2015 "Spirit of St. Louis" AAPRCO Convention Train on the CNO&TP

[Gage O'Dell]

On Tuesday 9/29/15, the 2015 AAPRCO "Spirit of St. Louis" Convention Train made a very rare appearance on the CNO&TP, with a pair of Amtrak P42DCs leading. The leader was the Amtrak Phase I heritage unit, or otherwise known as the "Bloody Nose". Seeing as how this rare appearance could be a once in a lifetime experience, at least on the CNO&TP. I decided against shots that showed off the cars more, and focused on shots that in 10-20 years won't be possible. 90% of my shots won't even be possible with regular road power by the end of next year.

So with that said, I woke up at 4am and made the 90 minute drive to Cincinnati so I could capture the cool and rare event of Amtrak power crossing the Ohio River on the NS side. From what I've heard and could gather, only once has Amtrak power ever led on the line and that was when they ran a test train to see if a passenger train would be a benefit for the line. It of course wasn't, so that's what made me want those rare shots. After it was supposed to be out of Cincy at 0730, it wasn't until 0830 when they crossed the bridge. I won't complain too much since the weather was horrendous and the light was absolute crap.

Afterwards, I made a beeline for Delaplain and the last remaining Southern Searchlight bridge on the CNO&TP. Luckily, I beat it by 15 minutes and had time to fuel up for the rest of the journey. I unfortunately didn't make it to the Wye to shoot it, those were 2 shots I would've loved since it's home and it would've been cool to shoot something like that. But I got ahead enough to get to Harrodsburg for the normal side shot at the creek. From there it was hitting the Southern Searchlight masts on the Louisville District. It rained so hard at Shelbyville that my camera malfunctioned and I didn't get a shot at Pope Lick. But it was still one hell of a day with a great group of friends and a rare set of power and passenger cars that you wouldn't normally see on the NS Lines..

Without further ado, below are a few pictures from the event, you can check the rest out on my Flickr, along with a full album of Roster shots of the passenger cars..
Flickr>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/46459752@N08/
Rosters of Passenger Cars https://flic.kr/s/aHskhTFqwR

NS 951, the AAPRCO Charter, rolls across the Ohio River Bridge in Cincinnati as it heads south down the CNO&TP


A shot that will never be duplicated ever again. NS 951, the AAPRCO Saint Louis Convention passenger train, rolls under the Southern searchlights at Delaplain on a gloomy and rainy fall day with the Amtrak Phase I heritage unit leading.

The searchlights expiration date looms in the next couple weeks as the Rogers Gap extension project nears completion. As well as rare mileage of Amtrak power on the CNO&TP. Only once, if not just a handful of times, has Amtrak power ever led on this line, and that was back in the 1980s when they ran a test train down the Central Division for a potential passenger route that only went as far as the testing.


NS 951 hits the dip in the wooden trestle at Salvisa as it rolls down the Gut Line toward Louisville


As the rain pours down, NS 951 splits the Southern searchlights as it crosses the RJ Corman Diamond in Shelbyville

[Matt L]

Nice shots! The AAPRCO train was fiun to watch when it came through Buffalo last year and (strangely enough) crossed a diamond.