Out & About – Oct. 3, 2010

We made a quick run to Pasadena this afternoon to visit my mother, and have dinner. As the sun was out, I made sure to bring a camera just in case we came across something.

We hadn’t been in the car more than a minute when the KCS 3924 called the dispatcher for a track warrant for the Rosenberg sub.  The DS asked “Who’s copying, and location?”  “Conductor Roberson at Missouri City” was the response.

With that bit of comint, I knew that the train was a westbound, and he was about 4 miles east of me. Traffic lights actually cooperated, and I was able to get set up near the Dulles Ave. grade crossing (MP 20.1 – Glidden sub) with a few minutes to spare.

A "Belle Sandwich" powers a Mexico-bound grain train at Stafford, TX on Oct. 3, 2010

We didn’t come across anything else on the way to Pasadena, which was fine with me, as we were all quite hungry.

We watched a bit of football during dinner. The Texans played well, despite injuries, and were able to beat the Raiders 31-24. Once we were done with dinner, I snuck out to see if something might be running in the Pasadena area.

Approaching Sinco (MP 8 on UP’s Strang sub), I could see the tail end of a northbound. I decided to stay on the freeway so I could get ahead of the train more easily.

Just another Strang to Houston key train (haz-mat) approaches Manchester Jct. on Oct. 3, 2010

Note the second unit, UP 1810. It’s a B40-8, most of which are in storage around the system, but there are a handful running in the Houston area.

I moved up a few miles to the Tower 30 interlocking area, where UP’s  Strang, Glidden, and Galveston subdivisions intersect each other.

The 8019 switches from the Strang sub to the Glidden sub at Manchester Junction

The signal indicates the 8019 will switch over to the Galveston sub at GH&H Junction. This routing is common for trains that will terminate at Settegast yard in northeast Houston.

With that, I decided to head back to Pasadena before I got in trouble for being AWOL.