Nostalgia & History > Comm-code lines' greatest hits (vol 2)

Date: 08/23/22 07:25
Comm-code lines' greatest hits (vol 2)
Author: santafe199

Here are 3 more shots with that former photographic nemesis some of us are now missing. The captions reveal some interesting snippets:

1. AT&SF 5092 + 3 is westbound on a hotshot, probably train 188 or 189. I’ve stationed myself underneath the pole lines to get this shot at Ellinor, KS on October 13, 1980. The train is on the 4th District main next to the siding. On the far left you can just make out the 1st District main track running to Newton. This train will run down through the Kansas Flint Hills to Augusta & Mulvane on its path to the crew change point at Wellington. I don’t remember if I set up here on purpose, or if the train just plain snuck up on me. Either way these pole lines I used to curse are now a significant piece of Santa Fe history. Like the searchlight signals, we’ll never see them again...

2. I’m riding SFe waycar 999259 on train 288-R-1 with conductor Richard Spencer. I'm shooting through a slightly crusted waycar window as we are running around an unknown manifest, probably a Texas-bound train with AT&SF 3681 on point. This train came out of Merrick (Emporia) on the south main track, and is still moving. It will stop at the west end of Ellinor, KS on the 4th District main. My 288 hotshot came out of Merrick (Emporia) on the north main track and we will proceed through the crossover here at Ellinor and run around them through the 4th District siding. Photo date: March 19, 1984.

In addition to a slightly unusual run-around circumstance, I was able to record the after-effects of an ice storm. You can’t miss the heavy coating of ice on the pole lines as we overtake this train.

3. AT&SF 8738 on train 473 Z-1 at Walton, KS on January 27, 1980. We’ll see the ‘away’ version in a later thread as this train takes the siding. With 6 cross-arms you just know this a main trunk of company communications.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/22 20:01 by santafe199.