The Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) is a Regional operation based in Paducah, Kentucky that began operations in 1986 over ex-Illinois Central trackage. Today it operates over 260 miles of railroad and is owned by Four Rivers Transportation, which itself is partially owned, interestingly enough, by Class I railroad CSX Transportation. The P&L also operates the Appalachian & Ohio Railroad in West Virginia in conjunction with CSX along the latter’s Cowen Subdivision, which heads south out of Grafton (this line was originally leased to Watco but in 2006 contracted out to the P&L retaining the A&O name). Today, the P&L remains an important transportation artery in western Kentucky, which because of its location enables it to interchange with several Class Is and a handful of smaller railroads.
The history of the Paducah and Louisville Railway, one of today's somewhat unknown Class II regionals, began in the mid-1980s when the Illinois Central Gulf looked to sell or abandon its main line to Louisville, the extreme eastern terminus of the railroad. The ICG was a combination of the Illinois Central and Gulf, Mobile & Ohio railroads in 1972. The trackage the railroad sold in August, 1986 between Paducah and Louisville to form the P&L was originally part of the Illinois Central system. Interestingly, while the IC is most often recognized for Midwestern north-south railroad it did reach well into Kentucky as well as Nashville, Tennessee.
In any event, with the sale the Paducah & Louisville instantly became a 223-mile Class II, regional not only because of its initial customer base but also due to the fact that it served two important cities, and three altogether that included at least one Class I interchange partner. Looking back, the ICG would probably have wished it kept the line to Louisville considering what the P&L has since done with the route, exponentially growing its number of customers and bottom line over the past 25+ years.
Today, the Paducah and Louisville Railway connects with four of the seven North American Class I carriers; BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. The railroad also interchanges traffic with regional Indiana Rail Road and shortlines, Louisville & Indiana and the Fredonia Valley Railroad (FV). Overall, the P&L's primary interchange points include Paducah, Louisville, and Madisonville along with its connection to the tiny FV at Princeton. Aside from this traffic the railroad also moves a wide range of general freight from coal shipments, chemicals, stone and clay to lumber, grain, heavy equipment, warehouses, and even a local military base.
Being located along the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers the PAL offers transload and bulk terminal services from the numerous barge traffic serving both waterways. These terminals are located at both Paducah and Louisville. For more information regarding the Paducah and Louisville Railway please click here to visit their official website. Also, if you may be interested in learning more about the history of the Illinois Central please click here.
Currently the P&L’s roster consists entirely of EMDs, all of which are Geeps. Additionally, they use one of the more attractive paint schemes for a small railroad using a combination of dark green and black with white trim.
The Paducah and Louisville Railway Roster
Builder
Model Type
Road Number
Notes/Disposition
Quantity
EMD
GP38-2
1998
Ex-Cotton Belt/SSW, Painted In University of Kentucky Livery
1
EMD
Slug
2100-2120 (Evens)
Ex-NYC, Ex-N&W, Ex-Alaska, Ex-SP, Ex-SSW
10
EMD
GP40-3
2101-2121 (Odds)
Ex-NYC, Ex-N&W, Ex-Alaska, Ex-SP, Ex-SSW
10
EMD
GP40-2
2123-2131, 4201
Ex-C&O, Ex-SCL, Ex-NYC, Ex-MILW
10
EMD
GP38-2
3800-3801, 3803-3812, 3817, 3831
Ex-SP, Ex-SSW, Ex-CR
13
EMD
GP40
4002
Ex-L&N
1
EMD
GP39
8507
Ex-Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay
1
For more reading on Regionals like the PAL consider the book Regional Railroads of the Midwest by Steve Glischinksi. While the book obviously does not feature every Regional in the country it does cover the "Chicago Central Pacific; Dakota, Minnesota Eastern; Escanaba Lake Superior; Iowa Interstate Railroad; Iowa, Chicago Eastern; Indiana Rail Road; Kyle Railroad; Red River Valley Western; Twin Cities Western; Toledo, Peoria Western; Wisconsin Central; and Wisconsin Southern" with plenty of photographs and information about each. If you have an interest in smaller carriers like Regionals, and/or are interested in learning more about their operations, you will almost surely enjoy the book. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.
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