Whether your a BNSF, a CSX, a NS, or a UP railfan, a trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming and a visit to UP's transcontinental mainline, will be a railroad location you will never forget. An estimated 60 to 70 trains pass through Cheyenne on a given day. A scanner is optional, unless your seeking specific information. Their are the usual overshot locations, but if you use your imagination and travel east and west of the former UP Depot, you should fine areas that is fresh and new. The best way to describe Cheyenne is, the trains keep coming, and coming, and coming. 1. An EMD SD70ACe, (8603), leads a high priority K-LINE intermodal train, (KG1SE), west out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. 2. An eight unit eastbound manifest is seen stopped the Cheyenne UP Depot for a crew change, before proceeding to its North Platte, Nebraska Bailey Yard destination. 3. UP 4314 leads a North Portland Jct to Global 1 Yard, IL intermodal out of the UP East Yard at Cheyenne. 4. Seen are two UP eastbound trains stopped at a signal just west of town, waiting to get into Cheyenne. 5.. A portrait of UP 7644 stooped on track 1 in Cheyenne.
6. An eastbound UP hot stack train passes by a signal bridge before entering the Cheyenne yard. Copyright 2008 By Coloradoflyer
My old stomping grounds! I used to get lunch at Arby's, and spend a Sunday afternoon at MP 511, just west of the BNSF overpass...... I have dozens of shots here, and in this area. Spent 3 years in Chey-oming. I miss it! I love that overhead depot shot, and the Pacer Stacktrain shot--beautiful!
I spent the summer of 2005 working at the local hospital, and my off-duty time railfanning the yard & the line east and west of Cheyenne, including a railfan trip with Hemi over Sherman Hill. I've also spent a few nice lunches at the Snake River Pub (located in the UP depot) downing a glass or two of the local microbrew beer (Big Boy Stout) while watching trains change crews iterally yards from me- when you get 4 freights all at once stopping for crew change, the noise of up to 16 diesels idling is awesome! Trains struggling to get upgrade over Sherman on the 1.55% grade at Harriman......passing the almost-a-billion-years-old rock formations near Dale Jct........popping out of Hermosa Tunnel...... coming downhill, dynamic brakes howling, as a train approaches Borie.......shooting an eastbound going up Archer Hill.....listening to 3985 passing under the C&S overpass on its way west......catching a BNSF pig train at the same time two UP freights pass underneath......and I am probably the only railfan I know of who chased 3985 up & over Sherman Hill from Cheyenne to Laramie while still wearing the scrubs worn from the previous night shift.
Races, and 3 & 4-way meets are not only possible here, but common! Here's a race with a V-train with loads of power and light load, and heavy manifest racing toward MP 511:
Trains are usually parked at MP 511 awaiting crews or clearance into the Cheyenne yard. MP 511 is a GREAT place to watch trains! Here's a hot, HOT (did I mention HOT?) tsacktrain headed west out of town, with a foreign business car just behind the power. The BNSF overpass is just west of me, as is MP511: Another ground-level view of the depot: Older power was prevalent as well--this is for Boxcab: numerically-ordered SD40-2's:
MP511 is where the BNSF crosses the UP on an elevated fill; with so many trains, you'd think upper & under shots would be easy.... But they're not. Here's a couple: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/955/upper_and_under2.jpg You could catch everything from the garden-variety SD70M's: To the monster 6000HP SD90MACs: Even older EMD power:
Interesting to see all those bright new blue containers. I wonder what was happening? Must be a new train. Boxcab E50
Wow. What a grab shot! Stopped right in the middle of traffic? Brave fellow... Bet you got a few odd looks... :tb-wacky: Boxcab E50
I was in a centerleft-turn lane,and since the road I wanted to turn on was blocked by that EB train, and the light was red, and I couldn't go anywhere.........why not? As far as funny looks, oh well........a blue van with a ratty paint job, with Texas license plates, driven by a guy with a digital camera...........nah, nothing wierd about that.............
