Western Railroad Discussion > Worth the Wait?

I spent some time yesterday afternoon trying to railfan the UP, but it was mostly a exercise in frustration. Following the tracks from Ontario, OR to Weiser, ID where I found a crossing gate down for no reason, so called it in twice, was hung up on as the operator answered the phone the first time. They applied a procedure XH on the crossing and I later heard signal maintainer Raul found a tie plate that had shifted and was bridging a insulated joint.
 I continued toward Huntington. Sure wish they would clear out Cobb siding of storage cars as it would open up some great photo angles of the UP trains running along the Snake River, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Leaving Farewell Bend I could see the tail end of a westbound stack train in Rock Island siding. Since I had not heard a detector up till that point, he had been there for a while.
 As I came into Huntington I noticed a clear signal for a eastbound leaving Huntington. That made me excited there could be a train shortly, but since the detector at MP386.7 had not gone off, I had some time to get setup for a good photo. The sun was out and the sky was clear and the landscape was all lit up with the low winter sun. Just about perfect conditions. I figured on a elevated position behind the small city and waited for the train.
 After almost an hour I heard a detector go off, but it was one all the way up at Nelson by the cement plant at the far end of the slow track in the Burnt River Canyon, almost 20 miles away. By this point the town was in shadows as the sun had fallen behind the hills. So an hour and a half after seeing the clear signal, the ITAG4 finally shows up deep in shadow. The almost three mile long train was running 3x1x2.
 I went to the lower Burnt River Canyon east of town for the westbound IG4SE, but it would be another 30 minutes and far too dark for a salvageable photo. The wind would have made the tripod shake too much for a decent night photo. I'm thinking that crew might have been cooling their heels for upwards of three hours at Rock Island siding before reaching Huntington. I cannot see how UP is saving any money with these double length trains with all the added delays and crew costs they cause.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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Great shot.  Thanks for sharing. Ben

I'd say worth the wait!  Excellent shot.  

What a great shot! Thanks for waiting and sharing....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Nice, Ted!

texchief1

Well worth the wait time. Really nice photo—on my Western states trip,some of the best photos were at Huntington and the river bridge.
Brian Stevens

Posted from iPhone

Great photo, but I feel your pain.  Modern railfanning seems like more often than not is an exercise in frustration.  I've all but given up on local day to day railfanning due to the reasons you referenced in your message.  Trains sitting in a siding for hours waiting for a meet while the sun angle continues to deteriorate, crews switching for hours with the same result (not banging on crews here, I know they're just doing their job), an hour or hour and a half to add or set out a unit while I'm thinking of the countless hours of my life I've wasted sitting by the tracks waiting for a train.  My beloved Iowa Interstate in my hometown has been reduced to a pair of Gevos each direction with the same boring black tank cars and gray covered hoppers going back and forth to Cedar Rapids every day.  I hardly ever go out for that any more.

Is it worth the wait?  Only you can answer that question, and as I increasing ask myself the same thing, more often than not the answer is no.  I still do trips and special occasions, but as far as the every day stuff, I have to say I really don't miss it.  Once in a while I see something on Facebook or the railcams that would've been a good catch, and think, "I should just take a day to devote entirely to railfanning."  But I never do it.

Sorry for the pessimism, but that's the reality of my thoughts lately.

Andy

Really NICE shot Ted!

Larry

The lighting, terrain, and curve of the long train definitely made it worth it.

As does your observation of the false economy of running trains that are too long for the territory.

Awesome shot and yes, PSR Sucks!

Good stuff.
Looks like small town Idaho.
t4p.