Western Railroad Discussion > Blizzard coming!

A bit of irony here! Today I had a short but productive engagement with the 4014 in beautiful Colorado sunshine and temps in the 50s. But the weather prognosticater had a very gloomy outlook for later in the afternoon. Unfortunately for railfan photographers and all other such maniacs it appears their predictions are coming in right on the nose. Here's UP 7015 rolling into Eaton, CO to do some station work. The surrounding neutral gray gloom is crowding in on the engine. A zillion un-seen razor points of wind driven ice are just getting energized. And that sun-yellow warmth will soon be gone.

Sure enough, as I type this words 7 hours later at my friend's house in Eaton I can quote what I once heard a senior SFe hogger say about a similar Kansas blizzard: "...tain't fit fer man nor beast out there to-night!!!"

1. UP 7015 + entourage arriving mid-afternoon in Eaton, CO. Weather outlook?? Yup... we're definitely gonna get some.
Photo date: November 25, 2019. Fancy-schmancy effects by Picasa...

Thanks a-lot for the forecast!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

(posted from my unofficial office at the "ATSFSuperChief" motel in Eaton, CO)

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We meteorologists are happy to help.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Lance...and, to everyone else on Trainorders. 

Hey Lance ...

Eaton and Highway 85 are in harm's way for significant snowfall and winds
overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning. Check the CO DOT website (https://cotrip.org/home.htm)
before venturing too far in the morning ... could be numerous road closures
by morning north and west of Eaton ... assuming you're gonna try to follow
the 4014 in the morning on its journey to Cheyenne ... be especially wary
of any roads north and west of Nunn ... that be very open country on the
south flank of the Cheyenne Ridge ... a classic upslope environment that
can generate significant snow and blowing snow ...
Ohhhh and BTW, thanks for sharing your images of the 4014 earlier!  Nice
captures ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

 

  Colorado US 85- no updates but "may close". US34 east of Greeley is closed. Wyoming: no unessessary travel. Suggest you bunker down.

BB

Not sure how the roads are south of us but 200 miles of I-80 closed this morning.
Supposedly they are supposed to get heavier snow south of us.
Roads in Cheyenne are snow covered ice.
Be safe

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Believe it or not, Twitter can be an asset for road conditions. Just in Kansas (mutual friends—I’m in Ohio) @TrooperBenKHP, @TrooperrickKHP and the other district public information officers are also active state troopers and often report from the roadside even before they close a highway. “If you’re between X and Y, take the Y exit because we’ll be closing in a few minutes” can save you a long, cold wait. Local sheriffs will sometimes tweet road conditions or warn when a bad accident has made a mess of traffic.

511.org has nationwide highway conditions, but it’s often a good bit behind.

Rebecca Morgan
Jacobsburg, OH

Thanks gang! It's heartwarming to see the out-pour of concern. This is exactly how I picture the camaraderie & kinship which is a truly wonderful benefit of this great hobby. In a very real sense the other 5 members (3 now deceased) of the "1980s Kansas Gang" I keep referring to were brothers* of mine that I never had in the blood sense. It was a close-knit thing that I am now experiencing on a much larger scale with the benefit of communication technology & cyberspace pathways. This exactly what I believe railfanning should be all about...

Lance 
(*Of course, I have to modernize my description to read: "brothers and sisters"... :^)
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/19 08:46 by santafe199.