I spent two days earlier this week visiting CSX's Henderson Subdivision. I managed to see 34 trains over there, counting the 11 or 12 I saw from my hotel window in Madisonville. The line stays busy, that's for sure.
Day 1:
I made it to Nortonville in the late morning, just in time to hear a pair of coal trains passing in the siding north of town. After stopping for fuel, I managed to catch and pass the southbound coal train. My first photo at the Kelly siding didn't turn out so well thanks to clouds, so I kept driving south. On the other side of Hopkinsville, I heard the dispatcher talking to a Q645 working at Guthrie, so I decided to try to get ahead of them as well. I managed to catch both trains just north of Adams,TN:
CSX Q645, Adams,TN 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX T101, Adams,TN 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
I started back north after catching the pair of southbounds. I passed Q029 near Pembroke but could not get a photo. Q647 was right behind him however, at Trenton:
CSX Q647, Trenton,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Q647 had a very nice looking Saskatchewan hopper on it:
Saskatchewan hopper, Trenton,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After catching Q647, I managed to make it back up to Madisonville. Q026 was somewhere behind me, but there was also a coal train moving out on the Morganfield branch west of town. I decided to head west and find it first. After finding the road I wanted to shoot it from, I managed to get there just as the train rounded the curve a quarter mile in the distance. Talk about good timing! One of PAL's SD70MACs that they got from CSX was leading.
CSX W103, Manitou,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After shooting the coal train, I got back to US 41 and kept going north, hearing a Q515 call signals. I pulled down a country road north of Slaughters and managed to catch him in time.
CSX Q515, Elmwood Curve, Slaughters,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After shooting Q515, I had to get moving quickly as Q026 had finally caught up to me. The one spot on the line that has good light for northbounds was just a few miles up the road, and I managed to beat Q026 to that point.
CSX Q026, Breton,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Day 2:
After leaving the hotel in Madisonville, I headed north towards Henderson. My first train of the day was a southbound empty hopper train bound for Madisonville.
CSX T084, Robards,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After catching the coal train just north of Sebree, I headed south and ended up running into a pair of northbound intermodals. I photographed both of them at the Elmwood Curve near Slaughters.
CSX Q124, Elmwood Curve, Slaughters,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX Q028, Elmwood Curve, Slaughters,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Following the two intermodals north, I was close to Henderson when I heard Q597 call a signal on the scanner. I got trackside north of Robards and managed to catch him making his way south.
CSX Q597, Robards,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After Q597, I spent some time looking around Henderson for possible photo locations, missing a Q688 in the process. Q029 left the yard in Evansville, so I decided to chase him south.
CSX Q029, Breton,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX Q029, Romney Siding, Nortonville,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After a bit of a wait, Q025, a second intermodal, also came south.
CSX Q025, Mortons Gap,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Q025 was closely followed by a southbound grain train.
CSX G238, Nortonville,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Things quieted down for a bit after G238, but finally another southbound, Q647, showed up, with little afternoon sunlight remaining. I took my last photo of the trip of him taking the siding at Kelly to meet northbound train Q592.
CSX Q647, Kelly,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX's Henderson Subdivision is always busy it seems, and I am rarely disappointed in any trips I make over there!
Day 1:
I made it to Nortonville in the late morning, just in time to hear a pair of coal trains passing in the siding north of town. After stopping for fuel, I managed to catch and pass the southbound coal train. My first photo at the Kelly siding didn't turn out so well thanks to clouds, so I kept driving south. On the other side of Hopkinsville, I heard the dispatcher talking to a Q645 working at Guthrie, so I decided to try to get ahead of them as well. I managed to catch both trains just north of Adams,TN:
CSX Q645, Adams,TN 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX T101, Adams,TN 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
I started back north after catching the pair of southbounds. I passed Q029 near Pembroke but could not get a photo. Q647 was right behind him however, at Trenton:
CSX Q647, Trenton,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Q647 had a very nice looking Saskatchewan hopper on it:
Saskatchewan hopper, Trenton,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After catching Q647, I managed to make it back up to Madisonville. Q026 was somewhere behind me, but there was also a coal train moving out on the Morganfield branch west of town. I decided to head west and find it first. After finding the road I wanted to shoot it from, I managed to get there just as the train rounded the curve a quarter mile in the distance. Talk about good timing! One of PAL's SD70MACs that they got from CSX was leading.
CSX W103, Manitou,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After shooting the coal train, I got back to US 41 and kept going north, hearing a Q515 call signals. I pulled down a country road north of Slaughters and managed to catch him in time.
CSX Q515, Elmwood Curve, Slaughters,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After shooting Q515, I had to get moving quickly as Q026 had finally caught up to me. The one spot on the line that has good light for northbounds was just a few miles up the road, and I managed to beat Q026 to that point.
CSX Q026, Breton,KY 12/17/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Day 2:
After leaving the hotel in Madisonville, I headed north towards Henderson. My first train of the day was a southbound empty hopper train bound for Madisonville.
CSX T084, Robards,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After catching the coal train just north of Sebree, I headed south and ended up running into a pair of northbound intermodals. I photographed both of them at the Elmwood Curve near Slaughters.
CSX Q124, Elmwood Curve, Slaughters,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX Q028, Elmwood Curve, Slaughters,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Following the two intermodals north, I was close to Henderson when I heard Q597 call a signal on the scanner. I got trackside north of Robards and managed to catch him making his way south.
CSX Q597, Robards,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After Q597, I spent some time looking around Henderson for possible photo locations, missing a Q688 in the process. Q029 left the yard in Evansville, so I decided to chase him south.
CSX Q029, Breton,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX Q029, Romney Siding, Nortonville,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
After a bit of a wait, Q025, a second intermodal, also came south.
CSX Q025, Mortons Gap,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Q025 was closely followed by a southbound grain train.
CSX G238, Nortonville,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
Things quieted down for a bit after G238, but finally another southbound, Q647, showed up, with little afternoon sunlight remaining. I took my last photo of the trip of him taking the siding at Kelly to meet northbound train Q592.
CSX Q647, Kelly,KY 12/18/2013 by bluegrassrailfan, on Flickr
CSX's Henderson Subdivision is always busy it seems, and I am rarely disappointed in any trips I make over there!
