Western Railroad Discussion > Watching main lines - going to be very boring

...bummer!! After seeing the threads with photos of long lines of older power being retired, it gave me a bit of a sick feeling to realize just how utterly boring it's going to be trackside on the mains soon, nothing but Dash 9's, GEVO toasters and the odd new Big Mac...
...get out there and grab your shots of the old stuff while it's still running...
...the realization of all this seems to suggest my future rail fan trips are most likely going to be spent trying to locate action on the short line and regional tracks...oh well...

cheers,

Lorne Miller

Maybe you'll find those regionals and shortlines to be better than you think. Maybe not as many trains but more variety like manifests. Enjoy everything, the track, the switches, the signals, the wayside buildings and if a train comes by it's like the icing on the cake. There is still a lot of rich railroading experiences to be had and perhaps photographed. Remember there is a generation behind you that might treasure your capturing today what might be gone tomorrow! Aaron 21

no biggy as i can remember the SD 40-2 putting the F's and GP's off the mains.

Well, if your name says anything, go to Kansas and chase the Kyle. Speed lettered SD45T-2s are the power. One SD45-2 in ATSF paint and two Smurf SD40s. Mix in a ex SP GP40X and a couple GP40s in a CB&Q inspired paint job. Good stuff.

Here's 3 patched SP units on a single train passing the station at Little Rock, Arkansas Sunday morning, January 18: 2712, 2715 and 2741 (SD70M-2's according to the Utahrails roster site). These are usually used in local UP service, as is SP unpatched 9755. Hope they stay around for a little variety for a few more years.

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QU25C Wrote:
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> no biggy as i can remember the SD 40-2 putting the
> F's and GP's off the mains.

And what about those of us who remember the arrival of GP's and F's? You tryin' to make us feel old, youngster?

--Mark J

Not to worry.

I was afraid that all the trains were going to be too boring 30 years ago,
and every year since that.

When the economy picks up, all sorts of old and leased stuff will show up again.

As for the current....yea, I'm bored with the new GE's, and SD-70's, etc.

But the BNSF still runs lots of GP30's, 35's, etc. The are 45 years old
and still going. And solid alco sets on the DL, CSX still has old GE's.
There was just a pic yesterday on TO of D&H 7314 (GP-39 in D&H lightening stripe) leading a CP train on the High Line thru Philadelphia.

OK, so the transcon is boring. But it's always been boring by the standards of the day.
When there were SD-40's, SF30's etc on the transcon, they were the boring power of the day.
I remember how boring all the new UP C36's were on the LASL in LA. At that time, we were all
looking for trains with SD-9's, GP-9's, SD-24B's, etc.

It's not going to be boring it is already boring. All I see here in Sacramento is yellow (I mean UP stuff). It's all the SD70ace, and other wide cab locomotives. I do sometimes see some BNSF trains on trackage rights, which makes it less boring. But, I will miss the SD40T-2s, and SD45T-2s. I'm just glad that I got photos of the old SP SD7Rs back in 1996-1998 before they got scrapped.

M. Schwaegerl
Sacramento, CA

I think the best class 1 diesel show is the NS west of Altoona. Dedicated SD40-2 and now some recently rebuilt
SD40E sets are pushers, and sometimes head end helpers. Its nice to hear those 645 engines in the 8th notch
as they blast up both the east and west slopes. I go out almost every year and really enjoy it. An added bonus
are the SD80MACs that work out of South Fork with coal trains in both directions.

Just remember, there's way more to photographing a railroad than just engines.

Martin Burwash

MartinBurwash Wrote:
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> Just remember, there's way more to photographing a
> railroad than just engines.
>
> Martin Burwash

Hi Martin,

...thanks, that is true, and I could show you my collection of shots that are RR related with no trains in sight, let alone a loco on the front end. I was just lamenting how I'm going to miss the old stuff, I know its happened before, I remember when all you could see were SD40-2's, and I'm old enough to recall 'older' folks complaining about all the F units and the lack of steam...
...I know that most of you muse about a lot of things, its nice to be able to "think out loud" on forums like this to see what kind of response it generates...

cheers,

Lorne Miller

If the locomotives don't interest you so much, try the freight cars in a mixed freight train. Even though I live in the East, I'm always on the lookout for a WP or SP box car. Last week, while driving through Maryland, I caught a glimpse of a fading AT & SF box car in a CSX train.

I should have paid more attention to boxcars in my younger days.

Espeenut Wrote:
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> ...bummer!! After seeing the threads with photos
> of long lines of older power being retired, it
> gave me a bit of a sick feeling to realize just
> how utterly boring it's going to be trackside on
> the mains soon, nothing but Dash 9's, GEVO
> toasters and the odd new Big Mac...
> ...get out there and grab your shots of the old
> stuff while it's still running...
> ...the realization of all this seems to suggest my
> future rail fan trips are most likely going to be
> spent trying to locate action on the short line
> and regional tracks...oh well...
>
> cheers,
>
> Lorne Miller



Didn't I see this post in 1953, 1967 and again in 1989? I just can't help thinking there will be SOMETHING interesting out there to see...

If any of you had to spend 12+ hours in an SD40 or God forbid any four axle motor on the main, you'd appreciate this "boring power" a whole lot more.

I find this post interesting, see I hate this unpainted mixed up shortline and regional junk. If a railroad wants a identity paint the power so it has your name and pick an image.

A great example: the UPS truck came today and it was not a DHL truck with a big brown line thought the name with a hand painted UPS written on the side. Have some pride. The shortlines I like and go to have a unified image.

At least the mainlines have better opportunities to see matched power.