Step onto the captivating world of Hotrail Productions, where the magic of lights, camera, and trains combines to create an unforgettable experience. I travel all over the country photographing railroad history in the making. My footage dates back to 1995. Whether it's a thrilling action sequence or a heartwarming romantic scene, the railway has long been a favorite setting for filmmakers and TV producers.
In a windy shot left over from my archives, an eastbound unit auto train crosses the CN diamonds at Wellsboro. Power is a CSX AC4400CW and a BNSF GE C44-9W.
Filmed on April 13, 2019.
Back at Warsaw, a northbound NS train crosses the CF&E(Ex-PRR) diamond and swings onto Hickory Street. Power is an EMD SD70ACE, a GE C40-9W, and a KCS ET44AC. We will catch up with this train at Milford Junction.
This is the narrow gauge Arkansas Lime Company Railroad at Batesville, Arkansas. It hauled limestone from a quarry to a crusher. This footage is now historic, as it has been converted to standard gauge.
How is nuclear waste transported? Look no further than this train led by a pair of AC4400CW's.
After the CSX work gang clears the scene at Cottage Grove, Indiana, an unusual train approaches from the west. It is a long string of empty covered gondolas that are used to carry contaminated soil. The power is a pair of GE C44-9W's of SP and UP heritage. After clearing the switch for the interchange track, the CSX crew fires up the GP40 that was sitting on the siding on the C&O. They move the loco and the tank cars from the C&O siding onto the connecting track, and then back it up onto the C&O mainline to make way for the nuclear train. Until 1986, Amtrak's CARDINAL utilized this connecting track to reach the B&O and Cincinnati after the line was abandoned south of Fernald.
Fernald is where the nuclear train is headed. The train slowly backs up the connecting track and prepares for the run south on the C&O. Talk about getting lucky at Cottage Grove!
The same NS train we saw on the street-running in Warsaw with the SD70ACU passes by the cemetery at North Manchester, Indiana. The former PRR Eel River Branch crossed in the center of town until 1977.
Filmed on 6/7/19 The SD70ACU's are former EMD SD90MAC's. 100 came from Union Pacific Railroad, and 10 were acquired from CIT.
Kokomo, Indiana is a very industrial town, and all the railroad trackage
is operated by the Central Railroad of Indianapolis (CERA). The three
lines that cross are the PRR Panhandle Line, which ends on the south
side of town, the N&W "Cloverleaf" route, and the N&W IMC
(Indianapolis-Michigan City) line. Our first scene shows high-nose GP30 #2252
heading north on the PRR with four gondola cars of scrap. He then switches onto
the Cloverleaf and backs the train down to the scrapyard. All of the
diamonds are still in place in this town.
We then look at the junction of the IMC and Cloverleaf lines, and you
will note an odd signal guarding the crossing. The Kokomo depot is on
the IMC line south of the diamond, and we look at the interesting
display of motive power. Note the various N&W/NS high-hood GP30's,
and the GP9 #1754, which is owned by Winamac Southern.
The 2252 soon returns light, running westbound on the Cloverleaf and
crossing the IMC line. He stops so the engineer can throw the switch.
Then the engineer SLOWLY crosses the main street and rattles the
residential area with the bleating horn.
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This narrative is in two parts. The first will deal with the town of North Judson itself, and the second with the museum.
North Judson, Indiana was once one of the busiest railroad towns in the world! At one time, FOUR railroad lines intersected here, three of them busy main lines. The PRR Chicago-Cincinnati "Panhandle Line" ran parallel to the C&O of Indiana mainline though town. The Erie Lackawanna's Chicago-Buffalo mainline crossed both lines on a severe angle. The NYC's "Kankakee Belt Line" came in from the south and crossed the PRR, then crossed the EL and C&O almost in the same spot! Family friends in nearby Knox told us that during World War II, the frequency in this town was 150 trains per day!
Today this town is very quiet. The NYC was abandoned by Conrail in 1983. The EL was shut down in 1979 after two short line operators failed, and was removed west of here in 1981. The PRR was abandoned in 1984, and the C&O was abandoned south of town in December, 1987. Between 1974 and 1986, Amtrak's James Whitcomb Riley, (later renamed the Cardinal), passed through here on the C&O until it was rerouted in April, 1986. The Floridian ran on the PRR from January 1972 until August, 1974, when the FRA declared the line unsafe for passenger trains. Neither of these trains stopped here.
In 1980 the Tippecanoe Railroad was formed to operate a 17-mile segment of the EL east to Monterey to serve a grain elevator. The line became known as the J&K Lines, and was eventually bought by RailAmerica, who promptly abandoned the line in 2004 when the grain elevator closed. The museum had one mile donated to them.
The C&O continued to be used by CSX to serve a grain elevator at Malden, just west of here, and to interchange with the J&K lines. With no interchange at North Judson, CSX filed to abandon the trackage in 2004. Not wanting to be land-locked, the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum contracted with Rail Boxcar to purchase the line. It is now known as the Chesapeake & Indiana.
The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum was begun in 1988 to preserve a C&O steam locomotive that was displayed in Peru, Indiana. They set up their displays on the EL right-of-way, and obtained an interesting array of equipment over the years. Note the custom-built depot, new trackage on the EL grade, and the South Shore cars. Heavily-vandalized car #108 has since been scrapped. The museum does run occasional excursions on the C&O line to La Crosse.
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