Chasing TTI Railroad - 10/10/15

TTI Railroad based out of Paris, KY is one of the last strongholds for classic GE power. Owned by parent company CSX, Transkentucky Transportation Incorporated currently rosters five active B36-7 locomotives and one active U28B locomotive, plus a host of other GEs used as parts donors at the shop in Paris.

In this video, you'll see a matching quartet of TTI's B36-7 locomotives lead a loaded coal train north to the barge transloader on the Ohio River in Maysville, where they'll quickly switch the coal loads out for rock empties before heading back south to Paris. You'll hear the deep-throated gurgle of GE's Dash-7 series as they assault eastern Kentucky's hills and valleys.

In 2014, TTI only ran two trains the entire year due to decreased demand for coal. So far this year, a coal contract and a rock contract have kept the railroad busy, but it's rumored that they are both about to expire and the railroad may become idle once again. Shoot what you have while you have it, because it could be gone in an instant!