So, have you seen anythign on the rails that was a good find?
Today, I was caugh in traffic when I was able to catch the afternoon run up from south into Phoenix on the Sunset line, courtsey of UP. Usually, its the Yellow and Mist maybe a beatup old GP40 in dirty gray and yellow patches.
But today… I caught an extra special treat. On the point, was a rather clean looking (considering) SD-40 Southern Pacific in speed lettering. UNPATCHED, blazeing away. It looks so good up there without the cheap looking yellow patch and red letters.
For a breif minute, as i watched cruise along the track acorss the rows of the feilds along the road, I thoguht it was 1985 and I was in the passenger seat with my dad. But then I turned to my 5 year old son, and we both listened to the horn, and said,… “How cool is that?”[:D]
I am so glad you started this thread - was wondering how I was going to work this into everyday conversation.
Saw a BNSF - heavy on the SF - GP 28 doing a freight haul with a GP35 and a GP 38.
Looked in my book Brother Carl gave me - sez there are only 8 around. (this was #1534)
We even saw it coming out of the yards and did a cross town - out to the country race to get a better look at it. They were really traveling by then! Great sight!
…Any and more of it {freight on the rails}, is cool in my way of thinking as it probably will be taking some trucks off the highway. The rails here around Muncie…2 through lines, of the NS and CSX in several directions, seem to be rather busy now and I hope it continues.
Dark Blue CSX SD40-2 # 9848 (ex SBD SD-50?) on a pusher set working Monument Hill between Denver and Colorado Springs just south of Casle Rock/Tomah…in odd service, a long way from home.
(attached to a clapped-out, crappy looking, Cascade Green BN SD40-2 which appeared to have died [typical BN power] somewhere after leaving the Denver engine terminal)
I think the coolest thing I saw recently was on 2/21, when I chased the Wisconsin & Southern JH21 from J-ville to Milton, and watched it switch the Milton Industrial Lead with a pair of SD40-2s! (4004 and 4009) Wheels were screaming around the curve, it was awesome!!! Must get pictures posted to my site soon…
Wi***he BN side of the equation would just learn to take better care of the stuff instead of just running it into the ground to failure.[}:)][}:)][}:)]
I saw a Southern Pacific and a SOO together when i was walkingthe dog yesterday, was a bit away, so couldn’t catch the numbers. They did seem to be pulled by a third loco, a blue one with a yellow line down the middle, only caught half of it, as it was past the tree line before icame into view of the crossing.
Mind you, this is in an area that’s primarily CN territory and not seen that often, usualy it’s just shortlines, so seeing an SP unit is a treat.
WOW, nice to this thread takeing off…Nice to see that these old workhorses are still floating around makin the pay.
My “son”, techincaly, my soon to be step son. (my fiancee’s kiddo) and I are pretty into trains. When we first moved into together, in an attempt to bond with a 3 year old, I brought home my old trains. Now, we have big ole lay out in the garage ( pics link below,) and atleast once a week, we go train hunting over here around the UP tracks.
Which reminds, me, over off the McQueen siding, they keep a couple of GP-38/40’s for local work. At the moment, they have an old SP and Cottonbelt.[8D]. too bad it is patched up.
Hmmm…methinks I need to head trackside. All this power shortage is bringing some interesting sounding stuff to life again. A power shortage truly is railfan bliss!
I haven’t seen much of interest lately except for the move of one of the UP Big Boys to its new home in the Omaha Botanical Gardens. It was a very impressive sight.
UP’s new GEVOs are still coming on line–I saw about a half-dozen of them today (in one of the few moments I was standing vertically!). They’re up into the 5400s now.
this was last week, thursday i believe…on the BNSF in shabbona, IL i saw a westbound stack train in the siding and an eastbound meet through town. the eastbound had 3 green and black SD40-2’s and the westbound stack train had 2 of the same sd40-2’s. and yes, they all looked *** good to me!