Nostalgia & History > Nasty Weather at Flagstaff

Amtrak's "Southwest Chief" #4 is caught departing the Santa Fe station at Flagstaff, Arizona. A nasty storm front, proceeding from the west will chase #4 east out of town and catch up before it reaches the scheduled station stop at Winslow...

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The engineer of Santa Fe's "Flag Switcher" adjusts his mirrors for the days duties. On this particular day, the crew worked around the Flagstaff yard area, switched Purina at East Flagstaff and traded ballast empties for loads at the big cinder pit at the tail end of a long spur from Darling (don't forget Winona) Arizona.

James

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Nice shot of No. 4, nice consist on him, F40, P32 and the old MHCs when Amtrak was going good, and the front showed up even before he hit 90 after Darling on Main 2? Amazing!

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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> the front showed up even before he hit 90 after
> Darling on Main 2? Amazing!

Wow! The track speed for passenger was 90 mph east of Darling?

GrandeGold Wrote:
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> ProAmtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > the front showed up even before he hit 90
> after
> > Darling on Main 2? Amazing!
>
> Wow! The track speed for passenger was 90 mph
> east of Darling?
>
>
Yah, it was hard to hold it to ninety on that stretch:)

Bob

in the early 1970s, as a college student, i was privileged to ride the cab of some santa fe trains between seligman and winslow. once, eastbound on no. 2 (san fran chief) around canyon diablo, the hogger looked over to the fireman's side and shouted that we were doing in excess of 100 mph. this was when the posted track speed was 90 mph for passenger. power was fp45s. bygone days. eljay

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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> Nice shot of No. 4, nice consist on him, F40, P32
> and the old MHCs


LOL, looking at how you timed the shutter in the photo, I didn't know Amtrak ran freight trains to the west coast!

GrandeGold Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ProAmtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > the front showed up even before he hit 90
> after
> > Darling on Main 2? Amazing!
>
> Wow! The track speed for passenger was 90 mph
> east of Darling?
>
>
>


Still is I think. It's 90 all the way thru depending on what track ur on. With stretches of 79

Right ATS, it does depend on that, but I know thanks to the CTC on the West side of the Seligman sub the ATS area between Kingman and Needles, both mains are ATS 90 for both directions, and I saw that 1ST hand back in June taking a rest at Exit 9 off the 40 after driving out of the Antelope Valley in a U-Haul truck and seeing both 4 and 3 race through there at that speed and the conductor on a freight, waiting to get into Needles, having a shock when 4 raced by, and all he said to No. 3 when he went by (after meeting 4 at the Fanconia Crossovers) "All Black No. 3!"