While working the day shift Fort Worth Terminal Dispatcher position, I noticed in the cameras that the lead unit on the Southbound Amtrak Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City was the red-nosed heritage unit No. 156.  It had been a while since I had photographed trains.  In fact, I have not taken a train picture since last summer.  With the impending relocation of Main 2 between South Haslet and Lambert two miles to the west, motivation struck me and I decided it was time to dust off the cameras and get back into the sport!

The day was sunny and perfect for photography.  I thought I would go for a shot of the heritage unit rolling over the bridge just south of Highway 114 with classic "Santa Fe" lettering painted in white on the black steel girder.

At train time, a line of clouds had rolled in and the brilliantly lit shot I had in mind was not so brilliant. So I did a little exploring and decided to photograph the northbound Heartland Flyer, train No. 822, in the curve at North Haslet just north of the Intermodal Parkway grade crossing. 

By the end of the summer the rails on main two will be cut forever to allow expansion of the runway at Alliance Airport.  The new main currently under construction is located about two miles to the west of this location...on the other side of Alliance Yard.

Leading the train was the gutted carcass of what was formerly Amtrak F40PH 222.  Reincarnated as NPCU (Non-Powered Control Unit) No. 90222, the little cab-control car sure made plenty of noise at the grade crossing announcing the train's passage!

As was anticipated, Amtrak P42DC No. 156 wearing the "Phase I" heritage paint scheme was powering the train from the rear.  Today's train had the standard three-car Superliner consist between the NPCU and the locomotive.  For more information about the Amtrak heritage units, visit the Amtrak History Page on their website.

I had failed to get the shot of Amtrak 156 next to the large American Airlines logo on the side of the hangar.  The shot still being in my mind, I decided to get ahead of this slow moving consist and try again.  Back at the Intermodal Parkway grade crossing at North Haslet, I got the following sequence of photos of the three new GE's heading home.  Once this main is severed at the new runway, new GE deliveries will have to run north from the GE plant to Lambert and then back towards Alliance on Main 1 or the new main from there.

There was still enough light for one more sequence.  The power would continue south to South Haslet where it would then travel northward into Alliance Yard on Main 1 which is on a completely different alignment.  There is a small park with a jogging trail and a disk frisbee course next to the tracks just south of the small town of Haslet, TX.  The below scenes were taken from this location.

- G-DQKC-02 at Page passing tied down empty grain train G-IHKCS-27:

Another blue-and-yellow duo--ICE 6450 and DME 6094--were worked heavily on a number of assignments.       

- ICE 6450/DME 6094 pass through the Heavener fuel rack en route to deliver interchange to the AOK at Howe:

- After delivering to the AOK, ICE 6450/DME 6094 were brought back to Heavener and used to power up northbound empty grain train G-HVUP-02 seen here at Poteau:

- The previous day, the ICE 6450/DME 6094 trailed BNSF ES44AC 5778 on empty grain train G-DQBN-29:

And ICE 6446 trailed a colorful 5-unit consist on train M-SHKC-30 seen here blasting through Poteau:

Chris

In May 1996 a trip was made to Jackson and Vicksburg to witness the UP Olympic Torch relay special on the Meridian Speedway.  The train was led by UP SD40-2s 1896 and 1996 in a special Olympic livery.

Recently I handed a roll of slides to my father to scan.  This image of the UP special on the KCS crossing the IC main tracks at Jackson, MS was the only slide of this train I had taken.  The rest of the pictures I took on this day were prints.  I'll have to get them scanned and added at a later date.

If memory serves me correctly, my brother Steven, Patrick Harris, and Kurt Nastasi were along for the ride on this venture!

You can visit Wikipedia for more on this trip.

So, I will start this photo essay with a single photo:

CMP

From: CMP
To: Photo Distribution List
Subject: KCS Oklahoma Trip - G-KCHQS-30
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 13:21:04 -0500



This past weekend I took a break and spent a couple of days shooting the KCS on/near Rich Mountain.  This is the first time I have been up there to shoot trains, so all was new to me.  Rich Mountain was a bit more difficult to shoot than I had anticipated due to LOTS of trees with few openings.  The railroad north of Heavener is just as fun to shoot, however, and much more accessible.

When all was done, 26 KCS trains were shot in just over two days.  The weather – perfect!

Here are a few shots:

A Belle leads grain shuttle G-KCHQS-30 into Spiro (pronounced “spy-row”), OK:

The DP power for this trains slips behind some AOK power waiting for KCS interchange at Howe, OK:

At Heavener, OK the train's head end lands on the main line fuel pad for fuel and inspection while the rear DPU's are fueled by truck:

The G-KCHQS-30 makes a run for the mountain after fueling and a crew change at Heavener, OK:

From: CMP
To: Photo Distribution List
Subject: Ringling Brothers Circus Train 
8-25-2008
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:58:38 -0500




The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus train passed through town yesterday.  It was handed off from the Union Pacific to the BNSF at North Yard in the late evening.
 
Two UP SD70Ms led the train into BNSF North Yard:

After a couple of job briefings and about 30 minutes, the UPRR power was removed and fresh BNSF power added.  The new lead unit is two-month-old ES44DC 7401:

BNSF SD45-2 6465 and Genset BNSF 1234 were working the north end of the yard:

With the sunlight rapidly disappearing, new BNSF EMD and GE power sits side-by-side at McElroy in Saginaw.  BNSF SD70ACe 9134 leads a coal train while BNSF ES44DC 7395 spots a grain train to the elevator:

An impressive train, even with no scenery and very little light, the Circus train finally departs North Yard.  This is BNSF train symbol U-FTWMLN1-25A beginning its journey from Fort Worth, TX to Moline, IL:

From: CMP
To: Photo Distribution List
Subject: KCS Vicksburg West Local - 3-20-2010
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:22:21 -0500




Last weekend an excellent road trip was made to railfan the KCS “Meridian Speedway” out of Vicksburg.  Despite ominous reports of dismal traffic levels, tornadoes, and snow; we went anyway…and had a great time.  We photographed a total to 21 KCS trains, (17 on the Speedway between Shreveport, LA and Bolton, MS), plus some UPRR and shortline trains and equipment.

Perhaps the best power consist of the trip was a pair of Ex-CN GP40-2LWs being used in local service out of Vicksburg.

On Saturday morning, March 20, 2010, the pair heads back to Vicksburg after setting out and picking up grain hoppers at Delhi, LA.

Here the train crosses over Joe’s Bayou at Waverly, LA—about 5 miles east of Delhi:

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1989081

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992398

The nice thing about railfanning the KCS Meridian Speedway is parallel I-20 allows one to get the same train in several locations.  The next stop was the Mississippi Welcome Center which offers a spectacular view of the Mississippi River Bridge.  Funny how many people were there getting ready for the shot:

And “THE Shot”…well three of them…

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992412

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992399

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992413

The Grassy Knoll visible in the last shot above is strictly off limits.  The Department of Homeland Security has Declared it to be a “Secure Area” and has it guarded 24/7…….yet anyone who wants to, US Citizen or Not, can overlook the whole scene from the public welcome center.  Your tax dollars at work…..

Next we will re-wind to the pick up at Delhi where we had excellent sunlight:

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992393

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992396

http://railbaron.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1992397

Chris

From: CMP
To: Photo Distribution List
Subject: Mudslide at Blue Ridge, WA
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:07:01 -0600

While in Seattle a few weeks ago I had an opportunity to check out the site of the most recent mudslides on the BNSF Scenic Subdivision – Blue Ridge/MP 9.6.  There are many locations on the Northwest Division where slide activity impacts train operations, however, so far this year that activity has been limited to Blue Ridge which is along Puget Sound between Seattle and Edmonds.

The area is really difficult to photograph.  Perhaps the best view is the aerial photograph KOMO news articles (links removed).  Because of the nature of the slide activity in the area, a slide that meets defined “blocking event” criteria triggers a moratorium on passenger train operations that usually lasts 48-hours. 

http://edmonds.komonews.com/content/north-sounder-service-back-business

Again, a difficult location to shoot.  Here are a few shots from the beach looking up at the BNSF work train which was supplying rip-rap (large rocks) to stabilize the hill side.  The large pile of trees and earth from the slide are clearly visible blocking the beach:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933524

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933521

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933526

Because of the remote location, power on each end of the work train—as well as hi-rail vehicles—was used to shuttle workers in and out of the site.  Here we see the engine on the south end of the train taking off to perform taxi service:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933529

What I really wanted to do was get a good photo of a passenger train going by the slide site.  I figured the best way to do this was actually from some distance so I headed up to MP 10 at Carkeek Park where the beach extends into Puget Sound enough to get the slide scene and a passenger train in the shot.

By this time Blair Kooistra had taken transfer and was the second shift Seattle Terminal Dispatcher.  He had brought light Rabanco garbage train power out of Interbay up to Blue Ridge on Main Track 2 where it would be passed by Sounder Train No. 1700.  After the Sounder passed, the light power would cross over to Main Track 1 to get around the work train at the slide site.

If I may say so myself, Blair put on quite a show!

Souder 1700 comes into view as it rounds the curve into Blue Ridge.  The garbage train power can be seen sitting at the northbound control signals.  I wonder how long before that house at the top ends up in the water?:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933543

And here is the best I could do to get the passenger train going by the slide.  1700 eases by the workers on Main Track 1:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933549

Sounder 1700 accelerates by Carkeek Park:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1933565

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934006

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934008

Not missing a beat, Blair fits the garbage train power into the northward flow between Sounders 1700 and 1702 and Amtrak No. 8:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934012

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934019

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934307

From this vantage point, trains can be seen working their way along the sound for miles:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934308

With the work done for the day, the work train heads south for Interbay:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934325

This was such a great location that I fired off a few non-train photos.  For those of you who are interested:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934313

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934319

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934335

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1934330

Chris

From: CMP
To: Photo Distribution List
Subject: NO&NE Action at Pearl River - 1988 - CMP
Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 22:21:11 -0500

A roll of slides that I took in 1988 has some great memories of the NO&NE around Pearl River, MS.

Perhaps my favorite image is this pace-shot of Southern GP30 2602 mid-consist.  My how vivid is the memory of the sound of those little screaming EMD’s echoing through the tall pine trees:

And the leader, Southern 5003x:

White Flags flapping in the breeze, the Southbound SP run-through train storms through Pearl River:

This photo-essay will be a little different than past essays in that the photographs are not mine.  The images in the following slideshow were taken by Division Trainmaster Kevin Nevill.

Even though my current role as Train Dispatcher has me removed from the field, I still have many opportunities to do some "Real Railroading" and teach a new generation of field officers how to get things done.

The day before, 12-23-2014, the Division Trainmaster had on his task list a high-dwell car at Waldron, MO that needed to be picked up.  Tank car GATX 6716 was a load of Haz-Mat destined for Tulsa, OK that was released by the customer at Waldron.

The trouble is there is no local service here and the switch opens to the west, which means that generally only westbound trains will pick-up and set-out at this location.  Here there are two main tracks and this team track is off Main Two.

On the 23rd, the trainmaster had identified an H-KCKSPO train to pick up the car at Waldron and then set it out at the yard in St. Joe.  I asked him if adding two work events to a high-priority train headed to the west coast was really the right move to make.  Thus Plan A was cancelled.

I asked him why not pick it up with an eastbound train, splitting the power up with two crews.  "No, that will never work!", said the Trainmaster.

The next day, Christmas Eve 2014, I sat down at work and the GATX 6716 was still at Waldron.  "We will move this car today", I thought.  There was a small (under 4000 foot) Lincoln to Tulsa manifest train on the railroad.  An 0715 DCNORTH relief crew was called to re-crew this train and I would have them get on at Armour, MO.

At the same time, there was a 0135 DCNORTH crew at Phelps City, MO getting a grain train that was just loaded at the shuttle facility there.  Because of concerns about crew availability due to the Christmas Holiday the decision was made to leave the grain train at Phelps and taxi the crew towards Kansas City.  

This 0135 crew checked in with me as they were passing through St. Joe.  I instructed them to head to CP 165 at Waldron for  job briefing with the Trainmaster and the M-LINTUL1-23.  I briefed the conductor on the moves that would be made to pick up the GATX 6716 at Waldron.  I then called the 0715 DCNORTH crew and advised them of the same moves.

My next call was to the Division Trainmaster.  I told him to print up the Haz-Mat paper work for the GATX 6716 and be at Waldron in an hour.  I also told him to bring his camera and take pictures for he was going to witness some real railroading!

The Division Trainmaster and the 0135 crew met at Waldron and discussed the moves I had instructed them to make.  The Trainmaster asked me to have the M-LINTUL1-23 stop at MP 16 for all to have a job briefing which I did.

At MP16 the inbound 0715 crew uncoupled the lead unit, BNSF 7012, and operated it light into the stub track coupling to car GATX 6716.  The 0135 crew then took the second unit, CP 9712, and the first five cars of the train eastward on Main Two past the switch where the BNSF 7012 and GATX 6716 were.  The rest of the train was tied down and left standing west of the switch.  The five cars were needed to serve as buffer cars between the Haz-Mat GATX 6716 and the Locomotives.

The 0715 crew then pulled out of the stub track onto Main 2 with the GATX 6716, lined the switch, and then coupled the car onto the five cars coupled to the CP 9712.  The BNSF 7012 the returned light into the stub track and lined the switch for Main Two movement.

Next the CP 9712, now with six cars, backed westward past the switch where the BNSF 7012 was and coupled to the rest of the train which was still standing on Main Two.

Finally, the BNSF 7012 was able to come out of the stub track onto Main Two and couple to the train on top of the CP 9712, reassuming its position as the lead unit on the M-LINTUL1-23.

And so it was done, in less than 30 minutes, an eastbound train had picked up a car off a westbound track, properly placed for Haz-Mat compliance, and was headed towards Kansas City and ultimately Tulsa.

The below photo album contains some of the pictures that Kevin Nevill sent me of this move:

And that, Boys and Girls, is how it is done!

Chris

BNSF E-SAIATM0-43 at CP Baird.....

Part of what has kept my interest while serving as Terminal Manager at Lincoln, NE is the ever-changing face of the Haymarket district.  I recently noticed that the foot bridge crossing the five BNSF tracks leading to the new Pinacle Arena just received the large letters "L-I-N-C-O-L-N".  The fence cage between the letters has not been installed, so photos of the area taken now will be very dated.  Unfortunately, I recently damaged my wide angle lens, so getting this shot is difficult.

I visited the area on the evening of November 18, 2013 only to find MW equipment working at CP Baird.  Empty Iatan coal train E-SAIATM0-43 was holding at the Coffee Shop with 5 trains stopped behind it.  A call to the Carling Operator revealed that MW had time on all of the Main Tracks at CP Baird.  Noting that MW was not occupying Main Track 1, I hinted to the on-duty Terminal Manager that MW could probably give back Main Track 1 so we could bring in the fleet.

Within minutes, MW released Main Track 1 and the E-SAIATM0-43 entered the scene.  Just in time for the sun was quickly setting, creating a brilliant golden glow and long shadows.  I like the effect of this first, distant shot as the train eases through the fog created by the track equipment on adjacent Main Track 2.  The crew did an excellent job whistling for roadway workers.  I was proud of them.

Over the last decade or so I have amassed a sizable e-mail distribution list of individuals to whom I would share my photography in the form of a photo essay.  The last one went out to over a thousand recipients!  

Because of the many changes going on, it has been some time since I sent out my last essay.  For ease of access and reference, I have created the "Photo Essays By CMP" Category on this blogspot.  

Today I have posted that last photo-essay with thumbnail links throughout the text to the photos posted on RRPictureArchives.net.  This was the story behind how the Missouri Pacific and Virginian Heritage Units ended up on the same BNSF train out of Lincoln, NE.

As I come across my older essays I intend to post them here with a tag to the Photo Essays by CMP category.

It is also my intent to use this format for future photo essays.

If any of you have saved my essays that you do not see posted here, please do not hesitate to forward them to me as I really have not archived them as well as perhaps I should have!

CMP

To pass the time while the train was being inspected, we headed out to Grafton, NE on the BNSF Hastings Sub.  "Lincoln-Laurel" train H-LINLAU1-28 had just departed with a pair of brand new, consecutively numbered, CitiRail ES44ACs, 1341 and 1340.  These striking silver, blue, and yellow beasts won't be clean for long.  The effort was worth the time.

Back in Lincoln to check on the H-KCKLIN1-29, things were progressing slowly. The power was on the train, but the cold temperature meant the air pressure was slow to come up in the train line.  In addition the carmen were attempting to make repairs to slack adjusters on four cars.  It was cold!  Though time consuming, their efforts were successful and the cars did not need to set out. Here is the view form the yard tower of the train being inspected in Departure 2.

After a quick bite to eat, the train was finally highballed - no bad orders. Normally, the shot first referenced above on Firth Hill would be the first photo location, but on this weekend day Superintendent of Operations Rich Duncan was conducting operations testing.  Arrangements had been made to perform a stop test on the train at the Control Signal at Hickman, NE.  This known delay would allow us to shoot the train at Roca, NE and still make it to Hickman and Firth.  The colorful duo looked good rolling through Roca.

As the train was rolling through Roca, Rich and I discussed the tonnage of the train (11,000) and the viability of the stop test at Roca.  We decided to proceed with the test as both units were AC and the route would be the less severe Main Track 2.  Both the crew and the train dispatcher performed flawlessly for the Hickman stop test and after proceeding at restricted speed to the intermediate signal at Panama Road, the Heritage Duo marched the train up Firth Hill without missing a beat!  They sounded great!  After getting the vision shot on Firth Hill linked above, we were able to capture this head-on view of the UP 1982 cresting Firth Hill.

Though cold, the day was beautiful.  This consist provided an excuse to spend some time on the division so we took in the spectacle several more times....

And charging through Humboldt, NE: 

After arriving at Argentine in Kansas City, the units remained together 
and traveled to Alliance, TX on train M-KCKALT1-30, Slaton, TX on train 
H-ALTSLA1-01, and Barstow, CA on train H-SLABAR9-03.  We will see 
how long they stay together.....
​
Many thanks to all of the team players who helped pull this off!

Chris