Western Railroad Discussion > 111 minutes on the KS Sub

Here’s a companion thread to my “156 minutes at Menoken” from back on the 13th. It was a day with weather that wasn’t exactly inspirational. But bottom line, there was lots of extra reroute action not normally encountered on this regular eastbound directional main line. After my jammed up 2½ hours at Menoken I hop-scotched my way up the line, following its northwest angle. I bagged east & westbound autorack trains at Delia, having met each other just down the line at Kenefick siding. A long hour later I shot a westbound stacker running around a coal empty at Aikins siding, where a spur veers off and runs down to the Jeffrey Energy Center power plant. I pressed on, wanting to head further up the line. Another almost 2 hours of steady action started when I found a 'stranded' unit coal train tucked away in Duluth siding. To the captions:

1. UP 5919 sits tight on the point of an unfortunate coal unit train. The DS has this eastbound train put away in Duluth siding for 2 upcoming westbounds. And these guys may have met 2 other prior westbounds before I arrived on the scene. The time is 1742 hours.

2. & 3. At 1757 hours UP 7500 rolls west with my coal empty friend & run-around victim from earlier at Aikins. Photos 1-3 taken from the Golden Belt Rd crossing at the east end of Duluth, KS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/19 10:41 by santafe199.

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4. 5. & 6. When the 5900 didn’t move I knew another westbound was on the way. I rolled the dice and ran like blazes for a more scenic shot. I was lucky, pulling up to a dust-scattering stop just as westbound headlights appeared. At 1821 hours here is UP 4247 with some help from Roanoke hustling a westbound stacker underneath the KS hwy 16 overpass and into Onaga, KS. You can just make out the faint trio of stacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center in image #4.

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7. 8. & 9. At 1844 hours that long-suffering unit coal train from Duluth is finally back on the move, coming out of Onaga to my overpass location. The available sunlight was fading fast, teasing me with a possible sunset opportunity.

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10 & 11. At 1929 hours the faded Mr Sol is 4 minutes away from official extinguishment. And right on the 1933 cue UP 3852 rolls by with a desperately needed, Nebraska-bound string of loaded ballast cars. I’m perched on a bluff overlooking the T intersection of Ranch & Cross Creek Rds. This is about a mile or so east of Aikin, KS.
(11 photos taken March 23, 2019)

Thanks for riding along!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/19 20:58 by santafe199.

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Nice work, Lance .   One of my old weekend photo hangouts 15 years ago. --Kelly

Nice pics Lance!  You can't go wrong with getting shots from the overpass in Onaga. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/19 12:57 by Atomicpunk.

Very NICE series!

Larry

A great day of train chasing, Lance.
Really nice photos !
Gary
 

Nice shots!

Love that power arraignment on that intermodal EMD,GE,EMD,GE

santafe199 Wrote:
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> 10 & 11. At 1729 hours the faded Mr Sol is 4
> minutes away from official extinguishment. And
> right on the 1733 cue UP 3852 rolls by with a
> desperately needed, Nebraska-bound string of
> loaded ballast cars. I’m perched on a bluff
> overlooking the T intersection of Ranch & Cross
> Creek Rds. This is about a mile or so east of
> Aikin, KS.
> (11 photos taken March 23, 2019)
>
> Thanks for riding along!
> Lance Garrels
> santafe199

Lance, wouldn't this be 1929 & 1933 hours..  1729 & 1733 are a little early for sunsets down there in Land of Oz for late March..  

Love your photos and the 3852 with just an ever bit of sun still on the horizon..!!!


SP8100

SP8100 Wrote: > ... wouldn't this be 1929 & 1933 hours ...

Yup, it sure would. I added 10 hours instead of 12 hours to what Mickey was giving me. But hey, I'm retired... :^)

Lance/199