Well, lets see if we can make a go of this as a regular feature. I had hoped to upload a new photo, but my employer's proxy and trainboard's image uploader don't get along, so I'll start us off with something from the archives. Portland and Western's Harbor Turn Southbound (heading West SouthWest here) On old BN/SP&S tracks. She's moving about 10MPH heading for Banks Oregon where the power will swap ends of the train and take off on former SP tracks for Hillsboro and Beaverton where it will switch back to former BN/OE tracks and head for Tigard. This was April 10, 2010's train.
I hope this one counts, too. It's from March 2011, and represents remains of a trestle that once sat just outside the town of Keasey, Oregon. It's just far enough off the road and that much in the brush that I am not sure we would have seen it in May when the plants would have been leafed out...
Here's another trackside structure. As usual, I look at it from a model perspective. This could be an entire structure or just a partial relief. It is Tief's Wallboard and they make polymer exterior insulation and finishing systems (coatings). They have mostly boxcars but some tank cars, too. The siding is between Tief's and the silver building on the right. (The silver building is Rio Supply.) The old engine terminal is in the left background of this picture. In any case, it is probably better than a third week of The Lord's Kitchen restaurant.
An old Santa Fe caboose rolling along on the end of a train outside Joliet, Illinois, April 28, 2012.
My friend Al Currier and I were out roaming on a sunny Fall day. En route to our spending an afternoon in southern British Columbia, thirty two years ago one of our stops was the BN yard at Sumas, Washington. This old F unit was starting to show her true colors:
Iowa Interstate's westbound mainline train, BICB(Blue Island, IL-Council Bluffs, IA) descends downhill near MP 230, heading into Iowa City, IA. May 2, 2012.
Doesn't need to be new. Doesn't even need to be yours as long as you have permission to post it. I love "out the window" shots.
I just checked Buddy Burton's very nice Iowa Interstste photo. Anyone notice how nice the attached photos look these days? They're larger for sure.
From a few years ago. What I call an Oh #$%&* moment!, A simple wheel/axle swap gone bad. Truck has just hit the ground, about 30 seconds before. All because this retaining clip broke! As I try to recall, unit was now Bad Ordered and had to be shipped back to Alliance, NE for proper rebuilding. What should have taken maybe 30 minutes, ended up taking about 3 hours!!
Well, not quite as much action as last week, but that's ok. Maybe I'll advertise a little better next week. Of course, I'll be out of town on Friday, so it might start a day early. As a parting shot, this is a picture I took while in College. Harlem ave ish south (way south) of I55. The bad bad smear is because my film camera had a broken lens and parts actually fell into the frame. That was a crude attempt to clean them up with digital editing.
A run to Cheyenne Sunday. Had to get away, since I was not on speaking terms with my folks! Anyway, This says it all! Found on a covered hopper in La Salle, CO. Came across this GP30, on my way home. Sitting all alone, close to new rail served industrial park, being built. All new track. Not sure who it interchanges with, BNSF, UP or both. Google Earth/Maps not up to date yet. Construction etc...not shown. Some information found says ex DRGW unit, also ex PRR unit. Doubt highly, that it's ex Grande though.
Yellowstone Valley RR is a Watco operation in northeast Montana. With the Bakken oil field boom, under terms of the lease, BNSF grabbed the line back to reap the rich profits. Which essentially leaves just a YV switching operation. So there are surplus YV units now. WAMX does have a good number of former PRR power, including GP30 units. So this might be one. If someone could grab a number off the builders plate?
Cool pictures everyone. @YoHo. Definitely enjoy seeing the PNWR units that never show themselves around the Toledo-Albany-Corvallis areas. Of all my trackside adventures, I haven't seen 2315 in person yet.
