JAMIE'S RANDOM AMERICAN RAILWAY PHOTOS.

[Joseph_Pestell]

38 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

 

 The film that I put in my OM1 didn't engage properly so the next 3 days of photos got lost.

 

 

 

I've got that T-shirt. Always checked carefully after that.

 

It even happened to our wedding photographer so we ended up having to rely on someone else's photos for part of the big day.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I've got that T-shirt. Always checked carefully after that.

 

It even happened to our wedding photographer so we ended up having to rely on someone else's photos for part of the big day.

Yes it's happened.  Tant pis as our neighbours say.

 

Jamie

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

5 hours ago, pH said:

Rio Grande 3100 and 3129 were GP40-2s.

 

 

and deservedly became quite the celebrities, 3100 was the last DRGW GP40-2 in original paint, getting patched to UP 1350 in January 2006. 3129 got patched to UP1445 in October 2005.

 

Here's 3117 which I was pleased to stumble across by accident at 9th Street, Colton, sitting on the east leg of the Riverside Branch wye, 22nd September 2005.  It got patched to 1368 on October 27th 2005... how lucky was I?

 

 

By the time of my next trip in March 2006, patches were in place.  This should be DRGW 3116... just north of San Jose I think.

 

 

What this picture really means is - I got all my US railfanning pics recovered from the failed hard drive!  

 

BTW, the track's not really wonky - I grabbed this from the top deck of a San Jose bound Cal-Train commute coach.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Dr Gerbil-Fritters

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Hello all,

 

 

As promised a while back, I now have some photos from the inland northwest which I can post, thank you to Jamie’s for permission. 
 

 

On Thursday I managed to cycle over the 15 miles of cycle path that was the Milwaukee Road’s St Paul pass route, a very enjoyable day and I highly recommend it. You start off in Montana and cross back into Idaho within the 1.6 mile tunnel. 

Here are some photos of what is remaining.

 

Above is dad and my sister heading into the east portal of the long tunnel, below is the west portal showing some other people exiting with their lights on.

 

 

Here are a few photos of some remaining Telegraph poles, sone of these still hat their wires connected.

 

 

 

 

 

Below is an example typical of the roughly 7 steel trestles we crossed. These are about 175 feet off the forest floor but as the trees are 150 feet tall you feel much lower.

 

 

 

 

More to come either today or tomorrow showing the old Great Northern and Northern Pacific around Spokane, I’ll also try to get some photos of the BNSF’s Latah  Junction in the sky.

 

 

Douglas

 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Hello all,

 

 

As promised a while back, I now have some photos from the inland northwest which I can post, thank you to Jamie’s for permission. 
 

 

On Thursday I managed to cycle over the 15 miles of cycle path that was the Milwaukee Road’s St Paul pass route, a very enjoyable day and I highly recommend it. You start off in Montana and cross back into Idaho within the 1.6 mile tunnel. 

Here are some photos of what is remaining.

 

Above is dad and my sister heading into the east portal of the long tunnel, below is the west portal showing some other people exiting with their lights on.

 

 

Here are a few photos of some remaining Telegraph poles, sone of these still hat their wires connected.

 

 

 

 

 

Below is an example typical of the roughly 7 steel trestles we crossed. These are about 175 feet off the forest floor but as the trees are 150 feet tall you feel much lower.

 

 

 

 

More to come either today or tomorrow showing the old Great Northern and Northern Pacific around Spokane, I’ll also try to get some photos of the BNSF’s Latah  Junction in the sky.

 

 

Douglas

 

Great set of photos Douglas thanks for posting.

 

Jamie

 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from down ere.  We are still in Cheyenne, WY and it's still  6th  August 2005.  I'd settled into the Sands Motel, an old style Mom and Pop motel that had the rooms arranged round a courtyard and a view of the main line from the verandah.  What more could a guy want.  About a mile up the road was the truckstop that was my food source. Opposite that is the grade crossing near the C & S bridge.  This train came into sight and rather surprised me. An officers special with two of the UP heritage units, 1982 and 1983 on the point. I think that they were the MKT and MP liveried units to honour merger partners.

The usual immaculate passenger stock .

And someone having to wait at the grade crossing.

Almost all eastbounds stop here waiting to get into Cheyenne for a crew change.  Geography dictates that there is left hand running over Sherman Hill but it's predominantly right hand running on towards North Platte. You could stand at this crossing and sometime see the headlights of three trains coming down from Sherman.

Once they got the signal a short move forward triggerred the crossing barriers and the train headed in to Cheyenne.

That BNSF freight had been stuck on the bridge for a while.

The only trains that seem to run straight in are the very fastest Z of 'god' trains as the crews call them with post and other high priority traffic. One was still referred to as the Overland Mail.  Westbound that's one of the few that heads over Sherman on the old track rather than the longer slower route on No 3.

 

Jamie

Edited April 12, 2022 by jamie92208

[pH]

5 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

This train came into sight and rather surprised me. An officers special with two of the UP heritage units, 1982 and 1983 on the point. I think that they were the MKT and MP liveried units to honour merger partners.

 

#1982 is the Missouri Pacific heritage unit, but #1983 is the Western Pacific heritage unit. The MKT unit (the only one of them I’ve seen) is #1988:

 

https://www.up.com/heritage/fleet/commemorative/index.htm

 

 

[pH]

14 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

The only trains that seem to run straight in are the very fastest Z of 'god' trains as the crews call them with post and other high priority traffic. 

I’ve read an article written by an engineer on the BNSF Needles sub, which referred to the second slowest class of train as ‘dog’ trains, which seems oddly symmetrical. (The absolute slowest drags were known as ‘beasts’.)

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon.  It's sunny here but it was also still sunny in Cheyenne in 2005. It's still 6th August and I'm opposite the truckstop at the start of Sherman Hill.  A seemingly endless procession of eastbounds kept coming.

This one with two CSX units tucked in behind the UP lead.

As the light faded another one with a right mixture of power pulled in.

After that I went back to the motel and watched the trains roll past whilst having a couple of beers with some bikers who were heading up to the big rally at Sturgiss South Dakota.   They were quite amused at a lone Brit, the same age as them on a pushbike.  The next morning I was up early, and after breakfast headed up towards Archer Hill just east of Cheyenne.  The only adverse grade going east.  After that it's 500 miles of gentle downgrade the Omaha.  After a couple of false trails I got to where I wanted to be about 9 miles east of the motel.  Here an empty coal train is heading west.

That then headed down the hill towards Cheyenne.

As it's last car disappeared  an eastbound train of autoracks appeared.  This is the location where the fabulous shots of  3985 climbing the will with 143 cars of double stacks, were taken.

And it was still only 09.37 according to my notes.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by jamie92208

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

2005 was a good year for my railfanning... probably the last year with high traffic levels and a decent mixture of locomotive types. 

 

I remember the difference from 2008 when the economy went over a cliff, traffic dried up, the growing deadlines at West Colton, and what little was running turning up behind GE tractor clones.  

 

More recently, PSR has decimated what was left.  I feel lucky that I managed to see what I did and with digital cameras.

 

But I wish I could have seen the early 90s and the last years of the SP and the Sante Fe...

 

Seems like we're always just a bit too late...

[pH]

27 minutes ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

Seems like we're always just a bit too late...

And that our ‘just in time’ is someone else’s ‘just a bit too late’.

[pH]

47 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

As the light faded another one with a right mixture of power pulled in.

 

 Rather surprisingly, those two leasers appear to be still working - one for the Wheeling and Lake Erie (as #6991), and the other for the Florida Gulf and Atlantic (still as #7156).

[jamie92208]

Good morning on the 2nd August, the miracle of the Tardis takes us back to the 6th August 2005 though and we are still in Cheyenne, WY, on my altitude acclimatisation ride.  The Autoracks are now nearly at the summit of Archer Hill.

The second unit was a 'patched'  ex SP unit, having found my notes from the day it was only 08.52.

I then headed back into town and found a Baptist church. They were mightily confused when I asked if they had a bike rack.  Anyway after that there was lunch in the cafe in the depot and the rest of the day was spent trainspotting.  I did visit the steam shop, which looks a bit different now.

Two auxiliary tenders outside the old diesel servicing shop.

and CNW F unit 401 on a turntable road.

 

Together with a motley collection of coaches.

Jamie

Edited April 12, 2022 by jamie92208

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Hello all,

 

Here are the photos of the railroads around Spokane, delayed a few days as some planes got cancelled.

 

Here we see a BNSF stopped at signal, I think it’s heading west toward the yard.

 

 

The next 3 shots of off a CP and two BNSF trains on the viaduct that runs through the whole of downtown, and then runs into the Latah Junction.

 

 

 

 

And here is Latah junction, about 2 miles east of the trains on the viaduct. Quite the structure, and formerly all a steel trestle, part of which remains but I didn’t get a photo. At the junction the lines going over the viaduct split to the north and south, so that CP will probably be going right.

 

 

Douglas

Edited August 2, 2021 by Florence Locomotive Works

[pH]

1 hour ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

And here is Latah junction, about 2 miles east of the trains on the viaduct. Quite the structure, and formerly all a steel trestle, part of which remains but I didn’t get a photo. At the junction the lines going over the viaduct split to the north and south, so that CP will probably be going right.

Douglas, I thought Latah Junction was west of downtown, not east?

 

I presume that CP train is westbound. If so, it’s far more likely to go left at Latah Junction. The right branch goes to the old Great Northern route to Wenatchee, Everett and Seattle - not a likely route to get CP units home. CPR and Union Pacific operate a power pool between Lethbridge in Alberta and Hinkle in Oregon. I think that train is grain loads and is likely to be going to Hinkle - left at Latah Junction, onto the old Milwaukee line (now UP) in Marshall Canyon, then on original UP tracks to Hinkle.

 

 

[jamie92208]

Good photos Douglas. They brought back memories of seeing Milwaukee Road diesels on that viaduct.

 

Thanks.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good morning from the Charente.  We are still in Cheyenne on 7th August 2005.   I'm still standing by the tracks by the grade crossing west of Cheyenne. It's 6pm and 8267 is at the head of a 91 car manifest waiting to enter Cheyenne.  The conductor is down on the ballast preparing to watch  a westbound head past. The westbound with 4735 was a hot doublestack.  I got chatting to the conductor of the manifest and mentioned told him about my cab ride in 1978.  I mentioned the name of the fireman , Maxfield, who had been looking after the heating boiler on my train.  Apparently he was still alive and well and living in a retirement home in Cheyenne.  To recap, he had fired one of the very last trips over Sherman on a big boy in 1959.  When steam finished he turned down the offer of training as an engineer but stayed on as a fireman until his retirement. The guy that I talked to knew him.  A fantastic connection.  Of course I dreamed of seeing a Big Boy in action again but dismissed it as a dream too far.

The manifest then moved off to change crews.

At 18.37 this westbound appeared, manily reefers.

Then it was time to eat and make sure of a window seat to stay watching the trains.  Then back to the motel and a good nights sleep.  Next morning the hard work started again. I checked out and pedalled to the motel for breakfast and an early start.  After breakfast I was on my way by 07.05 heading west along US30, also known as Otto Road.   It looked flat, but the main line, at 1 in 65 was my constant companion.

Up past Granite and after about 15 miles US30 finishes and combines with Interstate 80.  Apparently they didn't see the need for a parallel road for non motorway traffic so I continued, quite legally, riding along the hard shoulder of the Interstate. Every 10 minutes or so a quick rest to note the numbers of eastbound trains. here 4391, 4121 and 9647 are on a mixed freight.

The next stop was at the so called services at Buford.  At least I had got to 8000'.

And there's my Ellis Briggs, that I still ride. Buford will be revisited.   So far so good.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by jamie92208

[PaulRhB]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

 

Buford will be revisited.   

how appropriate

 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

You rode along the shoulder of the Interstate?  Good grief, some drivers can barely manage to stay on the interstate, you're lucky to be alive man!

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

You rode along the shoulder of the Interstate?  Good grief, some drivers can barely manage to stay on the interstate, you're lucky to be alive man!

Thanks. There's no alternative.  I was a bit apprehensive  but it was all legal. It happens quite a bit in the unpopulated areas. I got a few honks from passing vehicles but no problems. I had realused from my road atlas that there were both US30 and I80 symbols on the same road. It was definitely a rather strange experience.  All part of life's rich pattern as they say.

 

Jamie

Edited August 3, 2021 by jamie92208

[Florence Locomotive Works]

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Of course I dreamed of seeing a Big Boy in action again but dismissed it as a dream too far.

If you ever get the chance I highly recommend it.

 

Re photos: your welcome Jamie, I’ll stop hi jacking your thread now!

 

Douglas

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

If you ever get the chance I highly recommend it.

 

Re photos: your welcome Jamie, I’ll stop hi jacking your thread now!

 

Douglas

Thanks Douglas, no problem about thread hijack at all. As to the Big Boy, watch this space.

 

Jamie

[pH]

7 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

You rode along the shoulder of the Interstate?  Good grief, some drivers can barely manage to stay on the interstate, you're lucky to be alive man!

 

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Thanks. There's no alternative.  I was a bit apprehensive  but it was all legal.

What’s legal and what’s advisable can be very different things! Rumble strips between the driving surface and the shoulder on highways are there for a good reason.

[jamie92208]

Good morning from a rather wet  Charente.  We are now some 8,000' up in what I think is the Snowy range heading for Sherman summit on I80. At Buford the Interstate leaves the current UP track so I photographed a couple of eastbounds.

Here another manifest freight heads east.

I plodded on and the views opened up, the 1901 relocation of the summit track can be seen curving south here with the high peaks in Colorado n the background.

No dramas on the hard shoulder fortunately but at about 10.30 I had to stop to see this, the tree in the rock that was next to the original 1869 line.  It's now in the centre reservation of the interstate but there is parking, once iI'd safely got across the carriageway.  Apparently loco crews used to water it.

Shortly after the exit for the Ames monument was reached and I turned off onto dirt roads. Here the original 1869 route can be seen coming in from the east.

And to my right the Ames monument that was built at the summit at the now vanished town of Sherman. The altitude is about 8,400.  General Dodge found this relatively low crossing of the Rockies fter being chased by a party of Indians, sorry Native Americans.  

Anyway, that's it for today folks.  More in a couple of days as we are off on our travels later.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good morning from a former colliery site in Yorkshire.  Despite traveling about 700 miles the Tardis is still in Wyoming and it's still the 8th August 2005.   Here's the information board for the Ames monument and my Yorkshire built bike. Plenty of liquid.

The monument, built of local granite features bas reliefs of Oliver and Oakes Ames on two of it's side.  Both minus their noses from Wyoming rifle practice.  The Ames brothers were part of the construction syndicate that built the UP.  As well as making money from the construction company they sold shovels from their shovels works to the same company.  To be fair to them they did stay with the company for a good time after the line opened.

Travelling along the dirt road two Wyoming sights came into view, in the foreground some of the, IIRC  Pronghorn Antelope ,a great survivor that even Buffalo Bill didn't manage to wipe out.   In the background is the huge fill over Dale Creek and Dale Junction.  The original line crossed the creek on first one ten another rather spindly viaduct.

A rather better view of Dale Creek fill which is over 100' high.  Hermosa tunnels are off the the right and Sherman Hill to the left.  

As I was taking that photo I heard a rather load rattle and tried to perch on my pedals without falling off but fortunately  it wasn't a rattler but a rather load cricket.  Anyway I got through that hurdle rather relieved and set off down hill, slipping and sliding on the dirt towards the level crossing of the line from Dale up to Sherman summit.  A double stack was heading up but I didn't get my camera out quickly enough to photograph, 4970, 8385 , 3755 and 4625.

Then more and more containers kept coming.

Hopefully more to come tomorrow as we continue to quarantine.

 

Jamie

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by jamie92208