Nostalgia & History > A Difference -- Eastern vs. Western Train Photography

One frustration I have had with eastern U.S. train photography is that it is difficult to find places where you can get away from the train to photograph it, i.e., you don't have to stand within a several feet of the tracks. That's not the case in the west as these Santa Fe photos show.

1. AT&SF B40-8W 528, SD45-2u 5803, GP60 4031, and GP60M 117 in Cajon Pass, CA on March 6, 1994.

2. AT&SF 929 and 4028 eastbound east of Amboy, CA on October 30, 1994. 929 was a year old C40-8W which became BNSF 929 and 4026 was a a GP60 built in July 1989 and became BNSF 8726.

3. AT&SF GP38u 2310 north of Palmer Lake, CO on October 3, 1992. She became BNSF 2200.

4. I found this one east of Kingman, AZ on October 19, 1994.

5. This westbound was at West Pegs, NM on October 28, 1994.


Enjoy,
Marty Bernard

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I've also noticed over the years that Western trains are much cleaner (even the old SP) that East coast trains, which almost always look filthy.
Must have been all the coal they used for everything back there. We lived a block from a coal fired power plant in upscale Alexandria VA during the early 1980s and I had
to wash the crud off my car every week.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA