Western Railroad Discussion > Big Boy on to Sharon Springs (finale)!

Even though Uncle Pete has always been a “playfully fierce” arch-rival to my beloved Santa Fe -and now by a very loose extension the BNSF- I have had some of my best railfanning episodes over the years chasing the yellow & grey. All current, self-inflicted PSR travails aside, UP has always been a class outfit. Very much worthy of photographic effort. With this in mind I have regretfully come to the final installment of the latest pass of UP 4014, the “Big Boy” through my home turf. So, before I get too carried away let’s proceed to the captions>>v

81. I had to tear myself away from the photo subject in my last installment. I had just been “interrupted” by a train, and realized in was time to get back on the chase. ;^) I had the lead, with TO member “Rathole” & his girlfriend following. The loose plan was to use the scheduled stop at Oakley to find another location a bit further west. But then I got a wild hair and turned up Gove Country Rd 28, just west of Grinnell, KS. Look closely and you’ll see a very TINY Big Boy looming on the horizon line! Steve -Mr “Rathole”- summed it up perfectly: “An unplanned diversion like this is just a freebie extra in a chase!”

82. So many times in a chase like this a shot you could never plan for will just appear out of nowhere. There’s Steve and his girlfriend 'Johnnie' in position as the 4014’s headlight pops over that horizon.

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83. & 84. UP 4014 approaches at focal lengths of 210mm & 75mm respectively.

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85. & 86. The “away” shots are still in that great morning light. In image #86 the ‘Western Plains Energy’ elevator complex looms in the distance at Gove County Rd 18.

87. Here’s another “shot across the bow” from westbound I-70. I keep a small bottle of aspirin in my rig at all times. It comes in handy after I keep one eye on the road to the west and bend the other eye to look north at the train. (Where’s Marty Feldman when you need him... ;^)
(Photos 81-87 taken just west of Grinnell, KS)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/21 10:19 by santafe199.

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88. A short pit-stop at Oakley, KS netted a few extra “scene” shots. While the 4014’s scheduled stop at Oakley was transpiring a visit to Casey’s for relief & a few consumable supplies was most welcomed!

89. We had intended to show up early at the well-known US hwy 40 overpass west of Wallace, KS so we could stake out a spot to shoot. But the timing couldn’t have been worse. Ongoing construction had reduced the overpass to a 1-lane, automatic traffic lights cluster ____. No way we would risk a potential logistical nightmare. So we doubled back to a little rise overlooking a very photogenic sag in the KP main line just west of McAllaster (siding) KS. With nearly 15 minutes to kill there are my caravan partners just lounging around. Note how cloud cover is now present...

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90. 91. & 92. UP 4014 approaches our spot as we hope against hope for the sun to break completely through. But that “Dastardly Mr Cloud” had to have his fun! All 3 shots were taken at 300mm.

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93. I performed a quick lens-change and got this shot @ 140mm.

94. & 95. Wide angle to & fro shots complete what coulda ~ shoulda ~ woulda been the runaway best sequence of my entire Big Boy chase for 2021. Sigh.........
(Photos 89-95 taken just west of McAllaster, KS (siding).

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96. & 97. After our crushing disappointment at McAllaster we ran on into Sharon Springs, KS for the mutual finale of our Big Boy chase for 2021. As usual, the UP Police have their hands full keeping an enthusiastic crowd under control.

98. One last look at Sharon and our caravan broke off and went south to Tribune, KS. It seems both of us had independently pre-planned to trace Missouri Pacific’s old Colorado Eagle main line back toward the east...
(ALL photos taken September 4, 2021.)

Thanks for riding along on this chase. It was great fun!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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I dunno, I thought those shots with the cloud shadows had a lot of character, what with the rolling topography.

Great series, been enjoying the show, thanks for the effort!

Great series Lance!  What a blast that chase was, and it yielded lots of shots we will be enjoying for years to come!   Can't wait for Johnnie to see her Trainorders debut! 

Some of those cuts in the latter photo are some that we used to get called to plow in the winter.
Infrequency of trains would allow them to blow shut in a good blizzard. There were more over toward Oakley too.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/21 11:47 by Bob3985.

I don't know, 11 out of 17 for a 647 batting average is better than any over paid major league hitter in history  : - )
JB



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/21 11:59 by 3rdswitch.

Thanks for the interesting series!!

Larry

Excellent  series, Lance!

RC Lundgren

Thanks guys! I always appreciate getting such kindness from my fellow railfans, even if I don't say so every time. To be sure, my thanks also go to all of the gracious replies throughout all of my recent threads covering the Big Boy's 2nd run through Kansas. If there is a "next time, maybe we can get an eastbound run... :^)

Lance/199

SUPER photos! Wow. Not a ringer in the batch. Thanks for sharing them.

I have to agree. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a huge fan of the long compressed telephoto shots (although your's are outstanding as well)
Therefore, to me #93 and #94 are the best of the bunch! (Although 82 IS pretty classic! ;-)

dendavis Wrote:
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> I dunno, I thought those shots with the cloud
> shadows had a lot of character, what with the
> rolling topography.
>
> Great series, been enjoying the show, thanks for
> the effort!

Lance,
Many thanks for allowing us to travel along. Those last few "big glass" shots make the 4014 look like she made a wrong turn onto a theme park roller coaster ride!
Gonut