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From the Hazard Daily Blog:

During WW II one of the most desirable jobs a man could have in Kentucky and Tennessee was working on the L&N Railroad.

Practically all the men in our family were "Railroad Men". My Dad, my Grandpa, Grandpa's brother-in-law, Grandpa's son, and two of my my aunt's husbands.

The L&N passenger trains and freight trains ranged from Hazard, Leatherwood, Jenkins, Whitesburg, Jackson, Irvine, Lexington and Louisville. Their famous passenger train, "The Hummingbird" ran daily from Chicago to Louisville, to Nashville and on to New Orleans and back. I rode the Hummingbird during the War when it carried a record number of coaches filled with Service Men and Women plus regular travelers. The seats were all filled and the aisles and the vestibules were also full of passengers either standing or sitting on their suitcases or duffel bags. WWII was an exciting time for railroad travel and entirely necessary for the War Effort.

The main L&N service for us were the freight trains with hundreds of coal gondolas each carrying 16 tons of coal out of the Hazard holler to all points of the United States. There was a big demand for coal for manufacturing plants all over the U.S. The rail tracks from Hazard to Lexington had to be one of the most difficult routes in the world for a heavy coal train to navigate. All those sharp curves and up and down the mountains. All those skinny trestles across the Kentucky River. The Engineer could only see down the crooked tracks for about a quarter of a mile, night and day, rain or shine. Back then freight trains carried an engineer, a fireman, a conductor, brakeman, and flagman. The conductor, brakeman, and flagman traveled in the famous old caboose car at the rear of the train. It was equipped with a sink, toilet, bunk beds and a coal burning pot bellied stove for heat and cooking. Some times a crew might spend two or three days on a run.

Grandpa's job was to marshall these coal trains in the Hazard yards and then send them North, every day. I can still remember, like it was yesterday, hearing the giant coal burning steam engines churning its heavy wheels with giant puffs of smoke straining to get a 120 car coal train moving up to speed. No Diesels in Hazard, yet. If you lived anywhere in town that noise was just routine. The smoke was always hovering over downtown and the smell was just as bad. After a while you paid no attention. It was our way of life.

The other exciting L&N service was the Passenger Train to Lexington. That's the part I loved. It came in from Whitesburg every morning and continued on to Jackson and Lexington. Grandpa would get me a pass every so often during the summer and it was good on any L&N train. I used to ride to Oakdale and visit my uncle's farm for a couple of weeks then ride the train back home. When my Dad and I rode to Lexington I remember the girls in Jackson that set up their stands and sold box lunches to the passengers for Fifty Cents. Several times we went all the way to Cincinnati to see the Reds play baseball. What an adventure that was. Equal to sledding down Baker Hill, Hazard Bulldog Basketball and Ma Combs peach cobbler. The evening train came in from Lexington around 4:30 pm carrying passengers, various newspaper bundles, Railway Express mail and packages and 20 gallon cans of fresh milk for the City.


When it was “Quittin’ time” at The L&N Railroad yards Granpa headed for the old swinging bridge across the North Fork of the Kentucky river and walked home about a mile away. He lived high up on the hill in a three bedroom house that he and his son built themselves. It was directly across the river from the railroad turn table and repair shop. On the way through the yards he picked up small pieces of coal that had fallen off the gondolas and put them in his toe sack. That would keep the fire going in the living room fireplace that night.

When he got home he would sit in a dinning room chair and Grandma would wash all the coal dust off his face and clean the cinders out of his eyes. One of the many problems with working around the old steam engines all day.

Well the song is right: "The L&N don't stop here any more, but I'll never forget it...

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Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

Been through Hazard a few times as I was born just east of there.

Rad

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NRA Benefactor

Tri-State Gun Collectors Life Member

I rode the train several times in the 1950's and early 1960's. It was a lovely way to travel. A social way to travel.

People on the cars were free to move about and visit with one another, move into the dining car, or "vista dome" car, smoking car. Dining was a fairly formal event, with linen table cloths, china and silver service and porters to serve. The food was excellent as well. Of course, it was a time where manners and civility mattered.

I was just a child but still remember these trips and enjoyed them very much. It was a relaxed, unhurried way to travel and see the country side as you clicked along on the rails. I certainly would prefer to travel this way, rather than deal with the current hassels of air travel, not to mention the cramped quarters once actually on the plane.

Boy, you brought back good times with this post.

Viking Queen

I have ridden on two trains, oddly enough, both in foreign countries. Rode a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg in Russia. Mostly at night so we did not get to see much. Rode one down the Copper Canyon in Mexico. That is something that should be on everyone's list. Incredible ride! The track goes through a couple dozen tunnels. The most amazing one is a tunnel that makes a 180 degree turn inside the mountain and drops about 100 ft at the same time. Going west you enter the tunnel and then come out going east well below the track going into the tunnel. The front car right behind the engine had a number of Federalis w/ machine guns guarding the train. Not surprizingly they would not let me take a picture of them. Very interesting train ride.

Yep. My wife and very young daughter, and I rode the train from San Diego, California to Denver, Colorado and back in December 1984. We had a little room with an upper and lower bunk, and a little table with a bench on either side. Bathroom down the hall, and meals in the diner. What a nice trip.

Train trips were on our to do list when we retired. There are some wonderful several-day long train tours in the Mountain West; kinda pricey, but sure look like a lot of fun. Didn't get to do it though.

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Hugh
U. S. Navy, 1959 - 1987, Retired
NRA Life Member

One thing on my Bucket List. I've never taken a train trip, and would like it to be long enough to spend the night on the train. Today it wouldn't match the grand old Pullman cars, but I guess as close as I can get. And just maybe Amtrak could get the trip done without derailing and making it my last trip anywhere.......

I have rode on the L&N railroad many times in my younger days. I'm afraid that's all a part of my distant past. I always enjoyed riding trains. Rode from Louisville to Lexington several times, and east of there too.

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don44
It shall be as it was in the past....Not with dreams, but with strength and with courage....Shall a nation be molded to last
NRA Life Member since 1976
U S Army Veteran

I was hitch hiking to California around 1975, got stuck on I-80 for many hours, I hopped a westbound freight in Rawlings Wyoming and rode it to the outskirts of Orem Utah. One of those scary, crazy experiences I am glad I did but would never do again unless really desperate to get somewhere or away from somewhere.
I rode it over night, I was sitting in the boxcar door when another train rushed by and I thought I was gonna get sucked out of the boxcar and under the other train. Scared me a bunch. At one time there was a big electrical storm going on and the strobe of the lightning made everything look so surreal.
Early in the morning the train stopped on a siding outside Orem Utah and I was able to walk just a few yards to the side of Interstate 80, stuck out my thumb and the third car that came by picked me up and gave me a ride all the way to downtown Oakland California.
Personnally I am ashamed of how our country runs railroads, especiall that worthless money sucking anti gun AMTRACK. We could have high tech energy efficient steam powered heavy transportation, lururious personal travel and fun that TSA and the Airline monopolies cannot ruin.
But until we get rid of the stupidity that is AMTRACK, get smart about steam power and efficient rail operations it could never happen.

Have ridden trains many,many times. Rode The Tennessean from Memphis, Tennessee to Washington, D.C. Several times, and the Santa Fe Super Chief and Sanfrancisco Chief several times. This from Colorado Springs to San Francisco. Also rode the Burlington Northern from Kansas City to Seattle, Washington.

Ah, the ol' L&N, Louisville & Nashville R.R. They built the first trackage between those two cities, condemning property along the right-of-way. My grandfather obtained those houses and moved them intact to his farm for rental property. Used steel beams, timbers and wheels, oxen for power. Started his venture into the real estate business.

Bob Wright

Used to ride the WB&A from Bladen street in Annapolis to Baltimore and go shopping with my parents or go there to visit relatives. I can still smell the coal burning and hear the 'whoosh' of the steam. A little history is here: http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/parks/ ... istory.cfm

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Frank
"Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people."(Tench Coxe, Feb. 20, 1788.)
http://www.marylandshallissue.org/

My Grand Father was a Brakeman on one of the railroads up around Pennsylvania and also worked out of Detroit. I STILL have his old Hamilton Railroad watch and when wound up it still keeps Excellent time.
I know as a very young one, that we rode the trains, but I was too young to know when and where. As a teenager, I took the train from Portland Oregon to Chicago, IL the summer after my Jr Year in High School. When I moved from Hagerstown, MD down to Orlando, FL; I loaded my car on the "Car Train" just south of D.C. and the next day unloaded it in Sanford, Florida.
The last rain rides were over in England going from London back up to the Manchester Airport; what a "flusterCluck"; they had a problem with "signals" somewhere on the line ( a common occurrence in England I gather), Trains were cancelled, delayed and nobody had any information. Finally about 2 hours late, we caught a train whose final destination was Edinborough and made a stop in (name escapes me) where we transferred to a commuter train that stopped AT the airport. The first one was an express and it was FAST, the commuter train , well what can you say??
I'd travel by train again in England, BUT only if I was in no hurry.

Here in the USA, you can't get from here to there in a rapid and reasonable time and it costs a LOT more than a round trip airfare.

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PJSD

My only real train ride was from San Antonio Texas to Denver Colorado. That particular route didn't have much in the way of scenery but I did see a whole lot of nothing. Had a bit of trouble going to sleep at first in the one night being slung from side to side in that berth but when you're young you get used to most anything pretty quick. I loved that train though, and the fact it was taking me somewhere I'd never been.

A few years back my wife and I caught Southern Pacific's Sunset Limited from Los Angeles and got off in Houston (the train continued on to New Orleans). After visiting friends we rode back from Houston to Los Angeles. I said at the time - the United States doesn't have a problem of too many people but one of population distribution. There are miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles out in West Texas and New Mexico. One can imagine in the 1880's a cowboy riding from one water hole to another and trying to watch out for Indians along they way. I guess that's why they valued horses the way they did - and hanged horse thieves when they caught them.
I'd take another train trip as it's a great way to see America.
Steve

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NRA Life Member
My favorite color is still 'th BLUZ'
Texan by birth, Alaskan by the grace of God!

Only rode trains in Europe

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Regards - Swampbilly

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Trout Whisperer

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My wife and I rode the Rio Grande RR about 30 years ago from Denver to Glenwood Springs. That was one of the last stretches that still used the luxury skydome cars and dining cars. This part of the Rio Grande snaked though switchbacks where you could actually see the tail end of the train below you. It alss went along the Colorado River where it was traditonal for the rafters to moon the train.