Big Boy Back To The Future
As you all know, Union Pacific has begun the process of returning an iconic Big Boy steam locomotive to service. UP regained ownership of 4-8-8-4 4014 from the Rail Giants Museum in Pomona, CA last Fall in exchange for UP SD40-2 3105, a boxcar, and a caboose.
Over the last several months, 8 members of the UP Steam Team have been working to prepare the 4014 for its first movement in over 50 years. The first big step took place yesterday when the UP moved it 56 miles to the West Colton yard. There it will receive more work to prepare it for the 1,293 trip to Cheyenne, WY where it will be completely overhauled over the next 3-5 years.
There’s a nice selection of images from yesterdays move here, but I wanted to share a few views of UP 4014 from its days in service, and shortly after its retirement.
First up this view of UP 4014 at Cheyenne in August, 1958 near the end of its career.
Union Pacific donated the 4014 to the Rail Giants Train Museum December 7, 1961. The locomotive arrived there January 8, 1962.
Here she is in December, 1963, just under 2 years after beginning the “museum piece” phase of its career.
Here’s what it looked like in July, 2013 shortly after the announcement of its re-acquisition by UP was announced:
Hats off to the UP and its decision to invest so much to return a Big Boy to service. No other railroad (or any company) has retained its historical equipment in operating condition or honored its history like Union Pacific.
Something’s Better Than Nothing
Amtrak’s P42DC 42 has finally made it through the Houston area. This is the locomotive that was recently re-painted into a special scheme recognizing our military veterans and their service. It’s a good-looking unit that I’ve been patiently waiting for an opportunity to photograph.
It led #2 yesterday morning, 12/29/2013. Despite the overcast skies, I left home about 30 minutes before the train was due through Sugar Land. Unfortunately for me, the train was running about 35 minutes early and I missed it. I considering driving to the Houston depot for some shots, but the conditions just didn’t warrant the effort.
It returned today, 12/30/2013, leading the westbound Sunset Limited. Of course, it was still overcast here, but there was a bigger problem. It gets dark about 6 PM, and the train doesn’t pass through my area until 7:30 PM.
I wasn’t going to try to photograph it , but concerned it might not pass through Houston again, I had a last-minute change of heart.
Since something is better than nothing, I grabbed a camera at 7:20 PM and headed to CP SA025. I had just enough time to park my truck such that its headlamps might get a bit of light on the nose of the train and take a few test shots before the crossing gates activated. 20 seconds later AMTK 42 blows by me at 55-60 mph as I trip the camera’s shutter.
It’s certainly not my best work, but it’s better than bupkus. And maybe, just maybe, the 42 stays on the Sunset Limited for another trip. That would put it through Houston this coming Friday morning. We’ll see…
Out & About – Oct. 4, 2013
I got word that today’s Amtrak #2 would have a private car bringing up the rear. That was enough for me to get out and try my luck with the partly cloudy skies. As I left home, there were lots of big cumulus clouds above, so I knew it would be a hit-or-miss proposition getting full sun when my photographic quarry arrived.
I headed to West Junction to wait for #2. It’s more open there plus the curve might help get better light on rear of the PV. Several big clouds passed by during my 10 minute wait for the train, but the sun prevailed as #2 approached.
The private car really stood out because it’s several feet shorter than Amtrak’s Superliners.
I was quite taken with the sleek lines the car and its NYC lightning stripe livery. It’s apparently the only remaining NYC Pullman car. It’s owned by the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey. Click here for the history of this beautiful car.
Interesting fact about this car-it was christened by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower in 1948 at New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
Here’s a shot of it during its heyday:
I moved 2 miles west to Ormandy to await the RDTDP (Rock Dittlinger-Dallerup) that was following Amtrak. This is one of the heaviest trains on the Glidden sub, typically in the 15,000 ton range for its 110 cars or so of aggregate.
A westbound manifest passed by on track 1 seconds before the RDTDP arrived. No way to get a shot of it here, but the DS had instructed it to hold for one eastbound at Missouri City, so I should be able to shoot it there.
I headed another 2 miles west, to Missouri City, to set up for the next eastbound. The westbound that went by me at Ormandy was UP 3778, the MEWEG-4. It was already there , waiting for the LHT44, the eastbound Flatonia local,
By the time the LHT47 arrived, my luck with the clouds had just run out, resulting in these craptacular shots. Nothing you can really do other than take it like a man, then carry on.
I headed to CP SA019 to catch the MEWEG manifest at the end of double track.
As the MEWEG approached me from the east, a huge cloud was approaching from the west. Fortunately for me, the train won the race by an engine length.
There was a lull once the MEWEG got by me due to MOW getting 90 minutes of track and time to dump rock between switches at Sugar Land. I took this time to head home to cool off and get some lunch.
The first thing to run once MOW gave back their time was the LRNRNJ, the KCS local. Its power was 2 GP40’s in Southern Belle colors. It would have been epic had the clouds not made an untimely appearance. Clouds or not, it’s still a nice shot.
There wasn’t anything else running in the area, so I took that as a sign to head home and back into the A/C.
Sunset Limited Pedestrian Strike
I ventured out after dinner this evening to photograph #1 as this was the first reasonably clear evening in some time. I had just set up near MP 26 at 1930 when I heard an emergency tone-up of the dispatcher.
The DS answered immediately. The Amtrak engineer tells him they have just struck a pedestrian at the MP 20.12 grade crossing ( FM 1092) and to advise Stafford police and fire authorities. He added that the person was carrying a bike across the track when struck and that it would be a fatality.
The train was able to stop very quickly, at most a 1/4 mile from the point of impact. The assistant engineer is walking back to the head end.
Stafford fire and police at the scene of the incident
The Amtrak conductor, at far left, was required to be at the scene as well.
The DS asked the Amtrak crew they were OK or if they wanted to be relieved. All 4 operating crewmen said they were fine to continue and declined to be relieved.
I took one last shot before leaving the scene a bit after 2015. You can see the reflection of the emergency vehicle’s lights along the passenger cars.
The crew was initially advised that the investigation would last about 2 hours. As it turned out, they weren’t released until 2303, over 3 1/2 hours after the incident.
The UP and BNSF had to re-crew their freights in the area because of the delay. Ironically, the Amtrak crew thought they could make it to Kirby (San Antonio) on their hours-of-service as long as there were no other delays. The UP dispatcher told them that the railroad was theirs all the way to Kirby,..
Perhaps Potentially Possible
Union Pacific SD70ACe 1989, the D&RGW heritage locomotive, is leading the MEWSA-04 (Manifest Englewood-San Antonio) this afternoon. It was called out of Englewood at 0900. The train was dragged out to Heacker late this morning, where it was tied down account a trackwork curfew in effect until 1600. This is what it looked like at 1417 as it waited for the outbound crew.
Not to jinx anything, but there just might be some nice photo-ops of this train later this afternoon as it makes its way toward San Antonio. I might have to check them out…
Out & About – June 3, 2013
Not a cloud in the sky here today, so I headed out after dinner to see what I might capture in the last hour of light. As soon as I got in the car, I heard the QEWWC, UP 8671, calling an approach at CP SA029.
Cool, a train right off the bat. The only problem was it was already 8 miles west of me. As I considered my options, the DS told the QEWWC that he would see one eastbound shortly at Harlem, then continue west.
With that bit of info, I knew I could get ahead of this train. My destination was Richmond, to check out the stretch between MP 32-33.5 where the Glidden main runs northeast to southwest. Assuming I could find an open area, the light should be nice.
After scoping out the area briefly, my best choice was the N. 8th Street grade crossing. As I was parking, the detector at MP 30 announced the imminent arrival of the QEWWC. 5 minutes later, UP 8671 came into view at 7:07 P.M.
For a QEWWC, it was a short train, only 53 cars. That’s typical for a Monday. Nevertheless, there was still a DPU. SD70ACe 8406 does the honors today.
The next train through was the westbound Sunset Limited. By the time it came through at 7:47 PM, the only open spot I could find that wasn’t covered in shadows was the west end of the Brazos River bridge. So be it.
As there are 4 grade crossings in close succession here, #1 was really laying on the whistle. A nice change of pace for me because the entire Stafford/Sugar Land area is a quiet zone. I really need to shoot some video here…
Out & About – June 1, 2013
I’m not doing a lot of railfanning these days, what with high sun and higher temperatures. But I was able to sneak in a bit this evening en route to pick up our dinner.
The plan was to catch Amtrak #1 as it passed through Sugar Land around 7:30 PM. As I approached the east switch of Sugar Land at 7:20 PM, I noticed a diverging approach aspect for a westbound.
That’s odd. Either the DS is running #1 through the siding or he’s got a westbound freight lined in to clear up for Amtrak. Before I could ponder the question, the answer arrived in the form of a BNSF empty grain train.
The track in the foreground is the lead to UP’s Sugar Land yard.
Amtrak #1 came into view 2-3 minutes after the BNSF train cleared up, passing by me at at 7:33 PM.
With that, it was time to make the 3-mile drive to Domino’s and my 7:45 PM pizza carry-out order. I love it when a plan works out….
Always Look Both Ways
Yesterday, May 8, 2013, I was able to catch two trains on my way home from an afternoon video job in downtown Houston. It was 7 PM already and the light wasn’t particularly good. But it was good enough for me to try my luck. Little did I know that when I was done, I would be reminded of the wisdom of our parents’ instruction to us before crossing the street: always look both ways.
First up was a westbound BNSF manifest led by C44-9W 4178 which I shot at CP SA020 in Stafford. The “pointy” structure visible 8-10 cars back is a monument at the entrance to Stafford along Hwy 90.
I had to work to hold the camera steady for my second shot of this train. When I saw the engineer greeting me through the viewfinder, I couldn’t help but laugh. He was waving his hands wildly from side to side. Click the below image for a better view of his greeting.
As the head end got by me, I had no intention of trying a going-away shot. So-so light, a ho-hum consist, why bother, right? I turned to my right just to watch the power recede when I noticed the interesting interplay of light between the tank cars, so I quickly raised the camera for a couple of going-away views. This is the one I liked best:
Assuming an on-time departure from the Houston depot, Amtrak #1 will pass through Stafford about 7:25 PM. Julie advised that #1 did in fact depart on time at 6:55 PM. Nevertheless, 7:25 PM came and went, with no sign of the Sunset Limited.
It wasn’t until 7:55 PM that AMTK 88 got to me at MP 21, moments before sunset. There wasn’t much light, but you don’t need much at ISO 2500.
My going-away shot experience with the previous train had me ready. As soon as the power passed me, I was ready for the going away shot, or so I thought. As soon as I saw the strong glint light, I wanted to panic. My camera setting were all wrong for the bright reflected sunlight. All I could do is blindly compensate as I was tripping the camera shutter.
Once the train passed by, I wasn’t too anxious to see my results. I really expected the going-away shots to be a disaster because I wasn’t expecting the strong glint and blind camera settings adjustments rarely end well.
Once I mustered the courage to look at the shots on the camera LCD, I was amazed. Amazed at how nice the shots were, but even more amazed that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture the dramatic sunset glint light bouncing off of the train.
The photographic purist in me wasn’t happy with the power lines in the background, but the rest of me was quite happy with the results. And quite glad that I remembered to look both ways.
It’s Official
As of 5:00 PM yesterday, April 15, 2013, Union Pacific cut in 4.5 miles of new main line between Heacker (CP SA014) and what had been the west switch of Missouri City (CP SA019). You might recall some previous posts here showing the double track construction project as it progressed.
One of the first trains to traverse the new main was Amtrak’s Sunset Limited. I had received word that today’s #1 would be more interesting than usual because it would have Heritage P42 184 on the point and 2 private cars on the rear.
As I had covered an afternoon deposition near the Galleria, CP LF372 was a convenient spot for my first shots. It was very cloudy, but nothing that ISO 2500 couldn’t take care of. At 1913, #1 blew by me doing a good 60mph.
Houston rush-hour traffic being what it is, I didn’t think I’d be able to get another shot of this train. But the Sunset had to wait at Heacker for about 10 minutes before it could get clearance through the various Form B and C bulletins in place. As such, I was able to set up in Missouri City with plenty of time to spare.
The next image shows where the new main, main 1, ties into the east end of Missouri City siding. The switch was slated to be removed today.
It’s become quite dark by the time #1 got by me at 1941 requiring the 5D II’s maximum ISO of 6400. Note how the hi-rail’s headlights light up the side of the Superliners.
The train had a 15mph slow order through here so I was able to get ahead of the train one last time. I went to the curve just west of CP SA020 in Stafford where I caught #1 at 1948 accelerating as it cleared the limits of the westernmost Form B.
To the extent Amtrak’s Heritage locomotives don’t get assigned to the Sunset Limited often, it’s not surprising that I’ve never been able to catch one in nice weather. Hopefully Amtrak will keep this equipment together for #2 that comes through here this upcoming Friday morning.
Edit: I wanted to note the names of the two PV’s trailing #1, but I didn’t have the hi-res images handy when I completed the post.
The first private car is the Puget Sound. The dome is the Northern Dreams. Both cars were built in 1955 for the Union Pacific.
Santa Fe – In The Day
In the interest of staying true to my stated mission of looking at contemporary and vintage railroading, let’s step back in time and look at some images of the Santa Fe from back in the day.
Right at 40 years ago, ATSF RSD15 9814 leads a manifest in Winslow, AZ in April of 1973. Alco road power on the Santa Fe was in its very last days of mainline service by this time. They would be re-assigned to yard service where they served out their last few years before being retired by the Santa Fe. Most Santa Fe RSD15’s were scrapped by the mid-70’s, but a handful were sold to the LS&I and UTAH railroads, where they worked for another decade or so. Unfortunately, the 9814 was not one of those. By 6/74 it was stored in San Bernardino, CA pending disposition. It was sold for scrap to Precision National Corp. in 3/75.
Going back 3 years and 462 miles west, we find Santa Fe SD45 1813 leading 4 other EMD’s as they approach Cajon Summit in January of 1970 with an eastbound manifest. This stretch of track was relocated in 1972 as part of a massive realignment of the Santa Fe right-of-way that eliminated the sharpest curves and reduced the grades in the Summit area. EMD’s SD45 had a long and successful tenure on the Santa Fe. ATSF 1813 was built in June of 1966, working 25 years before being retired in 1991.
Right at 45 years ago, we’re at another iconic Southern California location, where Santa Fe GP35 1359 is blasting uphill with an eastbound at the Tehachapi Loop, aka Walong, in April of 1968. EMD’s GP35 had a longer and even more successful tenure on the Santa Fe than the SD45.
A May 1965 product of La Grange, the 1359 was re-manufactured by the Santa Fe in 1984. It became BNSF 2559 in 2000, working until 2009, when the BNSF had the unit re-built to GP39-3 specs. With its new number of BNSF 2653, this locomotive soldiers on today, oblivious of its advanced age.
Our last stop in time is 63 years ago. The only information on the slide mount of this next image is San Joaquin Valley in 1950. Nevertheless it’s my favorite image of this post, by far.
You’ve got the best seat in the house for this meet as a warbonnet powered Santa Fe passenger train blows by a zebra-striped GP7 powered manifest waiting in a siding.
With that, it’s back to the present. Admittedly, 2013 doesn’t seem as interesting as any of the 4 years we’ve visited in this post.
But the present is all we have. We really should make the best of it.
Out & About – March 20, 2013
After all the storms last night, it cleared out nicely this afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t spend much time capitalizing on the nice weather due to editing commitments.
In the middle of the editing project, the trackball mouse I use on my video editing system cratered . It’s been acting up for some time, so a trip to Fry’s was in order – strictly work related. But I took a camera and radio with me, just in case.
En route, the radio advised me of a westbound headed my way so I paused just west of the Dulles Ave. grade crossing for a quick photo-op. UP 3818, the MEWEY-20 (Manifest Englewood-East Yard), came into view shortly.
The third unit was looking particularly good. UP 8000 is an ES44AC that was built in July, 2012. Too bad it wasn’t leading.
Mixed in among the MEWEY’s hodgepodge of freight cars was a TTX 89′ flat with a 67′ PROX tank car. The tank car didn’t appear to have wreck damage, but it has certainly seen better days.
The DS advised the MOW foreman that the QEWWC-20 would be the next train by, but it was about 30 minutes behind the MEWEY. That should be just enough time to get in and out of Fry’s.
As it turned out, it took me about 45 minutes to get back trackside. But the QEWWC also took longer than expected to get cleared through the various Form B’s, so it worked out just right.
Today’s QEWWC would be operating under a few extra rules. The conductor had advised the Glidden sub DS that they were a “key train” and they also had a high-wide load.
A “Key Train” is any train with:
* one tank car load of poison or toxic inhalation hazard (PIH or TIH) (Hazard Zone A, B, C, D) or anhydrous ammonia, or;
* 20 car loads or intermodal portable tank loads of a combination of PIH or TIH (Hazard Zone A, B, C, D), anhydrous ammonia, flammable gas, Class 1.1 or 1.2 explosives, and environmentally sensitive chemicals, or;
* one or more car loads of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), High Level Radioactive Waste (HLRW).
My understanding of the main operational difference for this train will be it will stay on the mainline for meets and it must be stopped before other trains will be able to pass by it.
I set up for UP 8385 at CP SA020, in downtown Stafford, Texas. As it came into view in the distance, the second unit seemed somewhat different.
The “somewhat different” second unit was UP 6181, a legitimate Southern Pacific heritage engine, still proudly wearing its Southern Pacific colors. Can you believe this unit will be 18 years old in May?
The high-wide load was 5 cars from the head end. Right behind it were 2 DODX flats loaded with USMC AAV-7A1 armored personnel carriers.
Two ES44AC DPU’s bring up the rear of the QEWWC as it passes the intermediates at CP SA020, shoving the train toward its final destination, the huge ex-SP yard at West Colton, California.
At this point I headed home to complete the wedding video I was working on, content that I’d been able to get in a bit of railfanning without having to play hooky. Not that anything’s wrong with that…
Continuing with my coverage of Union Pacific’s double-tracking project on the Glidden subdivision, this post will cover the area around Hillcroft Avenue in southwest Houston over the 6-week period between October 4 and November 21, 2012.
Here are 2 views from Hillcroft Avenue on October 4th. Looking east, the subgrade for the new main is nearing completion, with just a bit more fill material to be worked into the subgrade.
Looking west from Hillcroft, the subgrade is still undergoing excavation work.
Looking east from Hillcroft on November 21st, all subgrade work was completed and concrete crossties were in place to within 50 yards of the grade crossing.
Standing in the Hillcroft Avenue median and looking west, surveyor markings indicate where the second main will be.
Looking west, the subgrade near the grade crossing still lacks some work, but the remainder appears complete as crossties are already in place.
Southwest Rails 