Well, just like with most folks during this year of COVID-19 for the most part we haven’t made much in the way of trips and none that required spending the night anywhere. It has been a strange and different time for us, as with many other folks that like to travel and see this great country of ours.
Chrystal and April in Chicago waiting for the YoYo Ma concert to begin. (Photo by Chrystal Brantley)
We did individually get in trips, me in February to visit my niece and Aprils daughter Chrystal who lives in Chicago and my sister April went up to attend a YoYo Ma concert at with her, both events were before the COVID hit the states and disrupted mostly everyone’s lives.
Also, since it’s pretty much a socially distant endeavor I have continued to make day trips around the tri-state area chasing and photographing trains, so at least that part of my photographic life has continued to some degree.
I have kept all my trips to where I get home every night as I’m still not ready to stay overnight anywhere where I can’t control my environment. Most of the trips are solitary for the most part, although a few times good friends and fellow railfans Ryan Scott and Cooper Smith have joined me individually on occasion. I have been limiting folks joining me on my railfan outings to one at a time as with COVID it’s much safer.
Departing Carbondale, IL on Amtrak to Chicago.
One of my favorite photos from my trip in February to visit Chrystal in Chicago.
I meet up with fellow railfan Robert Jitter while I was on this Chicago trip and he showed me some new spots!
Sis and I made a day trip to the Cheekwood Estate in Nashville, Tennessee to see and photograph the stunning glass works of Dale Chihuly that were and still are on display there. It was a beautiful day and we both enjoyed getting out and shooting pictures together!
Cheekwood visit… Click on photos for larger view!
Sis and I were planning to attend my Combat Camera Reunion at Ogden, Utah and it’s still on the books, although the dates have been pushed back twice already because of COVID. Right now we’re set for May 13th – 15th, but that will all depend on where things are at with COVID of course. I know several people, myself included are already discussing the possibility of moving it to October time frame which is when we normally have the reunions. Time will tell.
Well below is a sampling our lives this year along with a description of the locations and memories from the year! I hope you enjoy and here’s to more travel in 2021! (Click on photos for a large view.
I and six of the kids had a showing of our work at the Anne P. Baker gallery here in Madisonville, Ky before COVID hit. It shut down the exhibit about 2 weeks early, but it was a great event for the kids!
I and six of the kids had a showing of our work at the Anne P. Baker gallery here in Madisonville, Ky before COVID hit. It shut down the exhibit about 2 weeks early, but it was a great event for the kids!
I and six of the kids had a showing of our work at the Anne P. Baker gallery here in Madisonville, Ky before COVID hit. It shut down the exhibit about 2 weeks early, but it was a great event for the kids!
Damion gets fitted for his first Mask made by Sis.
A socially distant church moment.
The West Tennessee railroad, a trip with my friend Ryan Scott on New Years Day 2020.
Pastor Kara hams it up as she photo bombs Damion and Elaina at church.
A spring family dinner on the deck.
A stop in for a photoshoot and visit with my niece and nephews Journey, Jeremiah, Jordan and Jayden after a few months of lockdown. I was wearing my mask!
My nieces Adrianna and Emily stopped by for a visit.
My niece Journey and nephews Jayden watch at their brother Jordan gives his youngest brother a sympathy cry as they all gather for a MASK photo! Not sure why he was so upset.
Clowning around with Damion and Elaina. They have been at our house a lot so their mom could work from their home without distractions.
My niece Tracy works on Home Schooling the kids. It’s been a different year for them all for sure!
Damion and Elaina have a Zoom moment with their Aunt Chrystal who lives in Chicago.
A COVID Thanksgiving photo with sis, Ashley, Eliana, Damion and I.
My great-great nephew Xavier captured this family photo as we gathered around the table for one of three of our Christmas dinners! We did individual groups and kept the small.
Since exercise outdoors in a socially distant COVID event I was still able to get my walking in and of course a few photos along the way!
I got started in the world of Drones this year which gives me a whole new view of the world!
A collection of some of my favorite train photos from 2020! Click on photo for a larger view!
February 7, 2020 – CSXT 754 pulls CSX Q503-06 up over the rise at the north end of Crofton, Ky as it works its way south through the early morning blowing snow on the Henderson Subdivision.
March 14, 2020 – CSXT 5205 leads empty ethanol train K442 through Earlington, Kentucky in the pouring rain as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision at milepost 271.
June 2, 2020 – This is one of my favorite shots from a 5 state, 22hr railfan trip, with fellow railfan Ryan Scott! This is a Canadian Nation local running long hood forward as it passed the iconic Memphis Pyramid with Grand Trunk 4917 at the North Parkway crossing in downtown Memphis, Tennessee.
September 10, 2020 – Paducah and Louisville 4518 & 4522 lead PRX1, a loaded coal train, as they depart Warrior Coal at Nebo, Kentucky, headed southbound for the barge loading and blending facility at Calvert City, Ky.
September 15, 2020 – CSX Q513-15 sits at the south end of Howell Yard after making a pickup as it waits for CSX Q028, 648 and 512 to clear his location so it can continue its move south on the Henderson Subdivision, with United States Army 4607 and 1869 running dead in tow as its last two units.
Both Army units have been refurbished and I found out that 4607 is heading to Hopkinsville, KY (Ft. Campbell) and 1869 is heading to Leland, NC.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/640, ISO 100.
Port Harbor RR at the A&K Railroad Materials Yard
Port Harbor (PHRR) switcher 8166, PHRR America’s Central Port 2758, “Illini Terminal” No. 2301 and 2064 sit tied down on Saturday, November 7th, 2020 at the A&K Rail Yard in Granite City, Illinois, waiting for their next assignment.
The conductor on BNSF 7447 throws one of several switches as it prepares to take its power out of the yard track to work on building his train at the Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA) of St. Louis Madison yard at Venice, Illinois, with a rainbow of power sitting in the yard.
CSXT 5412 leads hot intermodal north Q028-10 across the Gum Lick Trestle between Kelly and Crofton, Kentucky as the last rays of the fall sunset rakes through the valley on the Henderson Subdivision.
Canadian National (CN) locomotive 3233 (Support our Troops) heads north on the CN Centralia Subdivision leading CN M396 as it spits the old Illinois Central Coaling towers at Carbondale, Illinois on December 15th, 2020.
Norfolk Southern 4004, a AC/DC Conversion also called the “Blue Swoosh” makes its way across the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel, Illinois as it leads NS 224 westbound on the NS West District on December 12th, 2020 with a string of truck frames and load of intermodals.
Ada Jean Hirsch (Pearson) May 6, 1929-November 6, 2019
Not all road trips are necessarily about having fun. Some are also about paying respects to those whom you love and that have made an impact on your life such as Aunt Jean! I think I got my wandering spirit and love of traveling the world from her! She was always on the go and enjoyed traveling so much and now she’s on the ultimate trip!!
On December 7, 2019 Sis and I made the trip to Ohio for her Memorial Service at Lostcreek United Church of Christ, in Casstown, Ohio. The service was well attended by family members, as well as members of her church that loved and cared for her.
She was the last direct descendant on our dads side of the family and she is missed! Below is a video I shot of the memorial service which I felt the family members that couldn’t attend would like to see.
November 13, 2019 – UP engineer Ed Dickens leans out the cab of Union Pacific 4014 Big Boy as it heads through the curve approaching Malvern, Arkansas, as it races north on the Little Rock Subdivision with it’s passenger train on UP’s Race Across the Southwest event.
Well, I struck out on my own on November 12, 2019 to chase the recently restored Union Pacific 4014 (Big Boy) steam locomotive between Hope and Little Rock Arkansas. It’s been running close to a year now and this is the closest it’s been to Madisonville, Ky so far and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to photograph the largest operating Steam Locomotive in the United States, if not the world! It was a great thrill to see and photograph this majestic locomotive and to feel it moving the ground as it breathed it’s fire and smoke along the way. To say it was a thrill is putting it mildly.
Events like this aren’t just for us old guys that love trains!! This is friend Doyle Massey and his kids at Prescott, AR! We’ve known each other for several years and almost always run into each other on these events!
I almost went to Chicago to photograph it earlier in the year, but I’m so glad I waited for it in November because the cold air made for a great show with all the steam from the hot exhaust of the locomotive as it made it’s way between Hope and Little Rock, Arkansas over two days!
I met several railfans who are friends on Facebook with me and also made some new friends along the way and some I had already meet in past trips! The railfan community in many ways is like my military community in the fact that it’s a good, close knit group that have like interests!
Below is a video I shot of it departing Prescott, Arkansas! For full effects, turn up your sound! Below the video are some of my favorite pictures from the chase. Click on the thumbnails to view the full picture!
Waiting on a train at the north wye, on the Buster Pike overpass, north of Danville, Ky on the NS CNO&TP First District, during a day of railfanning will fellow photographers, David Higdon Jr, Bryan Burton, Ryan Scott and a Facebookless, Bill Crecco! A great time by all and a great day of railfanning with friends!
I recently spent the day with four other railfans chasing the RJ Corman Lunch and Dinner train that runs out of Bardstown, Kentucky and also made our way over to Danville, Kentucky to catch a few trains on the Norfolk Southern line that runs through there and splits off to Louisville and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Usually when I go trackside to railfan it’s a solitary event, or at most one other person, but this trip was a bit different with the five of us. They included good friends and fellow railfan photographers, Ryan Scott from Indiana, Bryan Burton from Tennessee, David Higdon Jr. from Illinois and Bill Crecco, who we jokingly call “Facebookless Bill” because he doesn’t have a Facebook account, is also from Indiana.
I started my part of the trip at 4am in the morning where I drove to Henderson, Kentucky and met up with Ryan and Dave, so we could all carpool over to Bardstown together. As most who know me, that’s pretty early for me to be up these days, but it’s not bad as long is it’s only once in awhile! We arrived in Bardstown about 9am local time which gave us time to grab breakfast at Cracker Barrel and figure out or plan of attack for the two runs that day of the train. Bryan, from Tennessee had be up to Bardstown earlier in the month and had pretty much scoped out what he felt were the best spots and we all relied on his judgment, which didn’t disappoint as you can see from the pictures accompanying this post!
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A #1940 and 1941 pulls into Limestone Junction, Ky with a string of dining cars, on the RJC Bardstown Line. This is the turn around point for the train, where the engines run around their train before heading back to Bardstown. According to the RJC Dinner Train brochure, Limestone Springs Junction is located at MP: 24 and is the final attraction along the route. This old-English style depot is presently owned by the Jim Beam company, but in the past it reportedly housed numerous famous and wealthy passengers on the second floor of its overnight facilities. The depot also served as a filming location for the 1981 movie “Stripes” featuring Bill Murray and John Candy.RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A # 1940 leading, 1941 trailing and a string of dining cars, passes the Samuels Bourbon Rickhouses, which are used to store barrels of bourbon, on the RJC Bardstown Line at Deatsville, Kentucky. The Rickhouses store barrels of bourbon.
While we didn’t ride the lunch or dinner trains this trip, I had before when I worked for The Messenger Newspaper. Reporter Garth Gamblin and I did a series for many years called “Saturday Adventures” and the dinner train was one of the features we did for the Sunday Lifestyles page. The food and two hour trip were great back then and I’m sure nothing has changed since then.
It was a long day, but as you can see from the photographs above and the gallery below we all came away with great photographs and memories of a fun day trackside!
Norfolk Southern 1115 leads a northbound train past the north wye, in this view from the Buster Pike overpass at Danville, Ky.
NS 7630 leads a northbound Intermodal as it passes the old depot on the CNO&TP Second District at Danville, Kentucky.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A # 1940 and a string of dinning cars, passes the Samuels Bourbon Rickhouses, which are used to store barrels of bourbon, on the RJC Bardstown Line at Deatsville, Kentucky.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A #1940 and 1941 pulling a string of dining cars, rounds the curve heading past the Jim Beam Distillery, on the RJC Bardstown Line at Shepherdsville, Kentucky.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A # 140 and a string of dinning cars, passes the old T.W.Samuels Bourbon buildings, on the RJC Bardstown Line at Deatsville, Kentucky.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A #1940 and 1941 pulling a string of dining cars, passes the Jim Beam Distillery, Clermont, Kentucky.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A 1941 leading the way, heads back toward Bardstown, as it passes through the crossing at the Jim Beam Distillery.
RJ Corman’s (RJC) My Old Kentucky Dinner Train with FP7A # 1940, 1941 and a string of dinning cars, passes the old L&N Depot on the RJC Bardstown Line, at Deatsville, Kentucky.
RJ Corman 1941 and 1940 pull the evening My Old Kentucky Dinner train as it heads past one of the many rickhouses, used to store bourbon, as it heads into Bardstown, Kentucky on it’s return trip.
A southbound NS freight passes the old depot on the CNO&TP Second District at Danville, Kentucky.
Not our road trip but a plug for a new YouTube Channel!
My niece and April’s granddaughter Stephanie and her husband Justin have started a YouTube Channel called Life with the Stinsons! It’s all about their life with my newest great-great niece Sophia. Check it out and subscribe!!!
