Western Railroad Discussion > E-chasing 101 [grand finale!]

In pt #3 we left off with yours truly having a late dinner with the WSOR 101’s engineer for the previous 2 days. Mr. Joe Magruder & I had a very enjoyable conversation comparing career notes and talking over a few favorite anecdotes from my years in train service.

Later on I checked into my motel room with intentions of grabbing the camera and going back downtown to so some some night-time, available light photography of the train. But a hot shower & my decrepit old body coerced me into the sack instead. I got up with the chickens though, and got those shots anyhow around 6:00 AM.
 
After a ‘continental breakfast’ back at the motel I made a discouraging circuit around Winfield looking for photo-ops. I ended up taking only 1 more shot of a structure along my former Santa Fe right-of-way. The crappy overcast from yesterday was even worse today, and the many scattered rainwater puddles told me it could easily start pouring again. It was a gloomy omen and a dismal start for the day. I got on KS hwy 15/US hwy 77 and headed north…

1. & 2. WSOR 101 sits in pre-dawn darkness with its train a couple of blocks east of the old Santa Fe Main Street depot. I had some unexpected difficulty with Photoshop editing, hence the black & white for #1. I left #2 in color to show the comparison. The ‘up’ side will be me eventually learning more Photoshop trickery…
(photos 1 & 2 taken in Winfield, KS)

3. For a couple of days I had been in contact with my young railfan friend from Ellis about meeting in Mulvane to shoot the train this morning. Turns out he pulled an all-nighter from out in western Kansas to get here, along with another young fan from even further out. With a ‘grapevine’ report of a coal train coming down the Douglas Sub our Mulvane rendezvous was changed to this K-15 crossing just north of Akron (siding), KS. Here comes BNSF 8540 on a Red Rock [OK] coal load. On the left is Mr Dalton Boggs from Goodland and on the right is Mr Luke Lohrmeyer from Ellis. Remember this coal train! It will end up causing some massive domino-type problems for most of the day…
(photo #3 taken at Akron, KS)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:28 by santafe199.

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4. & 5. The south Central Avenue crossing in Mulvane, KS became a sort of railfan crossroads most of the day. There would be quite a roll-call of Kansas fans & even a couple of local residents who were looking forward to “the show”. The goal for all concerned was to shoot (or watch) the WSOR 101 coming up the Arkansas City Sub. With perfect timing we all might even get a hotshot zipping by on the overhead Emporia Sub (transcon)! This BNSF 7969 would be the 1st of numerous trains we would get some practice on before the 101 actually (finally) made its pass through town. (In image #4 I played around quite a bit with Photoshop. I pushed the color enhancement & I removed the graffiti from the bridge.)

6. Let’s meet some more of the gang: From left to are Luke Lohrmeyer, Matt Martin (whom we sorta met in pt #3 at Grand Summit), Dalton Boggs & Matt’s father Mike, who is a former PR spokesman for Santa Fe, then BNSF after the merger. We’ll meet a couple more later, but first here comes a parade of trains, on BOTH mains!
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:35 by santafe199.

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What was supposed to be a mid-morning shoot turned into a marathon of frustration and second-guessing. And LOTS of trains! The crew for the WSOR 101 should have been called for 0700, but instead they went on duty at 0800. They had to spend time securing their track warrant & necessary paperwork, plus get the train un-tied down, tested & ready to go and into position in Winfield Yard to enter the BNSF Ark City Sub [for the trackage-rights run up to Wichita]. We heard through the grapevine the train & crew were ready to go before 0900. But, they were apparently, and not very surprisingly told by the BNSF dispatcher ‘I gotta get 3 or 4 eastbound trains by before I can let you out’. Here’s where that coal train we shot back at Akron comes into play: By the time the 101 was ready to roll, the coal train had already arrived at Winfield. In a suspicious miscommunication it was thought that the power plant at Red Rock, OK was ready for the train. But only after the coal train pulled down past Winfield Jct (effectively blocking the 101 in the yard) did the news come that the plant did NOT want the train yet. It would have to be held at Winfield. With the crew on the coal train now running short of time, they didn’t have enough time left to send a man back on foot nearly 7000 ft to protect a back-up move so he could then walk half way back toward the head end to cut the train on each side of Winfield Jct to let the WSOR 101 out of the yard to make their run for Wichita. Keep in mind there were several eastbound trains running through Winfield Jct on the other main. So the situation quickly ground to a standstill. Soon enough, the BNSF powers that be put 2 + 2 together and told the coal train crew to: “Tie ’er down, right there!”

At first we were guessing the crew on the 101 would just tie their psgr train down right where they were in the yard and call it a bad day. But the day must not have been torturously bad enough just yet. No, the 101 ended up sitting still for over 7 hours before another BNSF crew was able to come by and cut the coal train across Winfield Jct.

Meanwhile, back up in Mulvane there were trains. Lots of trains! Images #7 & #8 are just 2 posted examples, but here is a complete list of the trains we saw or shot from Central Avenue between 0933 & 1648 (all with BNSF leaders): 6685 West @ 0933, 7969 East @ 1023, 8156 West @ 1029, 6950 East @ 1042, 9797 East @ 1124, 8875 East @ 1208, 7366 West @ 1217, 4925 East @ 1228, 5083 West @ 1331, 7265 East @ 1414, 6037 West @ 1434, 4829 West @ 1536 and 7949 West @ 1648. All eastbound [Ark City Sub] trains listed above came toward our cameras at Central Avenue while all westbound trains ran across the [Emporia Sub-transcon] overpass in the background. Keep in mind this list does not include the many eastbound trains out of Wellington that we could only see through the trees to the west. These eastbound trains curved around north to roll through downtown Mulvane, on up through Wichita to Newton. The list above also does not include the many westbound trains that took to the Douglas Sub at Augusta and ran directly down to Winfield Jct, bypassing Mulvane altogether.

7. BNSF 8156 cruises by under a sky that might be trying to clear off, but…

8. …over an hour later BNSF 7366 rolls by under more of that [expletive deleted] heavy overcast.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:24 by santafe199.

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9. The 7366 in image #8 had to stop at West Jct to let an eastbound off the only open main between Cicero crossovers & Mulvane. The MOW boys had the other main out of service. The KS Gang here is talking over shooting possibilities, with another EB train showing up from Winfield Jct…

10. …which occurred @ 1228 with the arrival of BNSF 4925.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:44 by santafe199.

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The gang was getting the lunch-time munchies so we made plans to break for some 'fine fast food', then wander out to West Jct to try and snag some of the seen, but un-photographed trains running east through downtown. When & IF we ever got news that the WSOR 101 was finally out & running we would have plenty of time to go back to Central Avenue. It was my intent to join the gang for lunch, but as I was the last in line to leave the Central Avenue crossing I was the only one in position to hear another westbound horn. So I stayed behind to investigate. I ended up shooting that westbound over the transcon, plus yet another eastbound train off the Ark City Sub (BNSF 7265 in mage #11). By the time I procured some highly nutritiously fast tacos and joined the gang at West Jct we had received the long-awaited news that Winfield Jct had finally been cut & the 101 was now mercifully headed our way! I was sneaky enough to shoot the gang ready to fire off a unified volley of pixel-creating shots, while another TO member, “Milw E70” stood below and watched the scene with amusement (image #12).

11. I had solo honors in shooting this BNSF 7265 while everybody else was at West Jct! The sun was now in some serious flirtation, giving us a possible hint of what was to come...

12. A sneaky photo of the gang over at West Jct. “Ok gentlemen: Ready…. Aim…. FIRE AT WILL [repeat] FIRE AT WILL!!! A very calm ‘E70’ looks on. Unfortunately he will have to break away from this madness to go pick his up mother at the airport…

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13. & 14. As the sun broke out we all shot BNSF 6037 rolling down the transcon by West Jct, headed for Wellington. The track peeling off to the left is the mainline up through town. After these images we all buzzed back over to Central Avenue with our hopes now rising. After all, we've only experienced a mere 9 hours of dogged anticipation, so far…
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:47 by santafe199.

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They say: “All good things come to those who wait”. Whoever “they” are, “they” must be pretty smart because after 9 hours & well over a dozen trains shot or seen our target train was now confirmed to be heading in our direction. AND Mr Sol was shining gloriously. With the gang now in place back at Central Avenue a long time railfan friend of mine, fellow Santa Fe brakeman-now BNSF engineer Mr Keel Middleton had driven up from Wellington to join our photo line. (But I failed to get a pic of him) There were also a couple of other last-minute shooters there we didn’t have time to get to know…

15. A teaser: A final camera systems check! BNSF 7949 rolls down the transcon @ 1648. We knew the WSOR 101 was maybe less than 30 minutes away. Would that elusive over ~ under shot happen after all???

16. The anxious minutes tick away. It’s now 1713 [military time]. An adrenalin charge ran simultaneously up 8 human spines as a horn NOT of BNSF origin was heard coming from the southeast. At 1714 there she was! My good friend from 2 days of chasing, the WSOR 101 popped around that distant corner. Every available camera, tripod or no, was now straining down the Ark City Sub. NOW would be the time to catch the sound of a transcon westbound approaching the overpass…

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17. …or maybe Now…

18. …how about [now]???

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19. (sigh…) It just wasn’t meant to be. But, OH… the shots we did get! WSOR 101 + 3 business cars pass underneath the BNSF Emporia SUB transcon at Mulvane, KS in perfect sunshine @ 1715 and…
 
20. …the train glides gracefully around the corner past the south leg of the wye toward the [just out of sight] Bridge St crossing & junction/crossover plant with the line from West Jct. No time for introductions or pleasantries as everyone scampers for their vehicles. The race up KS hwy 15 to South Jct in Wichita is officially on!
(photos 4-20 taken in Mulvane, KS)
 

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21. & 22. Even though it’s Saturday traffic on K-15 is moderately heavy. Luckily I decided to forego trying to get a shot at South Jct. Instead I concentrated on finding spots to cover the WSOR 101’s back-up move through downtown Wichita into the modest K&O (ex-Santa Fe, nee KCM&O) yard a few blocks to the southwest. Here is the train backing across Broadway St…

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23. …and again backing across across the Arkansas River.

24. Another backing scene along Walker W Street…

25. …and finally into the yard along the appropriately named “Orient” St. The long deadhead trek is over.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:26 by santafe199.

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26. Just one more: The sunlight is failing, but the train is no longer very accessible anyhow. Here is my last shot from the K&O Shops gate on the north side along Harry St.
(photos 21-26 taken in Wichita, KS, ALL photos taken April 18, 2015)
 
The entire WSOR 101 crew/entourage & a few of us railfans alike gathered at El Mexico Café at 2544 S Seneca St for some great south-of-the-boarder fare! After supper I bid all my new acquaintances & old compadres a good evening and pointed Willie II (my Ford Escape & faithful 3 day companion) toward Manhattan & home, a little over 2 hours away. Surpassing my original estimate, I now had over 1700 images in 2 cameras that would ultimately be whittled down to just over 1200.
 
Many thanks for your gracious company these past 3 days!
Lance Garrels
santafe199
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/15 08:50 by santafe199.

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Ah yes, wait all day for the sun to show and get rewarded. Very NICE! Thanks for making the effort, LFG!
DAF

That was Fantastic coverage of the chase as well as Outstanding photos Lance.

Thanks for allowing us to ride shotgun with you.
Ronda Thomas

This has been an interesting series.  18 and 19 are great shots.  Think we played that game at Grand Island!

What a great bunch of shots for the Grand Finale!! Looks like fun was had by all!

Larry

Perfect light there at Mulvane! Too bad I had to bail on everyone...

Rumor has it when they're done with the event at Great Bend they will bring it to Hutch and hand it off to us for the trip to Wisconsin. Maybe I'll find a way to be first out on the board when they call it ;-)

GREAT stuff...!! Thanks for sharing.

Lance, #20 is the prize image !! Excellent !!
-Kelly