Passenger Trains > #4 at Winslow

2 hr late Amtrak coming into Winslow AZ this morning.  Was hoping for a rolling meet with that departing westbound but no such luck.

Andy

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Nice catch!

Last coach is a Sufliner passenger car. I believe there's a refurb program they are going to somewhere in the Chicago area (or Midwest)?

Pretty stark landscape to the West!

Nice.  Three  coaches?  Looks  rhirsty  out  there.

I'd guess Beech Grove.

Talgo is doing it in Milwaukee.

Winslow exists pretty much because the Little Colorado was the only place even near where there was a water source, so that was necessary to get the railroad there.  It's uphill all the way to the Arizona Divide (7335') from here, too.   There's a whole lot of flat in both directions, but running west about 25 miles you hit the start of the pine forest around Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks - which in the west shot, you can see literally 50 miles away.  Headed east, pretty much just flat running, high desert plateau but yes it gets snow.

But it was still so dry that it was a wartime priority to use the EMD FT's here, this was the first major full steam-to-diesel transition location I think in the US where it happened mostly due to the scarcity of water in the region.   Historically, ATSF had a big fleet of water tank cars until dieselization.

Great shot! I was in Winslow almost two months ago-I stayed at the La Posada Inn with a friend. We were very blessed to have the constant parade of BNSF trains. Winslow has a pretty cool downtown area, although many of the residential areas need improvement. I think after I-40 was built, things started to go downhill with public safety in WLO. Back to the trains-I don't know when I will be in WLO next(probably not soon)-I would love to get some railfanning done at the street overpass just west of the populated areas in Winslow. I think next time I plan to do any railfanning on the Transcon in Arizona, it will be Flagstaff.

Cool shots, that last pic with no. 4 meeting 2 Westbounds, not bad, but I hear ya, a rolling meet would've been great!

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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> Nice.  Three  coaches?  Looks  rhirsty  out
>  there.

I think the rear California car is a deadhead.  

Thanks all for the kind remarks!  We were sure pleased with this catch.

Andy

randgust Wrote:

> It's uphill all the way to the Arizona Divide (7335') from here, too. 
> There's a whole lot of flat in both directions,

???

Winslow (MP 285.5 at 4951 feet elevation), is the low point between the Continental Divide near Gonzales, NM (roughly MP 129.8X at 7227 feet on the north track, MP 130.4 at 7249 feet on the south track) and the Arizona Divide at Riordan, AZ (MP 350.8 at 7354 feet).  Necessarily, the grades west of Winslow toward the Arizona Divide are steeper, topping out around 1.42% compensated, versus those to the east, which only exceed 1% briefly on the south track in the last few miles before the Continental Divide.

Great first shot!

RC Lundgren
Elgin, TX

AndyBrown Wrote:
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> cutboy1958 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice.  Three  coaches?  Looks  rhirsty
>  out
> >  there.
>
> I think the rear California car is a
> deadhead.  
>
> Thanks all for the kind remarks!  We were sure
> pleased with this catch.
>
> Andy

It's a CA Pacific Surfliner Coach that is heading to Milwaukee area for overhaul........

An elevation profile of the ATSF west for reference, from the October 1964 Official Guide.

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The Eastbound climb's more challenging coming out of Topok!

Thanks Evan.

I posted that info 825 am 5/13. about the DH Surfliner.