Nostalgia & History > UP DD35 ABB trio, but where?

Took this shot in April 1978, but can't pinpoint location .... always appreciate it when people tell me where I was, rather than where to go!

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Looks like "the middle of nowhere" or close to it. Cool shot though.-BMT

no clue location ... there are no handrail sandboxes on the rear "B" unit ...

Posted from Android

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
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> no clue location ... there are no handrail
> sandboxes on the rear "B" unit ...
>
> Posted from Android


Didn't notice that, checked other shots of B units and they don't have sandboxes either, could it be that they were only on one side of these units, or removed? The picture of 72B in the Second Diesel Spotters Guide (p. EMD-87) doesn't show sandboxes either.

Just a WAG but I'm thinking with a two track main in excellent condition
it reminds me of Nebraska, looking east around Paxton from an overpass
on a state or county road.

Larry Dodgion
Wilsonville, OR

Looks like there might have been a wye at this location once upon a time if that helps......

Looking East at Speer WY?

Looks like your at the top of the hill at Archer, WY off the overpass east of the "usual" Archer shot, looking east with snow on the ground. Two mainlines with a siding to the south.

Zach Green
Denver, CO

CPW548 Wrote:
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> Looks like your at the top of the hill at Archer,
> WY off the overpass east of the "usual" Archer
> shot, looking east with snow on the ground. Two
> mainlines with a siding to the south.
>
> Zach Green
> Denver, CO


Been quite a while since I've been there, but I seem to remember that the track was in a small cut as it went under the bridge. Along with many others, I took many shots looking west from track side, back when we literally sat in lawn chairs and photographed the eastbound parade.

I'm thinking this was somewhere farther east of Cheyenne than Archer, but that's the best I can do. Bruce Black and I did take a trip to Alliance in April of 1978 to visit 'fbe' and I'm thinking I took this shot on that trip.

valmont Wrote:
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> Took this shot in April 1978, but can't pinpoint
> location .... always appreciate it when people
> tell me where I was, rather than where to go!

Hi, Vince --

At 1st-glance, I wuz thinking the Chappell, Nebraska area....or somewhere near Julesburg, maybe.

BUT -- With the help of 'Google' maps, I'm pretty-sure (now!) it's at the old US Highway 30 overpass just east of Cheyenne, and adjacent to the present-day 'Sapp Bros.' truck-stop.

Pat from Littleton, Colorado :D

> Archer, WY off the overpass east of the
> "usual" Archer shot, looking east

That's the first place to check.
The curve in the distance is in the right
direction and the power line crossing the
tracks looks good too. Bet if you check
where the eastward siding was it will fit too.

Looks like the crop rows run N-S.

(Top map shows a bit of fill there-- no cut.)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/15 11:24 by timz.

Vince I think Zach nailed the location (hey, the guy's a professional surveyor and has crawled every inch of that part of WY...never doubt a pro!) because if you check out Google Earth, the curvature of the tracks, the location of the high voltage line and the track and road layouts all match your pic.

ATSF5669 Wrote:
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> Vince I think Zach nailed the location (hey, the
> guy's a professional surveyor and has crawled
> every inch of that part of WY...never doubt a
> pro!) because if you check out Google Earth, the
> curvature of the tracks, the location of the high
> voltage line and the track and road layouts all
> match your pic.


Yo Jerry, you sat in those lawn chairs I bet, with Barrett maybe. I will look for the slides!

OK, you guys have convinced me as to location, thank you! Understand that the old place we used to set up there is fenced off ...

Vince, my first description was a little fuzzy, trying to type on a laptop mounted in the passenger seat of truck in the middle of nowhere isn't much fun. Its the next overpass to the east from the classic upper reverse curve shot. From the classic spot you got the reverse curves climbing the hill towards Archer on eastbounds. Looking east from there you got the cut with old US30 (Pershing Blvd) and the dramatic dropoff the top of the hill. Jerry has an excellent westbound shot in CTC Board Sherman Hill issue of a pair of 6900's dropping down the hill coming under the bridge. This shot is from the newer overpass to the east, by Sapp Bros. Thanks Jerry, we need to go shoot there again with my dad and Barrett.

Zach Green
Denver, CO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/15 12:10 by CPW548.

valmont Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Out_Of_Service Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > no clue location ... there are no handrail
> > sandboxes on the rear "B" unit ...
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
>
> Didn't notice that, checked other shots of B units
> and they don't have sandboxes either, could it be
> that they were only on one side of these units, or
> removed? The picture of 72B in the Second Diesel
> Spotters Guide (p. EMD-87) doesn't show sandboxes
> either.

As far as I'm aware the UP patterned those boxes on the DDA40X's sand boxes after years of sand leaks on the DD35's. a quick check on Don Strack's site shows that in 1975 they all received modification to the electrical systems and outside sand boxes.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/15 13:03 by Frame-5.

I dunno, but check out the high tension lines, those aren't real common out that way,
might be East of Paxton, lines from the Gerald Gentleman power plant.

Out

callum_out Wrote:
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> I dunno, but check out the high tension lines,
> those aren't real common out that way,
> might be East of Paxton, lines from the Gerald
> Gentleman power plant.
>
> Out


US 30 is pretty tight along the UP in that area .... now I'm beginning to wonder if those HT lines could be coming from as far away as the Pawnee Power Plant just south of Brush, CO?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/15 15:15 by valmont.

That would be the other possibility, glad I'm not the only one who forgets locations.

Out

CPW548 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vince, my first description was a little fuzzy,
> trying to type on a laptop mounted in the
> passenger seat of truck in the middle of nowhere
> isn't much fun. Its the next overpass to the east
> from the classic upper reverse curve shot. From
> the classic spot you got the reverse curves
> climbing the hill towards Archer on eastbounds.
> Looking east from there you got the cut with old
> US30 (Pershing Blvd) and the dramatic dropoff the
> top of the hill. Jerry has an excellent westbound
> shot in CTC Board Sherman Hill issue of a pair of
> 6900's dropping down the hill coming under the
> bridge. This shot is from the newer overpass to
> the east, by Sapp Bros. Thanks Jerry, we need to
> go shoot there again with my dad and Barrett.
>
> Zach Green
> Denver, CO

I just took another look at Google Earth, and although it's been a long time since I took the shot, it sure looks like you nailed it.

> the high tension lines,
> those aren't real common out that way

They're on the topo map.

> US 30 is pretty tight along the UP

Looks like the pic was taken from US 30.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=41.1593,-104.663&hl=en&sll=41.159303,-104.663004&sspn=0.001674,0.002411&t=k&z=17



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/15 17:49 by timz.