"Coal Boom to Empty Tracks": Good times Part 1. Last Days of Kentucky Shortline Hauling Coal скачать в хорошем качестве

"Coal Boom to Empty Tracks": Good times Part 1. Last Days of Kentucky Shortline Hauling Coal

Join us for the exciting story of the last years of the TTI railroad before the flash flood of July 22-23, 2017. Transkentucky Transportation Railroad (here after referred to as TTI) is a 50 mile shortline railroad in northern and central Kentucky. It operates an ex-L&N branch line between Paris, KY and Maysville, KY. It is known for its fleet of classic GE locomotives. Coal was foundational for its business, with docks at Maysville Kentucky on the Ohio River but declines in coal demand from major customers led to reduced traffic. Over a period of two years and multiple visits we were able to capture some of the last coal train runs. This was no mean feat as train operations were sporadic with only a handful of trains and no regular schedule. History: The short line emerged from the ashes of an almost-abandoned branch line and hung on for three decades after years of litigation. TTI short-hauled mountains of coal between the Eastern Kentucky coalfields and the Ohio River with an eclectic fleet of General Electric locomotives. Local businessmen purchased the line, abandoned in 1979, and went to work restoring it to operation. The route also aquuired trackage rights and a mainline reverse move of several miles on CSX’s Chessie System main line to serve the TTI port. The TTI entered the coal hauling and transloading business in 1981. How well did it work? Well, by 1993 CSX would have majority ownership of TTI. By 1993, coal business was brisk, and the original diesel fleet was worn out. Two and sometimes three daily turns between Paris and Maysville, using up to eight U-boats each, left little time for maintenance,. Something had to give as failures grew and track conditions worsened. Enter CSX, which acquired TTI stock but kept the companies separate. The affiliation gave TTI access more powerful locomotives: U36Bs, retirement candidates on CSX. A technological breakthrough of its time, the U36B produced 3,600 hp on four axles. The units were ideal candidates for the TTI. The railroad acquired nine U36Bs, almost immediately painted black with yellow trim and large TTI heralds on the hood, giving the fleet a more unified, if not clean, look. These were followed by 15 B36-7s fresh out of the intermodal pool, a newer adaptation of the U36 platform, being only about 17 years old when acquired.