Steam & Excursion > Milwaukee 261 14 years ago.

About 14 years ago I went over to Wisconsin to get a look at Milwaukee 261, take some shots, and do a bit of chasing.

1. US Milwaukee WI 2008-08-15 18:04 4298 MILW-261 I got up there on the 14 and just spent time drooling over the engine. The next day was the first fantrip. We see the engine approaching the passenger loading area.

2. US Milwaukee WI 2008-08-15 18:26 4309 MILW-261 Hey! Did this as a kid, and again years later as a dad. Some of us only needed to see and hear one of these once or twice to know that they possessed magic and should be watched whenever possible.

3. US Milwaukee WI 2008-08-15 18:27 4323 MILW-261 He's on the way. I shudda chased this one, but I skipped, not knowing the territory.

---

---

---

Excellent photos.
Thanks for sharing them.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Love the third shot.  Massive engine and a big bridge.  Not to mention not showing the water car or that box behind it.

One has to wonder why dad and the boy have to stand so close to the tracks to watch.  They could see just as well standing back another couple of feet and wouldn't have to worry about getting hit by a train going the other way. 

They are not concerned about any other train. On several occasions I had to meet with the surviving family of one struck by a train. They could not understand how such a thing could happen nor even begin to explain why their loved one had not taken just a basic precaution. I never knew it to happen to a railfan.  

ExStarlightHog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One has to wonder why dad and the boy have to
> stand so close to the tracks to watch.  They
> could see just as well standing back another
> couple of feet and wouldn't have to worry about
> getting hit by a train going the other way. 

Westbound Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They are not concerned about any other train. On
> several occasions I had to meet with the surviving
> family of one struck by a train. They could not
> understand how such a thing could happen nor even
> begin to explain why their loved one had not taken
> just a basic precaution. I never knew it to happen
> to a railfan.  
>
> ExStarlightHog Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > One has to wonder why dad and the boy have to
> > stand so close to the tracks to watch.  They
> > could see just as well standing back another
> > couple of feet and wouldn't have to worry about
> > getting hit by a train going the other way. 
As a former "rail", standing in the clear is a no-brainer, but obviously the general public doesn't see it that way.  Too bad because it would be so easy to not be a train/human collision statistic.  It makes you wonder what ever happened to common sense?  You don't have to be a "rail" to realize you could be killed by a passing train if you're too close to the track. 

ExStarlightHog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One has to wonder why dad and the boy have to
> stand so close to the tracks to watch.  They
> could see just as well standing back another
> couple of feet and wouldn't have to worry about
> getting hit by a train going the other way. 

Some people know.  Some people should know even more.
When the UP 844 was on tour celebrating some Union Pacific anniversary a few years ago in Iowa, I was shooting some video of the special train in a suburban town.  One excited (but careless) railfan failed to notice an approaching freight train coming from the opposite direction.  The railfan stood on the adjacent tracks to waive at the passengers.  But, complicating the loud scene was an approaching freight train on a tight curve.  Even though the freight engineer laid on his horn, the aging railfan failed to notice the problem.  The only thing that saved the railfan's life was a passenger on the 844 train.   That passenger yelled and pointed toward the rapidly approaching freight train.  Without that prompt action, my video footage would have been needed for a police investigation.
Ron