April 25, 2018 – New CSX Two Track Main open for business at Nortonville, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision


April 25, 2018 – CSX construction of converting the sidings at Romney and Nortonville, Ky together to form a new approximately file mile two track main from Mannington through Nortonville, Ky is open for business. The construction, which was started in 2017, has created three new control points on the Henderson Subdivision line. The first is Romney which is at the crossing on Mcintosh road, north of Mannington, Ky. The second is located just south of the Church Street overpass in Nortonville, Ky and is called Nortonville. This is where the cross-over is located. The last point is called Oak Hill and it is located a little past where the old North End of the Nortonville siding was located.

April 27, 2018 – A LoRam Ballast Cleaner southbound at Nortonville, Ky


April 27, 2018 – A LoRam Ballast Cleaner fills the air with dust as it rounds a curve at Nortonville, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision on track 1.

According to Wikipedia: A ballast cleaner (also known as an undercutter) is a machine that specializes in cleaning the railway track ballast (gravel, blue stone or other aggregate) of impurities.

Over time, ballast becomes worn, and loses its angularity, becoming rounded. This hinders the tessellation of pieces of ballast with one another, and thus reduces its effectiveness. Fine pieces of granite, like sand, are also created by attrition, known simply as “fines”. Combined with water in the ballast, these fines stick together, making the ballast like a lump of concrete. This hinders both track drainage and the flexibility of the ballast to constrain the track as it moves under traffic.

Ballast cleaning removes this worn ballast, screens it and replaces the “dirty” worn ballast with fresh ballast. The advantage of ballast cleaning is that it can be done by an on-track machine without removing the rail and sleepers, and it is therefore cheaper than a total excavation.

A cutter bar runs beneath sleeper level excavating all of the ballast under the sleepers to a specified, variable depth. A conveyor then moves the ballast into the cleaner, where it gets forced through a mesh by a shaking chamber. Pieces of ballast which are smaller than the mesh size fall through and are rejected, those that are bigger than the mesh are returned to the track along with fresh ballast. Some ballast cleaners have both ballast and spoil wagons attached to it, to which the materials are fed by a series of conveyor belts. Others simply undercut the ballast, and allow for a work train to come through to dump fresh ballast. This process can be done in short possessions, meaning that track life can be considerably extended with the minimum of disruption.

CSX Q500-26 NB with NS 911 at Nortonville, Ky

April 26, 2018 – CSX Q500-26 pulls north with Norfolk Southern’s 911 Honoring First Responders engine trailing the consist as it heads north on track 2 on the Henderson Subdivision at Nortonville, Ky. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

April 26, 2018 – Day 178 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Tracks

April 26, 2018 – Day 178 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Tracks – Today’s photo is from one of my favorite pastimes, photographing railroads and the trains that run on them. They always make for good, strong shots with leading lines that draw your eye into the photo! A technique that will help make your own photos stronger.

CSX Q026-24 passes the new crossovers at Nortonville, Ky

April 23, 2018 – CSX Q026-24 passes the new crossovers at the new Nortonville as it approaches the Church Street overpass as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision at Nortonville, Ky with CSXT 5253 leading. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

CSX Intermodal Q029 crosses over from main 2 to main 1 at Nortonville, Ky

April 23, 2018 – CSX Intermodal Q029 crosses over from main 2 to main 1 at Nortonville as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision in preparation of a meet with it’s northbound counterpoint Q028 at Romney at Nortonville, Ky. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

April 25, 2018 – Day 177 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – UP

April 25, 2018 – Day 177 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – UP – Looking up can always provide some interesting views! For today’s picture I stood inside a power transmission tower and pointed my iPhone to the sky! Look for different angles to shoot your photos as it can help add impact to your pictures! Of course it helps to have interesting shapes and angles as well!

April 24, 2018 – Day 176 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Jordan

April 24, 2018 – Day 176 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Jordan – My nephew Jordan is always good for a great picture! He’s such a cut up and loves life!! Unless things aren’t going his way, as with most 3-year olds! LOL Photos of your young ones making faces and being kids are one of the treasures you’ll cherish in the years to come. Make sure you capture them!

April 23, 2018 – Day 175 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Evening Light

April 23, 2018 – Day 175 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Evening Light – I pass this scene pretty much every time I drive home or head to town from my home. Today the light was simply breathtaking, and I had to stop and capture it! I utilized the video mode to capture this photograph, so I could use the full capability of my iPhone 7 Plus sensor.

CSX Q028 meets Q029 at Romney, Nortonville, Ky


April 23, 2018 – Northbound CSX Q028 meets it’s counterpart, Q029 at the new Romney in Nortonville, Ky. Q028 is pulling onto the new track 2 and Q029 is sitting on track 1 as it waits to continue it’s move south on the Henderson Subdivision.

The converting of the sidings at Romney and Nortonville into a two track main is coming to a close as crews do the final cleanup as trains have started using the new 5 mile stretch of two track main. The signal on the ground is the old south end of Romney signal that was taken out when the new switch and signals were installed.

There are now three spots called through here by the crews. Romney, which is this location, Nortonville, which is where the crossover is located and the new Oak Hill, which is at the location of the old North End of Nortonville, Ky. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

April 22, 2018 – Day 174 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Buddy

April 22, 2018 – Day 174 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Buddy – Buddy spent the weekend at our house as his mom and dad were out of town. He gets along really well with all the kids in the family as they’ve all grown up with him as they visited their grandma and grandpa’s home. Photographing your little ones with family pets will always give you a good picture!

CSX Q025-22 SB at North Romney, Nortonville, Ky

April 21, 2018 – CSX crews work on tying in the new track to the existing track at the north end of the current siding at Romney as CSX Q025-21 passes on the main at restricted speed due to the construction. The MOW crews are in the process of tying in the new tracks to the switches as the final phase of converting the siding at Romney and Nortonville into a two track main. From what I’m told the first scheduled traffic down the new track 2 should be on Wednesday, the 25th of April, if all goes well. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

April 21, 2018 – Day 172 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Meeting Abe

April 21, 2018 – Day 172 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Meeting Abe – Today I took my nephew Shutterbug Jayden to his first Civil War Festival where he was so excited and recognized Abraham Lincoln and wanted his picture taken with him. He says it’s the first President he’s ever met! Always oblige the little ones in your life when they ask you to take their picture!

CSX 0501-18 with NS 911 at Sebree, Ky

April 19, 2018 – Norfolk Southern Railway’s “Honoring First Responders” engine 9-1-1, heads up CSX Q501-18 as it sits on track two as CSX Q518 highballs past him on track 1 at Sebree, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision.
One of several commemorative locomotives, it’s a SD60E honoring emergency first responders. The locomotive – with insignia recognizing police, fire, and emergency services – runs on Norfolk Southern’s 22-state network and obviously sometimes even beyond! – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad #nsrailway #norfolksouthern

April 20, 2018 – Day 172 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Blue Belt

April 20, 2018 – Day 172 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Blue Belt – Echoing yesterday’s statement that there’s never a dull moment with the little ones in our family! Today’s photo is of Damion with Eric, his Sensei, after breaking two boards, at his Little Warriors Karate Blue Belt ceremony yesterday afternoon. I’m not totally sure which is the kid here! LOL

CSX 0501-18 NB with Norfolk Southern 911 at Henderson, Ky

April 19, 2018 – CSX Q501-18 (Chicago to Nashville) had Norfolk Southern’s 911 unit, Honoring First Responders, as it passed under the signals at the south end of Henderson, Ky on its way south on the Henderson Subdivision. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway #nsheritageunit

April 19, 2018 – Day 171 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Flagpole

April 19, 2018 – Day 171 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B&W Photo Challenge – Flagpole – There’s never a dull moment with the little ones in our family! Elaina came into my office to show me her flag and so I asked her if I could take a picture and this is the result!!! LOL Some days are like this and you always need to be ready to capture the moment with the little ones in your life!