Western Railroad Discussion > Some recent leftovers

About month ago I threw a high & inside curve-ball right back at the weatherman and went out shooting in spite of dour predictions for less-than-stellar weather. And it worked out great! I was able to bag a few shots of BNSF’s sporadic passenger service down through the Flint Hills, in good sunlight, no less: ( DHQ at Matfield! (trainorders.com) ).

OK... so I’m pulling your leg a bit. But not about the weather! As you can deduce from the link above, it was just a deadhead move. But hey, stainless steel in the KS Flint Hills is still rare enough to go that familiar 75 miles south into God’s Country. Once I got to my chosen photo location I would have to wait almost 3 hours for the varnish, as it were. But just like a busy main line will do I was provided with a few ‘warm-up’ acts until the main event came along. Here are some left-over shots that didn’t make the original cut:

1. At 10:49 AM here was BNSF 7797 + 3 with 2 long rows of stacked containers.

2. At 11:51 BNSF 9158 has command of a unit grainer.

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Not knowing exactly when my passenger prey would show up I decided to park in such a way that I could shoot from my driver’s seat if I was taken by surprise. The inevitable happened, and I drifted ever-so-slightly into a cat nap. And then I heard the faint, but unmistakable sound of flanged wheels on steel rails. I didn’t see anything coming at me so I panicked. Indeed, an eastbound movement was by me before I could jump out of my rig, ‘Willie IV’. But as it turns out...

3. ...it was only a hi-railer rolling east @ 12:16 PM, in advance of the DH special.

4. As if that wasn’t enough, at 12:35 PM I was also treated to a modern Sperry Rail Service rolling lab. We’ve sure come a long ways from the Sperry’s old motorcar-looking equipment.

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These 2 M.O.W. movements would have to meet the passenger DHQ some place. Now way to know where, or when... But I sat tight. I wasn’t about to go anywhere else and risk blowing the opportunity...

5. Call it either a stubborn attitude, or good luck. Or both. But at 1:44 PM I was finally rewarded for playing hard ball with the weatherman: Here’s a leftover shot of sticker-patch BNSF 6179 on the special psgr move...
(5 photos taken about 3 miles east (compass north) of Matfield Green, KS on December 5, 2021.

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Lance,

Great shots, especially #5. In that photo, we can see what appears to be construction on a highway overpass. What road is being constructed?

Happy New Year!

Mike

MSE Wrote: > ...  appears to be construction on a highway overpass ...

That will be the new KS hwy 177 overpass over the Emporia Sub. Although it's still in the early stages of cut & earth-fill work, it appears to me that K-177 will have a more perpendicular passage over the main line(s) when finished. I assume the roadway will be wider, but I also assume they will install chain-link fencing directly over the tracks for safety. So it's not likely we will gain much in the way of new prime shooting perches other than from the approach ramps on the extreme sides. It will be interesting to see the final result...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/22 13:53 by santafe199.

Extra nice shots, Lance!

RC Lundgren

Very NICE and interesting series!

Larry

Funny, on the other than transcon main, aka, the Joint Line, MOST passenger moves are a single unit regardless of lenth of train. I guess even with a short lite passenger move, they take no chances on the MAIN MAIN.
JB

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> Funny, on the other than transcon main, aka, the
> Joint Line, MOST passenger moves are a single unit
> regardless of lenth of train. I guess even with a
> short lite passenger move, they take no chances on
> the MAIN MAIN.
> JB

Needed two units for the runaround move at Perry, OK

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