut down sometime in 2023, affecting the jobs of approximately 185 workers. According to Indiana Public Media's website: Hoosier Spokesperson Greg Seiter says the decision is in large part a cost savings move. "We’re looking at potentially saving our members in excess of $700 million over the next two decades," he says. That’s in part because Hoosier Energy won’t be locked into coal, which is more expensive. It can diversify its mix, including using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. While it's a few years off, if you plan to catch the INRD servicing this power plant with coal, you had better do it sooner than later!

Indiana Railroad Veterans Unit 4005…

January 23, 2020 – Indiana Railroad (INRD) Veterans Unit 4005 sits tied down next to a loaded coal train at Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Station at Sullivan, Indiana along with INRD units 9009 & 9001, while waiting for their next crew.

The Merom Generating Station is a 2-Unit, 1080-MW rated coal-fired power plant located between Merom, Indiana and Sullivan, Indiana. It is owned by Hoosier Energy, a Touchstone Energy cooperative. The plant has been in operation since 1982.

It was announced by the company a few days ago that the plant will be shut down sometime in 2023, affecting the jobs of approximately 185 workers.

According to Indiana Public Media’s website: Hoosier Spokesperson Greg Seiter says the decision is in large part a cost savings move.

“We’re looking at potentially saving our members in excess of $700 million over the next two decades,” he says.

That’s in part because Hoosier Energy won’t be locked into coal, which is more expensive. It can diversify its mix, including using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.

While it’s a few years off, if you plan to catch the INRD servicing this power plant with coal, you had better do it sooner than later!

January 23, 2020 - Indiana Railroad's (INRD) 25th Anniversary locomotive 9025 leads the Hiawatha-Palestine turn HWPAT-23 as it crosses the CSX CE&D/INRD diamond at Sullivan, Indiana on it's return trip north to the INRD Hiawatha Yard at Jasonville, Indiana. According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Rail Road (reporting mark INRD) is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of 155 miles (249 km). This line, now known as the Indiana Rail Road's Indianapolis Subdivision, comprises most of the former IC line from Indianapolis to Effingham, Illinois; Illinois Central successor Canadian National Railway retains the portion from Newton to Effingham. INRD also owns a former Milwaukee Road line from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Burns City, Indiana (site of the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center), with trackage rights extending to Chicago, Illinois. INRD serves Louisville, Kentucky, and the Port of Indiana on the Ohio River at Jeffersonville, Indiana, through a haulage agreement with the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC).

Indiana Railroad’s 25th Anniversary locomotive…

January 23, 2020 – Indiana Railroad’s (INRD) 25th Anniversary locomotive 9025 leads the Hiawatha-Palestine turn HWPAT-23 as it crosses the CSX CE&D/INRD diamond at Sullivan, Indiana on it’s return trip north to the INRD Hiawatha Yard at Jasonville, Indiana.

According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Rail Road (reporting mark INRD) is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of 155 miles (249 km).

This line, now known as the Indiana Rail Road’s Indianapolis Subdivision, comprises most of the former IC line from Indianapolis to Effingham, Illinois; Illinois Central successor Canadian National Railway retains the portion from Newton to Effingham. INRD also owns a former Milwaukee Road line from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Burns City, Indiana (site of the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center), with trackage rights extending to Chicago, Illinois. INRD serves Louisville, Kentucky, and the Port of Indiana on the Ohio River at Jeffersonville, Indiana, through a haulage agreement with the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC).

October 14, 2019 - The inbound crew on Union Pacific 1989, Denver Rio Grand Heritage Unit, leaves CSX W221-13 at Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana after tying down their train. A new outbound crew will take coke train on south onto the Henderson Subdivision on its way to Georgia. It's trailing units here are UP 6684 and 7164. According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 1989: Serial number 20056723-098, is painted in Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad colors. It was delivered on 24 May 2006, unveiled on June 17, 2006, at a special UP employee event in Denver, Colorado. It is one of six EMD SD70ACe locomotives that are painted in the liveries of railroads acquired by the Union Pacific. The company says the locomotives "pay homage to those railroads and the generations of men and women who helped to build a great nation and the foundation for our future."

The inbound crew on Union Pacific 1989…

October 14, 2019 – The inbound crew on Union Pacific 1989, Denver Rio Grande Heritage Unit, leaves CSX W221-13 at Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana after tying down their train. A new outbound crew will take coke train on south onto the Henderson Subdivision on its way to Georgia. It’s trailing units here are UP 6684 and 7164.

According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 1989: Serial number 20056723-098, is painted in Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad colors. It was delivered on 24 May 2006, unveiled on June 17, 2006, at a special UP employee event in Denver, Colorado.

It is one of six EMD SD70ACe locomotives that are painted in the liveries of railroads acquired by the Union Pacific. The company says the locomotives “pay homage to those railroads and the generations of men and women who helped to build a great nation and the foundation for our future.”

October 14, 2019 - Union Pacific 1989, Denver Rio Grand Heritage Unit, pulls past a switch at CSX's Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana, after dropping off a trailing CSXT unit from it's consist. It is leading a southbound loaded coke train CSX W221-13 on it's way down the CE&D, Henderson and other Subdivisions in Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee on its way to Georgia. It's trailing units here are UP 6684 and 7164. According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 1989: Serial number 20056723-098, is painted in Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad colors. It was delivered on 24 May 2006, unveiled on June 17, 2006, at a special UP employee event in Denver, Colorado. It is one of six EMD SD70ACe locomotives that are painted in the liveries of railroads acquired by the Union Pacific. The company says the locomotives "pay homage to those railroads and the generations of men and women who helped to build a great nation and the foundation for our future."

Union Pacific 1989, Denver Rio Grand Heritage Unit…

October 14, 2019 – Union Pacific 1989, Denver Rio Grand Heritage Unit, pulls past a switch at CSX’s Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana, after dropping off a trailing CSXT unit from it’s consist. It is leading a southbound loaded coke train CSX W221-13 on it’s way down the CE&D, Henderson and other Subdivisions in Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee on its way to Georgia. It’s trailing units here are UP 6684 and 7164.

October 14, 2019 - Union Pacific 2089, Rio Grand Heritage Unit, backs into a track at CSX's Howell Yard to drop off a CSX unit, in Evansville, Indiana. It leading southbound loaded coke train CSX W221-13 on it's way through the CE&D and Henderson and other Subdivisions through Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee on its way to Georgia. Not sure why it made its way through our area, but sure glad it did! Thanks to all the folks that gave heads up along the way!! According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 1989: Serial number 20056723-098, is painted in Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad colors. It was delivered on 24 May 2006, unveiled on June 17, 2006, at a special UP employee event in Denver, Colorado. It is one of six EMD SD70ACe locomotives that are painted in the liveries of railroads acquired by the Union Pacific. The company says the locomotives "pay homage to those railroads and the generations of men and women who helped to build a great nation and the foundation for our future."

Union Pacific 1989, Rio Grand Heritage Unit…

October 14, 2019 – Union Pacific 1989, Rio Grand Heritage Unit, backs into a track at CSX’s Howell Yard to drop off a CSX unit, in Evansville, Indiana. It leading southbound loaded coke train CSX W221-13 on it’s way through the CE&D and Henderson and other Subdivisions through Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee on its way to Georgia. Not sure why it made its way through our area, but sure glad it did! Thanks to all the folks that gave heads up along the way!!

According to Wikipedia: Union Pacific 1989: Serial number 20056723-098, is painted in Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad colors. It was delivered on 24 May 2006, unveiled on June 17, 2006, at a special UP employee event in Denver, Colorado.

It is one of six EMD SD70ACe locomotives that are painted in the liveries of railroads acquired by the Union Pacific. The company says the locomotives “pay homage to those railroads and the generations of men and women who helped to build a great nation and the foundation for our future.”

October 5, 2019 - A Loaded E319 takes on fuel on Ohio Street, just north of Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana as a Evansville Western Railway crew brings it off their line. Their train it will be tied down in the siding at Harwood, on the Evansville Terminal Subdivision, as it waits for a fresh crew that will take it on north as a N319 (N319 Evansville, IN (EVWR) - Cross, SC). Most coal trains head south from Evansville, but I'm told that some have started going north, bound for the east coast for export overseas. Not sure if they're being rerouted due to weather or construction.

A Loaded E319 takes on fuel on Ohio Street…

October 5, 2019 – A Loaded E319 takes on fuel on Ohio Street, just north of Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana as a Evansville Western Railway crew brings it off their line. Their train it will be tied down in the siding at Harwood, on the Evansville Terminal Subdivision, as it waits for a fresh crew that will take it on north as a N319 (N319 Evansville, IN (EVWR) – Cross, SC). Most coal trains head south from Evansville, but I’m told that some have started going north, bound for the east coast for export overseas. Not sure if they’re being rerouted due to weather or construction.

October 5, 2019 - The conductor on CSX Y106 leans out as he guides the engineer on CSXT 9024 as they prepare to couple up to their empty autorack train at milepost 319.2, at Dogtown, just south of Evansville, Indiana on the Henderson Subdivision. The autorack came up from the south on the Henderson Subdivision to Evansville where this fresh crew ran the power around the train so they could take it on back across the Ohio River to the Texas Line and onto Louisville, Ky.

The conductor on CSX Y106…

October 5, 2019 – The conductor on CSX Y106 leans out as he guides the engineer on CSXT 9024 as they prepare to couple up to their empty autorack train at milepost 319.2, at Dogtown, just south of Evansville, Indiana on the Henderson Subdivision. The autorack came up from the south on the Henderson Subdivision to Evansville where this fresh crew ran the power around the train so they could take it on back across the Ohio River to the Texas Line and onto Louisville, Ky.

October 5, 2019 - CSX Q025-04 heads up the viaduct to the bridge over the Ohio River between Rahm, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision on this beautiful fall morning with a wall of containers and a Geometry Test Car behind the lead units.

CSX Q025-04 heads up the viaduct at Rahm, Indiana

October 5, 2019 – CSX Q025-04 heads up the viaduct to the bridge over the Ohio River between Rahm, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision on this beautiful fall morning with a wall of containers and a Geometry Test Car behind the lead units.

August 31, 2019 - Norfolk Southern 975 departs Princeton, Indiana with NS 5642 "Training First Responders" unit pulling the Norfolk Southern Safety Train east on the NS Southern-East District at East Junction. According to their website: At Norfolk Southern, safety is our number one priority. Operation Awareness & Response (OAR), was launched in 2015 to educate the public about the economic importance of the safe movement of hazardous materials by rail and to connect emergency first responders in Norfolk Southern communities with information and training resources. The goal of OAR is to strengthen relationships with the first responders across the NS network. Norfolk Southern has been providing safety training for emergency responders through community outreach programs such as TRANSCAER® for years. OAR will build on those efforts focusing on closer relationships with local and state agencies, increased training opportunities (classroom, web-based, and on-line resources), table-tops drills and participation in full-scale exercises, and providing better resources for emergency responders such as the AskRail mobile app that allows and first responders to use their mobile phones to look up commodity and response information on shipments. The OAR program also includes a continued commitment to providing emergency responders high-level training at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Co. In April 2016, Norfolk Southern unveiled a brand new safety train, with a dedicated locomotive, specially equipped classroom box cars, and several tanks cars for additional hands-on training along our lines.

Norfolk Southern 975 departs Princeton, Indiana

August 31, 2019 – Norfolk Southern 975 departs Princeton, Indiana with NS 5642 “Training First Responders” unit pulling the Norfolk Southern Safety Train east on the NS Southern-East District at East Junction.

According to their website: At Norfolk Southern, safety is our number one priority. Operation Awareness & Response (OAR), was launched in 2015 to educate the public about the economic importance of the safe movement of hazardous materials by rail and to connect emergency first responders in Norfolk Southern communities with information and training resources.

The goal of OAR is to strengthen relationships with the first responders across the NS network. Norfolk Southern has been providing safety training for emergency responders through community outreach programs such as TRANSCAER® for years. OAR will build on those efforts focusing on closer relationships with local and state agencies, increased training opportunities (classroom, web-based, and on-line resources), table-tops drills and participation in full-scale exercises, and providing better resources for emergency responders such as the AskRail mobile app that allows and first responders to use their mobile phones to look up commodity and response information on shipments.

The OAR program also includes a continued commitment to providing emergency responders high-level training at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Co. In April 2016, Norfolk Southern unveiled a brand new safety train, with a dedicated locomotive, specially equipped classroom box cars, and several tanks cars for additional hands-on training along our lines.

August 31, 2019 - I spent the better part of the day waiting for the Norfolk Southern Safety Train to depart from Princeton, Indiana and for me this shot made it all worth it! NS 5642 "Training First Responders" engine pulls the Norfolk Southern Safety Train east from Huntingburg, Indiana as the setting sun begins to drop below the horizon on the NS Southern-East District.

NS 5642 “Training First Responders”

August 31, 2019 – I spent the better part of the day waiting for the Norfolk Southern Safety Train to depart from Princeton, Indiana and for me this shot made it all worth it! NS 5642 “Training First Responders” engine pulls the Norfolk Southern Safety Train east from Huntingburg, Indiana as the setting sun begins to drop below the horizon on the NS Southern-East District.

August 24, 2019 - The Norfolk Southern Safety Train (OAR, Operation Awareness & Response) sits tied down at MP 163 in the Yard at Princeton, Indiana where it waits for its next training class for first responders. It is headed up by NS 5642 the Training First Responders engine. According to the NS OAR Newsletter: Launched in June 2015, the goal of OAR is to educate the public about the economic importance of the safe movement of hazardous materials by rail and to connect emergency first responders in Norfolk Southern communities with information and training resources. The remaining schedule for the safety train for the year is: August 27-29 Princeton, IN September 10-12 Decatur, AL September 17-19 Corinth, MS October 1-3 New Orleans, LA October 8-10 Slidell, LA October 22-24 Savannah, GA November 5-7 Augusta, GA

French Lick and West Baden Trolley 1 passes old glory…

August 24, 2019 – French Lick and West Baden Trolley 1 passes old glory at French Lick, Indiana as it heads for West Baden, IN with its passengers.
According to the French Lick website: Like a lot of the French Lick Resort treasures, the trolley’s history spans many decades, starting in 1903. In 2014, trolley service returned more than 100 years after it was first launched in French Lick and West Baden.

In 1903, the roads were dirt and horse-drawn carriages were the norm. When electric trolley service began, guests could catch the streetcar at the steps of West Baden Springs Hotel and go all the way (a whole mile) into downtown French Lick.

The trolley was a raging success, and in 1916 it set a record for carrying 250,000 people in a single year. At a nickel a ride, that’s over $300,000 in revenue in today’s world. Not bad for what was billed as the “world’s shortest trolley line.”

According to Railway Historian Alan Barnett, the electric cable car offered “ping-pong” service because it was not designed to make turns. When the car reached French Lick, the conductor would physically move the overhead power line around the back, allowing for the return trip to the depot at West Baden.

The advent of the automobile put the brakes on the trolley service in 1919. That is, until Barnett and the folks at the Indiana Railway Museum resurrected the idea in 1987. They were able to find Trolley Car #313 from Portugal, the closest thing they could find to the original 1903 car.

The trolley is making rounds again, thanks to a partnership between the resort and the Indiana Railway Museum. The museum worked with the Indiana Department of Transportation to draw up plans to redo the original track and secured a $200,000 grant.

August 24, 2019 - Indiana Railroad Museum's #4 (Ex Algers, Winslow and Western Railway #4, Built as Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic #103) heads through the crossing at Twin City Lumber Company as it pulls a passenger train south on the French Lick Scenic Railway from French Lick, Indiana. According to their website: The Indiana Railway Museum is a tourist railway located in French Lick, Indiana. The Museum was founded in 1961 in the town of Westport, Indiana where the railroad operated a tourist excursion, utilizing one small locomotive, three passenger cars, and about twenty volunteers. Ridership was estimated at about 500 passengers in 1962. The museum and railway remained in Westport until a move was necessitated in 1971. The organization relocated to Greensburg, Indiana where it operated until 1976 when it again, it changed locations. The Museum was relocated to French Lick in 1978 after an agreement with the Southern Railway Company. They deeded the Museum a total of sixteen miles of track stretching from West Baden, Indiana, approximately one mile north of French Lick, to a small village named Dubois, to the south. The Indiana Railway Museum currently operates as The French Lick Scenic Railway operating passenger trains over twenty-five miles of this track from French Lick to Jasper. Visit them at: http://rhpfrench18.wpengine.com/

Indiana Railroad Museum’s #4 (Ex Algers, Winslow and Western Railway #4)…

August 24, 2019 – Indiana Railroad Museum’s #4 (Ex Algers, Winslow and Western Railway #4, Built as Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic #103) heads through the crossing at Twin City Lumber Company as it pulls a passenger train south on the French Lick Scenic Railway from French Lick, Indiana.

According to their website: The Indiana Railway Museum is a tourist railway located in French Lick, Indiana. The Museum was founded in 1961 in the town of Westport, Indiana where the railroad operated a tourist excursion, utilizing one small locomotive, three passenger cars, and about twenty volunteers. Ridership was estimated at about 500 passengers in 1962.

The museum and railway remained in Westport until a move was necessitated in 1971. The organization relocated to Greensburg, Indiana where it operated until 1976 when it again, it changed locations. The Museum was relocated to French Lick in 1978 after an agreement with the Southern Railway Company.

They deeded the Museum a total of sixteen miles of track stretching from West Baden, Indiana, approximately one mile north of French Lick, to a small village named Dubois, to the south.

The Indiana Railway Museum currently operates as The French Lick Scenic Railway operating passenger trains over twenty-five miles of this track from French Lick to Jasper.

Visit them at: http://rhpfrench18.wpengine.com/

August 10, 2019 - Norfolk Southern empty autorack train 276 passes through the east end of Huntingburg, Indiana as it heads to Princeton, Indiana on the NS Southern-East District to drop off the empty cars for Toyota. Can't tell it from this shot, but the trailing unit is NS Unit 8101, Central of Georgia heritage unit.

Norfolk Southern empty autorack train 276…

August 10, 2019 – Norfolk Southern empty autorack train 276 passes through the east end of Huntingburg, Indiana as it heads to Princeton, Indiana on the NS Southern-East District to drop off the empty cars for Toyota. Can’t tell it from this shot, but the trailing unit is NS Unit 8101, Central of Georgia heritage unit. When shooting your pictures, don’t get hung up on what everyone else considers the “best light or the “correct side.” I always go for what view I feel make the best picture!