Hello- Friday started with the alarm clock at 4:30am. I picked up my friend Damian in Broomfield and we headed for Cheyenne. We got there around 7:15am, meaning we had a bit of a wait for UP 844. We headed out into the rather brutal conditions and waited, along with several other brave soles that were willing to suffer in the cold! The temperature was 25°F, which isn't that bad. The real problem was the sustained 25 MPH winds. That brought the wind chill down to about 5°F. There was a parade of westbounds coming through. As they were piling up outside of Cheyenne, they were stopping on the S-Curve at Archer on Main 1. This wasn't good for those of us hoping to shoot UP 844 coming through the S-Curve as the westbound obscured the view. Finally, a manifest pulled into the clear and there were no headlights to the east. However, there was no UP 844 either. Turns out it go held up by trains getting into Cheyenne. When we finally saw steam rising on the western horizon, we were greeted by a westbound pipe train that stopped right through the S-Curve at Archer. Oh well...maybe next time! The shots from Archer were still very nice. From there, we hit I-80 and headed east. By the time we were 30 miles east of Cheyenne, the snow was all but gone and the highway was dry. We continued on the Pine Bluffs, WY and setup for a shot from the overpass there. It didn't take long for the train to come through and then it was back on I-80. ==================================== 1. UP 844 comes around the curves at Archer, next to the unit Pipe Train headed for Elko, NV. Black and white seemed appropriate for at least one shot of the train. 2. The steam crew was putting on a nice show at Archer. Hot steam and cold weather make for fantastic imagery! 3. About 30 minutes before UP 844 showed up, this eastbound K-Line double stack train passed by. Note the number on the lead unit..."UP 8447". Of course this guy had to be in town on this day! Kept hearing "UP 844....." on the scanner and got excited, only to hear the "7" added on to the end. :tb-biggrin:
Rather than trying to pace the train, we decided to just get ahead of it and head to Point of Rocks, NE. This is a nifty location with the ability to get some descent elevation on the north side of the tracks. We waited about 15 minutes and the train showed up. Because we had climbed the rocks a ways, we were unable to catch up to the train again until Lodgepole, NE. This was the first (and only) scheduled stop for the day. The stop lasted about 20 minutes and the crew unloaded some equipment from the tool car to grease up the engine. This would be the last place we would see the train. Point of Rocks was the last location we had specifically wanted to shoot, and we didn't feel like fighting with traffic continuing east. So, for the rest of the day, we spent chasing along BNSF's Angora Sub between Sterling, CO and Bridgeport, NE. There was a variety of weather over the course of the day, ranging from sunny and windy to snow to rain to sleet and everything in between. It was a great day a lot of fun! Here all the shots (including the ones from the Angora Sub); http://www.coloradorailfan.com/gallery/gallery.asp?on=20100402&by=KM Enjoy (and Happy Easter)! ==================================== 4. The Valley Eagle special comes around the curve at Point of Rocks, NE. 5. A pacing shot of UP 844 as it approaches Lodgepole and its only scheduled stop between Cheyenne and North Platte. 6. The stop in Lodgepole is complete and UP 844 is quite literally blowing steam out of its ears!
cool:Kevin, Happy Easter to you, as well, and thanks for putting some steam fanning material on the board. This will be quite an adventure for the 844 and crew, traveling to previously undone track.
Great photos Kevin! The weather was great wasn't it!! I was worried they would close I-80 and we would be stuck in Pine Bluffs... I sure am glad I live on the south side of Cheyenne Ridge!!
Wonderful shots! I spent most of Easter sunday inside because of the nearly incessant German rain. That bit of elevation you gained at Point Of Rocks, NE is a lot of elevation, for Nebraska! The snow made the shot beautiful. Can you say Christmas card shots!
Excellent pictures! I thought #5 (the pacing shot) looked a little strange until I realized the crew were wearing day-glo green rain jackets! I wish UP would send 844 east, so I'd have a chance to see it. But I guess they like to keep her on home rails.
