Pictures:
- CSX C40-8 #7544 near Russell Yard on 23 August, 1997.
- Former freight station near RU Tower on 19 August, 1997.
- RU Tower on 19 August, 1997.
- First-generation diesel #1224 of A-K Steel on 20 August, 1997.
- Molten steel moves through Ashland Kentucky behind A-K Steel locomotive on 20 August, 1997.
- Amtrak's Cardinal pulls into Catlettsburg Kentucky on 22 August, 1997.
- The Cardinal's conductor waves from the door on 22 August, 1997.
- A night view of a trackside industry in Ashland Kentucky on 21 August, 1997. I estimate the flame atop the stack to be over thirty feet tall.
Russell, Kentucky, is just north-west of Ashland, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Ironton, Ohio.
Russell is the home of a large CSX yard--once, it is claimed, the largest privately-owned yard in the
world--which is located between US23 and the Ohio River.
At the east end of the yard there is an active switch tower, a retired C&O depot, and a restored C&O bay-window caboose.
The throat tracks into the yard cross a bridge over a road.
I've parked my car in the CSX employee parking lot near the east end of the yard and watched the yard
activities. Visible from this location is much of the yard as well as a diesel fueling spur. I am careful
when parking on the CSX parking lot to stay well away from the tracks and stay in the parking lot proper.
The entrance to this end of the yard from US23 is
at the junction of US23 and KY207. This end of the yard also has a major locomotive
service shop with operating turntable. The western end of the yard has car shops, but I've not visited these.
Between Russell and Ashland, just west of the "Downtown Russell" bridge is a spot where CSX performs crew transfers.
Locomotives and trains often sit here for long periods. Don't stop on
US23--it's too fast and the berms are too narrow. Instead, turn down KY244 and park at the pull off on KY244,
just a few feet from the locomotives.
Along the river from Russell past Ashland to Catlettsburg KY between US23 and the Ohio River are a many large and small
industries that are served by CSX. One of these is A+K Steel; CSX provides coal and Coke Express cars, and A+K Steel
also has its own fleet of first-generation diesels for shunting cars. A+K Steel has a tower across the highway from the
Ashland Mall, and the activities of these early diesels can be easily viewed without trespassing on railroad or A+K
Steel property.
The former C&O Freight Depot in Ashland is currently being renovated to serve as an Amtrak station. Ashland is on
the route of Amtraks's The Cardinal. Amtrak currently has a depot in Catlettsburg, which is visited by the Cardinal
several times a week. The Cardinal is made up of the new SuperLiner cars.
Across the river, in Ironton, a set of NS tracks passes between US52 and the Ohio River. This track extends to the
NS yard in Portsmouth, Ohio, a few miles up (north-west) the river. The old Ironton N&W depot remains, and is now an
Italian restaurant. On the other side of the flood-control wall from the depot is a caboose on display. The south-east
end of Ironton has a small NS yard. The NS freights move both directions through Ironton at high speed.
I took a one-week vacation in August to this end of Kentucky and visited the Russell/Ashland/Catlettsburg area several
times for a few hours at time, and each time saw several trains an hour.
Maps:
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Map copyright 1997 GeoSystems Global Group |
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Map copyright 1997 GeoSystems Global Group |
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Amtrak's triweekly Superliner-equipped Cardinal, linking Chicago and Washington, D.C., via Cincinnati, effective March 11 changed its easternmost Kentucky stop from the Tri-State Station in Catlettsburg, Ky., to Ashland, Ky., 3 miles west. The Cardinal also stops in Huntington, W.Va., 10 miles east of Catlettsburg.
The "new" Ashland facility, at 15th Street on the Ohio Riverfront, is the former Chesapeake & Ohio freight station, built in 1906 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Owned by the city, it serves as an intermodal facility as the terminal for Greyhound Lines and the local Ashland bus system. It was rehabilitated using $525,000 in federal ISTEA money. Tri-State, now closed, was a new depot built in 1975; during 1971-75, Amtrak stopped at the old Ashland C&O passenger station, on an old track alignment in town now gone.
Locomotive model information from Andrew Toppan's Railroad Roster page
Maps courtesy of MapQuest Interactive Atlas.