Steam & Excursion > 4014 Farewell to SoCal on the Sunset Route

Tuesday Oct. 15, 4014 bid farewell to SoCal as it headed for an overnight stop at Yuma and then for points east and eventually north.  Although the number of chasers and pacers was far more than I anticipated between Beaumont and Niland, I was satisfied with the few shots that I did manage to capture.

Thanks for looking,
GK

1.  The train is eastbound as photographed from the Centennial Bridge in Beaumont.

2.  Rounding the curve at Cabazon with some smoke.

3.  Approaching the service stop at Indio.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/19 13:33 by TheNavigator.

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4.  After stopping at Indio, 4014 is on the move between Mecca and Mortmar in one of those few instances where I actually got the image I wanted (wide angle, 4014, train, date palms in the background).

5.  Meeting 6262 West during the service stop at Niland.

6.  This was only a portion of the crowd at Niland. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/19 13:34 by TheNavigator.

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7.  On the move out of Niland for Yuma.

8.  The next morning (Wednesday) at Fortuna, AZ with small American flags above the pilot.

9.  Steaming into the sunrise at Fortuna bound for Tucson, El Paso, and more.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/19 13:36 by TheNavigator.

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Good stuff, so I'll ask again, how'se the shoofly around the sinkhole?

Out

Very nice..!!

Yesterday, TV station KTVK, Ch. 3 here in Phoenix ran a 'promo' prior to the evening news that showed a
clip of 4014 taken from either a drone or possibly a helicopter. The view was of the left side of the engine
while moving at speed and I was surprised to see what appeared to be Ed Dickens sitting behind the fireman.

Looking at your photo No. 3, I see someone other than Ed is running 4014 as it approached Indio. I'm just a casual
observer here and it's entirely possible that this person has been mentioned in other forums as an additional engineer
on the 4014 team but I don't recall seeing anyone other than Ed occupying the engineers seat while the engine is moving. 
I'm not trying to start another flame war here but will someone please identify the 'other' engineer or any of the other 
engineers on the 4014 team. The entire team merits their own 15 minutes of fame.

I have been unable to find that 'promo' clip on KTVK's web page; only the 1:12 feature shown here with comments by Ed and
some other observers during a service stop at Gila Bend en route from Yuma to Tucson. Here's the feature:

https://www.azfamily.com/news/historic-steam-locomotive-rolls-through-arizona/article_ceda013c-f038-11e9-a834-db82723265a0.html

I suppose the 'promo' could have been some stock footage but I kind of doubt that.

Charlie 








 

great photos gary
  Ed reed

Really NICE and enjoyable series!

Larry

Charlie -

That looks like Ted Schulte, who was the UP844's engineer back in May, on the westbound doubleheader. He can also be seen sitting in UP4014's engineer's seat, in Photo 6. I chatted with him briefly at West Colton last Saturday, before he climbed up into UP4014's cab, sitting down in the fireman's jump seat, before the train left for Barstow. Also; I am 85% sure that in Photo 5, standing on top of the front ladder of the Centipede tender, is Austin Barker, the lead fireman for UP4014 "Big Boy" last weekend. I also agree that the "UP Steam Locomotive Crew", 35 of them on the excursion(s) last weekend, deserve a lot more than 15 minutes of fame... they clearly are proud of their jobs - from the Alemite gunners, on up to manager and UP4014 engineer Ed Dickens. And a big applause goes to the 12 volunteer Car Attendants, including TO member SR "Boiling Man" Bush, for their dutiful hosting of the revenue cars last weekend.

(SP)2472 Don,
Manoa Valley, O'ahu

cewherry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yesterday, TV station KTVK, Ch. 3 here in Phoenix
> ran a 'promo' prior to the evening news that
> showed a
> clip of 4014 taken from either a drone or possibly
> a helicopter. The view was of the left side of
> the engine
> while moving at speed and I was surprised to see
> what appeared to be Ed Dickens sitting behind the
> fireman.
>
> Looking at your photo No. 3, I see someone other
> than Ed is running 4014 as it approached
> Indio. I'm just a casual
> observer here and it's entirely possible that this
> person has been mentioned in other forums as an
> additional engineer
> on the 4014 team but I don't recall seeing anyone
> other than Ed occupying the engineers seat while
> the engine is moving. 
> I'm not trying to start another flame war here but
> will someone please identify the 'other' engineer
> or any of the other 
> engineers on the 4014 team. The entire team merits
> their own 15 minutes of fame.
>
> I have been unable to find that 'promo' clip on
> KTVK's web page; only the 1:12 feature shown here
> with comments by Ed and
> some other observers during a service stop at Gila
> Bend en route from Yuma to Tucson. Here's the
> feature:
>
> https://www.azfamily.com/news/historic-steam-locom
> otive-rolls-through-arizona/article_ceda013c-f038-
> 11e9-a834-db82723265a0.html
>
> I suppose the 'promo' could have been some stock
> footage but I kind of doubt that.
>
> Charlie 
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/19 17:50 by 2472Don.

2472Don Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charlie -
>
> That looks like Ted Schulte, who was the UP844's
> engineer back in May, on the westbound
> doubleheader. He can also be seen sitting in
> UP4014's engineer's seat, in Photo 6. I chatted
> with him briefly at West Colton last Saturday,
> before he climbed up into UP4014's cab, sitting
> down in the fireman's jump seat, before the train
> left for Barstow. Also; I am 85% sure that in
> Photo 5, standing on top of the front ladder of
> the Centipede tender, is Austin Barker, the lead
> fireman for UP4014 "Big Boy" last weekend.
>
> (SP)2472 Don,
> Manoa Valley, O'ahu
>
Thanks Don. It's always nice to connect a name to a face. 

Charlie

Thanks Gary for sharing, Great series

When I chased the Big Boy south out of Provo, UT the other week, I noticed Ed was sitting behind the engineer. Makes sense that it was the engineer of 844 in May. I remember watching the 844 engineer sit back and relax with a snack after arriving in Ogden in May while Ed was doing interviews. It’s amazing how many people it takes to support the steam program and get them over the road.

I assume the steam crews have to follow the same hour of service rules, do they get any exceptions?

Great photos, hope 4014 will be back in California again.

Posted from iPhone

Nice ending to a long journey!

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good stuff, so I'll ask again, how'se the shoofly
> around the sinkhole?
>
> Out

I didn't hear a slow order on the UP for the mud pot, but, that's not to say there wasn't one.  It appeared the main was back in service with no shoofly.  Also, Hwy 111 was open in both directions through the area.  Highway construction crew and equipment were working on site, as well as UP MoW equipment and crew.
GK

As I recall Ed and Ted are (or were) the only two licensed engineers. Austin is the Chief Mechanical Foreman and lead fireman. And that is Austin standing in the gangway in photo number 5. The crew will have a break at the halfway point to come home and then return to finish the rest of the tour and i nwish them all a safe journey.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/19 07:04 by Bob3985.

Bob3985 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As I recall Ed and Ted are (or were) the only two
> licensed engineers. Austin is the Chief Mechanical
> Foreman and lead fireman. And that is Austin
> standing in the gangway in photo number 5. The
> crew will have a break at the halfway point to
> come home and then return to finish the rest of
> the tour and i nwish them all a safe journey

Bob I always appreciate the class and knowledge that you display everytime you comment. Thanks for sharing your rr wisdom with us as well! You are true gentleman!

Posted from Android

Gray great set of photos .

Dave Dodds
San Dimas, CA

TheNavigator Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for looking,
> GK

Thanks for posting this and the Sunday run. Nice light and compositions!

I made travel plans before the 4014 schedule was posted, so I wasn't able to participate in the chase in your territory.