Kentucky, much like those in West Virginia will always be known for one thing, coal. Ever since railroads first began building rail lines in the state in the mid-19th century they have been tapping the very lucrative black diamonds, which today still makes up a significant portion of most railroads' profits across the industry. Today, the state's railroads still moves millions of tons of coal annually (it remains the state's top originating traffic source) and the only thing that has really changed is the number of companies doing so. There are currently four Class Is serving Kentucky (BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Canadian Pacific), although the two eastern carriers operate the majority of the state's rail network (BNSF and CP merely pass through Kentucky's western tip). Additionally, a few regionals and a handful of shortlines also serve the state. In any event, the information included below aims to give you a brief history and overview of Kentucky including current operations.
Kentucky railroads date back to 1830, just three years after our nation's first common-carrier, the Baltimore & Ohio was chartered, when the Lexington & Ohio Railroad was chartered to connect Frankfort with Lexington, a distance of about 31 miles. The railroad was able to complete the line by 1834 and by 1851 had connected Louisville along the banks of the Ohio River. The company would eventually become part of the Louisville & Nashville system and today, its original line is still operating by RJ Corman, a diversified railroad business which owns several shortlines in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and other southern states.
Following the completion of the L&O, Kentucky would boast several classic eastern and southern carriers, most of which gained entry or built into the state to tap its rich coal reserves. Even some Midwestern systems reached the state given that the western region of Kentucky was geographically in both the Midwest and South.
Today, Kentucky railroads are mostly the domain of Norfolk Southern and CSX mentioned before with CN and BNSF also having a small presence in the state. While the two eastern Class Is operate Kentucky's east-west main lines they also control several miles of branch and secondary lines to tap its still-lucrative bituminous coal reserves. and to a lesser degree Canadian National with the former railroads operating both through main lines as well as branch lines (most of which are used to serve numerous coal mines) within the state.
Aside from the Class Is Kentucky is home to regionals Paducah & Louisville and Indiana Rail Road as well as shortlines RJ Corman, Kentucky & Tennessee Railway, Kentucky West Tennessee Railway, Louisville & Indiana Railroad, Tennken Railroad, Transkentucky Transportation Railroad, West Tennessee Railroad, and the Western Kentucky Railway. Today, Kentucky is home to a little over 2,600 miles of track although during the industry's heyday this number peaked to nearly 4,000 miles. Given that the state has lost just over 33% of infrastructure this is actually not bad given that most states have seen declines of 50% or greater since the 1920s. In any event, for a more in-depth look at Kentucky in regards to its route miles through the mid-19th century to today please refer to the chart below.
Passenger trains like the IC's City of New Orleans, C&O's George Washington, and L&N's Pan-American no longer operate through Kentucky, at least by these former railroads. Today, Kentucky's passenger rail system is operated by Amtrak and includes the tri-weekly Cardinal between Chicago and Washington, D.C., and the City of New Orleans between Chicago and New Orleans. You can learn more about the streamliners that operated through Kentucky by clicking here to visit the section of the website here covering many, including the ones mentioned above. Additionally, please click here to visit Amtrak's website to learn more about the current services it offers in Kentucky.
Freight and passenger railroads aside, Kentucky is also home to a number of railroad museums and excursion trains, like the RJ
Corman-owned My Old Kentucky Dinner Train
based in Bardstown (what's even better, it operates year-round!).
These include, Big South Fork Scenic Railway, Bluegrass Railroad Museum,
Kentucky Central Railway, Kentucky Railway Museum, Paducah Railroad
Museum, and the Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati. All in all
Kentucky railroads have plenty to offer, whether you
are a vacationer, railfan, or maybe even a Bluegrass local interested in
some sightseeing or something to do!