mickoo
Western Thunderer
Early start (0430) to catch the sunlight, headed east and eventually found it (160 miles away).
BNSF 4547 heads up the grade from Amboy 35 miles away in the valley below and under the (now closed) route 66 highway bridge at Essex. It's actually steeper than it looks.
Further down the grade at Danby BNSF 3727 gets away after a crew change, it should of been needles but they ran out of time and stopped here for a new crew, all around was sunlight except this stagnant black cloud over Danby. An interesting lash up, standard BNSF on the front followed by an Executive BNSF SD70MAC and a FXE SD70ACe....making all the smoke.
Because the above had stood for ten minutes on the main other trains were stacked behind, six in total, one by one they came, one by one the clouds moved and came, almost in perfect harmony. Boy was I getting ticked off, fortunately the last one broke the sequence and arrived in full sun,
AS the day warmed up then the clouds thickened, as predicted so I headed back and picked off what ever came by. Like last Friday, Transcon2 was very busy. Here BNSF 8269 is swinging to wrong road at East Siberia, once clear and only a few minutes later a Z train blasted by right rosd to overtake the stacker.
Trains kept crisscrossing and swapping to let faster higher priority one past. BNSF 8991 had come to a stand on the grade up to Ash Hill, once getting the clear and with a full load hanging down the hill, managed to get away with little fuss.
Back to Barstow, Lenwood in fact, finds UP 7741 charging out of the yard limits and south toward Cajon, in fact he never stopped at Cajon and ran right through, I'd seen him at Dagget but beat him along the I-40.
Further west at Hinkley Road crossing (said I'd be back) BNSF 7770 heads west with a manifest, naughty boy has no ditch lights or full beam headlight, behind me is the road crossing and as soon as he saw that he must of realised and on them came, back to regulation running.
BNSF 4547 heads up the grade from Amboy 35 miles away in the valley below and under the (now closed) route 66 highway bridge at Essex. It's actually steeper than it looks.
Further down the grade at Danby BNSF 3727 gets away after a crew change, it should of been needles but they ran out of time and stopped here for a new crew, all around was sunlight except this stagnant black cloud over Danby. An interesting lash up, standard BNSF on the front followed by an Executive BNSF SD70MAC and a FXE SD70ACe....making all the smoke.
Because the above had stood for ten minutes on the main other trains were stacked behind, six in total, one by one they came, one by one the clouds moved and came, almost in perfect harmony. Boy was I getting ticked off, fortunately the last one broke the sequence and arrived in full sun,
AS the day warmed up then the clouds thickened, as predicted so I headed back and picked off what ever came by. Like last Friday, Transcon2 was very busy. Here BNSF 8269 is swinging to wrong road at East Siberia, once clear and only a few minutes later a Z train blasted by right rosd to overtake the stacker.
Trains kept crisscrossing and swapping to let faster higher priority one past. BNSF 8991 had come to a stand on the grade up to Ash Hill, once getting the clear and with a full load hanging down the hill, managed to get away with little fuss.
Back to Barstow, Lenwood in fact, finds UP 7741 charging out of the yard limits and south toward Cajon, in fact he never stopped at Cajon and ran right through, I'd seen him at Dagget but beat him along the I-40.
Further west at Hinkley Road crossing (said I'd be back) BNSF 7770 heads west with a manifest, naughty boy has no ditch lights or full beam headlight, behind me is the road crossing and as soon as he saw that he must of realised and on them came, back to regulation running.
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