Western Railroad Discussion > Stranger in town

On my way down to Wichita on the 3rd, I made a routine pass through my old Santa Fe stomping grounds in Abilene, KS. Whereupon I discovered this Stranger in Town*. With the intelligence gathering assistance of my able compatriot ‘mg8711’ I can state this is the new engine for the Flint Hills Grain elevator complex over on the west side of town. It will be replacing old friend, EMD SW-something-or-other DBGX 2305 (nee SP 2305?). To mimic a line by the great actor Gene Hackman in the 1995 flick Crimson Tide:

“Welcome to town, son! Do us proud…”

1. & 2. Strong City Sub veteran BNSF atsf 685 sits at the point of a consist-with-stranger in Abilene, KS.

3. That stranger is ex-IC 8738, now TSLX 8738 (future DBGX 8738?).
(3 photos taken January 3, 2020)

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

*Stranger in Town is the title of a minor Top-40 hit for the band Toto. It appeared briefly in late 1984, but is a personal favorite of mine (one of only a bazillion or so personal favorites :^). I’ve taken a snippet of the tune’s lyrics and tweaked them ever-so-slightly:

“…rolled the window down, stuck my camera out for a peek
Dressed in black a unit I didn't recognize running down my back street”

DJ Sir L



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/20 12:10 by santafe199.

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Come on Lance Stranger in town was also a Bob Seger album which I would listen to first before Toto.

GP11

Couldn't have told you it was Toto, but I remember the song and video.  The dancing chalk outline was really something back in 1984.

Evan_Werkema Wrote: > ...  Couldn't have told you it was Toto, but ...

Hard to believe, but I don't recall ever seeing the video for Stranger in Town. I picked up on the tune because it was just one of those songs that reminded me of a 'certain girl' I never got the chance to date. She was too busy dating the guy she would marry (& eventually divorce). Toto was an interesting band. Ironically, over the years I've seen them "poo-pooed" by some people. But they were a great band, just the same. 2 other songs Toto scored big with was their debut tune Hold the Line which reached #5 in late 1978 and Rosanna which was the rock solid #2 tune in the US for 5 weeks in May of 1982. It would have been Toto's 1st #1 hit were it not for a duet called Ebony & Ivory running at the same time at #1 for 7 straight weeks, by a couple of guys named Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney. Instead, Toto would take a poignant tune called Africa to #1 for a week later on in the fall of '82. 

The band started out as what I would call a 'side project' for a select group of highly talented session musicians in Los Angeles. Early Toto members have music credit recording with bands such as Sonny & Cher, Steely Dan, Boz Skaggs and Seals & Crofts. Toto members have also done session & collaboration work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Yes, Michael McDonald & Pink Floyd. Included in those early line-ups were: Bobby Kimball, Steve Luthaker, David Paich, brothers Steve & Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate. A 3rd Porcaro brother Mike replaced Hungate and later Kimball was replace by Fergie Fredericksen, who was in turn replaced by Joseph Williams, son of legendary conductor & film score composer John Williams. In 1988 Jeff Porcaro tragically died of a heart attack at age 38. As I recall reading, he had a violent reaction to some chemical fertilizer he was spreading on his lawn. Their final visit with Billboard's Top-40 chart came in 1988 with a bouncy tune called Pamela, which ran out of bounce at #22. After 1990 Toto continued recording & touring under various incarnations, and in 2018-2019 the band went on a 40th anniversary tour to support their album "40 Trips Around the Sun"...

DJ Sir L



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/20 04:26 by santafe199.

No expense spared on that paint job;)

Well, they did do the handrails, but it looks like they just stenciled the lettering over the old IC paint job.   Nick Tharalson,Marion, IA

Wow, killer consist and shot two is wonderful with the clouds. Thanks for sharing!