Top to bottom – A New York Central Lionel GP-9 hustles freight on the C&W RR. A Southern Pacific Cab Forward owned by Wally Watts on the C&W RR. A custom painted C&EI Lionel F-3 owned by Don Clayton speeds along the rails of the C&W RR. – Rick Bivins.
Trackside action from Mortons Gap, KY by Ricky Bivins
Greetings fellow rail fans. And welcome to spring! I’m sure everyone is ready for warm weather, rail fan events, mosquitoes, sunburn and grass to mow! Yes I am being sarcastic. I always say I enjoy winter much more than summer. I actually enjoy the cold and the luxury of the above mentioned events not cutting into rail fan time, train room time along with the many Holy Train Nights throughout winter. But summer is upon us and that means other things to do. However, we will continue with our monthly meetings and scheduled events many of which will be mentioned in the meeting Monday the 15th. Hats off the Cooper Smith for presenting a fine program in March.
The Tennessee Central is an interesting railroad. Cooper brought much research and information to the table last month. If you have been keeping up with rail fan news, Union Pacific Big Boy number 4014 will be on the rails very soon to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Utah. I am sure the Big Boy under steam will be a sight to behold. Nashville Steam is making progress returning NC&St.L 576 to to life. These are only a few events. Many more are in the works. Being track side right here in our Western Kentucky backyard can yield quite a show of trains. I have seen many foreign road units lately. Not to mention watching for rolling stock from fallen flag roads. Our meeting agenda this month has a few items of importance but the business portion should go quickly.
Our program and refreshments should be spot on for spring. Get out and see some trains. Make the meeting and bring a guest. Stay track side on public property and stay safe. I hope to see you Monday.
Ricky
Left to right: Morton’s Gap March 10, 2019; Earlington March 9, 2019; again at Morton’s Gap (Photos by Ricky Bivins). Our President Ricky Bivins meets with Lieutenant Governor Hampton along with other state officials and the Kentucky Department of Aviation at Frankfort in the Capitol Rotunda February 28, 2019. (Click for larger view)
Greetings fellow NRHS Western Kentucky Chapter members. And welcome to January, 2019. My oh my what are year 2018 was. Looking back we had the Christmas show at the mall, breakfast with Santa, an excellent Christmas dinner at the Miller residence, a picnic and rail fan day at Crofton, a railfan day in Hopkinsville, a meeting in Hopkinsville, a track side day in Morton’s Gap not to mention numerous meetings, impromptu get-togethers and programs a plenty. I feel 2019 will be even better.
As you are aware, we did not have a business meeting in December however, we did have the aforementioned dinner at the Miller residence, a very successful breakfast with Santa and a successful Christmas show at the mall. Bill Farrell will have a report on the earnings from those events. Not to mention the raffle which netted us additional monies as the winner did not take the train set.
We did however have a meeting in November. Which also brought about elections of officers for 2019. There were no changes in officers as all were voted in by a single vote of acclamation. To which I say thank you. Hopefully I can serve as President as need be.
2018 also brought on a few new members. It is nice to think that we can continue to grow in this age of electronics and instant gratification. As for growing in 2019, I have always said, if a member has an idea bring it forward. We will entertain all thoughts of growth and events as well. If there is something you would like for the Chapter to do, sponsor it. And it will be done!
As is customary in January, the president which is I, will have the program and refreshments. My program will be a 1984 VHS video of Chesapeake and Ohio 4-8-4 number is 614 pulling coal trains in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Along with the video we will have a guest speaker. If you recall a few years ago my oldest stepson Brian Davis who works for CSX as a conductor gave us a talk. Brian is on call meeting night and if he is not on the railroad he will be at the meeting to give us a follow-up to that program. That is tentative provided he is available at the time.
They extended forecast for meeting night is clear and cold. Keep in mind should we have inclement weather I will cancel the meeting. No need for anyone to get out slip and fall or worse. Otherwise I hope to see you Monday, January 21, 2019. Bring a friend as all are welcome. – Ricky Bivins, Chapter President
Mother and slug (GP-40/GP-30) at Guthrie KY. November 3, 2018. Photo by Ricky Bivins.
Greetings fellow National Railway Historical Society, Western Kentucky Chapter members and welcome to November! It would seem winter came on without a fall. As did summer without a spring. Personally, I like the cooler weather. I have more time for things other than mowing, work etc.!
As you know, November brings about election time. Not on a national level mind you, but rather on our Chapter level! The November meeting will showcase the election process for the 2019 officers of our Chapter. No new nominations were made in October, however, we will call for nominations from the floor during the November meeting. If you know of someone whom you would like as an officer, nominate them. One can even nominate them self if so desired. So show up and be heard, and be counted.
Last month’s meeting was quite informative as one can see from the minutes. Refreshments were spot on and Bill Farrell’s program was excellent. I enjoy when a member presents a program of personal interest and with a personal touch. I especially enjoyed the model of the train station that still stands in Matawan, New Jersey. Ironically, I was searching the web a few days after the program for more information on the station when I ran across photographs of the model itself while still in the hands of the builder before being sent to Bill! A great program indeed Bill.
Don’t forget the Christmas party on December 1 which is a Saturday and will be held at Steve Miller’s house in Hopkinsville. Meet time is 3 PM, eat time is 4 PM with trains in the basement following. Also, the Christmas show officially begins the day after on the second as a set up and trial run day. Bill Farrell will have more information and remind us of the schedule. And let’s not forget breakfast with Santa! Again Bill will have more information meeting night.
A little FYI for the members, I now have an official Innovation Station badge! Meaning, I can open the building without having to have the locks programmed by the administration. Of course this is not something we will abuse. Any events at Innovation Station other than our monthly meetings will have to be cleared with management team prior to scheduling. With this knowledge, be advised, we will have to enter through the basement door. The upstairs doors will not remain unlocked during our meeting. Likewise, should any unforeseen event prevent me from arriving on meeting night, we will not have access to the building! Hopefully this will not happen.
Once again meeting night will also be election night. Make this your Chapter by casting a vote. Bring a friend and come prepared to be amazed! Well, at least entertained with like-minded individuals. See you there. Ricky
Steve Miller and Keith Kittinger watch a coal train overtake an auto rack on Steve’s N scale layout during Holy Train night this month. Photo by Ricky Bivins.
by Ricky Bivins, Chapter President
L&N RR passenger car #3200
This car was in service with P&LE as a commuter train out of Pittsburgh PA to College PA. That service ended in 1984.
This car also saw service on the Central City Limited in 1992 behind Nickel Plate #765. Several members of the Chapter rode the train.
The car is currently preserved at the LM&M Railroad in the Milwaukee Road colors.
The following is from the LM&M website. The 3200 at Cincinnati Union Terminal bringing up the markers on The Humming Bird
The 3200 was built be the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF) for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The L&N used the car on its Humming Bird passenger train between Cincinnati, OH and New Orleans, LA.
After retirement from the L&N in the 1960s the car was sold to the Pittsburgh and Lake Eire Railroad. The P&LE purchased the coach for commuter train service in the Pittsburgh area.
After its brief stint in commuter service, the 3200 was sold to the Ft Wayne Railroad Historical Society for excursion service. The car would later be owned by the Friends of the 261, Lake Central Rail Tours, and the Cincinnati Dinner Train before coming to Lebanon for use on the LM&M Railroad.
The 3200 is currently painted to honor the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul, and Pacific Railroad, also known as the Milwaukee Road. The car is named the Montgomery to honor both the L&N and the CL&N. The L&N stopped in Montgomery, AL. The CL&N stopped in Montgomery.
The Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad (LM&M Railroad) offers historic train rides in Warren County Ohio departing from downtown Lebanon. This is your chance to ride in vintage passenger cars hauled behind a historic diesel locomotive. The LM&M Railroad offers the only family friendly train ride experiences in southwest Ohio. We offer themed events year-round for passengers of all ages. The LM&M Railroad is operated by Cincinnati Scenic Railway, a nonprofit organization.
Several chapter members wave to CSX crews Saturday, May 19, as they gather in Morton’s Gap, KY, for Trains in the Gap Day!
Kathy and I celebrated our 18th anniversary the weekend of April 8 by going to Bardstown KY and a ride on “My Old Kentucky Dinner Train” for the noon meal trip on April 7.
Our trip started out with snow and icy roads. My drive to Bardstown from Mortons Gap was, at times, white knuckle! Once we arrived and redeemed our vouchers, I walked around the old ex-L&N depot, looked over the model trains on display, took in the many prints on the wall and admired the remaining antique scale.
Once on board the train and seated in car number 003, we chatted with our table mates Tyrell and NaTosha. No, I am not making this up! This newly wed couple had never ridden a train and seem to enjoy the event. Tyrell and I had some common ground and interests. 
The ride was nice. The track was surprisingly uneven for RJ Corman Railroad standards. But slow speed made the ride “real”! Kathy had a first time experience of walking on a moving train and laughed the whole time! The aforementioned snow made the view outside our window most pleasant.
On the return trip we were having dessert when I felt the generator change tone, vibrate…(l looked at Tyrell and he had the same look on his face I did. His experience as a mechanic told him what I felt to be as well) then…it died. Out went the lights, the AC and the noise was…no noise!
Even though it was about 38 degrees outside by this time, with 60 plus people in our car it began to heat up quickly! Our train came to a stop, crew members arrived outside our window with tools. With in minutes we were on our way with lights and AC….and generator noise!
A high light for me was seeing the RJ Corman Railroad EMD F units run around our train at each end of the run.
The trip back was over in a flash it seamed. We left out passenger car for the open road…well, hi-ways 150 and 68 to Wilmore KY. and the Potters Inn B&B.
As for the meal…we ordered the Kentucky Hot Brown. Now, I grew up with Mom and Kathy’s KY Hot Brown served with brown gravy! I did not know the traditional KY Hot Brown has creamy cheesy… stuff on it! The quality was excellent. I did not like the meal which is no reflection on the cook or the train. The Apple Dumpling though…beyond good!
I doubt I will do the dinner train again unless for a really special occasion. I do however recommend same for anyone whom enjoys trains.
