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JAMIE'S RANDOM AMERICAN RAILWAY PHOTOS.


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8 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

Love it!  I can make a few good guesses as to his identity.  It's great when things happen like it did when the UP guy said you could use their road.  I've had that sort of thing several times myself.  One of the best was at State Line in Kansas City where we were carefully keeping on public land only to be approached by a BNSF cop who got chatting.  Having found out we were British he told us we were on the wrong side for the sun.  We agreed but pointed out that being on the right side would mean trespassing on railroad property.  No problem, not only did he give us his blessing but put it in writing too together with his card in case anyone else challenged us!

 

In addition to Hermosa there are several other places well known for railfan-hostile neighbours.

Yes the guy will feature again in a few days time.   Having seen his photos in several magazines I wonder how many have been taken whilst trespassing.

 

Jamie

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On 31/10/2021 at 07:56, Johann Marsbar said:

I don't think any electrification hardware has actually appeared in the station area in SF as yet as the whole scheme is running very late. 

Two years ago, work was very patchy en route to San Jose and the only place that looked as though they were getting somewhere with it was just north of Millbrae...

 

19-439.jpg.9bbc3e26c94141e904ad1309374af2cb.jpg

 

Add in 18 months worth of Covid delays and I believe completion of the whole scheme is now stated to be 2024/25.

 

Just catching up with this thread again.

I'm due to be in SF for a few days in early-mid-2022. There is a day pencilled for the boys to go train watching/riding, whilst the girls are on a coach trip to the Napa Valley. I'll be keeping a close eye on updates to the electrification programme, hoping that I can ride behind some diesel power.

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8 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Just catching up with this thread again.

I'm due to be in SF for a few days in early-mid-2022. There is a day pencilled for the boys to go train watching/riding, whilst the girls are on a coach trip to the Napa Valley. I'll be keeping a close eye on updates to the electrification programme, hoping that I can ride behind some diesel power.

 

2024 for the introduction of electric trains according to Caltrain....

https://www.caltrain.com/about/MediaRelations/news/Caltrain_Electrification_Delayed_to_2024.html

 

This seems to have been filmed in the last week or so and shows the current state of the electrification...

 

 

Havent watched it all myself yet, but some of the places show zero progress beyond what had been done when I was there in September 2019!

 

There is this report on current progress as well...

https://www.caltrain.com/Assets/$!238d(i)-+PCEP+Update+PPT.pdf

The Caltrain AEM 7 looks smart!!

 

 

.

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Good morning from a sunny and cool Charente.   The tardis is still near Sherman Hill, WY on 19th September 2012. After watching the angry cloud of dust head off towards Hermosa we went north towards !80/US30. As we left the monument site the original 1869 trackbed headed off east towards Buford.

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After getting onto the Interstate the first stop was the Lone Tree.

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And here is the tree itself.

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To the north there are the spectacular Vee de Voo rock formations.

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We then pulled off at Buford to get a coffee but found that the diner was closed.  This was the town sign as we pulled off.   

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I had mentioned to the UP track gang boss at Hermosa that we were going to visit Buford, population 2 .  He said, "It's only 1 now, he got divorced."

Buford is also the scene of of an incident in the 50's.   The crew of a 4-8-4 that had banked a freight up from Cheyenne had left it unattended whilst they talked to the signalman (UK terminology). They heard a noise and saw it setting off slowly down the 1 n 65 towards Cheyenne.  They couldn't stop it but warned Cheyenne, 30 miles and 1500 feet of descent away.  From the track circuit timings it was doing 135 mph when it came through the station.  It derailed on the curve at the east end and demolished a diesel loco.  The steamer was back at work a few months later but the diesel was scrapped. Then we drove down to granite and got onto US30 to get nearer to the tracks.  This eastbound auotorack train was heading down the hill.

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Jamie

 

Edited by jamie92208
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11 minutes ago, enginelane said:

Mallard beaten!

Nobody made an official claim.  450 tons of 'light engine' made quite a dent in the diesel though.

 

Jamie

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Hi Jamie,

Just been catching up with this thread, it’s all fascinating thanks for sharing all these great pictures.

Wrt that runaway 4-8-4, I wonder if the track circuit timings were simply observed or recorded? Surely, if they were recorded, that should be taken as pretty reliable proof of such speed.

They always said the Pennsy T1 was capable of substantially more than Mallard, was it 140? Had one of them runaway, that would be spectacular!

 

Now for a serious question.

I’ve noticed several patched SP units still visible in your pictures but no patched CNW units. That may be the luck of the draw, the additional year after merger or simply that it was a bigger job to repaint the more numerous SP units but I’ve been reading about the North Western again and it seems that after the debacle with Zito yellow, they did use high quality paint!

Does anyone know, please?

TIA,

John

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23 minutes ago, Allegheny1600 said:

Now for a serious question.

I’ve noticed several patched SP units still visible in your pictures but no patched CNW units. That may be the luck of the draw, the additional year after merger or simply that it was a bigger job to repaint the more numerous SP units but I’ve been reading about the North Western again and it seems that after the debacle with Zito yellow, they did use high quality paint!

Does anyone know, please?

TIA,

John

 

They certainly patched some. Not a brilliant photo, but the third unit has a UP yellow patch over its CNW number - Photo was taken in 2003.

 

3-461.JPG.8d59ab0700009f1bd31e615acc9ac188.JPG

 

I appear only appear to have two photos of patched ones, both taken on the same trip in 2003.  The few other ones prior to that retain full CNW livery and numbers (taken 1999-2001)

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3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Another addition to my bucket list under 'maybe if I win the lottery.


Yes. I’ve seen quite a few wealthy areas in the US (just passing through, you understand!). Overall, the Napa Valley felt the most opulent, though I couldn’t give particular reasons why.

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2 hours ago, Allegheny1600 said:

Hi Jamie,

Just been catching up with this thread, it’s all fascinating thanks for sharing all these great pictures.

Wrt that runaway 4-8-4, I wonder if the track circuit timings were simply observed or recorded? Surely, if they were recorded, that should be taken as pretty reliable proof of such speed.

They always said the Pennsy T1 was capable of substantially more than Mallard, was it 140? Had one of them runaway, that would be spectacular!

 

Now for a serious question.

I’ve noticed several patched SP units still visible in your pictures but no patched CNW units. That may be the luck of the draw, the additional year after merger or simply that it was a bigger job to repaint the more numerous SP units but I’ve been reading about the North Western again and it seems that after the debacle with Zito yellow, they did use high quality paint!

Does anyone know, please?

TIA,

John

I think we only saw 1 patched CNW loco.  I may well be the extra time since the merger.  I'd not realised until looking through these pictures from my various visits, just how many patched ones had turned up.  From memory, they didn't start patching till some time after the mergers then there was a bit of a rush.  IIRC there was an article in Trains about just how much work was involved in renumbering a loco. 

 

As to loco hauled near SF.  The easiest would be the Caltrain to San Jose and Amtrak California from Oakland. There is possibly a round trip SF to San Jose, Altamont Commuter Express to Stockton then Capital corridor back to Oakland with BART for the last leg. However I've no idea of the timetables.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, pH said:


That’s quite an either/or choice to have to make! There is a train in the Napa Valley, though:

 

https://www.winetrain.com/

 

At the risk of hijacking this thread, from what I saw of the wine train in September 2019, it seemed to have gone rather downmarket - certainly on the traction front.  I went there and saw the three trains of the morning depart and the traction was as follows.....

 

19-717.jpg.34ce272e8fdc0e13b21d0c44a57a1799.jpg

 

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The decent stuff was all dumped out of use...

 

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They didn't appear to do a "train only" ticket option any more either, so you had to do the full (fairly expensive) wine "package" tours.

Just to add insult to injury, the brewpub I weanted to visit in Napa was closed that day as well!   (though I did find a suitable substitute that I hadn't realised was based there...)

 

I would stick to the Caltrain option - particularly if you get something like a San Francisco to Redwood City 2-zone day rover ticket.

 

 

 

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Good moaning from a bright and calm but cold Charente.  The tardis is still west of Cheyenne on 19th September 2012.  The eastbound autoracks were stationary and we then saw a westbound local appeared, probably heading up to granite for ballast.

 

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I thought I might even be able to get a shot of a train meet so we waited and I got my shot, shame about the exposure settings.

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We headed on down US30 and stopped not far from Cheyenne where there's a convenient bridge and stopped to photograph the autoracks which were heading in.

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They continued, including a patched unit.

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The train seemed to stretch for ever in the vast landscape.

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Then a quick stop at Cheyenne to book a motel for a couple for a couple of nights hence before heading south to Swindon sorry Greeley.  One end of the Great Western Railway.

P9189485_resize.JPG.6d5d158985d4d84672c72a01de54f431.JPG

Jamie

 

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On 27/11/2021 at 07:11, Johann Marsbar said:

 

At the risk of hijacking this thread, from what I saw of the wine train in September 2019, it seemed to have gone rather downmarket - certainly on the traction front.  I went there and saw the three trains of the morning depart and the traction was as follows.....

 

19-717.jpg.34ce272e8fdc0e13b21d0c44a57a1799.jpg

 

19-720.jpg.62e03627f73d89c4ee991dd4c4fb5226.jpg

 

19-726.jpg.30585c83652634b4e7194469a1883507.jpg

 

The decent stuff was all dumped out of use...

 

19-711.jpg.0dac95e3d006f99d85a73e2c5c894c1a.jpg

 

They didn't appear to do a "train only" ticket option any more either, so you had to do the full (fairly expensive) wine "package" tours.

Just to add insult to injury, the brewpub I weanted to visit in Napa was closed that day as well!   (though I did find a suitable substitute that I hadn't realised was based there...)

 

I would stick to the Caltrain option - particularly if you get something like a San Francisco to Redwood City 2-zone day rover ticket.

 

 

 

A reminder of better days in 1991 - 30 years ago, ouch!

 

 

499762734_R-NVRR-002_NVRR70YountvilleCA1-5-91.jpg.07bf907ddb47a84116741b2daf6a8982.jpg

 

I think they were told to retire the MLWs because of emissions although at least one was converted to run on bio fuel or something.

Edited by Mike_Walker
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Those FPA's certainly looked good when I saw them in 1999. However the tardis is still in Colorado on 19th September 2012. From Greeley we headed on down to La Salle and these were parked outside the depot.

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The flag was flying as usual outside the office, not much wind around.

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Then we headed towards Boulder before stopping at Rocky Flatts as we could see a train coming down the hill. It was and eastbound California Zephyr, coming off the big ten curves.

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Two genesis units on the point.

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And two private cars on the tail, first this one.

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Then this.

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Good to see them, I think that Amtrak has banned them now,

 

Jamie

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29 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Good to see them, I think that Amtrak has banned them now,

 

Jamie

 

That certainly WAS the case for a while, but it seems that rules have been relaxed again over there following the change in Amtrak Management, as I've seen several private cars on the various Railcams over the past 6 months.

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Good morning from a cool and damp Charente.  The tardis is till in Colorado. It's now the 20th September 2012.  We had got to Lakeview, near Denver that previous evening and booked into the motel.  The next stop was the car wash to wash all the fine powder dirt off the car after our dirt road trips in Utah and Wyoming.  The next morning we played hunt the parking spot to try and get on the Denver light rail system.  After a fruitless search we ended up street parking in a 4 hrs max area and walked to the Littleton stop to catch the tram.   We passed Burnham shops which were full of stored locos.

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Some quite modern.

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A southbound was arriving as we waited for the next northbound.

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The three unit trains looked impressive on the city centre street.

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A typical scene at one of the corners of the city centre loop.

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After riding round for an hour or two it was back to the car and a photo of a rather sad looking SD40 at Burnham.

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Jamie

 

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Good morning.  It's bright and cool here.  The Tardis is still in Colorado and it's still 20th September 2012. After our tram tour we picked up the car and headed north.  On the way we crossed the 'joint line' not far north of Burnham shops. This unit coal train was coming south with a imix of liveries.

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Then as we continued north through Commerce City we saw this local at work.

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It was then off up I25 to Loveland and the HQ of the Great Western Railway.  No copper capped locos but this patched unit was present.

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And a crossbuck.  The GWR obviously spent a lt on maintenance.

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Then north to Cheyenne to book in for the night.  What a surprise, in the yard just near our motel was this beautiful sight.

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Then off to Holiday Park to show Tony a Big Boy. 4004 basking in the afternoon sun.P9199519_resize.JPG.6feb91f5c6eb148dfcc1f5f4bef7a534.JPG

Who could have dreamt what was going to happen in 2014.

 

Jamie

 

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On 29/11/2021 at 10:23, jamie92208 said:

  We passed Burnham shops which were full of stored locos.

P9199496_resize.JPG.ae37b8d21651ef3b8eb42b5c9e334951.JPG

Some quite modern.

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A southbound was arriving as we waited for the next northbound.

 

 

On our last visit to Denver in 2019 all those locos had gone including the rails that they sat on.

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Good moaning from a very wet and windy Charente.  The tardis though is still in Cheyenne, WY. It's still the 20th September 2012 and Tony and I were wandering around the depot and museum at Cheyenne.  We even discovered that the Sherman Hills Model Railway club have a clubroom there. Nicely double glazed and heated with a view of the tracks and the roundhouse. There can't be many clubs with this sort of view from their windows.

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We ended up having a good meal in the restaurant in the depot sitting at an outside table right next to the tracks.  The restaurant was busy and we ended up sharing with 2 other people. They were excellent company. The lady had taken her old father up to Northern Wyoming for a few days out.  During the course of the evening we found out that 844 was due to set off west the next morning at about 08.00.  It was on a tour of the UP system to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the company.   

Next morning we were up in good time and went to stand by the grade crossing just beyond the Colorado and Southern Overpass.  This autorack train appeared.

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It headed out slowly under the much photographed signal gantry.

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It turned out to be a shunting movement and this was the rear end.

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A westbound then went past.   

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By this time we had got chatting to a group of Brits who had also come to see 844.  One of them was Malcolm Braim, my friend from Wakefield Model Railway Club.  The four of them were on a tour of various sites in the mid west.   We got chatting and I told Malcolm about our encounter with the British photographer at Sherman.  He told us that he had also met the idiot a few days before at North Platte during an open day.  Apparently he insisted on going the wrong side of a crossing barrier despite being told not to by many people and had got himself warned and nearly arrested by the UP police.  The other Brits were not impressed with him.   Anyway 844 was delayed due to heavy traffic on the main line so we watched another westbound depart.

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At least we were the right side of the tracks for the sun.

 

Jamie

 

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Good moaning from a sunny and bright Charente.   The tardis is still in Cheyenne, WY and it's still 21st September 2012. Whilst we waited for 844 there was lots of chatter on the radio as someone nearby had a scanner.  It turned out that there was a bit of a log jam heading west and 844 had been scheduled to take the old road over Sherman via Track 2.  However BNSF decided to get in on the act.

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With a CSX unit in the consist.

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An attempt at an arty shot.

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Finally the rear unit came into view.

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Meanwhile another doublestack headed west on track 2. Obviously being sent over the faster but steeper original route.

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Then at last came the main event heading out on track 4.  Steve Lee had been heard suggesting this route to the despatcher so that it could then regain track 2 via the Borie Cutoff behind the double stack.

P9209551_resize.JPG.29d7ba32fbe0b3b68dfa5dc457ff533d.JPG

 

 UP 844 Heads west from Cheyenne. - YouTube 

 

When you watch the video, as well as turning the sound well up, look for the guy standing right next to the track with his young daughter.  He was adamant that 844 was heading out on track 1 so he was safe.   suspect that he needed a change of underwear.

 

Jamie

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Good moaning, just from the Charente.   It was a good bit warmer in Cheyenne on the 21st September.   Whilst Tony dod the video a little further up the track I took some stills.  The ground was shaking.

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Then the first of 17 immaculate passenger cars went past whilst the track crew waited for access.

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And a classic open balcony car at the rear.

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Within minutes the track crew were in possession.

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A good breakfast including pancakes and maple syrup. at the roadhouse opposite the crossing we hit the road eastwards following US30 alongside the tracks.  Don Phillips the long time columnist for Trains wrote a classic piece in Trains some years ago called "Solace on US30" about how it was good for the soul to drive that route with the constant procession of trains.  We had decided to try and follow US30 aka the Lincoln Highway, all the way to Chicago through, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.  The old road leaving Cheyenne took a bit of finding as all the signs wanted us on the Interstate, however we persevered  and were rewarded by sights like this.  A parked train with a patched CNW loco on it.

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Then one after another eastbounds all parked up at regular intervals.

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Jamie

 

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