Western Railroad Discussion > When you have those type of days.. (Seligman Sub 4/27/25)

You ever go railfanning but end up with meh results? That was today on the Seligman Sub between Kingman and Seligman proper. Very low midday traffic, no foreign power or interesting paint schemes (atleast from what I saw), followed by a super cold midday front (?). Pictures wise it didn't end up too well either, either I was uninspired or conditions werent right for railfanning. I think as railfans and photographers we know that sometimes we have off days, days that just feel poor and make you think, why did I even go out today? 

I woke up at 7 AM (shocker I know right?) and made my way to Kingman to fill on gas. After filling on gas I headed east on Rte 66 where I ran into a EB manifest with all 3 Heritage paint schemes (H1, H2, H3). 

1) BNSF 4226 leads this trio of power east through Hackberry, AZ. 

After following the train east, I met it again east of Valentine at a place called Crozier, home to the very short but very beautiful Crozier Canyon. 

2) A cool shot of an ATSF boxcar passing an old sign from the Santa Fe era. Again we go with having off days, where the A is covered by a fence post. 

I had always planned on photographing trains at Yampai, a small area located ontop of a very long grade that trains battle to get up. 

3) BNSF 5229 is lead on this manifest local. I later find out that this is the Kingman Local, which goes from Winslow to Nelson, then goes to Kingman from Nelson the next day. 

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After this, I made my way west to Nelson Canyon, a cool area that reminds me of Utah with all the trees.

4) WB stack train passes by. 

5) As I head over to Lhoist Nelson, I find a fleet of MOW equipment sitting on a siding. All types of equipment was there. 

6) Here is the Kingman Local sitting in Nelson. Crew has left the train tied down for tomorrow morning. 

 

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I made my way to Truxton, or atleast I made plans to go to Truxton. I made my way onto Crozier Ranch, a public use ranch located east of Crozier Canyon on flat ground. The site can be used for camping and for alot of other things. I set up near the crossover, the only thing blocking me and the crossover was private property owned by another person. As I was taking photos of birds, the owner of the private property came out and looked mad. I heard a loud crack and saw him telling me to get out. I was confused and stood there until I saw him come closer to me, in which I quickly GTFO. 

7) The bird that offended him I guess.

I ended up going home. Poor day I must say. But theres always next time. 

BrandonRC
Henderson, NV

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I've had days like that!!  We were at that campground area on December 31st 2023, and having done shots at the east end of Crozier, we went to explore nearer the cross over. That guy came out of his shack ranting and shouting, even though we were well away from any of his fences. Then he let off 2 rounds from a rifle, aimed to miss without a doubt. He didn't fire in the air, but to us. We got out quickly. I think his 'residence' is in my photo, LHS.  We wanted to go back later that trip to get to the flyover, but were too shook up to try.   chris uk.

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55002 Wrote:
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> I've had days like that!!  We were at that
> campground area on December 31st 2023, and having
> done shots at the east end of Crozier, we went to
> explore nearer the cross over. That guy came out
> of his shack ranting and shouting, even though we
> were well away from any of his fences. Then he let
> off 2 rounds from a rifle, aimed to miss without a
> doubt. He didn't fire in the air, but to us. We
> got out quickly. I think his 'residence' is in my
> photo, LHS.  We wanted to go back later that trip
> to get to the flyover, but were too shook up to
> try.   chris uk.

Yup mustve been the same guy! I heard atleast a loud bang, no idea if that was just his trailer door closing because I know those are loud. But I do believe it was a gunshot. Honestly he should be careful, Arizona is a pro open carry state and shooting in people's direction can easily be interpreted as a threat on your life. 

You're not alone. My two outings on the Transcon this month haven't been very exciting either, pretty much matching your experience.
I WAS going out yesterday for the OCS, which was supposed to be out of Winslow around 0915. I went back to bed when I found out it was waaaay behind schedule instead.

Well this is surprising news.  My friend Russ and I have done several trips in that area (Crozier) and never had a problem.  Never even saw another person in fact, aside from RR employees.

As far as the uninspiring photography, I don't know what kind of physical condition you're in, but I've found that out there you have to use the scenery to get good photos, which usually means climbing hills.  The trains themselves unfortunately are usually just downright boring, endless pumpkins and Z-trains that all look like the ones before it.  Some days you might get lucky and get a couple trains that have something truly interesting or a good consist, otherwise it's just a lot of pumpkins.  So you have to find good locations, and climbing a hill makes all the difference in the world for a good scenery shot.

Yampai is tough to do from ground level, just too many trees, but with a drone you can really get some good photos there.

Better luck next time!

Andy

AndyBrown Wrote:
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> Well this is surprising news.  My friend Russ and
> I have done several trips in that area (Crozier)
> and never had a problem.  Never even saw another
> person in fact, aside from RR employees.
>
> As far as the uninspiring photography, I don't
> know what kind of physical condition you're in,
> but I've found that out there you have to use the
> scenery to get good photos, which usually means
> climbing hills.  The trains themselves
> unfortunately are usually just downright boring,
> endless pumpkins and Z-trains that all look like
> the ones before it.  Some days you might get
> lucky and get a couple trains that have something
> truly interesting or a good consist, otherwise
> it's just a lot of pumpkins.  So you have to find
> good locations, and climbing a hill makes all the
> difference in the world for a good scenery shot.
>
> Yampai is tough to do from ground level, just too
> many trees, but with a drone you can really get
> some good photos there.
>
> Better luck next time!
>
> Andy

Thank you Andy. I agree with your advice, climbing hills and getting into unique spots can make all the difference. I always try and climb hills or small crests but that day was way too slow and windy for me to try anything like that. I saw a total of three trains over a 5 hour period which made my trip a total bust. Like you said, there is always a next time.