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The official publication of the Western Kentucky Chapter, NRHS. NRHS National News JULY 2000 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 7 SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS Chapter Western Kentucky Chapter, NRHS As a member of both the NRHS and the NMRA, I 111 Reed Place am continually puzzled by Madisonville, KY 42431 the differences in the two organizations. Admittedly JULY * * * * * the two have a different slant on their approach to President railroading but there is, in MEETING Bob McCracken my opinion much common ground. Why, then, does Vice President NRHS have some 17,000 MADISONVILLE, KENTUCKY Ricky Bivins members and $18 per year dues while the Monday, July 24 Sect. Treas. NMRA has over 23,000 Wally Watts members with an annual 7:00 PM dues of $35 (nearly twice Badgett Center National Director the NRHS rate). I also Chuck Hinrichs suspect that the average (Old L&N Depot ) age of an NMRA member Arch Street and the railroad in downtown Madisonville. is considerably less than ————- that of an NRHS member. PROGRAM “PENNYRAIL” is the We will have a special guest for our July meeting. official publication of Dennis Mize, author of L&N’s Memphis Line. the Western Kentucky Dennis will present a slide show of L&N and Southern Chapter, NRHS. operations in Kentucky. Bring your copy of L&N’s Send news notes, Memphis Line to the meeting and get the authors historical notes and signature. Leroy Cobb will supply the refreshments. other rail information to: Dennis is from the Central Kentucky area, attended UT Knoxville earning a degree in Business Editor Administration majoring in Transportation and worked 16 years in Car Service and Operations Chuck Hinrichs Management for C&NW in Chicago from 1974 to Perhaps it comes down to 1989. He attained the rank of Senior Car Service 112 Windsor Drive local and regional activity. Officer in Car Control Center, and in the final 5 years Hopkinsville, KY 42240 Maybe we, the NRHS of his 10 years in the Operation Control Center, was 270-886-2849 should look at the NMRA promoted to an "acting manager" in charge of the and it’s activities. We e-mail might just learn something (Continued on page 2) [email protected] that will keep us from shrinking and withering 1 PENNYRAIL Chapter News TRACKSIDE WITH THE (Continued from page 1) Operations Control Center OLD GOAT overseeing the nation's 7th largest railroad. He was Dennis Carnal responsible for all train operations, motive power utilization, caboose and train link years earlier. May 1, 1971 inventory, and reports to Greetings from The Old marked the startup of Amtrak management and the FRA Goat....Welcome to Summer and most railroads turned concerning operations and 2000!! As I write this column, over their passenger train accidents/derailments. While in the temperature was already operations or stopped their college, Dennis was founder of a 86 degrees at 9:OO am and passenger service altogether. regional railroad publication, The the humidity was 90 percent. Southern Railfan. He has The forecast for the weekend On August 1, 1971 the written several articles including calls for a high temperature of L&N Railroad purchased the one for Railroad Model Craftsman 97 degrees on Saturday and a 541 mile long Monon Railroad. on the Clinchfield, and The Dixie high temperature of 99 This railroad operated Line Magazine on L&N motive degrees on Sunday. Throw in between Chicago and power. He spent 13 years very humid air and get ready Louisville. The Monon gave researching and writing the new to throw-up when you go the L&N a second route into L&N book, L&N's Memphis Line. outside. Railfanning anyone? the Chicago area through His grandfather was a Memphis No Way !! I am inside until the Bloomington and Lafayette, Line agent and operator for first frost. Plus, I'm hoping for Indiana. Plus, the purchase almost 50 years. a big snowstorm on Labor gave the L&N access to Day. Does anyone like this Indianapolis, the largest city heat? Guess you can tell that and state capital of Indiana. JUNE MEETING I like winter weather better than summer. Anyway, let’s During 1972, a new Wally Watts supplied the look at the final part of my holding company called program for the June meeting in recollections of train watching Seaboard Coast Line Madisonville. Wally showed a on the Louisville & Nashville Industries purchased all L&N Pentrex Video covering the Santa Henderson Sub. common stock. This holding Fe Railway Pasadena Sub during company already owned all the 1950s and into the 1960s. This month, I will look at common stock of the The video covered the classic the 1970s through the 1990s. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Santa Fe passenger train action This buyout was the during this time. Sandy Byrd The first important event of beginning of the end for the provided the refreshments in the the 1970s was the April 30, L&N Railroad as a separate form of homemade cookies. They 1971 loss of passenger train company. By 1974, Seaboard were great! The eighteen service along the Henderson Coast Line Industries decided members on hand for the meeting Sub. Around 2:O5 am, when to group it's six owned ate all eight dozen cookies in the northbound Georgian, railroads into one common record time. A goodly quantity of train # 92, from Atlanta name for a better way to chips and drinks were also headed for St. Louis, pulled market services. The devoured by the members. No away from the yard office/ railroads were the Seaboard leftovers for Billy this time! station at Atkinson Yard. The Coast Line, Louisville & (Continued on page 5) L&N Railroad closed out 102 Nashville, Clinchfield, Georgia, years of passenger train Atlanta&West Point and service to Madisonville. Train Western Railway of Alabama. MEMBERSHIP # 92, the southbound The new 16,000 mile long counterpart had arrived from railroad would be named The National and Chapter - includes 11 St. Louis around 10:10 pm on Family Lines System. Each issues of “Pennyrail” and 6 issues of its way to Atlanta. Train # 53 railroad would keep their own the NRHS Bulletin $25.00 per was only one locomotive and identity, but would share a year. one passenger car. Train # 92 common emblem, logo and Family membership $27.00 per consist was the same. These color scheme on everything year. trains were a far cry from the from paperwork to premiere passenger trains on locomotives. Also, The Family the Henderson Sub only a few (Continued on page 3) 2 PENNYRAIL that had been selling for $10 THE OLD GOAT to $15 dollars per ton in this area rose to $60 to $70 dollars While working for, or working (Continued from page 2) per ton. The coal operators with, the L&N in the 1970s was Lines System would have were again rolling in money. often a pain in the behind for coordination between the All this time the poor L&N was everyone, watching the L&N along member railroads in trying to keep operating on a the Henderson Sub through administration, marketing and shoestring budget. This Earlington was a pure joy for the operations. Freight cars and budget problem was due in railfan. As most of the locomotives would be sub- part by the low rates that the membership knows, I like lettered for the railroad that L&N could charge customers locomotives. Keeping up to date owned that car or locomotive. to haul their coal to market. on locomotive rosters has always been one of my main interests of The year 1974 also marked After 1976, the L&N was railfanning. Let's go back to 1974 the Arab Oil Embargo. This leasing power from any source along the L&N tracks with me and energy crisis was the that could supply a watch some trains through reduction in the amount of oil locomotive. Locomotives from Earlington. Between March, 1974 shipped from the Middle East Conrail, Canadian National, to July 1978, I kept a record of all to the United States. This and Southern Pacific were trains by type (manifest, tote, coal reduction in the supply of oil common sights on the and light engine movements) that caused many large customers Henderson Sub. In I saw. I kept a record by month of to switch their energy supplies September, 1978, the the number of each locomotive by back to coal and away from oil Interstate Commerce model that I saw. Notes were and natural gas. This energy Commission ordered the made of special movements and switch caused a coal boom in Seaboard Coast Line Railroad any other railroad's locomotives Eastern coal producing areas, to supply the L&N with 100 of noted on trains. including the Western their locomotives to help with For example, during March Kentucky coal field. The L&N the coal traffic. They did what 1974, I watched 58 manifest wasn't ready to handle the the ICC told them to do and trains, 42 piggyback or tote trains, upswing in the coal market. sent the 100 locomotives to 20 coal trains and 13 light engine They were short on crews, the coal country. Most of the or caboose hops. These trains hopper cars and locomotives. borrowed SCL locomotives were powered by 16 different The heavy coal traffic pounded were little more than rolling locomotive types from EMD, GE the trackage along the pieces of junk. The and Alco. The most common mainlines. With worn-out locomotives were worn-out locomotive model noted was the trackage, derailments Alco C42Os, C628s and C630 114 sightings of EMD GP38 and/ increased daily.