Kentucky

In 1865, as the Civil War was drawing to a close, plans were underway in Boston for a railroad construction project to begin in Greenup County, Kentucky. Eventually the Eastern Kentucky Railway Company would extend its main track through two more counties, Carter and Lawrence. Spanning just 36 miles of main track from Riverton to Webbville, the
Eastern Kentucky Railway became a lifeline for the economic and social activities of the people of northeastern Kentucky. Even though the original plan of extending the railway much farther south and bridging the Ohio River to the north never came about, the railway struggled along for more than 65
years. Many people who grew up along the line passed their experiences to younger generations; some, like Jesse Stuart, wrote about them. This volume will show life along the rail line that lent its name to the highways now running its route.

At the midpoint of the 19th century, people and goods moved by river or muddy roads, which made traveling difficult; a stagecoach trip from Louisville to Nashville took 36 hours. Railroads were coming into prominence at the time, and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was chartered in 1850. It was completed between the namesake cities in 1859, overcoming many obstacles such as Muldraugh's Hill, Green River, and Tennessee Ridge. The line became a pawn during the Civil War, used by both Union and Confederate forces, and endured heavy damages to survive and prosper. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad would grow into one of America's great success stories, expanding to nearly 7,000 miles of track throughout the Southeast. This volume covers the L&N Main Line in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the Memphis Line, the Mammoth Cave Railroad, the Glasgow Railway, the Portage Railroad, and a branch to Scottsville.

Besides the 1795 settling of what later became Hazard, Kentucky, and the establishment of Perry County in 1821, no other event has had the historical significance of the coming of the railroad. Until the track-laying train came through the tunnel north of town and stopped briefly for a celebration, Hazard was landlocked, and the townspeople had never heard the earthshaking sound of the train whistle. Before the railroad, the river was their road. The only few household conveniences known to these isolated people were laboriously brought up the river on push boats. Many materials used to build the railroad were also transported on flatboats. As a bridge and tunnel were built, and a passage was made for the engine that carried the railroad ties, John G. Kinner documented the change with his camera. Images of Rail: Railroading Around Hazard and Perry County features John G. Kinner's vivid and historic\photographs and others from the Bobby Davis Museum collection.

The Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) operated approximately 600 miles of mainline track throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky, stretching from the Mississippi River to the central part of the state. In addition to Louisville, the state's largest city, the ICRR also served dozens of small towns. Kentucky's economy was built around coal mining and farming, and the ICRR played a major role in both industries. ICRR's coal trains served as a conveyor for Kentucky coal moving to Midwest factories, and the road hauled a wide variety of agricultural products, including tobacco, grain, and fresh fruit. No mention of the ICRR would be complete without discussing the fleet of fast passenger trains that whisked Kentucky residents to and from distant cities. To maintain the locomotives that hauled all these trains the ICRR operated one of the nation's largest locomotive repair shops in Paducah.