Archive for October, 2007

Part III of my 7 day railfan adventure around the desert…

Day 4 - Leaving Flagstaff we followed BNSF’s Phoenix sub south to the the big city. First though we stopped off at Maine to wait for a train headed down the Phoenix line and to enjoy the incredible lighting around sunrise as demonstrated by this westbound Z train.

A Z train is illuminated by the raising sun at Maine, AZ

Leaving our southbound at Congress we could see thunderstorms building off to the south and west of Phoenix. Yes, this should be good! Listening on NOAA weather radio we determined the storms had turned severe and flash flood warnings were up. As we arrived in Buckeye the gust front of one of the storms passed over us so we decided to wait it out in the parking lot of Subway. We parked the vehicles facing into the storm so we wouldn’t miss any action!

The storms passed to the north so we headed south for Gila Bend. Once we joined the UP there we headed east and followed a vehicle train climbing up the hill to Shawmut. With the sun starting to come out following a storm the I-LBEW-14 crawls towards Estrella.

Crawling Up to Estrella

We timed our arrival on the Sunset line just right because it seemed we were in the midst of quite the crush of trains. With the back end of the storms still overhead and the sun popping out underneath, the lighting turned out to be spectacular! I captured the I-MNLB-13 at Enid with a rainbow from one of the storms.

A rainy day in the desert

The last train of day 4 was the I-LBEY-14 which passed as the illuminated the bottom side of the clouds. I’m glad we stuck around at Enid for this last opportunity!

The end of the day

Day 5 - After an over night in Tucson we headed east so I could show the guys Cienega Creek, the Mescal summit, Benson, Dragoon summit and Cochise. Just after sunrise the I-LBNO-14 winds its way up Cienega Creek. I noticed on this trip that the village of Vail seems to be growing further up into the canyon.

Snaking up Cienega Creek

Apparently even the newest Canon DSLR can’t fix everything, such as the very faded and quite peeling paint on BNSF 834.  I like the angle of this photo (shot last weekend from the Kittridge Road overpass near Willbridge) but the subject could sure use an upgrade.  And yes, since you’re wondering, the train does have the same amount of locomotives as it does container platforms…

Part II of my 7 day railfan adventure around the desert…

Day 3 - After an overnight in Flagstaff we headed east of town for the morning. This area of high desert is a spectacular mix of desert like shrubs and small trees with the added bonus of great backdrops made up of the mountains of the Arizona divide.

The S-LHGCLO1-13A glides down grade toward Canyon Diablo below the Sunset Crater of the Arizona Divide

After a morning east of Flagstaff we high tailed it over to Williams to chase the Grand Canyon Railway’s morning trip to the rim. Half the group had never visited the canyon before so we decided a trip into the park was in order. This was my first visit and I do have to say it is one of the most breath taking sights.

During the mid afternoon it looked as if we might get our first thunderstorm as clouds were building all around. Unfortunately nothing was very well organized so as sunset approached the clouds dissipated. Certainly nothing as interesting as we experienced the next day.

A Trip to the Edge

Leaving the canyon we headed for an afternoon at West Eagle Nest on the transcon. The S curve here is wonderful and offers the photographer many opportunities. BNSF delivered us 6 west and 2 east in just two hours and because of the diversity of this location I shot all of them from a different spot!

One of the few manifests transcon, (H-ALTBAR1-11A) lead by a pair of former Santa Fe Dash-9s, roars upgrade at West Eagle Nest.

Last month I visited Nevada, Arizona, and California on a 7 day railfan adventure around the desert. I travelled this year with a contingent of friends from the Northwest and Colorado including Robert Scott, Michael “Mad Dog” Sawyer, Greg Wierich, Brian Vancamp, and Drew Mitchem. As usual with the desert southwest the weather was generally warm and dry while in some places it was down right hot! I said generally dry because during a two day stretch we encountered a severe thunderstorm and many scattered storms. No problem because those only added to the interesting lighting conditions!

Over the next few days I plan to post some of the more interesting photos I captured that demonstrate the good light we experienced. Some times mother nature smiles on you…

Day 1 - Meadow Valley wash - After arrival in Las Vegas we made the trek east of town to the Meadow Valley wash. After arriving in Eligin we saw a couple of trains but unfortunately the sun set about 15 minutes before the one that would have been in ‘good light’. Luck was not on our side for that one.

Day 2 - Kingman and Crozier Canyons, Seligman Sub, Williams - Sun up in the desert is one of the most pleasant times. As soon as the sun hits you the cool of the night is chased away almost immediately. As we waited for a flurry of trains in the Kingman Canyon that early morning light warmed us and lit the trains nicely.

An empty X-BARBCY grinds up Kingman Canyon just after sunrise

When we arrived in Williams the haze from controlled burns filled the sky. No matter, it only made the setting sun on the Grand Canyon Railway more interesting.

Grand Canyon Railway’s F40 239 rests while the train crew off loads guests at the Williams depot.

This morning I made it down trackside in Vancouver for a couple hours.  I figure since I have a new camera body I might as well break it in by taking a few railroad photos in my old stomping grounds.

This first photo is nothing special except that it’s a… it’s a… Talgo!  Long time no see!

After the Talgo left, there weren’t too many other trains but there was some decent storm light so first I shot this southbound UP stack train at the center:

Then I drove around and took advantage of a new angle featuring a Dash 9 in front of a downtown Vancouver landmark, the Smith Tower: