Western Railroad Discussion > West Winslow - a magical place

I visited Winslow, AZ over the weekend for a Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society Mini-Meet - plaudits to Eric Hiser for coordinating a fine event. I had been through Winslow before, but always at mid-day. I had never spent the night before, nor taken a photo from the much-patronized overpass just west of town, so after the event wrapped on Saturday, I decided to try my luck.

The view of the former Santa Fe transcon from the Business 40 (3rd St.) overpass has been done zillions of times by far more competent photographers than I, with far better camera gear and more inspiring subject matter going back to the decades before the "former" was added to "Santa Fe transcon." Nevertheless, the view is still inspiring, and the action...wow! When trains are running like streetcars, the odds are better than average that you'll get one just when you need it.

1. As BNSF 4269 east waits its turn to roll in for a crew change, BNSF 3885 blasts off westbound.

2. A while later, BNSF 3926 west approaches with a unit train of cotton seed. This train's DPU set up was 5-2-2, with well-worn CN C40-8M 2419 as the fifth unit on the head end.

3. The view looking east toward the Winslow yard is okay, but the scene that draws photographers to this spot (including a German railfan who arrived right about this point) is the view looking west. From the overpass, the tracks drop down about 77 vertical feet to Tucker Flat Wash, then back up nearly 200 feet before disappearing over the divide into the next drainage six and a half miles away, all with the stately San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff standing in the background. The exhaust plumes are mute testament to the westbound grade of over 1% as BNSF 3926 west climbs out of the wash.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/18 01:00 by Evan_Werkema.

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4. As the sun heads for the horizon, the headlight of an eastbound appears over the rise. Now it's a race to the finish, and I have to confess I was biting my nails a bit wondering if the sweet glint light would last long enough for the train to get to me.

5, 6. Seven minutes later, the light is still there, barely, as 3862 east approaches the overpass.

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7. The sun has set, but this streetcar line runs all night. BNSF 7232 east heaves in sight 6.5 miles away.

8. Approaching the overpass, the engineer douses the ditchlights and dims the headlight, which is just fine with me since my cheap-o lenses tend to flare with bright headlights anyway.

9. One final view looking east as the train slithers toward its crew change and I'm ready to head for dinner, having checked off one more well-worn photo spot on my frequent foamer card. I can definitely see why this spot is so popular. Thanks for looking!

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Really sweet series, 3-5 are incredible!!

Wow - look at all the trucks on IH40.

Truly excellent!. Thank you!

Thanks for posting. I spent that evening in Kingman, and saw some of those trains including the corn seed with that rather cafe worn CN unit.

Posted from Android

Well, Evan, maybe your lenses were "cheap-os" but those are good pictures and thank you for an informative photo story. Don't think I have ever seen an explanation of the view to the west like you gave in item # 3 at the beginning.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/18 06:37 by GeneL.

Thanks Evan. I had considered going to that meet, but the body said NO.

Nice stuff Evan!

Regards, Jim Evans

Really nice shots Evan....you mentioned flare from your lenses - are you using filters on the front of your lenses? If so, it's often the filter which causes the issue rather than the lens itself...?

Good work, sir! Thanks for sharing and making some of us (most of us?) jealous. ;-)

Bill Gillfillan
Tulsa, OK

First light at this location is just as magical! Great series Evan!

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Awesome shots!

Fantastic series of glint! Love those wide open overhead views

PQM

Nice photos. Very amazing the views of the terrain that is captured in a shot.
Brian Stevens

Very NICE and interesting shots!

Larry

Thanks for the photos Evan. That is quite a sag in the railroad they get to maneuver.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Beautiful work and a pleasure meeting you there.

Great shots! Any photos of the passenger cars at East Winslow, La Posada Hotel?