Nostalgia & History > L&N South Louisville Shops

In its headquarters city of Louisville, KY, the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) once had a huge shop complex south of downtown along the line to Nashville, known as South Louisville Shops.  It was only a few blocks from a much more famous landmark, Churchill Downs.  Opened in 1905, the shops built over 400 steam locomotives and thousands of freight cars, passenger cars and cabooses.  South Louisville became L&N's primary back shop in the diesel era, and also performed heavy repairs on L&N's rolling stock.  The shops remained open after the 1982 "Family Lines" combination of L&N and SCL.  But in 1987, CSX had numerous shops to choose from as it consolidated its network, and the South Louisville complex was closed.  The shops were subsequently demolished and the property was sold to the University of Louisville.  After remediation, Cardinal Stadium was built on the site, opening in 1998.  

On October 13, 1973, I was fortunate to be on a bus tour to Louisville with the Cincinnati Railroad Club.  There were three stops, the first one being South Louisville Shops.  We were escorted through the shops by L&N supervisors, who I recall were quite patient with the many questions and the stragglers who wanted to get photos without people in them.  Next was a visit to the K&IT Youngstown Yard on the west side of Louisville, followed by a final stop at the Kentucky Railroad Museum at its original River Road location.  The day started with heavy overcast and turned to a steady rain in the afternoon at the K&IT, but regardless of the weather, those on the tour appreciated the opportunity to visit two facilities that were normally not accessible.  I just scanned the slides from South Louisville.  Despite shooting Kodachrome II and not having a tripod, some of the interior shots turned out surprisingly well. 

Steve Salamon 
Valley City, OH

#1  SW1 #12 was the shop switcher, delivered to L&N in 1941.  

#2  GP7 406 poses in front of the diesel shop.

#3  U28C 1523 backs into the diesel shop.  



  

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/21 20:22 by cr7998.

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#4  Inside the shop was SW1200 2287.

#5  Two more EMD switchers in varying stages of disassembly.

#6  A GP35 shell (#1120) next to the shell of an EMD switcher.

 

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#7  Engine blocks stacked inside the shop.

#8  I did not record the number of this EMD unit, it was missing numberboards and did not have a number under the cab.  

#9  Anyone need wheels and axles?

 

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#10  Transfer table between shop buildings.

#11  The dead lines included lots of F units, plus some switchers, an RS3, and a couple of older GP's.  This is just a small portion of the units stored in the dead lines.  

#12  L&N's F units were on their last legs in 1973.  There were quite a few F units in the dead line, but as we were preparing to depart, two FP7's, 615 and 653, went past the shop with only a caboose, providing a fitting end to our visit.  

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Great series! Like that cab-hop in your last picture!

Nice! Thanks for posting these!
JH

I like the view of the SW's in their old paint and the view inside the empty hoods of the engines getting serviced.   You definitely had a good tour of the shops and saw views you can't see today.   Those definitely were different days that we won't see again!

Thanks for sharing.   Keep the photos coming if you have more to share from that day.

Amazing! Thanks for sharing. That area where the shops were is unrecognizable today.

Posted from Android

Great L&N shots !
Just don't see enough on TO.
Gary

Many thanks for posting these photos.  That was quite a complex at one time!

Ron

Super like your South Louisville Shops photo series.  Being from the Louisville area and having lived here most of my life makes your photos especially interesting and enjoyable for me.  Was fortunate to get to tour the shops about six months before your tour and again in August 1980 as part of the 75th Anniversary celebration open house.  In 1998 Cardinal Stadium opened on the site of the old shops; all traces of the shops were erased.
Thanks for the memories.
Attached is a photo, previously posted, that I took at the 75th Anniversary celebration on August 2, 1980.
ALLEN   

I'm writing this message 3 years later, I hope you see it.
I cannot tell you what these photos mean to me.  My great-grandfather was a mechanic and inspector at the South Louisville Shops for 50 years, from 1910-1960.  He quit school at 15 to go to work there.  He loved his job; it was his life.  He lived nearby on Taylor Blvd. and walked to work every day.  I had despaired of ever seeing where he spent so much time.  Seeing these beautiful color photos of where he lived his work life is absolutely priceless to me.  Thank you SO MUCH! 

I missed this when first posted in 2021.

But great photos !!!!!