A BLUEGRASS RENAISSANCE From Rail to River BY MIKE BIEHN/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR I
T’S A CLEAR, COOL EARLY FALL MORNING in the horse farm community of Paris, Ky. You are parked near a former
Louisville & Nashville wooden depot where across the street to the south is a sizable yard and shop complex. The CSX CC (Cincinnati-Corbin) Subdivision skirts the west side of the yard, still guarded by ancient L&N signals. A large group of railfans joins you in the depot parking lot, some local, some from out of state. Is there a special train running, a steam engine, or passenger extra perhaps? Moments later white smoke arises from the depths of the yard and four pristine
blue and white General Electric B36-7s slowly work their way north to connect to a large cut of freshly delivered loaded coal hoppers. In minutes a few switching moves are complete and everyone gets back in their cars to get ahead to their first locations to photograph the train. The engineer slowly takes his train over a set of weigh-in-motion scales before heading toward home rails. Before the day is done the train will make it to the small Ohio River town of Maysville where the coal will be loaded onto a barge for utilities on the river. Several photographers will come home happy, getting photos of Transkentucky Transportation Inc.,
one of the most distinctive shortline operations in the country.
From Rail to River Since its beginnings in 1979, TTI has
hit the ground running creating and running a sound business model that has been sustained for over three decades. After taking over the former L&N branch from Paris to Maysville on the Ohio River, millions of dollars were invested and several weeks were spent upgrading and refurbishing the line for one purpose — moving bulk commodities, namely coal, to the Ohio River where they could be offloaded to barges for utilities down
OPPOSITE: A loaded TTI coal train pulled by four blue and white “tote-boats” en route to Maysville crosses Fleming Creek in Pleasant Valley, Ky., on October 15, 2015. ABOVE: Three General Electric B36-7s assist a northbound coal train near Strodes Mill, Ky., on October 21, 2015. TTI has developed a reputation amongst railfans as a stronghold for second-generation GE locomotives.
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