Day: October 23, 2011
Greetings, fellow members of the Western Kentucky Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. I hope that I can provide information through my monthly reviews that will be useful to you in your search for entertaining and informative RR videos. I have eighty-four different RR videos at this time and plan to continue adding to my collection as time goes by.
As we continue this monthly feature, I would like to share with you my favorite on-line vendors for RR videos. I have found the following websites to be excellent sources of good videos and the vast majority of my collection has come from these sites:
I will try to rate the videos in an objective manner but we all have our favorite railroads and we all have connections to particular areas of the country. If I review a video that has special meaning to me, I will warn the reader that my review might not be entirely objective.
| Title | Indiana Rail Road, the Indianapolis Subdivision |
| Producer | Railway Productions |
| Format | Wide Screen DVD |
| Playing Time | 1 Hr 30 Min |
| Purchased From | TrainVideoDepot.com |
| Date Purchased | 9/12/2011 |
| Price Paid | $27.89 |
Excellent use is made of Google Earth to show the topography of the route from Indianapolis to Newton, IL. The entire route of the Indianapolis Sub is former IC RR trackage. The scenes progress from Indianapolis to Newton, which is considered to be “southbound,” although the actual route of travel is almost due west after Bloomington.
They don’t let the viewer know when the scenes he is viewing were shot. I had to skip ahead to the very end to find that the copyright date is 2009. This information is not on the cover or at the beginning of the video. We get some nice looks at Indiana Rail Road’s new SD 90/43 MACs with their bright red paint.
It is very annoying that the narrator mispronounces “Monon” every time her refers to it, which happens several times during this DVD. He does not put any emphasis on the second syllable. It is supposed to be pronounced MO’-NON’, not “MOWN-un.”
It is also very irritating that the seasons change from one scene to the next. One minute you see the trees in full summer foliage and the next minute the trees are totally bare; then you go right back to full foliage in the next scene and back to winter conditions again in the next scene. There are also some spring and fall scenes mixed in with the summer and winter scenes. This is very hard to ignore as you watch the video.
There is some really nice footage of trains crossing Richland Creek Viaduct, also known as “Tulip Trestle.” It is one of the largest RR trestles in the world, reaching 175 ft in height at its tallest point and running 2295 feet in length. It was built in 1905.
(Reprinted from Greene County Daily World Monday, August 26, 2011)
Submitted by Chris Dees
Indiana Rail Road Company (IRRC) will announce a major capital investment at a groundbreaking ceremony today in Jasonville. IRRC President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas G. Hoback, along with state and Greene County officials, will participate in the 11 a.m. ceremony at IRRC’s Hiawatha Yard near Jasonville. Hiawatha Yard is the operational heart of the 500-mile Indiana Rail Road system, which is headquartered in Indianapolis and provides nearly 200 jobs in central and southwest Indiana, and east-central Illinois. The event will announce a $65 million, five-year investment plan IRRC is undertaking to prepare for growth in its rail traffic over the next five years. IRRC’s current traffic levels take the equivalent of 800,000 truckloads of freight off highways each year.
The planned improvements will include construction of a new locomotive maintenance shop, a parts warehouse, a two-story yard office and storage warehouse. In addition, about 4,000 feet of new track will be laid in the yard. To accommodate IRRC’s expansion plans, a permanent closure of about 775 feet of Queen Four Road (CR. 800N) was granted by the county commissioners. INRD currently has about 5,000 feet of usable track between Shanklin Street and Queen Four Road (CR 800). Closing the crossing at Queen Four Road will allow the railroad to expand its holding capacity and be able to handle the large, modern 140-car coal trains that can exceed 8,000 to 9,000 feet in length.
Hoback told the Greene County Daily World that the major reason for the planned expansion at the Jasonville yard is a contract his company has with Peabody Coal Company’s new Bear Run Mine near Dugger, which is the largest surface coal mine east of the Mississippi River. The mine is about 12 miles from the Hiawatha Yard and Hoback expects his company to grow 50 percent in the next five years with commitments to be hauling about 70 percent of the coal mined at Bear Creek. IRRC will spend $17.5 million to build a new five-mile rail spur into the coal mine.
The yard is also located just south of the planned Landree Mine and in close proximity to two other contracted mines, Sunrise Mine near Carlisle and a Vectren Energy Mine near Oaktown.
IRRC spokesman Chris Rund pointed out expanding the Jasonville facility is critical to the rail company.
“It’s the hub of the wheel and will allow the company to modernize its facility and grow the number of local employees,” he said.
Hello again Chapter Members. Well we start October on a sad note just as we did September! Former Member Jim Findley passed away earlier this month after a long illness. Jim was only 48 years young! In fact, I am 9 days older than Jim was. I met Jim in grade school at the 4-H Camp in Dawson Springs KY many years ago. We became friends when we learned through “round table discussion’s” at camp that we both liked trains. Jim and I were “in touch” off and on through the years. It is so sad that such a talented individual passed so young. In hind sight, Jim accomplished more than most will do in a long lifetime. Just as with Dennis’ passing, we never realize what we have in a friend until it is much too late!
Well, October has been a very good month otherwise. The Annual and much anticipated Picnic at Crofton KY was held on October 8th and it was a blast. I attended this year as it has been three years since my last visit to Crofton. As Steve Miller reports, attendance was low but the weather was perfect and CSX was very cooperative in sending trains our way.
Also in October, three members (Thomas, Wally & Myself) and one guest, Phil Randall aka Nortonville Phil, made a trip to Southern Illinois for some rail fanning. On Thursday October 13th, Phil and I left his house in Nortonville at 4:30 AM and headed West through Paducah and then to Ware Illinois. Wally and Thomas met up with us later in Gorham Illinois where we were greeted with overcast skies and damp surroundings. The objective of course was to see trains on the ex-Missouri Pacific line along the Mississippi River. The River Line as it is called. We were treated to about 15 trains total for a fun day of railroading that ended with sunny skies and a good breeze.
The October Meeting will see the first of two calls for nominations for Chapter Officers. The elections are to be held the following month. If you want to run for office, stand up and be heard. If you know of someone you would like to see in office, nominate them. This is YOUR CHAPTER, you can make a difference only if you take action!
At the young age of 48, Jim Findley lost his battle with cancer this month. Also please remember Tony Clark’s family. His wife Mary, passed away Friday, October 21.
