A view from the sky off the Lexington Coal Company's Creech Mine operations at Mary Helen. A C633 loading crew is on their 2nd cut of cars being loaded at the mine. The C633 loading crew has already loaded the 1st cut of this coal train. They put that cut to the CV main at Glidden between switches. They are now on the 2nd half of the empty train, off the siding, and has begun to flood load this cut of the train. This is the Merna Spur that comes off the CV Main at the Glidden siding at MP 248, about 10 miles south of Loyall.
The Mary Helen Coal Co. opened the Coalgood mines and company town in 1919. One thing that saved this cool old company store is that the post office was in it until 2004. Over 100 years of mining has gone here. Also was the first place where the L&N flood-loaded unit coal trains. What a cool place, lots to see from the air!
