at 2:15 pm today we had 1995-8646-8701 taking a little rest at the lafox metra station.
it really looked good sitting up there proud as it could be
condi
Welcome to the Forum, Condi!
Being away from the area for a while, I’ve lost track of those three units. I’m assuming they’re still working on MPRCB/MCBPR (eastbound would have been Council Bluffs to Proviso).
Sometime soon (if it hasn’t gone through there already) you should be getting UP 7605 (the unit painted for GE) leading an eastbound K-Line stack train. We saw it west of Tucumcari, New Mexico, a couple of days ago.
Welcome to the forum, Condi![#welcome]
Hey Carl, how’s the trip going?
Trip’s going pretty well, Brian! Right now we’re chilling at Linda’s place in Carpinteria (first crack I’ve had at a computer all week). Yesterday we met up with Chad Thomas, his dad, and a family of friends at Cajon (4-month-old daughter and I were pretty well captivated by each other); Hill 582 is definitely a spectacular spot for watching trains–frequency was so-so, but seeing the entire train on the grade was something else. They really tiptoe down that grade!
We stayed in motels by the tracks at Gallup, New Mexico, and Kingman, Arizona, on the way out here. They weren’t the greatest motels in the world, but they afforded a good view of the BNSF main line. Gallup is also a great place for meals with a view. We had breakfast in an enlarged house-trailer called The Plaza (maximum occupancy 39). French Toast is something that has to be ordered to be believed (my nephew, via my sister, tipped us off about this one–he works in a settlement near Gallup; we were originally going to visit with him, but he was back “home” in Michigan this week).
Saw (just lucky) UP 7605 on the point of an eastbound K-Line stack train last Wednesday (I guess I mentioned that already, above!), and was also fortunate enough to see a Rail Runner commuter train during the very brief time we stopped for quilt stores and a snack in Albuquerque. Most of the trek across Arizona was accompanied by BNSF trains in the distance, both coming and going. Trains did not help address the boredom of crossing California from Needles to Victorville–not much, anyway.
Hoping we can get to Fullerton on Thursday or thereabouts, and Tehachapi on Saturday. Sunday we start for home; Wednesday will be our day in Denver, and we’ll be along the UP from Thursday (Cheyenne) through Easter Sunday.
I definitely agree with you there- I take it you didn’t have any trouble coaxing your car up to the top of the hill? I find it humorous that I can tell everyone that my Dodge Grand Caravan has been to the top of Hill 582, complete with a full load of most of my son’s possessions. I was lucky when I visited with Chad there back last August- you may remember I got one picture with three trains in it.
Sorry for hijacking your thread, condi…
[#welcome]
no i did not see 7605 but i did see 7629 & 7631 with a eb dbl stack just east of lafox 3 hrs later on my way home. nice and clean but that will change.
you folks might find lafox is not a bad place to see the up and metra in action…the parking lot for metra is about 1/2 full during the weel and that is on the south side of the tracks… if in the area just give it a try… the geneva sub is one busy place
condi
I guess I have to plead guilty to at least aiding and abetting in the hijacking.
But yes, Brian, we nearly high-centered at one point on the road up to the hill–it’s very difficult to get more than three vehicles up there at once.
Hoping to see stuff around Santa Barbara today.
(Sinful pleasure discovered on this trip: strawberry Frappucinos from my daghter’s Starbucks–one of those suffices for breakfast.)
Condi, I agree with you that LaFox is a great place to hang out. I have a wife who’s a quilter, so we usually find ourselves parked in the lot of the quilt shop, right off LaFox Road.
carl
was that you sun in a dark blue van???
condi
Well if you go to Fullerton on a weekday I think you’ll have your “frequency” requirements satisfied. 52 passenger trains a day plus all that BNSF Transcon freight. If you are there on Friday evening, walk to the east end of the platform on the station (north) side of the tracks and meet the groups of railfans who gather there. I might be there myself; I do go there often.
Jack
No, never owned a van.
I think we’re stuck with Thursday in Fullerton, and probably time constraints. As a Chicagoan visiting with transplanted Chicagoans, we’ll be dining at Portillo’s in Buena Park in the evening.
april 1st and 1995 and her two sisters paid another visit to lafox. this time I saw what looked like two sp red units.
con