Western Railroad Discussion > Gladstone revisited

TO member & original Kansan Brian Stevens (SCKP187) passed through our little slice of railfan heaven last week. He was returning home to Oklahoma from a family Thanksgiving gathering in Iowa. He stayed the night in his native Salina with another TO member Bob Helling (PRose). I met up with them last Sunday (25th) for an all-day inspection of BNSF's transcon down in the Flint Hills.

We led the day off with another look at the Cottonwood River bridge between Ellinor & just east of Gladstone siding on the Emporia Sub (see my Western thread on Oct. 22: "Last Stand of Fall in the Flint Hills"). We shot a few early morning trains there, then a few more down at Aikman (see my Western thread on Nov. 25: "an Okie visits the Flint Hills") & the KS hwy 177 overpass at Chelsea. It turned out to be a surprisingly slow day for a weekend. So we had to gave Brian the 'nickel tour' of several good shooting locations around Cassoday, Matfield Green & Bazaar, unfortunately sans trains.

We ended the day visiting and shooting with another local fan, "Milw E-70" up on the triple main track at the former Santa Fe location of Plymouth, KS where we had a little fun making use of an old abandoned barn for a shooting prop. Then, as Mr. Sol was fading in the western sky we all bid adieu to Milw E70 and headed for Bob's car parked in Strong City. The 3 of us then grabbed a quick few sunset shots of the Strong City depot. Bob took off for the home fires in Salina. I taxied Brian to his rig down in Cassoday where we parted ways, he to the southeast for Tulsa & me straight north to Manhattan.
Until we all meet again...

1. & 2. First train after dawn was BNSF 7817 seen scooting a stacker over the Cottonwood River & approaching the east siding switch at Gladstone, KS.

3. Next up is BNSF 6811 with a manifest.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/19 09:48 by santafe199.

---

---

---

4. Followed by BNSF 7448 with another stacker.

5. & 6. A couple of BNSF's regular customers make a reflective appearance.

---

---

---

7. & 8. BNSF 4666 leads a long solid string of tanks underneath KS hwy 177 at East Chelsea, KS.

9. Whoops! This isn't a good sign. This hi-railer made it up the hill to Aikman for 2 more trains then it was a long dry spell.
Note that the change from wooden to cement ties marks the exact spot of the eastern end of the El Dorado Lake line re-location project back in 1980.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/12 06:17 by santafe199.

---

---

---

10. Now up on the triple main we see BNSF 7495 with another stacker at Rd. D crossing near the ancient location of Plymouth, KS.

11. BNSF 4357 has another intermodal in tow at a minor crossing 1/2 a mile west of the above shot location.

---

---

12. & 13 We found this quaint & unused barn south of the 3 mains on this unnamed or numbered road and we filmed this scene on how to cultivate
an artsy railfan photo op. (That's fancy mumbo-jumbo for cutting away some obnoxious weeds... ;^)

---

---

14. BNSF 6196 crosses our no-named crossing with an EB manifest and...

15. ...provides us with an artsy meet shot, courtesy of Mr. Barn.

---

---

16. & 17. BNSF 5894 with a WB manifest was the other half of the meet.

18. A 'last-gasp' shot of the old Santa Fe depot at Strong City before we all parted ways.
(all photos taken November 25, 2012)

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

---

---

---

Nice stuff, Lance.

Randy Lundgren

"legendary trainorders contributor lance garrels was often known to find a single pane of glass alongside the facade of an otherwise boarded up santa fe depot, and lie in wait for a momentary glint provided by a kansas sunset."

you ks guys sure are a productive bunch, great series.

Excellent shots with the barn, Sir L!

Much like a couple of barns I know in Montana, I think this one will become one of Kansas' most famous soon...

Great shots!

NIIICE set of pics!!!! Thanks for sharing.