Western Railroad Discussion > Toto Tuesday: Running in FOG!

I can state from personal experience that running a train in fog is no picnic, especially at high speeds! Back in December of 1979 I rode a 70 MPH Santa Fe hotshot in the scariest fog of my entire career (the link: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2511005,2511005#msg-2511005 ). It’s no fun having fear like that while on the job. But sometimes it just goes with the territory. Not to cast any bad karma on current active road crews, but I would much rather deal with heavy fog from behind a camera…

1. At 8:54 AM BNSF 9206 & crew are sitting ‘in the hole’ on their unit tank train at Bazaar, KS. They are patiently waiting to suffer the indignity of being run-around by a hotter train. Turning to look west (SSW as the crow flies) from the Sharps Creek Rd crossing I can just make out a green glow in the westbound mainline signal at the west siding switch, about 1500 feet away.

2. Trailing unit IC 1038 is a stranger in these here parts, even by normal power-sharing standards. Hey… I think I hear a distant horn cutting through the fog. That’s probably Krieger’s Krossing (West Rd) just west of Ellinor. I’ll grab this roster record shot and get into position for the runaround shot. A few short minutes later there’s another faint horn. That would be the cemetery crossing at Gladstone. I’m in position now with anticipation mounting. As I wait all other sounds of an average morning are dampened because of the deep fog. More horn sounds, much closer now. It’s actually a pair of crossing sequences, one after the other. These are the T Rd/Norton Rd crossings at the east end of this siding just over a mile away. Now I can hear diesel engines rumbling but still can’t see a thing. Very spooky! I’ve got my ‘trigger finger’ ready on the shutter release because at 70 MPH that train can…

3. A LOUD HORN and a faint headlight materialize suddenly & simultaneously out of that heavy, close fog.

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4. & 5. At 9:03 AM BNSF 7245 slips by shattering the dead calm. Like a film running backwards DP unit BNSF 6525 quickly shrinks and…

6. …disappears into the enveloping shroud. The fog has gotten thicker: I can’t see the westbound signal anymore…
(6 photos taken about 9 AM on November 22, 2014)

Thanks for peering!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Great fog shots Lance. Sure wish my fog shots looked like your fog shots, lol. Great catch of the IC 1038. Also enjoyed your narrative.

Larry

Love it!

BB

Great looking six pack Lance. Those are some moody shots you captured. Nice catch on the IC1038. Thanks for sharing.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Image number 2 is totally awesome (for some reason :-))! I sure hope you had your FOGHAT on!!!

Tulare Fog is known to meteorologists as a unique fog of extreme thickness.

Just read your old post from 2011 about you running in heavy fog. Great pics and you tell a story really well. Good job thanks

Steel_Rails Wrote: > ... Good job thanks ...

Thanks guys, for the kind words!

And to IC1038West: I didn't think of the FOGhat connection. Without digging into my I-Tunes library I can remember a RR oriented a song they did in 1983. They covered the old Louis Jordan tune: "Choo-Choo-Cha-Boogie" on their album "Zig-Zag Walk"...

DJ Sir L



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/18 16:33 by santafe199.