I was on my way home from a recent visit with friends in Oregon, disappointed that I had not been able to play golf. The weather had just not cooperated. I left Klamath Falls at 9am my last day on the road planning to shoot some trains along the way. Just south of town on US 97 I spotted a TOFC in the distance headed toward California with two Armor yellow EMD’s on the point. There was a third unit that I couldn’t quite make out so I decided to catch up and see what it was.
I was about to punch it knowing that my 2005 Mustang could quickly catch up. Fortunately, I checked my mirror before moving out and saw an Oregon state patrol car a couple of hundred yards back. It took only a couple of seconds to set the cruise control on 55 and assume a safe pace knowing the trooper was eying my car with the California plates.
About three miles down the road, the trooper lost interested and headed back toward Klamath Falls. I quickly accelerated to 70 and caught up with the train to discover the third loco was UP 1989, the Rio Grande heritage unit I had read about in the October 2007 issue of Trains.
Below you’ll find several shots as I chased the TOFC all the way to Redding. Unfortunately, the clouds chased me most of the way home so the images are not as sharp as I’d like. Enjoy!
California/Oregon State Line
California/Oregon State Line
Grass Lake
Azalea