Steam & Excursion > Boise Turn - Ogden to Evanston

Ever since the Boise Turn trip was announced I've been trying to figure out how to chase some of the trip. Wasn't able to catch it through south eastern Idaho, and I couldn't swing time Tuesday to catch it coming in to Utah. But I made sure I was up and out the door this morning (after telling my boss I was taking the morning off) so I could chase the train at least as far as Echo Canyon. In fact, I had to chuckle during my planning last night; the background image on my computer is a picture of my dad, my kids, and me in front of 844 that last time. I was too tired to chase that next morning and I'm still kicking myself for skipping that chase. So I made sure I could chase this time, even if my 8 month old daughter had me up in the middle of the night the night before.

Made it to Ogden in plenty of time, snapped a couple of photos, stopped for breakfast, and set up in Uintah. When the train came along, I realized I had guessed wrong. The tracks through here were originally setup for left hand main running, though recently new signals have made each track bi-directional. So I scrambled for some grab shots and a short video clip. I made sure to get video this chase. I have pictures of 844 from other encounters, but not any video. And I wanted to get all the sights and sounds this time, especially to show my kids since they had to go to school and couldn't tag along.

I then joined the throngs and tried to get past the pace cars in Weber Canyon. I thought about setting up near Henefer (must have past Grande Gold about then) but pushed on to the bridges and tunnels at Taggart. Barely made it there in time to setup (my them for the day), they were pushing 844 right along this trip. After that, I got back in the line of traffic hoping to get to Echo, but the backup was so bad I missed that shot and pushed on. Later on, while in Evanston, I was talking to another guy and his son who were in the same traffic mess. He said the backup showed up on his google map, and it was keeping up with the train!

It was a beautiful spring day in Utah - partly sunny with clouds over the tallest peaks, snow flurries and fresh snow in places, cold wind, all the normal stuff! The cold made for excellent steam and I was lucky enough to have some sun every once in a while. Thank goodness I grabbed my warm coat when I left this morning. Here are some of the photos and videos from today's adventure. I decided to push my luck and go all the way to Evanston. I even considered chasing all the way to Green River, WY, but I knew I needed to get back to work and called it a day in Evanston. All in all, a great day to chase a steam engine.

1 - Oh crud, setup on the wrong track! Should have asked lee_uintah where to setup, his video is probably only a quarter mile from where I was setup - on the wrong track with a bunch of other people
2 - Taggert, I'm really glad I got photos and video here
3 - not quite the 405 in LA, but still a mess



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/17 00:34 by atsf121.

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4 - Since I couldn't catch up in time to grab a shot at Echo Canyon, I pushed on a finally got ahead of the pack and pulled off to find a large crowd at Castle Rock. There were people everywhere today. Told my wife that I was out chasing with a few hundred of my closest railfan buddies.
5 - Castle Rock
6 - Castle Rock glint, and a westbound UP manifest headed downhill towards Ogden

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7 - The DPU heads downhill as 844 continues to climb. This is only part of the crowd, a lot of folks had already sprinted back to their cars
8 - Climbing towards Wahsatch, was able to pace for a minute after this which is in the video
9 - Continuing with the "not quite ready" theme, I was trying to get a video of the train passing a signal and have the signal drop from green to red. But 844 was flying today and I couldn't get setup in time in Evanston. Had to run just to grab a couple of shots and this was the best I could do.

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10 - Crowds in Evanston. Think a lot of the kids I saw came of a school bus that was parked near the old depot
11 - Some snow leftover on the daffodils. The daffodils at my house are mostly done for the season
12 - And there she goes, 844 departing Evanston.

After the train left, I went and looked around the Roundhouse complex. I had seen some of the restoration work years ago, but I'm super impressed with what they have accomplished so far. It's going to be a great civic complex when it's all built out.

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And here are my video clips, apologies for the shakiness. I tried taking video with my iPhone and still photos with my DSLR. Sorta, kinda worked. But I'm really glad I got the videos, that's a first for me. Had a great day, and I should be in bed by now, but it's still too much fun to look at the pictures and listen to the sounds of a great steam engine. I'm looking forward to seeing UP steam return in 2019 for the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike.

1 - Ogden to Evanston - even snagged a photo of F40PHR231's engines at the Ogden museum
2 - 844 departing Evanston. I'm glad I moved over to the old freight platform, ended up with better spacing and fewer people in the video

Nathan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/17 01:33 by atsf121.

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Thanks for posting these. I especially like #5 and #6 with the condensation from the exhaust trailing behind.
Spencer Evans



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/17 05:19 by Searchlight.

I like the way you edit the start of each sequence. They really stand out.

JBOmaha

Great video Nathan. Reminds me of many of my trips up Weber and Echo canyons when I was on the crew. Those were always my favorite places to run. Every time we stopped in Evanston we always had a nice crowd of folks come out to see us. I also like the photo you took with the walk bridge in it as well.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

No diesel on the eastbound trip..........

NKP779 Wrote:
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> No diesel on the eastbound trip..........

As mentioned in this thread, the diesel was used from Pocatello to Boise, and then for the trip back to Pocatello to facilitate moving the 844 solo over the Malad River Bridge west of Gooding:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,4280298

Nice coverage!

Bob3985 Wrote:
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> Great video Nathan. Reminds me of many of my trips
> up Weber and Echo canyons when I was on the crew.
> Those were always my favorite places to run. Every
> time we stopped in Evanston we always had a nice
> crowd of folks come out to see us.

When was the last time the 844 went up the canyons without a diesel? I know she wasn't pulling much of a train but it was nice to see.

Posted from Android

Great pics and video/pic mixes! Well worth all your efforts! Thanks!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Thanks for sharing that wonderful footage. Too bad about all the goofballs standing on the tracks.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com