Barkley Lock & Dam and P&L/IC Railroad

(Satellite)

This lock can be used when the Kentucky Dam Lock is closed because of the Barkley Canal.

The railroad across the top was originally the Illinois Central, and it is now the Paducah & Louisville.

Note the stairs in the middle foreground so that fishermen can easily access the river bank. The concrete wall on the far side of the river is part of the lock. Obviously, the powerhouse is on the left.

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And this is that powerhouse.

And a better view of the gates

A Flickr photo of a bunch of Invasive (Asian) Carp jumping out of the roiling water caused by a relatively small discharge from a couple of gates. The "asian carp" blog label has become more useful than I envisioned.

Paul Jervert shared an Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook post. I get an "unavailable" when I access the post link, but I can access the five photos from Paul's share. The scrapbook comment is:

On August 20, 1966, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally dedicated Barkley Dam, located along the Cumberland River about 25 miles east of Paducah, KY.  The dam created Barkley Lake, which covers roughly 58,000 acres (most of the lake lies in Kentucky but there is also a small portion in Tennessee).

As part of the project the Illinois Central Railroad had to relocate about 17 miles of Kentucky Division mainline track between Grand Rivers and Princeton.  IC's tracks would be rerouted atop Barkley Dam, replacing an aging and troublesome swingspan drawbridge about a half mile upstream from the dam.  The bridge was located at Eureka, which at one time had been a small settlement but over time had faded away.  

Design work for the new line began around 1960 and construction began in earnest in 1962.  The first train along the new route, and across the dam, ran on October 25, 1965.  The photo of the first train was taken by an IC photographer and is from the collection of Cliff Downey.  The photos of the dam's construction are from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Flickr page.  More photos of the dam's construction can be found at https://www.flickr.com/.../721576686794.../with/28509587111/ 

Shortly afterwards crews began removing the old mainline.  There was a sense of urgency, for the gates at Barkley Dam had already been closed and the lake was beginning to fill up.  The IC was able to salvage much of the track material, but the old drawbridge was simply cut up and hauled away for scrap.  It had originally been built in the 1870's and rebuilt around 1910, and had proved to be troublesome for the IC over the years.  The entire cost of the relocation project was paid for by the Corps of Engineers.  During construction of the new line the IC stationed an accountant at the construction site to keep tabs on construction costs and regularly forward a bill to the USACE.  Believe it or not, but construction of the dam came in under budget and ahead of time!

Although the tracks have been gone for 50 years, much of the old line is still visible on satellite photos.

Cliff Downey shared 

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The first train crosses Barkley Dam on October 25, 1965. IC photo, Cliff Downey collection.

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The site of the barge locks at Barkley Dam near Grand Rivers, Kentucky, is being excavated on Feb. 29, 1959. IC's drawbridge across the Cumberland River is barely visible at upper left. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo.

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The barge locks (to the right) are mostly complete and excavation is underway at right for the powerhouse at Barkley Dam near Grand Rivers, Kentucky. IC's drawbridge across the Cumberland River is barely visible at upper left. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo.

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Work on the power house at Barkley Dam near Grand Rivers, KY, is well underway on November 12, 1963. IC's drawbridge across the Cumberland River is barely visible at upper left. Kentucky Lake is visible at upper right. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo.

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A barge navigates the lock at Barkley Dam near Grand Rivers, KY, on December 1, 1964. At upper center is IC's drawbridge across the Cumberland River. The swingspan for the bridge is on the opposite bank of the river. The lock was put into service in 1964. Until the drawbridge was removed in early 1966, barge captains had to zig-zag their way between the bridge and the dam. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photos.

Lake Barkley posted five photos with the comment:

The Barkley powerplant staff, along with the R3F Light Capacity Fleet, and the Nashville District dive team have been hard at work removing debris drawn into the Barkley power generators from the Cumberland River. 

Over time, the settling debris limits the amount of water coming into the generators' intake and  remains there until it can be removed by machinery. 

If the debris is not removed, it can result in a major loss of efficiency and hinder the ability of the power plant to make the most power used for the amount of water coming through.  

From January 17 through January 23 maintenance crews worked 20 hours a day, split into two 10 hour shifts to remove the debris, ensuring the generators were running at optimum efficiency. 

Stay tuned over the next few months and see some upcoming maintenance ensuring the Lake Barkley Power Plant continues to run optimally and provide the most efficient hydropower!

Fort Loudoun Lock shared with the comment: "It's no easy task to remove entangled & intertwined debris out from the intake screens underwater at a hydropower plant. A diving crew, floating plant equipment with crane, and a number of other different support personnel all work together to get 'er done. We're extremely proud of our hydropower workforce on the Cumberland River as well as the many folks who work in our diving program & major maintenance units."

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Jim Pearson Photography posted
August 21, 2015 - Paducah and Louisville Railway's 2107 heads up the power on a military train as it pulls it's cargo across Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River at near Grand Rivers, heading south to Paducah, Ky. – Tech Info: 1/1000sec, f/9, ISO 160, Lens: Sigma 24-70 @ 24mm with a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW.

 

Jim Pearson Photography posted
July 12, 2018 - Paducah and Louisville Railway 2121 heads-up a lash-up of 7 locomotives as it leads a loaded coal train across Barkley Dam, on the Cumberland River, at Grand Rivers, Ky, southbound to the Calvert City load-out.

 

Jim Pearson Photography posted

September 24, 2020 - Paducah & Louisville (PAL) 4512 and Evansville Western 4511 lead a 5,400ft loaded coal train across Barkley Dam at Grand Rivers, Kentucky on the Cumberland River, as they head for the Calvert City Coal Terminal at Calvert City, Ky.

Barkley Dam construction along with Kentucky Dam formed the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area by stopping the flow of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, forming Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake respectively and the PAL mainline runs right across the dam.

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 100.

Jim Pearson Photography posted

Saturday, October 29th, 2022, the Paducah and Louisville Railway (PAL) ran their Office Car Special (OCS) between Calvert City, Kentucky to just north of Barkley Dam to the railroad location known as Eureka, about 10 miles round trip. This event was in conjunction with their company picnic at Calvert City and the passengers were employees and their families. Here we catch them as they cross Barkley Dam at Grand Rivers, Kentucky.

The consist was led by their 35th anniversary units PAL 2021 and 1986, followed by PAL 10, a generator car, built from an ex-L&N Milk Car that was manufactured in January 1958. Next was PAL II - lounge car or diner car from what I can find online, then PAL 1 "Bluegrass State I" business or lounge car, (ex-ICG 2, exx-IC 6, exxx-16). If anyone has more information on these cars, I’d apricate your comments. The trailing engine is PAL 2127, Salute to our Troops locomotive, which led the train heading southbound to Calvert City, KY. 

Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1600, ISO 120.

Pickway Lock posted a Facebook Reel
[So each of the four units need 3,000 sq. ft. to screen the water going to the turbine.]