Western Railroad Discussion > Recent trains in Austin, Texas...

A few trains in Austin from the past two weeks or so...

1) A pair of SD70Ms take an intermodal train north. Solid consists of SD70Ms on mainline trains are getting harder to find, a sentence I never thought I'd utter. 

2) An SD70M with a strange yellow-striped plow leads a manifest north

3) A freshly painted GEVO sans flag trails

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4) A well-worn Southern auto parts boxcar

5) A short cut of brand-new Florida East Coast aggregate hoppers

6) A pair of GEs take a stack train past Pressler Street just west of the station. These gates are brand new, and this side of the tracks newly publicly accessible. It's my understanding that there are development plans on this side of the tracks, but are currently held up in the zoning process, as well by a study of an accompanying extension of Pressler Street.
 

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7) An NS Dash 9 leads a manifest past Paul Street, the other grade crossing downtown. 

8) The last unit on Austin Western property that still wears Austin Western colors rests with a cut of cars just interchanged from the Union Pacific at Austin Western's Abbott Yard.

9) Another view of WAMX 5007.

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9) A colorful set of Austin Western power rests on the interchange track at McNeil. There's still variety in railroading if you know where to look!

Thanks for viewing!

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Great group of photos.  Looks like a good time of year now for getting some light on the noses of northbounds there.

Rich

Looks like a hopping place! All that new construction (I last worked there in 1987) sure makes it look different. Fine photos.

Great pictures!! I went through Austin twice and that was on the Southbound Texas Eagle. I hope to spend a couple of days there in the next five years and plan to get some railfanning done.

Nice shots!!

Interesting set of photos, thanks for posting.  Is WAMX 5007 a Geep?  If so, my guess is that's it's ex-CNW.  Can anyone confirm?

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

ntharalson Wrote:
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> Interesting set of photos, thanks for posting. 
> Is WAMX 5007 a Geep?  If so, my guess is that's
> it's ex-CNW.  Can anyone confirm?
>
> Nick Tharalson,
> Marion, IA

It's an ex-CNW GP50. The Austin Western used to have 7 or 8 of them, but now they're down to just two. One in the red and white scheme and the other in Watco corporate colors. While Austin Western's business is actually at an all time high, the GP50s are notoriously unreliable so they've largely moved to a fleet of SD40-2s, SD60s, and SD60Ms (with a pair of SD45T-2s), which are better suited for the mainline rock trains that make up the bulk of their business these days. The tight industries that used to be served in east Austin are gone now (some have moved outside of town and are still rail-served), so there is a lower need for 4-axle power to negotiate tight curves on industry leads.