Lunch In LaGrange KY
Rail Fan Road Trip -
by: Charles H Bogart
As we left the doctor's office in Frankfort, Kentucky, a little after noon, Mary Ann said to me, “Why don’t we drive up to LaGrange for lunch and then chase some trains afterward?” This sounded like a great idea to me, and an hour later, we were in LaGrange. Upon arrival in LaGrange, I first checked the two CSXT signal masts to ensure no train was approaching. Both the northbound and the southbound signals showed Red over Red. It was safe to go eat.
Mary Ann chose One Nineteen West Main as our place to eat. It has good food at a reasonable price and a nice view of the CSXT’s track. After a good meal of pot roast, we went trackside. A check of the northbound signal mast showed Red over Yellow. We had a northbound train coming, which was going to pull into the LaGrange Yard. Some 30 minutes later, the train showed up, and what a train it was! Three locomotives, CSXT 6033, CSXT 1132, and CSXT 6582, were pulling but one tank car, UTlX 601645. After taking some photos on Main Street as the train entered LaGrange, we drove over to the rail yard located on East Jefferson Street. Here, the tank car was dropped off and tied down. The three CSXT locomotives then parked. There must be another train coming. A check of the southbound signal mast showed Red over Red. However, the northbound signal mast showed Green over Red. Joy of Joy, another train was coming.
We went back into LaGrange and parked on Main Street at the Oldham County Courthouse. The courthouse remodeling is now complete. Some 30 minutes later, a stack train came into view, bound from Louisville, Kentucky, to Cincinnati, Ohio. The train was pulled by one engine, CSXT 7107. and consisted of eight well cars and seven autoracks. After shooting photos of the train on Main Street, we took off to chase. My plan was to photograph the train at Pendleton, Sulphur, Campbellsburg, Tanner Station, English, Worthville, and Sanders.
We got to Pendleton, Kentucky, some 30 seconds ahead of the train. I did not have time to get out of the car. Lowered the window and shot from where I was sitting. It was now onto Sulphur, Kentucky. A #!@*%^$ pickup truck pulling a wagon of hay, however was slowly crawling down the road in front of us. We got to Sulphur in time to see the train’s FRED leave town. OK, we will run for Campbellsburg, Kentucky. Now it’s a #!@*%^$ fifty-foot-long RV camper in front of us, slowly navigating the curves of the road. We thus reached Campbellsburg in time to see FRED winking its way out of town. OK, we will run for Tanner Station, Kentucky. No traffic this time to hamper the drive, just a narrow, hilly, curvy road to navigate. We hit Tanner Station as the train blew its horn for the road crossing. Once again, I lowered the car window and shot from the driver’s seat, hoping for the best.
It was now run for English, Kentucky, or should we just run for Worthville, Kentucky? The decision was to skip English and run for Worthville. As we headed for Worthville, I caught sight of two Conrail gondolas in the Carrollton Railroad’s Worthville Yard. I also noticed that the gate to the farm supply yard, which has the two CSXT boxcars inside the fence, was open. Two CSXT boxcars were being used as storage sheds. We got to the CSXT Worthville Yard about 60 seconds in front of the train. As we pulled trackside at the fire station, we could hear the train blowing its horn for the Kentucky River Bridge. I hopped out of the car to set up for my photo, only to have the train stop outside of the west end of the yard at the yard’s entry signal mast. After waiting 15 minutes for the train to move, I got back in the car to drive down to the west end of the yard. As I turned to drive to the west end of the yard, the locomotive gave two toots and started to move. A quick “U-turn,” and I ran to the east end of the yard and got some photos as the train exited the yard. The uncertainty of trackside photography!
I now made an Executive Decision to end the train chase and visit the farm supply storage yard.
Fortunately, the farm supply storage yard gate was still open. Thus, I drove in and got some photos of the two ex-CSXT boxcars, CSXT 507154 and CSXT 508004. It was then drive down the road to the Carrollton Railroad’s Worthville Yard and take some photos of the two Conrail cars. The photos were taken, with plans to send them to the Conrail Historical Society, hopefully for publication in their Journal. It was at this time that Mary Ann made an Executive Decision: we were not going to sit in the CSXT Worthville waiting for a train; we would head home to Frankfort. Believing in the old adage, “Happy wife, happy life,” we headed for home.
1. CSXT 6033, CSXT 1132, and CSXT 6582 enter LaGrange, Kentucky.
2. CSXT 6033, CSXT 1132, and CSXT 6582 with UTLX 601645 depart LaGrange. Notice signal Red over Yellow. Train watching viewing tower on the right. The clock did not have the correct time; it was some three hours slow.
4. CSXT 7107 enters LaGrange with her consists of eight well cars and seven autoracks.
5. CSXT 7107 at Pendleton Kentucky.
6. CSXT 7107 at Tanner Station, Kentucky.
7. CSXT 7107 at Worthville, Kentucky looking west. The train stopped at the entrance to the yard. The track on the left is siding. The track in the middle is the CSXT main line into the yard. Track on the right Carrollton Railroad.
8. East end of Worthville Yard with CSXT 7107 exiting yard.
9. CSXT 507154 in the farm supply storage lot.at Worthville, Kentucky.
10. CSXT 508004 in farm supply storage lot.at Worthville, Kentucky.
11. CR55593 and CR55500 in Carrollton Railroad Yard at Worthville, Kentucky. The Carrollton Railroad is owned by CSXT.
Train images used by permission of Charles H Bogart