Nostalgia & History > Leaning in at Lawrence

As I was preparing some Union Pacific slide scans for our 2nd annual Kansas Gang Shootout slide (& digital image) show & spaghetti dinner, I noticed an odd feature about a shot that I took in 1977 that had escaped my attention for the previous 35-some years. The train order stand at the Lawrence depot is leaning in at the exact same angle as the train. Coincidence? Maybe. Anyone care to provide an answer? Maybe just some speculation? If not, then just enjoy one of the endless little ironies this hobby can provide...

1. UP 2826 on an EB manifest at Lawrence, KS on September 14, 1977.

Thanks for leaning my way!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/22 23:43 by santafe199.

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"Lean on me, when ya need somethin' strong..." It's amazing what someone finds in a picture after a year...or 35.

an unintended consequence of Lionel magne-traction

The leaning train order sign of Lawrence, maybe like the leaning Tower of Pisa?? Nice shot!

santafe199 Wrote:
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> The train order stand at the Lawrence depot is leaning
> in at the exact same angle as the train.
> Coincidence? Maybe. Anyone care to provide an
> answer? Maybe just some speculation?

Guessing...it corresponds to the degree of superelevation on the curve so that crew members wouldn't have an abnormally long distance to reach for orders.

Bill G.

And many times those were hard to find, on the caboose at 30 or 40 mph at night, lantern in one hand with the other hand extended to catch the string in basically an un-lite area. Operator Keith Bunker in Abilene stuck a piece of reflectorized tape on the mast so the crews could find it easier at night.
Brian Stevens

valmont Wrote:
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> an unintended consequence of Lionel magne-traction

Thanks for providing my "Laff of the Day" !!

Craig

Always thought the U30C/C30-7 looked really good in UP yellow.

Regards
Q-GP30

Omg, Lance. OMG. Check out this before and after, with my shot from 2012 added below.

Other than the yellow UP GE on the point at the same location, there's the CNW hopper, followed by a UP-family reefer, followed by a solid grey ACF hopper. Wow!

OK, maybe I'm just irrationally excited about this, but that's quite the coincidence with the two images being 35 years removed.

- Jeff

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Q-GP30 Wrote:
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> Always thought the U30C/C30-7 looked really good
> in UP yellow.
>
It would be a U30C, and it did look good in yellow.

Very nice pic, Lance. Thanks for sharing that. I always liked the U30Cs in yellow. I also liked GEs back then when they were sort of a novelty. How about you visit Lawrence some time and get a more recent picture there? If you've been to Lawrence lately you know a lot has changed since 1977. The UP depot is now a visitor center and a big iron fence has been erected from the underpass west of the depot to the first grade crossing east of the deopt. But you can still get that shot. I did so by dragging a picnic table over next to the fence and standing on it. No trouble shooting over the fence then. You can also go down to the underpass and get a shot where the fence ends.

WichitaJct Wrote:
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You can also go down to the underpass
> and get a shot where the fence ends.

Yeah, check out my post about two or three up from here.

- Jeff