Kansas Avenue/Kentucky Street Railfans
Memphis' Trains Magazine Hot Spot
Kansas Avenue Railfans is an informal organization of people who like to watch
trains. We regularly meet at the BNSF location called Kansas Avenue, near the
bridges across the Mississippi River in Memphis, TN. This location offers us a
view of UP and BNSF trains, along with NS and CSX run through trains, and even
some IC trains.
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Photo by Mike Condren |
Two NS trains are seen on Broadway. One is an empty unit coal train on the "east bound" NS track, headed by BNSF units returning from a power plant in the southeast. As the head end of the empty coal train reaches my location, a BNSF stack train appears. These shots were taken from the end of Kentucky Street where it once crossed the BNSF and UP tracks, 5/20/07. |
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Photo by Mike Condren |
| On Sept. 16, 2007, I caught this CSX double stack transfer headed to the UP intermodal yard in Embony, AR headed by a control slug and a GP40. |
The special agents tolerate us here on railroad property as long as we play
by their rules, no crossing of tracks. We park on the south side of the tracks
at the dead end of Kentucky Street. Lighting is fairly good for photography most of the time of the year.
What are you likely to see?
"I have logged trains at Kansas Ave for many years, and I have always averaged
3 trains an hour whenever I logged. Only exceptions were derailments or MW curfews.
Have averaged 4 an hour many times for 6-8 hours. Safe to say that 72 trains
pass every 24 hours. BNSF is by far the biggest show. They run 40+ per day.
Usually 2 per hour average for BNSF. The 72 count includes trains that go to
and from the CN yard and operate east of Broadway junction. The 72 count is
for the Broadway Junction. But not that many trains go or come from the east
for the CN. They include 2 BNSF transfers, 2 NS manifests, 2 CSX intermodal
trains every day and a CN coal sometimes. UP does not operate that many across
the river, less than 20, if they have a crew.. The UP intermodal ramp is in
Arkansas. So at Kentucky street, the count would be 60+ for sure. Broadway is
72 or more for sure." Jim Ammons
In addition to these freights, there are Amtrak #58 and 59 City of New Orleans
that cross "Broadway" about 3 blocks east of the Kentucky Street site.
The location can be reached from downtown by driving south on Riverside Drive.
Take Crump Ave. east to Kentucky Street. Turn left onto Kentucky Street and follow north to the dead end at the tracks. From I55 take Crump Ave and follow the previous instructions.
Normal meeting times are Saturday and Sunday. The largest number of watchers
is during the afternoons, usually 3:00pm till.
Send comments, suggestions, and requests for more information to:
mcondren@cbu.edu