The Train You Might Have Missed. CSX's America 250 locomotives make an unexpected appearance in Guthrie
For most residents around Guthrie, when a train rolls through town, it's just like breathing. Hardly anyone notices. That is, unless one is stopped too long, blocking Park Street East or one of the other crossings around town.
But then there are the trains that make people wish they had known they were coming.That was the case over the weekend when CSX locomotives No. 250 and No. 2026 came through the area at the head of an empty grain train, G388.
The two locomotives are part of CSX's celebration of America's 250th anniversary.
No. 250 carries a Stars and Stripes design, while No. 2026 features an American bald eagle and the words "United We Stand."
(Photograph Used with Permission, Courtesy of R.R. Rail Photography)
But unlike display pieces you might find in a museum, these locomotives were built to work. CSX placed both into regular freight service earlier this year.
After passing through Guthrie, G388 was interchanged to R.J. Corman's Memphis Line and eventually tied down at Hadensville, where the train awaited a Corman crew to continue north toward the grain elevators.
While many residents around Guthrie missed it, the train did not go unnoticed.
One local resident described it as the longest grain train they had seen in the area, saying it stretched from Hadensville to the west side of the cemetery. They said the train had been parked practically in front of their house, although they still managed to miss seeing the locomotives.
Others were simply disappointed they had missed the unusual sight.
"THE GOOD STUFF!!" one commenter wrote.
Another said the community should have been given a heads-up.
The locomotives may have been the unusual part, but the train itself represents something much more familiar to the region.
The R.J. Corman Memphis Line stretches 113.04 miles and serves several communities, including Guthrie, Russellville and South Union. Guthrie is home to the line's yard office, with CSX interchange points at Guthrie and Bowling Green.
Grain is an important part of that operation.
R.J. Corman has previously described the Memphis Line as a "vital conduit for farm product shipping." During a record-setting grain season, the company reported handling 90-car grain trains that arrived at Guthrie before Corman crews moved them to elevators at Russellville and South Union for loading.
The pattern shows why a quiet stretch of railroad can become considerably busier during harvest season.
The grain trains connect local elevators with the larger Class I railroad network, moving agricultural products far beyond the communities where they are loaded.
A railroad that helped build the community
The Memphis Line's importance to the area isn't new.
National Register documentation for the Guthrie Historic District notes that the Memphis branch of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad was planned through the area in 1860. The railroad's depot helped spur the development of New Hadensville around the line.
R.J. Corman began acquiring the Memphis Line in 1987, eventually obtaining the remainder of the line from CSX.
Today, the equipment is different and the railroad has different ownership, but the basic role remains: connecting Todd County and surrounding agricultural communities with the larger world.
And every once in a while, that work is done by two locomotives that are hard to miss, unless you just aren't looking for trains.
CSX's 250 and 2026 may have been built to celebrate America's 250th anniversary, but their stop in the Guthrie-Hadensville area was a reminder that even an ordinary freight train can carry a little history with it, and occasionally give a small town like Guthrie something unexpected to stop and watch.
Will the locamotives make another appearance in the area? Only time will tell.
