In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo, we catch CSX loaded coal train C015 as they head south at from the north end of Kelly, Ky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on September 1st, 2025.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 24-70 @ 24mm, f/4.5, 1/1000, ISO 200.
This week Paducah and Louisville Railway 4503 leads a loaded LG&E coal train north from Pond River siding at Madisonville with UofL 2013 as the rear DPU, at Rockport, Beaver Dam and Caneyville, KY. Also caught: a northbound Norfolk Southern loaded coal train at Do Stop outside Caneyville.
CSXT 3309 leads hot intermodal I026 as they head north from the south end of Atkinson Yard at Madisonville, Kentucky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on July 12th, 2025.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2500, ISO 100.
LORAM Railgrinder 403 (long grinder) heads south through the switch at the north end of the siding in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, as it works their on the Paducah and Louisville Railway, on June 5th, 2025.
The lights in the background are from the RG56, which is the short grinder that grinds switches and crossings.
According to Wikipedia: A rail grinder (or rail grinder) is a maintenance of way vehicle or train used to restore the profile and remove irregularities from worn tracks to extend its life and to improve the ride of trains using the track.
Tech Info: Nikon D810, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @ 450mm, f/6, 1/1600, ISO 400.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 4512 brings up the rear as DPU on loaded Louisville Gas & Electric coal train crossing Interstate 69 as it heads north from Madisonville, Ky on May 9th, 2025.
According to Wikipedia: The Paducah & Louisville Railway (reporting mark PAL) is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The 270-mile (430 km) line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August of 1986.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
CSXT 5473 leads CSX M513 as it heads south out of Casky Yard at Hopkinsville, Ky, on May 9th, 2025, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
This train had Indiana Railroad 9012 and 9007 dead in tow as the trailing units. I’m told both engines were on their way to Memphis, Tennessee where they will be scrapped. Both units are SD90MACs.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100.
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) 3421 leads their train eastbound through the countryside along I90, as they head for Rapid City, South Dakota on the Black Hills Subdivision, on June 26th, 2025.
According to Wikipedia, the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (reporting mark RCPE) is a Class II freight railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement. Operations began on June 1, 2014.
Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly short line railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The RCPE and DM&E entered an agreement on January 2, 2014, wherein RCPE would acquire 670 miles of track and 219 miles of trackage rights from the DM&E. The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came from the DM&E.
Tech Info: Nikon Z6ii, RAW, Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, f/4, 1/1600, ISO 360
Paducah and Louisville Railway’s University of Louisville locomotive leads the Louisville Gas and Electric loaded coal train north as it passes under the Grapevine Road in Madisonville, Kentucky, on July 30th, 2025.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 240.
CSXT GMS-2, running as W002-22 heads north as they approach the location known as Romney, just south of Nortonville, Kentucky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on July 22nd, 2025.
From what I found on the Web: G-Gauge M-Measurement S-System is one of 2 such vehicles on CSX. It puts artificial stress in different directions on the rail to simulate a passing train and measures the amount of deflection caused by said stress to determine if tie, spikes and anchor systems are functioning as needed.
Tech Info: Nikon Z6ii, RAW, 70-300mm, @210, f/5.6, 1/1250, ISO 560.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 4512 and 4121 lead the Louisville Gas and Electric coal train as it pulls under the loadout at Warrior Coal Mine loop, just outside of Nebo, Kentucky, on September 18th, 2025.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 140
CSX I025 heads south from Robards, Kentucky on August 16th, 2025, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, as they pass northbound M502.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.
Paducah and Louisville Railway 4503 and 4521 lead a loaded Louisville, Gas and Electric coal train north across the drawbridge at Rockport, Kentucky, on August 26th, 2025.
According to Wikipedia: The Paducah & Louisville Railway (reporting mark PAL) is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The 270-mile (430 km) line was purchased from Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in August of 1986.
Tech Info: 4K Frame Grab from a DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone.
The CSX daily local, L391, which runs between Casky Yard at Hopkinsville and Atkinson Yard in Madisonville, Kentucky passes under the US 41 overpass at Barnsley, Ky, on September 18th, 2025, as it heads north on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/4000, ISO 250
Paducah and Louisville Railway 4512 and 4121 lead the Louisville Gas and Electric coal train as it pulls under the loadout at Warrior Coal Mine loop, just outside of Nebo, Kentucky, on September 18th, 2025.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/4000, ISO 250
Cass Scenic Railroad Heisler#6 pulls across the bridge in a light rain at Leatherbark Creek during a night photo shoot as part of the Cass Spring Photographers Special, at Cass, West Virginia on May 3rd, 2025.
According to the Mountain Rail West Virginia Website: The Meadow River Lumber No. 6 was built by the Heisler Locomotive Works in Erie, PA, in 1929 for the Bostonia Coal & Clay Products Company of New Bethlehem, PA.
The Heisler was sold to the Meadow River Lumber Company at Rainelle, WV in 1939, where it was rostered as No. 6. She retired from the lumber company in 1965 and was purchased by the purchased it by the state of West Virginia purchased. The engine ran under its own steam from Rainelle to its new home in Cass in December 1966. No. 6 would begin operating on the railroad in 1968. The Heisler is the fastest geared locomotive in the Cass collection.
Tech Info: Nikon Z6ii, RAW, Nikon 24-70 @ 24mm, f/3.2, 1/125, ISO 10,000.
In this week’s Saturday Infrared photo, we catch CSX loaded coal train C015 as they head south at Crofton, Ky, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision, on September 1st, 2025.
Tech Info: Fuji XT-1, RAW, Converted to 720nm B&W IR, Nikon 10-24 @ 15mm, f/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200.
September 20th, 2025 – Episode 142 Saturday Edited Video from Jim Pearson Photography This week we catch CSX trains from the air and ground between Slaughters and Nortonville, Kentucky, from the air and ground, including the CSX Law Enforcement Unit leading a B647. Sit back, turn up the sound, expand to full screen and enjoy the trains!! Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to Subscribe and Ring the Notification Bell so you won’t miss any of my future videos! Have a blessed day everyone!!
CSXT 833 leads loaded coal train C305 south at Arklow at Madisonville, Kentucky, on September 3rd, 2025, on the CSX Henderson Subdivision.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 170
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) 3421 as it leads their train eastbound through the countryside along I90, as they head for Rapid City, South Dakota on the Black Hills Subdivision, on June 26th, 2025.
According to Wikipedia, the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (reporting mark RCPE) is a Class II freight railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement. Operations began on June 1, 2014.
Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly short line railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The RCPE and DM&E entered an agreement on January 2, 2014, wherein RCPE would acquire 670 miles of track and 219 miles of trackage rights from the DM&E. The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came from the DM&E.
Tech Info: Nikon Z6ii, RAW, Nikon 10-24 @ 32mm, f/4, 1/1600, ISO 100
Norfolk Southern 4670 brings up the rear as DPU on a loaded coal train headed north from the Do Stop crossing, just south of Caneyville, Kentucky on the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL), on August 26th, 2025. Currently NS has been running a set of two of these trains on the PAL (empty Southbound and loaded Northbound) and they seem to alternate between loading at Warrior Coal Loop outside Madisonville, and Calvert City Loadout at Calvert City, Ky.
Tech Info: 4K Video Frame Grab from a DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone.
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) 3421 as it leads their train eastbound through the countryside along I90, as they head for Rapid City, South Dakota on the Black Hills Subdivision, on June 26th, 2025.
According to Wikipedia, the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (reporting mark RCPE) is a Class II freight railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement. Operations began on June 1, 2014.
Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly short line railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The RCPE and DM&E entered an agreement on January 2, 2014, wherein RCPE would acquire 670 miles of track and 219 miles of trackage rights from the DM&E. The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came from the DM&E.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/3200, ISO 100.