Western Railroad Discussion > Toto Tuesday: Golden sun at the 'Green

One of the perils of driving that train is having to stare into a blazing sun. Here we see a crew doing just that, with sun visors in position. This is a westbound stacker on the BNSF Emporia Sub at Matfield Green, KS. Sometimes known by the shortened ‘Matfield’, or sometimes as simply ‘the Green’. But always known as ground zero for railfan photography in the Kansas Flint Hills.

This may be a beautiful time of the day if you’re behind a camera, which I am here. But it can be a real pain in the southern region for crews who have to keep a look-out for any sign of less-than-ideal track conditions ahead of them. Safe operation of their train demands 100% vigilance. A restricting signal, an unexpected flag, or just a person waving a timely warning can be easily missed while at speed, staring into a bright sun. I experienced this sort of predicament many times in my career, and it’s no picnic…

1. 2. & 3. BNSF 7718 passes the west switch at Matfield Green, KS on February 10, 2016.

Thank goodness for sun visors!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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And decent polarized sunglasses!
Merely commuting eastward on I-80 from Davis into Sacramento CA many mornings is equally blinding.
And you get it again going home....
Grafvonb49

I like the closeup in photo #3.
John