Western Railroad Discussion > a late #4 (& so much more...)

I got word Monday night (28th) from "The Chief Way" that #4 would again be running late the next morning. It seems to be a fairly frequent event these days but I'm not one to pass up a shot of the 'varnish' so I thought I'd find a new location south of Topeka, KS for a photo acquisition. I got to Topeka and checked in at the Amtrak station to chatted with the friendly agent who looked like he wanted to jump in the car & join my chase. With up-dated running time info I ventured south and looked at the S-curve approach to the crossing at 93rd St just north of Wakarusa but shadows would pose a problem. Leaving that shot for another time I found a spot on a super-elevated curve SW of Carbondale. About 10 minutes after I set up for the shot I could hear a distinct horn echoing through the '110 Mile' Creek valley as the SW Chief raced up the Topeka Sub. I had cut it pretty close. With one location in the bag I would try for a second location off the Goodell Overpass at Tecumseh on the east side of Topeka. I had no time to waste so I 'hit the ground running'. I had shot there before so I knew which end of the overpass I would have to park the car on & run up for the shot. This time I made it with less than 5 minutes leeway.

With well-lit shots at 2 locations in the bag I now had time to kill before an anticipated meeting later in Manhattan with fellow TO member from California, Mike Pralle ("Atomic Punk"). Mike used to live in Marysville, KS & had visited Manhattan so he was on a sort of homecoming with his wife & her friend. With "Milw E-70" up from Emporia for the event the plan was to meet with Mike and go foraging along the KP toward Salina where we would later meet with Bob Helling ("PRose"). But commitments to family & friends set the afternoon meeting with Mike back to evening time. So E-70 & I met in Junction City; me chasing the UP 303-led "TPTP" local west from Topeka and he catching & chasing a coal load east from Chapman. We met at Junction City and took a few marginal shots then made our way to Salina in time to shoot Bob on his switch engine making a tie-up move at Cozy siding east of town. Salina was a beehive with a couple of other switch moves going on. The KYLE boys were also in town waiting to get on 126 grain empties bound for north-central Kansas via the former UP Minneapolis branch. At this point E-70 & I parted ways with him preferring to chase a coal empty west into the hills around Terra Cotta & beyond and me preferring to give chase to the KYLE across brand new territory for me. This I accomplished, albeit with an unexpected added bonus on the way home to Manhattan.

I still made the meeting with Mike and we had a very enjoyable 2 hour chat over a couple of cold ones! Here are some of my results from 'just another' adventure in the Land of OZ...

(all photos taken May 29, 2012)
1. & 2. Amtrak 93 is at the point of a 3 hour late (give or take) Southwest Chief just SW of Carbondale, KS. On this bright Kansas morning the air was fairly still & I could hear the engineer whistling for crossings from at least 5 miles away! This shot was taken at W 141st St. crossing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/17 13:05 by santafe199.

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3. & 4. The SW Chief again in to & fro shots off of the Goodell Rd. overpass at Tecumseh, KS. It took a very determined 'dash' up US 75 & onto the Kansas Turnpike that shaved across the SE corner of Topeka to reach this 2nd location. I got the shot with a luxury of 3 minutes to spare...

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5. UP 303 on the "TPTP" local along KS hwy 18 near Manhattan Regional Airport in the old Eureka Lake area SW of Manhattan, KS.

6. UP 5596 on a coal load patiently parked just west of Junction City while the TPTP does its switching in town. This shot was taken from S Washington Ave. crossing just below I-70 highway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/17 13:06 by santafe199.

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I sure enjoyed those first 2 shots

7. & 8. Mr. "PRose" is at the throttle in an 'end-of-the-day' tie-up move in Salina yard. In the background a KYLE crew on CFNR 4097, still with Electro-Motive lettering is awaiting their turn to get on & air test a full train of empty grain hoppers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/17 13:07 by santafe199.

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9. The KYLE grain empty is exiting the UP mainline at Solomon, KS and getting on home trackage to head toward Beloit, KS.

10. & 11. A couple of shots of the KYLE boys departing Solomon. That's the I-70 overpass in the background in shot #10.

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12. & 13. The KYLE grain empty making its way through a wheat field SE of Niles, KS and again at the Niles signboard.

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14. Coming through Bennington, KS crossing KS hwy 18.

15. crossing old US hwy 81 just NW of Bennington.

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16. LAST Gasp: I broke off the KYLE chase at Bennington to head for Manhattan & the meeting with "Atomic Punk". I got a surprise shot of UP 6244 hustling a coal empty along former US hwy 40, the main drag east-west through Chapman, KS.
(all photos taken May 29, 2012)

Thanks for the variety!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/17 13:08 by santafe199.

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Judging by the title it looks like you can start a second career as a rapper. :P I like those Bennington shots a lot, that's the first place I ever shot a digital photograph of a train.

It looks like you had just as good of luck as I did yesterday evening.

mg8711 Wrote:

> Judging by the title it looks like you can start a
> second career as a rapper.....

I couldn't possibly be a rapper. I actually speak ENGLISH...

yo yo! Sup?! Those shots are the bees knees. Are the kids still saying that?

switchlock Wrote:

> ............................bees knees. Are
> the kids still saying that?

Doubtful....

I know the agent here in Topeka and yes Jim would go in a heart beat if he could.
later...Wes

Wes Chiles
Topeka, KS

Killer shots on #s 2 and 16.

Russell Honey
Springfield, MO
My Flickr page

Lance,
In #5 pic along the hwy SW of Manhattan, what is the construction that is going on in the left hand side of pic.? upkpfan

upkpfan Wrote:

> Lance,
> In #5 pic along the hwy SW of Manhattan, what is
> the construction that is going on in the left hand
> side of pic.? upkpfan

They are completely rebuilding K-18 to go along with the new I-70 cut-off construction near Ogden. It looks to me that they will be taking care of the nasty EB turn-off to "Scenic Drive" (that's really the name of the road-no foolin'!!!) that cuts through the hills & connects directly into west Manhattan. A brand new intersection will alleviate the bad accidents & 100's of near-misses at the current intersection near Stagg Hill golf course. With the UP mainline relocation a done deal, that part of K-18 is also being reworked to provide a more angular pass around old Ogden Hill instead of over it. With the extremely heavy volume of commuter traffic between Manhattan & Ft. Riley every day this project is a God-send! The down side is the days of K-18 faithfully following the 2 miles (give or take) of the UP main between the Eureka Lake/Stagg Hill Golf area & the Ogden Hill area just east of Ogden are now history. I will always remember the dozens of times as a kid in the 60's when Mom or Dad would pace a train there for me on trips back & forth to Grandma's house in Abilene...

Lance

Lance, thanks for the kind words. I had a blast meeting up with you!

Mike

Posted from Android

Atomicpunk Wrote:

> Lance, thanks for the kind words. I had a blast meeting up with you!

I had a great time also & thank you for the brewskies!! I look forward to getting out somewhere with you to do some shooting.
Don't forget I promised to "run you ragged" with trains down in the Flint Hills...

Lance (aka 'smudge' ;^)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/17 13:08 by santafe199.