Western Railroad Discussion > Power of imagination

In my recent visit with the gang in Lincoln, NE we covered a lot of territory and shot many trains. Very predictably we shot a whole slew of coal trains, but on my last full day (13th) we somehow shot NOTHING but coal trains, both loaded & empty. It sorta became a running joke. But then the very last train of the day was this unit tanker which also turned out to provide something other than orange colored diesel power. We duly took our shots, even in the crappy weather.

There is a way more subtle story underneath: In image #1 we see the tanker train stopped at 44th Street NE of downtown Lincoln, NE. That would be local fan Richard Schmelling angling for a side view of the power. But the ground he is walking on is the former Rock Island’s Rocky Mountain Rocket main line! Just east of this spot is where the old CB&Q and CRI&P mainlines gracefully swerved together to parallel each other for several blocks on their way downtown. It’s not that hard to get a mental picture of a Chinese Red powered freight train along side a train from the Rock Island that could be in 2 or 3 different freight schemes. Take that a step further and one could picture a pair of passenger trains, one from each road in a sort of ‘race’. Set aside for a minute what the actual passenger schedules were for each road and use your imagination. My vantage point in image #2 could be a perfect spot. So is your imagination powerful enough to see a race here at 44th Street between “Everywhere West” & the “Mighty Fine Line”?

1. & 2. CREX 1215 in the unique “Citirail” paint scheme is in a holding pattern at 44th St in Lincoln, NE on January 13, 2015. Apparently the BNSF yard west of downtown is a bit congested…

Thanks for imagining!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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>So is your imagination powerful enough to see a race here at 44th Street between “Everywhere West” & the “Mighty Fine Line”?

Well, in answer to you and Nelson Mandela, I'll give it a go at cocktail hour, commencing with the second Manhattan.

-E.O.

I'll bet an occasional "race" did happen! Shot #2 from the crossing is great.