Paducah Chapter
National Railway Historical Society
December 2013
High Tech and the Railroads
We have all heard of the push
for Positive train control or PTC on major
U.S. railroads. This law is a result of a
bad accident on the UP in California,
where a freight train rear ended a com-
puter train, the engineer was busy texting
railfans when he ran a stop signal result-
ing in the accident. PTC is a high-tech
advance for railroads that most feel is
unwarranted. Most are not ready for a full scale rollout and will not meet the 2015
deadline. A technology that railroads have
embraced is the front facing video cam-
eras that can act as event recorders or in
some cases surveillance cameras. Grade
crossing accidents can now be investi-
gated from reviewing the video.
A few years back a derailment caused by
a tornado was caught by the video camera
of the rear unit on a Union Pacific train. We can see the train following along, then
debris flying through the air. The covered
hopper we see starts to lean to one side as
the cars behind it derail and pull it down.
From off in the distance we see a bounc-
ing tank car heading towards the locomo-
tive.
Front facing cameras can also be good
surveillance security footage. Recently
the Evansville Western caught two indi-
viduals stealing train
horns from parked loco-
motives. The forward
facing camera on a
trailing unit caught the two swiping horns form
the unit in front. The
thefts took place in
Evansville IN.
The Vanderburgh Sher-
iff’s dept. placed the
video of the two on
social media sites and
youtube. Because the thieves were active
railfans, the Sheriff received calls from
New Jersey, Idaho and other states identi-
fying the two. Two teens from IL have since con-
fessed to the thefts as well
as thefts in St Louis. The
Evansville Western video
also caught one thief at-
tempting to put back the
horn and leaving a note
apologizing for the theft.
So next time you are wait-
ing at the crossing, remem-
ber you are being recorded by the train. It is a turn-
about from railfans re-
cording trains, the trains are recording
back.
Theft of train horns from Evansville caught on
video October 2013.
Construction equipment fails to clear
a crossing.
On coming train failed to obey signal
Left:
Tornado strikes
UP
Train in Illinois
Tank car Slams
Into engines
after tornado
derailment.
MILE STONE: On November 9,
the Paducah area lost one of its
few remaining former N.C. & St.
L. Ry. Employees, in the passing
of Joseph L. Barnett, 97. Joe first
joined the N.C. after the 1937
flood, walking along the tracks
from the Clark St. crossing to P&I
Junction to sign on at a camp car
as a MOW worker and later
switchman. He also worked for a
time for the I.C. in Memphis as a
switchman, served in Europe in
WW II in a railroad battalion, in-
cluding the Battle of the Bulge,
returned to the N.C. and later
L&N, as a switchman and engine
foreman. In that capacity he
switched thousands of cars on the
team tracks behind the (now)
Railroad Museum and the Freight
House, as well as the line between
Paducah & Bruceton, the river
incline, and the P&I. His interest-
ing railroad career is told in an
oral history CD made by Bill
Wood, and recorded in the mu-
seum in 2007.
MIKE FAVRE: Many of us were
concerned about member, and re-
tired PAL employee, Mike Favre,
in the aftermath of the Brookport
tornado. Mike is O.K. His home is
north of the epicenter line along
Unionville Road, and he was
blessed to be uninjured and re-
ceive little damage. We rejoice for
him.
P&L/EVANSVILLE WEST-
ERN: On November 5th, the Van-
derburgh County Sheriff’s office
announced the solving of the theft
of air horns from two EVWR lo-
comotives. Unfortunately the cul-
prits were two teen-age train fans
from Marion, IL whose special
interest was repair & restoration
of air horns. Not surprisingly for
that age group, tips on social me-
dia were responsible for their dis-
covery….On November 18, an
EVWR coal train derailed nine
cars near Carmi, IL; there were no
injuries.
VMV: At least two more
Kiamichi (Genesee & Wyoming)
SD 40’s have been seen, as well
as SRO 2023, an export locomo-
tive, plus the usual blue & white
GMTX engines.
P&I: Extensive tie replacement
has been going on along the P&I
with 20 or more pieces of CN
MOW equipment on the rails,
most tying up at night on the pass-
ing track along N. 34th St., and
many out-of-state vehicles of
workers parked on the street itself.
CROSSING VIOLATORS: On
November 11th, WPSD-TV local
news ran a story about Illinois
State Police riding a UP locomo-
tive to catch motorists who vio-
lated grade crossing warnings
along Illinois Route 148 and 149
in Franklin County
FILM FESTIVAL SURPRISE:
During the recent week-end Riv-
ers Edge Film Festival at Maiden
Alley Theatre, which features a
wide variety of independent
drama and documentary films, I
was surprised to find one entitled
“Weekend Railroaders,” which
was an hour long documentary
about motor cars or “speeders.” It
gave an interesting history of
these cars, their reincarnation as a
hobby, and clips of a number of
excursions, mainly in Texas and
Oklahoma. As a long time “week-
end” railroader myself, I, of
course, viewed the film and was
able to talk to the director and
producer, Scott Peterson, who
does not actually own a motor car,
but has a father and uncle who do.
IRON TRIANGLE ADVEN-
TURE: Early Halloween morn-
ing, chapter member (and City
Commissioner) Allan Rhodes, Jr.,
and I left Paducah for an 8 hour
drive to Fostoria, OH, to visit the
“Iron Triangle.” There, three main
line railroads, CSX (former
B&O) west to Chicago and east to
Willard, OH; NS (former Nickel
Plate) west to Chicago and east to
Mixing Center & Bellevue; and
CSX north to Toledo and south to
Columbus cross on three double
track diamonds. A generous 100
plus trains pass through each 24
hours. All traffic is controlled by
adjacent “F” Tower, which is off
limits, but because it attracts thou-
sands of rail fans from all over the
country, the city is building a Rail
Fan Park in the north corner of the
triangle, which is almost com-
pleted, and many motels give dis-
counts to train watchers. Our
weather was cloudy, cool and
windy, and Thursday night, rainy.
Bob Johnston
Published monthly by the Paducah Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. Send your news, photos to:
Editor — Charles Gibbons
President…........…......Logan Blewett Vice President…….......John Deming
Secretary…..…......Charles Gibbons
Historian…........……Jack Johnston
Treasurer..................Glen Pollender
Program…....…...….…..Dick Kastas National Director.…..Bob Johnston
Directors…………..……...Dick Kastas, Charles Gibbons, Logan Blewett
Membership — Charles Gibbons 3409 Central Avenue, Paducah 42001
Roundhouse Notes
Fortunately trains run in all
weather, so we usually sat in the
car, mostly in the west corner
(which was lighted) across the
tracks from the former B&O, then
Amtrak Station, and now CSX
maintenance shop. Thursday
night it seemed trains passed
every ten to fifteen minutes,
sometimes simultaneously. Most
of them were container trains,
(both double and single stacks),
auto carriers, straight tanker trains
of ethanol and petroleum, and
many mixed freights. Finally, at
ten p.m. after a long day, we re-
turned to the motel.
On Friday morning we returned,
again moving between the two
ends of the triangle, and saw 17
trains in less than five hours be-
fore heading home in early after-
noon. Again most of the consists
were similar to the night before,
with an occasional light engine,
and some unit grain trains in cov-
ered hoppers. However, about mid
-morning we saw a straight train
of UP refrigerator cars pulled by
UP power, probably running on
trackage rights. As an old produce
man this excited me, as reefers are
now somewhat of a rarity on most
lines. Most of the power, of
course, was CSX and NS, with a
smattering of UP, CP, BNSF, and
others. A majority of it seemed to
be GE built, and most of the NS
was DC as AC is only now begin-
ning to make inroads on that line.
We were also interested to see a
number of fallen flag freight cars
such as Norfolk & Western, Con-
rail, C&O, Seaboard System,
Family Lines, and even an occa-
sional New York Central.
On the way home we stopped for
supper at LaGrange, just east of
Louisville where the CSX tracks
run down the middle of Main St.
We ventured a few blocks down it
and found a vintage collection in-
cluding an old business car, a ca-
boose with no markings and a
couple of small steam engines,
including a British tank engine
that could be Thomas’s first
cousin. There was also railroad
museum, closed for the evening. It
was a very enjoyable trip, made
simpler because we were not in-
terested in taking pictures, only
watching trains. Similar locations
with amenities for rail fans within
a day’s drive of Paducah include
Rochelle, IL where BNSF & UP
cross; Folkston, GA where several
CSX lines plus Amtrak funnel
into Florida; Galesburg, IL on the
BNSF main line; and, of course,
Homewood, IL on the CN (former
I.C.)
FLASH! As I am preparing to
send this in to Editor Gibbons,
there is a news flash that on Sun-
day morning, 12/1, a Metro North
Commuter train has derailed just
north of New York City with four
dead and dozens injured. It is the
fourth accident/mishap on that
railroad this year. Metro North has
had a number of locomotives re-
built by Progress Rail at Mayfield.
MUSEUM: We had193 visitors
in November compared to 298 in
2012. However last November
included a school group of 109, so
the normal visitation is almost the
same….. John Maxwell com-
pleted the removal of the parti-
tions from the former HO room,
and found that the brick wall was
too soft to hold firing for a new
interior wall, so he and John Dem-
ing (who facilitated the removal
of the old debris at no charge) are
building a new frame wall which
will be insulated. We are indeed
fortunate to have two such tal-
ented and hard-working volun-
teers…. As stated in the Novem-
ber NEWS & VIEWS a stagger-
ing amount of work is planned for
the museum during the January &
February. Hopefully, it will go
smoothly.
GIFT SHOP: If you have not
completed your Christmas shop-
ping by the time you read this,
please consider a gift from our
museum gift shop for your family
or friends, or for Santa to bring
you. Don and Judy will be happy
to discuss and show you their
wide variety of railroad related
items.
CHRISTMAS DINNER & SO-
CIAL: The annual Chapter
Christmas dinner and social will
be held in the private dining room
of Ryan’s Steak House, across
from KY Oaks Mall, on Tuesday,
December 10th, beginning at 6:30.
Please remember to come and
bring a significant other and/or
friend.
Roundhouse Notes
% Charles Gibbons
3409 Central Ave
Paducah KY 42001
Gosh! Its almost time for
the meeting! We sure
don’t want to miss it.
TUESDAY
December 10th
6:30
Ryan’s Steak
House
Paducah
Recently the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Nickel Plate Steam Engine 765
Appeared in a Spec Ad to promote use of the Engine in productions. The Ad can be seen
at http://fortwaynerailroad.org/ or Youtube.