Western Railroad Discussion > The Great Pumpkin is on the Move

I was surprised this morning by the sight of BNSF 8197, known as the "Great Pumpkin," on an eastbound mixed freight train on the Ottumwa Sub in southeast Iowa. I thought this engine was still in storage, though if I had been looking, I would have seen it was reported on the move last night. I heard over the radio that this train was going to be slowed down by Maintenance of Way in a few miles. I was able to drive ahead of it to a place I'd gone by before, but not actually shot from (that's probably against some rule, but I wouldn't know). I was able to shoot this video (edited down so it could be uploaded here).

The full consist is:
BNSF (ex-ATSF) 694 GE C44-9W
NS 9087 GE C40-9W
BNSF 8950 EMD SD70MAC
BNSF 8197 EMD SD60M Great Pumpkin
BNSF (ex-BN) EMD GP39E

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Still encoding, almost 12 hours later...

Tor in Eugene

Nice catch!!!

Interesting train--I'm not used to seeing coal moving in less than unit-train lots.

Winston Hill