Hey everyone! I've been busy with life, but just came back from a week in Colorado railfanning. While these are merely grab shots, while enroute to Palmer Lake, a BNSF southbound manifest's DPU was pretending to be an ALCO or even a steam loco. It was quite the smokeshow. The Monument Fire Department even got the call, in case the unit burst into flames... Amtrak made appearances, too. Tunnel 1: And a WB coal empty seen exiting Eisle (Clay) Siding, from atop Tunnel 1: Have a great weekend!
From ten years ago, deep in the piney woods of East Texas. The locomotive is a "General Pershing" 2-8-0 Consolidation.
I stood trackside yesterday on the former SOU main, excited to see the signals set for a northbound and happy to finally get a shot here framed by the signal bridge. I was rewarded ...... with one unit rolling merrily along, as if its owner was testing it out. <g> (I found later that it was working a local, and lack of a nearby crossover caused the crew to have to run quite some distance to work their train.) The 3507 is an SD-40-2.
Thanks for starting this Hemi, I can sympathize with life keeping you away...as my constant late thread starts attest.
Today, the Verde Valley, an ex Santa Fe 6-6-4 Pullman, started its journey to Arizona and the museum in Chandler. Here it is being shoved down Commerce Street in Houston to the Union Pacific Congress Yard just south of down town Houston. We have spent many hours getting the car ready to roll all that way to Arizona on its own wheels. Now keep our fingers crossed that it will make it. Here it is at the UP interchange waiting for them to pick it up Monday morning.
This seems to differ from reports by media, etc. According to those, rail shipments of coal have died down to a mere trickle.
Happily, there has been a small reversal of fortune. NS's coal loadings rose 31% in the 1st Quarter when compared with the same quarter last year, with export coal loadings showing a strong return and domestic utility stockpiles finding replenishment. I don't have the numbers handy, but tonnages are still way down and are likely to never rise again to what they were. However, it's good to see a measure of recovery.
Not a new photo but one of my favorites shot at 10:22am on 05/08/2006. Ed Dickens,JR. was the hoghead that morning. UP 844 creeping through Oro Grande, New Mexico, at 75 mph headed for El Paso and a two day exhibit. Doesn't look to be maxed out as yet. Enjoy and always have fun, Carl