Steam & Excursion > Chasing/Pacing UP 844 in Rural Areas with Safety in Mind!

Don't mean to sound like a Public Service Announcement, But here goes..To all Steam Chasers..Please remember that in Rural Areas,The Local (Big) Truck,Farmer,and Passenger Car drivers, on the highways parralling the Railroad Tracks, Aren't used to a "Roman Chariot Race" of Vehicles coming thier way, at 60 mph!,all pacing the "Once in a Blue Moon" Steam Engine!..If you Must pass that Guy ahead of you to get that "Once In A Lifetime Shot" of the train, Please look well ahead,down the road before passing, and watch out for that sleepy local person,Turning Into the Highway, from an intersection,into oncoming traffic!. Best to have one person driving,and the passenger filming!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Sounds like normal CA drivers on every road or highway coming thru OR making bad passes, 20mph over the limit, just another day on highway 97 or I5 here.

Highway 97, nothing wrong with that road, why I remember doing 85 one day chasing the 4449 (didn't catch it)
in Oregon without problems. And the next day the cars were using both lanes (in the same direction) without
problems. How can you say bad things about such a safe stretch of highway?

Out

Ah for the days when OR Highway Patrol stopped any CA plated car for doing 5mph over the speed limit. Oregon was the only state when my dad would obey the speed limit on those family car trips back in the 70s.

I remember chasing 8444 & 3985 out of Cheyenne in 1981 on their way to Sacramento for the opening of the museum and this was when the speed limit was 55 MPH and a Wyoming Highway Patrol car straddled the two lanes on the interstate and guys were on their walkie talkies and CB radios telling someone to pass him and we would all pay for his ticket. We all watched the doubleheader disappear into the distance . . think Steve Lee had a big smile on his face that morning!

Craig
mcmrailvideos.com

I have followed the 844 from Cheyenne to Boise ... it has been a safe event ... a few jerks along the way of course, but overall a really civil group of folks doing the chase ... the crowd "mushroomed" once in Idaho. Today's Gooding to Boise adventure had lots of folks in the "pack" from Bliss into Glenns Ferry ID ... but no issues that I saw from my vantage points in the "chase" or maybe the following as a more appropriate phrase. The UP Special agents were genuinely interested in people's impressions of the event ... I had several conversations with representatives that were not intimidating. The UP has a done good job in imho with balancing safety with this event and reaching out to the general public ... there were many seasoned 844 "followers" recording this trip, and I suspect there will be some new additions to the "hobby" and new memberships to Trainorders ... it has been a memorable event for me so far

Odyssey,
Evergreen, CO

Odyssey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have followed the 844 from Cheyenne to Boise ...
> it has been a safe event ... a few jerks along the
> way of course, but overall a really civil group of
> folks doing the chase ... the crowd "mushroomed"
> once in Idaho. Today's Gooding to Boise adventure
> had lots of folks in the "pack" from Bliss into
> Glenns Ferry ID ... but no issues that I saw from
> my vantage points in the "chase" or maybe the
> following as a more appropriate phrase. The UP
> Special agents were genuinely interested in
> people's impressions of the event ... I had
> several conversations with representatives that
> were not intimidating. The UP has a done good job
> in imho with balancing safety with this event and
> reaching out to the general public ... there were
> many seasoned 844 "followers" recording this trip,
> and I suspect there will be some new additions to
> the "hobby" and new memberships to Trainorders ...
> it has been a memorable event for me so far
>
> Odyssey,
> Evergreen, CO

Great! Glad to hear it all went well!, and no dis-respect intended towards T.O. members with my post...Especially glad to hear about how nice the RR security folks are!..In the 1990's, I was part of those cars Following the 844 or 3985, and witnessed a few near misses, on those same normally quiet highways along the tracks in Idaho.

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/17 00:37 by RailRat.