Nostalgia & History > Maroon Monday: Herington crew change

It’s amazing what a little bit of image file house keeping will turn up. Here are a couple of 3 year old Rock Island slide scans that only got Picasa for a dress up. But I think the roughness of the photo-editing only enhances the misery of the scene. This Herington, KS crew change is very late in the game. The Mighty Fine Line has less than a month to live…

1. Surrounded by weeds the old limestone Rock Island freighthouse watches eastbound train #14 A-02 approach from the Golden State Route.

2. CRI&P 4324 pulls up to a stop in front of the same ghostly freighthouse at Walnut St for an eventual crew change.
(2 photos taken in Herington, KS on March 4, 1980)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/22 04:10 by santafe199.

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Very nice.
JB

The weather, the freight house, the unwashed locomotives, and the dusty looking scenery add up to make these "last days of the Rock Island" photos so sad.
Bob

Great photos, Lance.  Thanks for posting them.
Tim Costello

anything exist here today?

Steve

Interesting that they cut away from the train to make the crew change.  Wonder if there was another road xing back there that had to be cut?

Bob

bluesboyst Wrote: >... anything exist here today?
The main tracks are still in the same basic configuration, the freighthouse is gone and the crossing was eliminated, replaced by an overpass. 

bobdavis Wrote: > ... Interesting that they cut away from the train...
I don't recall this crew cutting away from the train. That curve around to the right is fairly sharp, and I'm pretty sure the train is together. It was probably a situation where the outbound crew was several minutes away from being able to climb aboard...

Lance/199



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/16 11:28 by santafe199.

bobdavis Wrote:
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> Interesting that they cut away from the train to
> make the crew change.  Wonder if there was
> another road xing back there that had to be cut?
>
> Bob  

In shot 2 it appears that there is the corner of a car just visible after the last unit, of what I guess is a 3 unit set. Also in shot one, it looks like Rock Cars in the blue paint first out behind the power.  Ben

Probably took 2 crews to get this train to Herington from Pratt, since about half that distance was mostly 10mph running due to an FRA mandate.  FRA found out half the wood ties were beyond their 30 year lifespan.  By the time SSW took full control it was more like 3/4 of the distance was 10mph. 


Allen

Yes, a closer look - my old eyes aren't what they used to be! - does show a car of some type behind the three units.

Bob