Western Railroad Discussion > Big Red 1 coming home

I grew up in the 1960s in Manhattan, KS with US Army Ft Riley just 16 miles down the road. It was a constant stepping stone on the way over to my Grandparent’s house in Abilene. I wish I had a buck for every time our family wagon made that to & fro trek through the Fort. When I learned as a young grade schooler that the US Army’s very first infantry division was stationed at Ft Riley it was of course a source of pride. The Big Red 1 was headquartered near my home town! That was HUGE to a 7 year old!

As a budding 22 year old railfan photographer I have fond memories of shooting my first military train at Camp Funston in 1977. It was very rare for me to catch special moves over the KP (UP). Only in the years since my retirement & homecoming in 2010 have I been catching any more military equipment moves. But then only on a semi-regular basis. Here’s a snippet from Wikipedia about my old friend, the Big Red 1:

"The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed ‘The Big Red One’ (abbreviated 'BRO') after its shoulder patch"

1. UP 4968 leads Ft Riley-bound military equipment at the former UP timetable location of Swamp Angel, about 4 miles east of Manhattan, KS.

2. Here’s the 4968 at the 15th St crossing in Manhattan.

3. Now passing the Manhattan Regional Airport from the 56th St overpass east of Ogden, KS.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/19 15:50 by santafe199.

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Just one more…

4. Just east of Ogden, KS here’s the view from the KS stub hwy 114 overpass. One more look at Uncle Sam before he enters Camp Funston just west of Ogden.
(4 photos taken November 15, 2019)

Thanks for protecting my beloved USA!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/19 15:48 by santafe199.

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Very NICE catch and interesting narrative!

Larry

Good stuff here Lance.

Don Winslow
Glendora, CA
http://www.donwinslow.net/Railroads

Very nice series.  like each and every photo.
ALLEN

Nice photos Lance did you happen to take video?

This as you mentioned is 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. Returning from 9 month
rotation to Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve which started in April-2014 in response to Russia
invasion of Ukraine.

Kris

dcmkris Wrote: > ... did you happen to take video ...

No sir, I just can't get into video at all. I've got 40+ years behind still photography and feel totally comfortable. I can't explain why, but to me a great still photograph is something I can return to many times. But a video is something I'll look at 2 maybe 3 times and never look at it again. To me good videography seems to require about a zillion steps of prep work to get a good product. I see a professionally shot video package, and can only guess how much work it took to produce. If I was so inclined to take start shooting videos I've no doubt my still photography would go very far south! And that's unacceptable. Give me the 'still life' any time... :^)

Lance/199  

Nice coverage.  I really like the last shot.
Brian Stevens

santafe199 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dcmkris Wrote: > ... did you happen to take video
> ...
> No sir, I just can't get into video at all. I've
> got 40+ years behind still photography and feel
> totally comfortable. 
>
> If I was so inclined to take
> start shooting videos I've no doubt my still
> photography would go very far south! And that's
> unacceptable. Give me the 'still life' any time...
> :^)
>
> Lance/199  

I can understand that when I was young (teens) I was a video guy, then I became a still guy. Still love stills.

I catalog military trains using mainly youtube & FB videos. That was the reason I asked. Imagine a old style
train order but with exact contents of each car & possibly originiation, destination & reason for movement. 

Operation Atlantic Resovle is a bit of a wierd movement as the US Military now has prepositined stocks in Europe 
to pick from. ie: Tanks, Infantry Fighting Vehicles basically anything a Brigade may need to get up and running in
a moments notice.

For example in 2020 the rotation will include units from 1st Cav. Div, 1st Arm. Div, 1st Inf Div, 2rd Inf Div & 
82nd Airborn Div. plus National Guard units. This includes 116th Armored Birgade Combat Team 
(Idaho Nat Guard), they will ship w/o vehicles & pickup the prepositioned vehicles.

The others will ship out from Charelston, SC; Savanna, GA; Beaumont & Port Arthur, TX traveling to Germany,
Belgium, Netherlands & Estonia. Moving all this equipment is a major task and takes a lot more moves than most realize.

In 2018 it was 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division @ Ft Riley roatation at Operation Atlantic Resolve. They
took & returned from Europe with the following.

87 M1A2 Abrams MBT (Tanks)
125 M2A3 Bradley IFV
13 M3A3 BFIST (Fire Support Team - Eyes of Arty)
18 M109A6 Self Propelled Howitzer
395 Misc Tracked vehicles
976 Wheeled Vehicles
349 Trailers

PSA: All the above information is readily available from different US Army & DOD outlets. I have not disclosed anything you
can't get from a quick Google search or by simply following any of the hundreds of DOD related FB & Twitter accounts.

Kris

dcmkris Wrote: > ...  All the above information is readily available from different US Army & DOD outlets ...

I had nary a thought that you might be giving away any "secrets". It seems to me that any competent foreign agent could stand trackside with a pencil and a notepad and watch this train roll by, getting vitually all they info they could want. But when I see just one train full of equipment like this I realize it's just a drop in the reservoir of defensive armour this great country can amass. That 7 year old pride I mentioned turns into a fully adult appreciation of how my country defends its citizens and our way of life. I love this country and I look forward to the day when our political "leaders" can return to working with, instead of without or against our vital American institutions such as the FBI, CIA, NSA, Foreign Service personnel and of course our military establishment...

Lance/199

Pic 3 is my favorite!!

santafe199 Wrote:

> I had nary a thought that you might be giving
> away any "secrets". 

I should have prefaced that with to any concerned. It seems there are a ton out there who think this stuff is Manhatten Project "Secret"
or even worse a set up for martial law or UN New World Order camps (Auto Racks). 

> But when I see just one
> train full of equipment like this I realize it's
> just a drop in the reservoir of defensive armour
> this great country can amass. That 7 year old
> pride I mentioned turns into a fully adult
> appreciation of how my country defends its
> citizens and our way of life.

I like you feel an incredible sense of pride when I see our Military troops or equipment. After doing this for awhile you being to realize 
like you said just how large our military might is. You also start to get an appreciation for what goes in moving all this equipment around
the country, especially the heavy vehicles which rely on a very specialized and limited amount of equipment. 

> I love this country
> and I look forward to the day when our political
> "leaders" can return to working with, instead of
> without or against our vital

Me as well unabashidly I have no issue telling anyone I beleive we are lucky enough to live in the greatest nation in the world, warts & all.
How we ever reset the political establishment of this country is beyond me. I just wish we could get back to politicians working somewhat
together for US who put them in state & national offices. I think that those who are our best leaders won't run for office due to how ugly
politics are. Both sides of the isle are so awful its disgusting. If any of us did half of what they do we would be in the gray bar hotel.

Once again thanks for posting the excellent photos.

Kris

Boom.... there it is!
Couldn't resist:)