The Southern "Out West"
Louisville - Faulconer (Danville), KY
Introduction
This tour currently is an effort to document railfan locations between the Ohio River at Louisville, and the connection with the Norfolk Southern's ex-Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific mainline between Cincinnati and Danville, Kentucky. To those of us in the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia, this is "Out West". Eventually, I'd like to extend this tour from Kansas City to Faulconer, but we'll have to have some volunteers to accomplish that.
As of July 2007, the tour is complete from north of Youngtown Yard in Louisville to I-65, just east of Standiford Field airport. There are many good photo locations throughout this portion of the tour. At the far eastern end of the Louisville District, from Laurenceburg to Faulconer, a few spots are detailed, but I obviously need more detail for that area.
Contents And Navigation:
About This Tour:
WHAT YOU WILL FIND HERE: From a particular starting point, each segment of this coverage will allow you to follow the instructions given, drive to a railfan site, then to the next, etc., etc. Traffic levels and patterns will be given, and the photographic/ lighting considerations for each site will usually be mentioned. You'll be told about area attractions, such as tourist and historic sites, as well as hotels and restaurants which are trackside or otherwise worthy of note. In short, you'll be able to plan an entire family or railfan-only outing or even a vacation from this guide, as it is completed in the months to come.
WHAT YOU WILL NOT FIND HERE: This is a railfan guide, not a photo collection. There are already many excellent and enjoyable railroad photo sites available, and one more really wouldn't add much value to the general railfan. Besides, photos take up a lot of memory, and your humble Webmaster has to pay for memory. You will also not find fancy graphics, as this is a tour guide, not an exhibition of HTML or graphics expertise. You'll be able to load these pages quickly and print them without waiting a week for each page to print. Also, you'll conserve toner in the process.
Contributors:
Major contributors to this effort include:
Tony Hill, Webmaster and all content, unless otherwise noted. Any first person singular pronoun refers to Tony Hill, unless otherwise specified.
Train Gif Artists. Train gifs add life and color to these pages, and take almost no time to load. I stick these gifs in whenever I get the urge -- there is no rhyme or reason, I just like them. You can see hundreds and hundreds of train gifs by clicking on the Train Gifs navigation button at the top of each Frograil page.
Help
If you'd like to contribute to this, or any other tour, please contact me at webmaster@frograil.com, and let me know what you'd like to do. We'll work together: You supply the data/info, and I'll do the HTML stuff and upload it. You'll get a chance to review the fruits of your efforts before the general public sees the finished product, so you can let me have your corrections, additions and changes.
Supplemental And Back-Up Data
The Railroad -- General. The first part of this tour, i.e., Louisville, is primarily on the trackage of what at one time was the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal. This was a terminal railroad jointly owned by the Baltimore & Ohio, Monon, and Southern railroads. Today, full ownership is with Norfolk Southern, and the former KIT has been seamlessly integrated within the giant Class I's system. Indeed, the trackage in this tour is a vital part of the modern NS, as it links the western reaches of the system (Kansas City, St Louis, Evansville, etc.) with the east and southeast. Today, the Louisville - Faulconer trackage is officially designated as the "Louisville District," although technically NS considers the district to extend a few miles south to Danville.
The Railroad -- Traffic. All general categories of traffic will be seen between Louisville and Danville: International and domestic intermodal, unit grain trains, autorack, merchandise, etc., etc. You can expect to see switching/interchange near the yards, as well as perhaps 16-20 road trains per 24 hour period.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is not easy if you have no detailed map for back country roads. For this tour, however, what you really need most is an excellent Louisville street atlas. I definitely recommend you get a Louisville Atlas and a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study them before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. When you get out of the Louisville metropolitan area, the tour is quite rural, and you'll definitely benefit by having the Kentucky DeLorme Atlas at your side. You can find information here about Railfan Maps that are available.
Within Louisville itself, DeLorme atlases will not help you. By following the link in the preceding paragraph, you can search books/Louisville maps, and purchase maps specifically for Louisville.
Photo considerations. For many of the sites included herein, I try to give you an idea of the availability of photo fields. These ratings are not to be considered to be indications of the photogenic aspects of a place, they are merely an indication of how much room you have to take pix. I usually give all 4 compass points, such as: NE3, SE1, SW4, NW4. In this example, there is no photo access from the west, poor from the northeast, and excellent from the southeast. If it's 9AM, this is a good photo site, but if it's 5PM, you might want to use the tour photo ratings to suggest better locations.
Security. The tour in Louisville is obviously completely urban. Some neighborhoods are better than others, but you should be in no danger during daylight. Railfanning at night anywhere is of questionable intelligence, and in any urban setting it's just plain stupid. In all railfan outings, you are encouraged to have at least one male buddy with you. The other security concern is Norfolk Southern's security. People who trespass on railroad property expose the railroad to immense liability risk. As you can imagine, Norfolk Southern is dead serious about enforcing a No Trespassing policy. Stay off railroad property.
Abbreviations. Some phrases are used repeatedly in Frograil tours, so I've developed some standard and Frograil-specific abbreviations :
AG. An at-grade crossing.
KIT. Kansas & Indiana Terminal railroad.
NAG. A not-at-grade crossing. Unless I mention otherwise, these are usually not worth the time and trouble to drive to.
NARL. Not a railfan location. This is because of any number of reasons, such as lousy photo ops, dangerous, no shoulder on a NAG bridge, etc. As a general rule of thumb, it is wise to avoid NARL's.
PAL. Paducah & Louisville Railway.
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I do not recommend or condone walking along the tracks, as this means trespassing or exposing yourself to danger. You may have to be creative, in some instances, to avoid trespassing while getting to the detailed locations included herein, but you will either have to be creative or not visit those sites. At no point in this tour guide, or any other tour which is part of Frograil, is it recommended that you trespass or expose yourself to danger. If you are a fool and have a leg cut off (or worse), don't come crying to me: You have been warned. Trains are big, powerful, and often surprisingly quiet. Don't end up being a statistic.
Louisville - Faulconer -- Railfan Sites
The Tour
Louisville -- Levee Walk. Probably the most difficult part of this entire tour is getting to the starting point! It looks confusing as the dickens on a map, but really isn't really complicated. In the far northwest corner of the city, get off I-64 at exit 3, which will put you on Northwestern Parkway. Go west on Northwestern until you can actually see the end of the street. Park on the right, in the little parking area for the Levee Walk.
The track in front of you is coming from the east, along the waterfront. It is not the track we'll be following, but you'll see plenty of traffic on it, and just about anything can be seen. Just to the south and west of this track, the NS main from the west has just crossed the Ohio River from New Albany, and is entering Youngtown Yard. This is the track we'll be following to the east. Photos of the near tracks are excellent, but the main line from Indiana is a little hard to shoot. If you were standing in the back of a pickup, shots would be much more manageable. Do not cross the near track to shoot the main line.
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Louisville -- Montgomery Street. From the parking area on Northwestern Parkway, go south on 29th Street to a right onto Montgomery Street. Montgomery goes under the track from the east, and then on a separate underpass, it goes under the main line. There are shots possible from Montgomery of both sets of tracks, with the east track better than the main. There is some line side clutter (poles, electronic boxes, etc), but it's all a real nice railroady scene.
Louisville -- Portland Avenue. Go south another block via either 29th or 30th street to Portland Avenue. Note that this is the first one-way street we'll encounter, and we'll see lots more of them. At the Portland Street overpass, the two tracks have come together to form the northern yard throat. Photo ratings from Portland Avenue are all 2's" NE2, SE2, SW2, NW2. There is the usual yard-associated clutter, but it's not bad.
There is no area within the yard itself that is available for railfan photographers. The yard is a large, very active industrial facility, and "civilians" have no business being anywhere on Norfolk Southern property. Therefore, I'll give you 2 locations that are on public property.
Louisville -- Sleven Street. Continue west on Portland and take a left on 31st Street. Go south one block and turn left onto Bank Street, which becomes one way eastbound. Pass up the underpass at Bank Street, as it is NAG/NARL. Take a right to go south on 29th Street. At Sleven Street, take a right and it will make a broad, 90° turn directly across the street from the side of the yard. As it continues around the curve, it becomes 30th Street.
You can park to the east of the curve, and you'll have a wide open view of the yard to the north and south. That's the good news; the bad news is that your view will often be obscured by strings of cars standing on the many ladder tracks. Still and all, if you get lucky, this is a very open area in which to view a modern yard in action.
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Louisville -- Main Street. This is a better location than Sleven Street for a couple of reasons. First, there are far fewer tracks at this point in the yard. Second, you can usually see across the tracks to some engine ready tracks. Viewing/photo ops are great both north and south. From Sleven/30th Street, go south on 30th, take a right on Main, and park. Be careful to stay off railroad property here, as it's not 100% clear what's NS property and what isn't. Err on the side of caution. Since there is no viewing from the west side of the yard, this is probably the best spot for fanning Youngtown Yard.
Louisville -- River Park Drive. Continue south on 30th Street, which will T at West Market Street. The Market Street crossing is NAG/NARL, so turn left onto Market Street, then almost immediately turn right to continue south on 30th Street. Pass up Muhammad Ali Boulevard, as it's NAG/NARL, and so also is Vermont Avenue/Madison Street. However, at Muhammad Ali, you must turn right (it's a one way street westbound), go under I-264, and turn left on 34th Street. At River Park Drive, take a left to go under I-264 again. River Park is one way eastbound. Go under the tracks and park to the right, before 31st Street.
From River Park, you can shoot both north and south: E2/W4.
Louisville -- Broadway South. Continue south on 31st Street. Skip Magazine Street, as the crossing is NAG/NARL. Just to the east of the intersection of 31st Street and Broadway, the crossing is NAG/NARL. However, to the east of 31st Street just south of Broadway is a fine place to see some action. Note that this un-named street is before 31st Street. We are getting close to the point in the tour where we'll start to see some honest-to-goodness at grade crossings, and this place is a hint that better things lie ahead.
The shots here are all from the west, making this an afternoon location. The shots to the north are excellent, and those to the south are good. There is no access from the east.
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Louisville -- Garland Avenue. You need to go further south on this un-named road to Garland Avenue. Take a left and park in the vicinity of the crossing. Folks, this is an at-grade (AG) crossing, and we'll be seeing a lot of them from here on, thank goodness. Here, three tracks to the north become two tracks from the street south. This is a station list point at "Garland Avenue". Photo ratings are NE4, SE4, SW3, NW1. This is most certainly an afternoon location for southbounds.
Louisville -- Kentucky Street. Head east via Garland Avenue to a right onto 28th Street. Go two blocks and take another right onto Kentucky Street. Park in the vicinity of the crossing. As you can see, photo ratings are as strong as any we've seen so far in Louisville: NE1, SE4, SW1, NW1. This is a good photo location.
Louisville -- Greenwood Avenue. You've probably figured out that we are zig-zagging our way thru Louisville. The railroad has been dead north/south ever since the northern yard throat of Youngtown Yard. It is between parallel streets, and there is no street that parallels the railroad closely. That's why we have so many one block drives followed by a one block drive, and finally followed by another one block drive to get trackside. It takes longer to describe than to drive.
Follow Kentucky Street further west, take a left onto 32nd Street, and then another left onto Greenwood Avenue. Photo ratings at the crossing are: NE3, SE4, SW1, NW1, so this is another very fine afternoon location.
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Louisville -- Virginia Street. South of Greenwood, the railroad essentially runs thru the center of a large industrial enterprise. There is no access from Grand Avenue, and Hale Avenue is an AG/NARL, so go south on 28th Street to Virginia Avenue. Virginia is one way westbound. Take a right, drive to the crossing, and park. "Virginia Street" is a station list location. At this point, the former KIT trackage splits, with the main line continuing straight south, and a heavy spur line diverging to the southwest to serve two power plants, duPont Chemical, Borden Chemical, a coal transload terminal, and a B. F. Goodrich plant.
From north to south, here is the play card: Two track main line coming from Youngtown Yard. Single crossover from northeast to southwest. This is to allow access to and from the industrial trackage and the eastern main track. Virginia Street. Single crossover southeast - northwest. Industrial lead to southwest. Photo ratings are so-so at NE2, SE4, SW3, NW2, but what makes this a good location is the action thru the various routes thru the interlocking.
Here's a bit of a mystery for you: At the southeast quad of the crossing, very close to the tracks, there is a small building. It is unlike any other railroad building I've ever seen, and I wonder if it functioned as a tower/cabin in years gone by. It's so close to the tracks that I'm sure it's a railroad building, but beyond that, I haven't a clue.
Louisville -- Dumesnil Avenue. Go further west on Virginia to a left on 32nd Street. After one block, take a left onto Dumesnil Street. The crossing is in 2 1/2 blocks. This one isn't so hot for photos, but the northwest quad will get some goodies for you: NE4, SE3, SW4, NW1. Note that Dumesnil is one way eastbound.
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Louisville -- Olive/Wilson. Just south of Dumesnil, our tour will change quite a bit. The straight north/south tracks will swing about 100° to the east - northeast. Crossings along the curve give some viewing, but the curve is sharp and tight, and you really have no photo opportunities. With that in mind, and continuing east on Dumesnil, the Hemlock Street crossing is AG/NARL, Catalpa Street is AG/NARL, and (if you had gone south via Hemlock), the Woodland Avenue crossing is likewise AG/NARL. Finally, 28th Street is AG/NARL.
Wilson Avenue is a major street, and just to complicate things further, it is on about a 30° northeast/southwest bias. It crosses Olive Street between Woodland Avenue and Burnett Avenue. From Dumesnil, take a right onto Olive, and the crossing is in less than two very long blocks.
At the rather odd crossing of Olive Street and Wilson Road, ostensible photo ratings are NE3, SE4, SW4, NW4. However, before you send me a nasty gram about why this crossing is even included in the tour, here's how you handle this location. Shoot from the southeast side of Wilson Road, across the street from the crossing. This will give you a beautiful SE1 broad side view. Of course, you've got to photographically dodge the traffic on Wilson, but I think this is a good photo spot.
Louisville -- Cypress/Wilson. Get on Wilson heading northeast. Cross the tracks and Cypress Street, and then park to the right. This crossing is somewhat complicated by Wilson, much like the Olive Street/Wilson Avenue crossing, but the viewing is quite different. Just before Cypress, the railroad swings from the northwest to a more easterly orientation to head towards Magnolia. Photo ratings are NE2, SE1, SW4, NW1. The southeast quad is a #1 for the north main only, as it's a little tight for the closest main.
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Louisville -- 25th Street. From the Cypress/Wilson area, go south on Cypress Street to a left on Standard Avenue. Take a left onto 25th Street and park near the crossing. Photo ops are NE1, SE4, SW4, NW4. Obviously, summer afternoon westbounds will be great here, but there's not too much else to recommend it. However, if you know something is coming and need to get trackside quickly, this will do.
Louisville -- 15th Street. From 25th Street, go back south to Hill Street and take a left. Pass up 23rd Street which is AG/NARL, 22nd Street which is NAG/NARL, and Dixie Highway which is NAG/NARL. Take a left on 15th Street and drive up to the crossing. Photos are probably not the best in the world from 15th Street, but this is definitely my favorite railfanning location since we started this tour segment north of Youngtown Yard. NE2, SE2, SW2, NW3.
The railroad is almost east/west here, and the views in each direction are quite different. To the west is Magnolia Yard, a former KIT facility. It is neat as a pin, and seems to be a real-life portion of a model railroad. Everything is laid out in front of you. This is no huge industrial yard, and while it's certainly no powerhouse, there is action enough here to provide entertainment frequently.
To the east, there is a crossing with the Paducah and Louisville which is close enough to photograph with a moderate telephoto lens. There is no access to the diamonds that is not on railroad property, unfortunately.
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Louisville -- 13th Street. On 15th Street, go back south to Hill Street. Take a left and then a left onto 13th Street. At the crossing, park and look to the west. Here the PAL crosses the NS main. If you were at 15th Street and looked to the east with the sun in your eyes, at 13th Street you'll have good viewing towards the PAL. You'll need a pretty decent telephoto lens, and there is no public access to the area of the diamonds.
To the east of the crossing, the NS main leaves the ex-KIT to head southeast towards Danville. In days gone by, this junction was technically the "end" of the Southern Railway. Today, it's just another turnout in the vast Norfolk Southern system. Photo ratings are: NE4, SE1, SW2, NW4. This is a good, solid morning and afternoon location.
Louisville -- The Road from Hell. Between 13th and 12th Street is "L. S. Junction", a station list location. The ex-Southern peels off to the southeast. The point of the switch is L.S. Junction, and you can follow the NS main southeast from here to 11th Street. Here's how: Take the Road From Hell! If you look at virtually any map, 11th Street to the southeast goes about half way from Hill Street to Magnolia Avenue. According to all these maps, the road ends at the railroad. Those maps lie!! At the junction of 12th Street and the NS main (an AG/NARL crossing), there is a gravel road that parallels the NS tracks down to the nub end of 11th Street. This is not a posted railroad property road, nor is it a private road. It's simply a vestigial remainder of a road from many years gone by.
Uh, it's a little rough. It has potholes measured in feet, not inches. There are few level surfaces from one side to the other. Actually, it's not really that bad, as long as you go about 5mph. If you're a jackass and drive 20+mph, you will damage your car, your psyche, and probably your body. There are lots of places along the curving road for photos, so why would you want to speed? Slow down, enjoy the big dogs in Louisville, and preserve the integrity of your poor vehicle's frame.
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Louisville -- Campus Parking Lot. Statistically, you've got a better chance of getting good pix via the Road from Hell than you do at our next location, but that's an access problem, not a viewing problem. From 12th Street, go south to Hill Street. Pass up the NAG/NARL crossing. After Hill Street, 12th will curve to the southeast to end at 11th Street. Take a right and go all the way to South 7th Street. You can take a left and pass a crossing, but it's NAG/NARL. Therefore, at 7th, take a right, and then a right onto Industry Road. Industry will take you down to 4th Street. On the map, if you turn left, you'll soon come to a triple crossing of 4th, CSX, and NS. Real life isn't so generous, however, as NS and CSX come together over 4th on a NAG/NARL.
We'll have to do some tap dancing to get to our next two locations, largely because of one way streets. Go south on 4th Street (skip Winkler Avenue, as it is one way to the west) to M Street and take a left. After one block, take another left onto 3rd Street. Ignore the CSX crossing, and continue north to just south of the crossing with Norfolk Southern. WARNING: At this point, you enter the twilight zone between when school is in session and when it's not. If school is in session, you will not be able to visit this location. Take a right into the very large University of Louisville parking area and drive back to the northeast.
The tracks ascribe the northern boundary of the campus parking lot. The bias is northwest - southeast, and there is a 6' chain link fence on both sides of the tracks. The photo ratings are S1/N4. Obviously, if you're in a pickup bed or on top of a van, you've got a great place to watch trains. If school is in, however, you don't want to be even close to this location.
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Louisville -- Floyd Street. Continue north on 3rd Street to a right on Eastern Parkway. You'll go way up and over the tracks and Floyd Street, so take a right onto Hahn Street. This will curve back to Floyd. Take a left and go down to the rather complicated crossing/interlocking in the Floyd Street area. Four things happen here, none of which are earth shattering. First, the NS main comes northwest - southeast thru the area. Second, the CSX main goes straight south - north (west of Floyd Street). Third, a connector between the two railroads exists on the southern portion of the crossing. Fourth, Floyd Street gives us the following photo ratings with the NS main: NE3, SE1, SW1, NW4. As subtle as ever, my notes give me the info that the photos are "Excellent from the south."
Louisville -- Crittenden Drive. After the past several locations, this one is easy to describe. Because of one way issues, etc, here's how we will proceed: Go south on Floyd Street to a left onto Central Avenue to another left onto Crittenden Drive. Go under I-65, and take a right onto Maylawn Avenue and park. From Maylawn, walk south on Crittenden to the crossing. The crossing itself is not bad at all: NE3, SE4, SW1, NW1. While the pix to the east are far better than those to the west, I personally like the scene of Big Momma NS trains coming east under I- 65. Just to the east of the latter overpass is the NS mile point 277 sign.
Louisville -- Catawba Lane. Continue east via Maylawn Avenue. After 5 blocks, take a right onto Catawba/Bradley, and drive south to the area of the tracks. At this location, there is a fairly decent shot from the north, but it's schlecht from the south: N2, S4. You must shoot from the street only here -- do not venture into private property. Note: The name of this street in anyone's guess. I saw Catawba on the ground, but the maps all say Bradley. Do your map research ahead of time and be ready.
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Louisville -- Locust Lane. Continue on around the Catawba Lane/Bradley end to an east on Locust Lane. From the north of Locust, you have no shot. From the south ---- neighbor, this a gorgeous photo field: N4, S1. You have a great panoramic shot from northwest to southeast with no obstructions. This is a lawn chair and cooler location, and a place to get the "Great American Railroad Photograph".
Louisville -- Preston Highway. Didn't get the Great American Railroad Photograph back at Locust Lane? Not to worry. Locust Lane will intersect with Preston Highway, and you should take a right to head south. Pass up Jefferson Court and continue until you see a large vacant lot on the west of the street. The railroad is ascribing a northwest/southeast bias here. Park in the vacant lot and you can shoot north and south. This is a morning lawn chair and cooler location. The viewing is really excellent.
At this point, we will have to endure a break in the tour all the way to Lawrenceburg. If you can contribute some site-specific information, please do so. Contact me at webmaster@frograil.com.
Lawrenceburg. In Frankfurt, go south on US-127 at exit 53 from I-64 to US-127Business into Lawrenceburg. Here, the Norfolk Southern (ex-Southern) main line from Louisville to Danville comes into town from the northwest, curves to parallel US-127Business, and then heads south towards Danville. It is most difficult to drive thru town and follow this railroad, because it is crossed by very few roads, and there are plenty of obstructions trackside. You will cross the tracks (not a railfan location) as you enter town, and will come to the intersection of US-127Business and US-62 (Woodford Street). At this point, the lead to what was the LL Branch begins.
The LL was a remnant of the Southern Railway line between Lawrenceburg and Lexington. Today, NS only operates 4/10th of a mile to the east, with the trackage further east having been taken out of service several years ago. From the east end of the Kentucky River Railroad bridge, the trackage is still in service, but that's beyond the scope of this tour.
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Harrodsburg -- LR-1160. Traveling south on US-127Business, you'll soon re-join US-127 proper. The railroad parallels US-127, but is well out of sight, and there are no parallel roads. About 14 miles south of Lawrenceburg, Local Road (LR) 1160 will go off to the right (west). Take LR-1160 to the crossing, which isn't much of a site, but will be fine if you know a train is imminent. NE2, SE1, SW4, NW4.
Return to US-127 and continue south. After about 5 miles, you'll come to LR-390. Go west on LR-390, and you'll reach a lousy photo/railfan site, but it's worth pointing out that there is a defect detector about 100 feet north of the crossing. This is MP 348.4.
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Harrodsburg. Like Lawrenceburg, the railroad comes in from the northwest and veers to the east and then exits the town to the southeast. Here is my single recommendation for the town: At the corner of East Office Street and Marimon Street, park at the crossing on Marimon Street. Here are the ratings: NE1, SE2, SW4, NW2. That said, stay well back from the railroad agent/MoW area, and you'll get good photos. Trains go thru town rather slowly.
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Faulconer. South of Harrodsburg, you'll cross the Mercer/Boyle county line. Almost immediately thereafter, you'll see LR-1896(?)/Faulkner Road to your left (east). Note that you'll see "Faulkner" and "Faulconer" on maps. Who knows what's correct? Take Faulkner Road and you'll soon cross the Louisville-Danville line we've been following so far, but the crossingis very poor for photos and train watching. Continuing east on Faulkner Road, you'll come to a right on South Buster Road. Don't take this yet, but continue on down to the crossing of the robust CNO&TP double track main line and the road. This is the Cincinnati - Chattanooga main line, and is one of the busiest on the Norfolk Southern system. The crossing is superb for photos: NE1, SE1, SW4, NW1. This place is called Faulconer by the railroad. There is a defect detector at Burgin, about 3 miles north of the crossing.
Southbound run throughs, such as unit grain and intermodal, are often fueled here, via tank truck, so they don't tie up the yard in Danville. This is an excellent spot for pix, but you will miss the Louisville - Danville traffic. The latter is about one-third that of the CNO&TP, so it's quite significant.
Drive back to South Buster Road and go south, which will lead you close to the junction of the Louisville and Cincinnati lines. You'll be able to see the junction, perhaps 1/2 mile to the south down a private railroad road, but there is no public access to the area, which is a real shame. Continue on to the stop sign at LR-33, and turn right towards Danville. Shortly, take a left onto LR-2168 and drive over the tracks (on a non-photogenic overpass) back to US-127 and go south.
When US-127 splits, take US-127 (not US-127By-Pass) into Danville. You'll go over the railroad on another overpass (not a railfan location), and you will come to an old-fashioned, two-story elementary school on the west side of the street. Next, you'll see the admissions office of Centre College, and then you will reach Perryville Street. Note that there will be confusing street names in the downtown area, and Perryville seems to exist both as the overpass (it's called Perryville Road) over the railroad north yard throat as well as the old, ground level road the overpass must have replaced (this is Perryville Street). When you reach the first Perryville Street, you've reached the north end of the Danville yard. Perryville Road is a block further south.