Steam & Excursion > My Contribution of UP 4014 (Rawlins to Cheyenne)

Greetings!

Hopefully you are not too sick of shots of UP 4014 just yet. 

I took last Friday off from work and stayed the night at a hotel in Rawlins, WY Thursday night. Friday morning, the chase from Rawlins to Cheyenne started! Wyoming is always windy, but Friday was especially so. Partly cloud skies had clouds blowing in and out of scenes pretty rapidly, so it was interesting at time trying to pivot for the quickly changing light.

1. On of my  favorite shots came right out of the gate. After departing Rawlins, WY about 20 minutes earlier, UP 4014 and train are crossing the North Platte river at Fort Steele on Main 2, making its way east toward its home in Cheyenne.

2. As it typically the case, UP 4014 attracted a large crowd chasing it. Additionally, a boatload of people showed up at Medicine Bow to watch the train make one of two scheduled stops between Rawlins and Cheyenne. In this shot, you can see several of the people gathered, watching, as the train approaches from the west on Main 2.

3. After most cloudy skies for the past two hours, it was nice when a little sunshine broke through as a Z-train on Main 1 overtakes UP 4014, stopped on Main 2 for its scheduled stop. The Z-train approached at 40 MPH, offering a lot of "bell and whistle" for all the folks along the right-of-way. UP police were also on the scene, making sure to keep people back from the Big Boy and both main tracks.

to be continued...


 

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

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4. Some nice light broke through for what of the better shots of the day as UP 4014 and train pass through the OS at CP W601 on Main 2, passing by a short MOW crew that is working on Main 1. The tiny town just barely visible in the distance in Rock River, WY, with a population of 211.

5. The Big Boy crosses over the Laramie River on Main 2, right around eight miles north of its next stop in the fourth-largest city in Wyoming, Laramie. As you can see, UP 4014 attracted dozens of railfans out to capture some shots on the journey east to Cheyenne.

6. I have always been a little bit fascinated by Hermosa Tunnel. It is one of only a handful of tunnels on UP's Overland Route, and certainly the most famous. The double-bore tunnel is just shy of 2,000 feet in length, running through relatively soft dirt near the top of Sherman Hill. I was happy I had the chance to capture UP 4014 and train approaching the west portal of the tunnel on Main 1, on its return journey to home (Cheyenne).

to be continued...

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

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7. UP 4014 and train are currently running on the Borie Cutoff, rather than on Mains 1 or 2, which you can see in the distance. This stretch of track is roughly five miles long, and connects Speer Jct (southwest of Cheyenne) with the Overland Route. Trains coming up the Greeley Sub from Denver that are headed west, and have no stop in Cheyenne, will take this track. Same with their eastbound counterparts. Here, the Big Boy will run to Speer Jct and make a reverse move from Speer to the yard at Cheyenne.

8. The Big Boy is leaving the wye at Speer Jct behind, pulling onto the single track main of the Greeley Sub. Right here, the tracks cross over BNSF's Front Range Subdivision. A northbound BNSF manifest was actually not too far off, but the timing was not quite right for an "over/under" shot.

9. A bit of a photo line formed here at Speer, getting shots of UP 4014 and train as they make a reverse move back along the southeast leg of the wye at Speer Jct. The train will cross over to Main 3, and continue a reverse move all the way to the yard at Cheyenne.

to be continued...

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

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10. After nearly a month on the road, UP 4014 and the steam crew are nearing the end of the first half of their semiquincentennial journey. The train is backing up on Main 3, and will back into the yard to drop their covered hopper off, before heading to the roundhouse.

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I'm am 100% a photographer at heart, and not a videographer. However, while at Hermosa, couldn't resist setting up my iPhone on the tripod and getting video of the Big Boy as it approached the tunnel on Main 1. Forgive the crazy winds! But...welcome to Wyoming!

That's a wrap from me. Thanks for looking.

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/26 14:53 by ColoradoRailfan.

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Fine coverage here of 4014.  That video is also great.  Thanks for being there with a camera.

   Kevin, is access alowed to the tunnels now, or did you disguise yourself as a jackalope?

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO.

Great series Kevin!
Like that storm light at Cheyenne.

great show,  you may have been the sole drone flyer?

tehachcond Wrote:
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>    Kevin, is access alowed to the tunnels now,
> or did you disguise yourself as a jackalope?
>
> Brian Black
> Castle Rock, CO.

It seems that UP is a way more lenient when Big Boy runs. I've never tried going to the the tunnels for a "normal" day of railfanning. But for 4014 (in both directions) on this trip, I actually saw a MOW guy and asked if it was okay to proceed to Hermosa from Tie Siding. In both instances, he said it was totally fine, just be careful!

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/26 16:23 by ColoradoRailfan.

dan Wrote:
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> great show,  you may have been the sole drone
> flyer?

Yeah, I didn't see many folks in the air thanks to the wind. In several spots, I didn't even launch as I felt the wind was too strong. I have an anemometer (measures wind speed) that I keep in the car with me. Each location I stopped, I'd check to see the maximum wind gusts for that location. If it was low enough, I'd go ahead and take off.

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/26 16:29 by ColoradoRailfan.

what were the speeds you were getting?   someone said they thought it was 65 mph , trucks start blowing over  thou



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/26 16:30 by dan.

dan Wrote:
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> what were the speeds you were getting? 

Depends on where I was at. I never launched if I got winds exceeded 30 MPH. I would take a measurement for 30-60 seconds, tracking the max speed. Several spots (where I didn't launch), I measured gusts of 50+ MPH. I also never went too far away from where I launched, and made sure there was a (relatively) easy path to where I was a hovering for a shot...so I could perform reconnaissance if the worst happened. :)

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/26 16:31 by ColoradoRailfan.

There's hope for you yet - video and aerial images worked out great.  Marvelous coverage.

ColoradoRailfan Wrote:

> =================
> I'm am 100% a photographer at heart, and not a
> videographer. However, while at Hermosa, couldn't
> resist setting up my iPhone on the tripod and
> getting video of the Big Boy as it approached the
> tunnel on Main 1. Forgive the crazy winds!
 

Really like that first one

Posted from iPhone

Nice work Kevin! 

Fun day. 

Great series Kevin, thanks for sharing. 

Great series of shots Kevin! The video at Hermosa Tunnels was a bonus, too. Thanks for sharing.. Might we some some of it at the Roundtable meeting next month?

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

A very fine series with choice locations. It will be tough to get wide open shots here in Western PA. If it makess it out east. But I will be thrilled to see the Big Boy and any pictures I get will be Ok with me.
John

Excellent work, Kevin. The drone shots give a fresh perspective. Like the Hermosa Tunnel video especially. Thanks much.

MC

GREAT stuff..!!  Thanks for posting.