Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF - Phoenix Sub (Peavine) - Traffic

Will be in AZ later this month - and was hoping to chase on the Peavine - on the northern end from Williams Jct to Ash Fork (back in the horeshoes and multiple "S" curves).

Due to the travel time on the FRs to get back to the tracks - was hoping that someone knew of the departure times from Williams Jct SB to PHX - in order for me to ensure that I was in position well before arrival.   Was looking at early morning to 12noon'ish timeframe.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

John
 

I haven't railfanned the peavine much, but the times you mentioned should be a good time. The eastbound Z seems to get to Williams late morning to early afternoon, and the Westbound(s) Z also seem to come through around that time. The new H-GUPPHX manifest seems to go through in the afternoon, look for a manifest with a bunch of SRG cement hoppers on the Flagstaff cam, I think the eastbound still runs at night. The auto trains are more infrequent but I've seen them in daylight, though the westbound seems to come through late afternoon to early evening. Lastly, I think the Flagstaff local works to Drake and back in the morning Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that should also go by you if you go during those days.

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There are no regular departure times out of Williams Jct, and this past week even trains that regularly hit it within a 2-3 hour window are all over the map as fallout from the Lupton derailment on 4/26.   Having done this, my plan would be to have several locations in mind and plan to get into that area by sunrise, then stay put or move around within several miles as the sun dictates.   Prior to sunrise, pass by the Williams siding to see if a westbound is tied down there.  Since it's not too far using I-40, I would also go to Ash Fork and see if anything is tied down there, or a standing train waiting on a meet.  Then double back to Welch Road and head into the bush.   Ash Fork is now a CTC island with an extended siding that can hold two trains.  Write down the lead unit of any train spotted, as that info helps decode radio traffic later.

Railfanning the Peavine is an excercise in visual confirmation and radio monitoring, coupled with lots of patience.  While full track warrants are no longer broadcast over the air, the DS will talk to westbounds around Chalender to verify their warrant onto the Peavine, and usually mention if they will wait for an eastbound to come off the Vine or have a meet at Williams.   Similarly, although Ash Fork is no longer a crew change point, many eastbounds end up tying down there and getting re-crewed.  The DS will talk to them to verify warrant number.    Travel time for westbound Z's from Williams Jct to Ash Fork is typically 45 minutes, and for bulk and manifest trains usually 55 minutes.   If one train is following another, the DS will contact the first train to roll up the limits of their track warrant, giving the railfan a location confirmation on the first train, and knowledge about a following train.  There is a talking detector at MP 381, west of Williams.   

For traffic, one (almost) sure bet is the Flagstaff Local on Tues and Thurs heading westbound to Drake.  They are usually out of Flagstaff between 5:30am-6:30am and make a direct shot to Williams Jct (they work Bellemont on the return trip unless on rare occasion have work for Camp Navajo.)  However, there are days the local does not run to Drake (they did not go yesterday.)  There is often an eastbound autorack repo (empties being repositioned) and/or an eastbound Q train out of Ash Fork early morning.  Those are usually followed later by the H-PHXBEL manifest which typically hits the junction late morning/early afternoon.   Westbound the Z-WINPHX is usually pretty solid onto the Peavine late morning to noon on Wed-Thur-Fri, the days it runs as an expedited "2".  The other days it will run later.   The Z-WSPPHX is usually into Ash Fork before sunrise, but there are exceptions like this morning when it passed Flagstaff at 5:45am.

Feel free to PM me day before or day of and I will provide any info I have.
 

Ted Ferkenhoff
Flagstaff, AZ

Thank you both - great detail - exactly the info I was seeking.