Data:
GPS Coordinates: 38.407572, -85.378838 (Main St and 1st Ave)
ZIP: 40031
A/C: 502
Scanner Frequencies:
CSX: 161.370
Access by train/transit:
None
The Scoop:
La Grange, KY (population ~8,000) is known to railfans for the "street
running" of CSX on Main St. La Grange is one of those charming little
towns you find in the south. Once about every 1 or 2 hours, the town stops and
lets CSX roll through.
The actual street running is only two blocks long between S 2nd Ave and S
Walnut Ave, but it parallels Main St for another block on the east side before
crossing Main St, and another 2 blocks or so on the west side before
pulling away from Main St.
As far as chasing CSX goes, State Highway 146 heading west towards
Louisville follows the tracks pretty darn well, almost the whole way
into the downtown area. Lookout in Crestwood where you have to cross
the tracks to stay on 146. On the east side of town, a number
of roads cross the tracks, and there is a short section of Fallen
Timber Rd that parallels the tracks.
Note down in the signal section, it appears that LaGrange has put in a
elevated viewing platform at Main and Cedar!!
There are several restaurants on and near Main Street. One of the
best is at "one-nineteen W Main" (38.407401, -85.379601). Quaint
shopping to while away time between trains helps make this a relaxing place to
railfan. Main St appears to have a lot of small knick-knack type stores
to keep even most hardcore railfans busy in between trains. Lodging
is south of town, around the I-71 exit 22..... Denver says he
prefers the Best Western Asbury Inn.
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to Denver Todd for his help with this and many of my new railfan guides.
He has provided the information which is the hard part! :-)
La Grange is about halfway between Louisville KY and Cincinnati OH off interstate I-71.
Exit 22 off of I-71 puts you on 1st Ave, which will take you directly to the middle of
town where you will find the tracks running in the middle of the street.
Colorlight signals now rule here on this ex Louisville & Nashville line,
however, back in 2014 when I originally did this guide, searchlight signals
were used in many locations as can be seen below. There are
signals to the east of town where the siding starts, as well as where the siding ends in town (or
vice-versa). The red "X" Marks the downtown intersection of Main St and 1st Ave.
Siding Interlocking - Main St Adjacent to Cedar Avenue
Looks like the city has put in a viewing platform!!!
2 to 1 -
End of Siding Behind the Museum
East End Siding Interlocking
These signals are behind Northland Corp and we can't see them from Google's Streetview.... anyone feel like taking a field trip for some pictures?
Information kiosk is across the street & tracks from the store pictured above.
Not too often you find a picture of the camera Google uses on it's
trucks..... Look down if you're zooming around in the Streetview on Google!
Church at Main and 3rd
I've always enjoyed taking pictures of churches, especially older ones which
don't seem like they were "poured out of a box",
wouldn't wanna replace the roofing on that spire however! :-)
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an
expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page.
This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.
Please Note:
Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides
are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them. For those
of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my
indexa page has a list of
almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to
help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made
to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan
guide is correct. Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a
thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only
get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take
along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still
better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get
local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts
out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their
state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em,
I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and
concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where
tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.
Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.
By the way, floobydust is
a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data
book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted.
Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great
tool if you have never used it!
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels
inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have
something to add or correct.... credit is always given! BE NICE!!! Contact info
is here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as
being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.