Author: Bill Thomas

by Bill Thomas, superintendent, Hook Line & Singer RR

The last derailment on the Hook Line & Singer RR sends the Board of Directors into finalizing the closing of the line. No livestock was injured. 

For nearly 17 years, the Hook Line & Singer Railroad has brought me hours of joy, relaxation, and for a few of those hours, a great deal of frustration and challenge.  It has been the gathering place for our chapter at times – where friendships were cultivated and precious memories made, evidenced by the picture bottom left.  With the recent move we’ve made to West Lake Street, Madisonville, the Hook Line will join the ranks of fallen flag lines as its rails and ties are removed leaving a lonely roadbed. Mother Nature will soon reclaim the real estate.

But with that comes the creation of a new line, yet to be named.  I guess it depends on the towns served and how much money each community along the line can raise to make an impact on the route.  So stay tuned over the next year or two for news about re-purposed rail being laid to new vistas and destinations.  Who knows, this may turn into a group project! – Bill Thomas, superintendent, Hook Line & Singer RR

Click on photos for a full view!

While vacationing in Gulf Shores, AL, last month, I traveled the short distance up to Foley, AL, to experience the Foley Railroad Museum.  Unfortunately I arrived 10 minutes after they closed at 3pm.  Housed in the former L&N, the museum features these pieces of rolling stock and a large 3-rail O display layout.   Bill Thomas, ed.

· Spring Garden RR Gathering will now be Saturday, June 13, 11 am to 4 pm, weather permitting. If weather is questionable, please check the chapter website blog for updates on cancelations and postponements. The Hook Line & Singer Railway is located at 1025 Lakewood Drive, Madisonville, KY. Light snacks will be served. Visiting Large Scale (45 mm gauge) equipment is welcomed and encouraged so bring your toys!

Much conversation has ensued here in the little hamlet of Madisonville, KY, about the removal of the Earlington, former L&N, main line through downtown. I have a bias opinion – I admit it! But, as a fiscal and political conservative, I believe there could be many places stimulus and tax money could be spent to give our community a better return on its investment. No room for a numerated list here, but we all could come up with ideas.

In the Christmas-season movie It’s a Wonderful Life, by Frank Capra, James Stewart, who plays George Bailey, an ambitious young man trying his best to get out of the fictional small town in which he feels imprisoned, asks this question of his uncle Billy. “What are the three most exciting sounds in the world? Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles!” he answers himself.

My office at First Baptist Church sits about 75 yards from the Earlington main. As CSX’s “Dark Future” towing machines drag train after train of containers, flats piled high with lumber from the Northwest, tanks of molten sulfur, boxcars of paper and automobile parts, and so many various other products, I am reminded that train horns (no whistles any more) represent a lot of positive things. For the local community, I would guess that CSX is paying some amount of property tax to towns and cities through which they pass. This would not only affect Madisonville, but Earlington. (these are assumptions—admittedly). Beyond the local impact is the region, state, and nations on the North American continent, not to mention the global market for which the container traffic serves as a conduit. When tons of freight are moving through, it is a sign of some economic health, regardless of how bad things may seem.

To me, how sad it would be to no longer see these symbols of “transportational” vigor ply the north/south axis of our town. True, if the trains were moved to the cut-off, nothing would change any of this. But, I know how little boys (and their fathers) perk up at one of the most exciting sounds in the world. And let’s face it, the “Best town on earth” could use a little excitement every now and then. I think 30 to 40 shots a day is great.

How about a town sub-slogan, “We’re on Track!”? How about an annual festival, “Coal Days” featuring the coal and rail industry in Hopkins county? Just some thoughts.

-Bill Thomas, editor