Mickoo's North American Railroad vacations

[mickoo]

Day 3 followed much like day 2, except there were four trains on the BNSF! But it was a long day and photos were procured.

Day 4 went lunatic, BNSF (I've since found out) were doing track work pretty much all week during working hours, hence the couple in the morning and afternoon pattern. I wanted to get the trash train as I missed it yesterday on the hill, consequently I bagged a handful of UP engines, good shots and a fair few with ACe's on point. But the BNSF threw at least fourteen trains that I saw on the far river bank; once the trash train was done I headed over to new spots to grab BNSF until the sun went down and the gorge was blacked out.

Back tracking to day 3.

Deschutes River crossing and an WB rips around the bend toward Celilo Park, good spot this and can be worked from many angles most of the day and elevations.



DPU slugging it out on the rear of the manifest heading up the Deschutes river gorge, shooting into the sun isn't the best but I missed the head end because some bell end decided to stop his car and boat trailer in the middle of the road just around the corner, that wasn't the problem, in the middle of the road with his door open was the problem though.

I'll be back to get the head end sunny side up if it runs tomorrow as it crawls up the high line from the bridge.



Some pacing action.....



I won and got ahead for a head on shot.



Wide angle at Arlington Port, more like Marina, again, need to go back early in the morning...06:00-07:00 for the best light.



Westbound stacker rips through Arlington.



Having missed the trash train on the hill I did get the return empties with an ACe on the point at the John Day River bridge, difficult light here, really needs my big PC and lots of time with all the GPU grunt to get the best from this shot, It's a good location but only between 12:00 and 15:00 for westbound on the bridge. It's nearly impossible to get it for eastbound's due to the total lack of parking or access......but I have a plan.



Wide shot at John Day River bridge.



Face shot at Horse Thief Lake from prime location #1



Calendar shot at Horse Thief Lake.



Wisram Heights looking south toward Deschutes river bridge.



Little ole town called 'Wishram'



Golden Beaver burbling away at Wishram, crap light and poles everywhere....Pah!



This train does not stop here, Z train thunders through Wishram at line speed,



Cigar band DPU and friend pushing hard to keep up to speed.

 

[mickoo]

Day 4, I'll split this into the 'other' stuff and the 'hill'.

The Hill, the train ran in the afternoon (yesterday it was the morning) so most of the spots I scoped out were sunny side down, but the hard shadow kind of works.

Sadly UP put a pile of shit Gon's and junk stock on the tail end from source, hence they ended up being at the head end up the hill, it looks better/impressive if you have a full line of double stacks on the rear hook.

Mile 3.5 the tail end has cleared Arlington limits and all of the train is now on the grade.







Mile 5, the long straight slog, bare in mind this nearly as steep as the Lickey bank.



Mile 6, where I torn my calf muscle.





Looking up hill you can see the summit at mile 7.

 

[mickoo]

Day 4, the other stuff.

I scoped out the waste plant, no where near as busy as two days ago, the ACe and M seen then had dropped down and was lead on the return empties seen at John Day River bridge.

There was another ACe on point and with no one around some shots were obligatory, but first, one for Jordan.




Low angle on the ACe.



Seriously big sky country up here.



Having spotted these and no trash train waiting to go UP I noticed a BNSF manifest on the north bank, the third that morning already, head end was a Swoosh, Executive and NS Stallion so well worth a punt. He'd got a few miles ahead by the time I left and even doing 80 I barely caught 40 miles later, there was no way I was going to get ahead and across the river and ahead I could see a UP train approaching, it was the trash train running late. As I neared the next off ramp a ACe on point of a manifest followed close behind so the day's events were set.

First up was to catch the ACe on the manifest which /I just managed to do at Deschutes and took a slightly higher elevation than last time, you can go higher and I will for some UP shots and some BNSF on the high line.

Tight crop of the ACe on the water level line, BNSF is above and still climbing.



This is what we want, an almost perfect head end, ACe on point and M's trailing, I'll take an M on point as well but that'd be so rare as to probably never happen these days, I did see on in Barstow a few years back but it was the only one. Perfection would have been all three in elephant style.



Over Deschutes river.



The trash train was miles ahead but now but got caught at Blalock Canyon CP, he cleared when I was a couple of miles away but I did manage to get the DPU's on the trailing end as he pulled way.




Another DPU shot at Arlington, not the best shot, it's a great angle with the bridge but UP have not cleaned up all the old telegraph wires so it's very cluttered.



You can get a better shot from higher up on the on ramp behind me from about 12:00 and I'll hopefully get a few there.

Then UP basically just shut down for three hours, BNSF meanwhile were throwing trains up and down the gorge.....

The crew for the trash train had gone for lunch, at least 90 minutes, but this faded double stack split the boredom momentarily.



The it was trash train time on the hill and after that over to the north side to catch some BNSF action.

Back to Horse Thief Lake for location #2



This is actually BNSF trash train and it terminates across the water from Arlington at Roosevelt, I've no idea what they do with this waste there's no big chimneys which you'd expect with incinerators and at Roosevelt there no where they can stick it in the ground? Google will be my friend when I get time.

Wide angle shot looking up the Columbia river gorge, and to my surprise a MAC sandwich with a GP60M in the middle. This has to be quite a rare shot, MAC's are not common (so I thought...later) and a GP60M in the middle is probably even rarer (I think ATSF only purchased 150 of them?).



Then it was off to new ventures, I'd seen a manifest at Arlington and was well ahead of it, in fact it should have been at Horse Thief Lake at the time of the BNSF trash train, so I've no idea how I passed the trash train and not seen it, or it was running fast and overtook the manifest somewhere just behind me.

Just east of Lyle is a BNSF crew change point, it's a handy place to take photos in the afternoon with perfect lighting. I'd got a shot here on the first day and today it was an oil train all shut down.

I got a bit cheeky, there's Armco here and a barriered BNSF gate to access the tracks, so I snuck across and took a quick waterside shot.



The CTC aspects showed a high green for a eastbound train so I back tracked toward Dallesport for a shot I thought might work but it was shooting right into the sun, it'll be a cracker though early morning.

Sure enough a few moments later and empty grainer wheeled into view.





and headed east toward Wishram and The Dalles.

 

[mickoo]

Part II, just a little bit more and then shut eye for me.

By now there was about an hour of sun left in the gorge and I headed back to Lyle to look around, I'd only just stopped on the bridge over the old depot when I spotted an eastbound rack train glinting in the sun.



and through Lyle he duly came.



I'll probably pull some of that washed out backscene in when I get home with the tower PC, it's a bit washed out so needs some working to give it a bit more bite.

Wide shot looking West at Lyle.



Tail end Charlie was of all things an executive MAC and better yet running backward, so the cab was facing the right way to match the light (I did dance a little jig), sometimes railfanning can be crud, today was certainly not one of them, with several really good catches.



Finally the CTC eastbound still showed high green, so I went back to a foot crossing behind the parked oil train. I was expecting another freight, but nothing came and with the sun just touching the top of the mountains to the west this rounded the corner. I'd seen one go west early in the morning on a couple of days, but no idea when they came back. He was really moving, 75 mph is the line speed for passenger trains here.

Now in the UK 75 isn't that fast but here with all the tunnels, fills and curves I can say it's more than fast enough! I do have one a fraction of a second later and the rear car has cleared the signal and is a better shot but it's late so I may update tomorrow. Both ditch lights are working, they're just flashing, this is the first shot with the left on, the second has none and the third the right is on: being LED's there's no afterglow and they turn on and off almost instantly.

 

[D1010]

Fantastic pictures with some stunning scenery.

 

[Lancastrian]

Mick, with clear skies like that, are you going to try some astrophotography?

Ian

 

[mickoo]

Mick, with clear skies like that, are you going to try some astrophotography?

Ian

I'd not thought of that, I'd like to do some night shots at some point of the dams, but once it's dark and I'm in the motel I tend to just want to stay here The days are long enough and going out again....I know I should but the energy levels are low.

 

[mickoo]

Day, whatever it is, loosing track now

Anyway it was slow, real slow, BNSF was moderate in the morning and next to nothing in the afternoon, just before the sun set UP lit up the board with five trains looped and passing between The Dalles and John Day dam, of course I was on the other side of the river. One intermodal double stack was two engines up front + 100 wagons, two DPU and a further 130 wagons.

To start it was off to Maryhill and a nice sun on the face tank train rolling around the curves and rock fences.



Wider view.



DPU sunny side down.



Then the star of the day, 'pale face' SD60M, there can't be many of these kicking around and I thought most were in storage, so it may have just been pulled for an upsurge?



Soon after a Westbound coal train rolled by.



Then it was off up the line to explore, I stopped off at the John Day Dam and at low level it's not that inspiring. A westbound grainer rolls by.



DPU chugging away on the back.



By this stage I thought something was off, all of these trains were traveling really slowly, like 30-40 max not the usual ripping along and the few UP trains I saw were also traveling very slowly, my gut feeling is that there was a slow order for the hot weather (32°), I hope not as it's supposed to get to 34 or even 36 later this week and that'll put a damper on traffic flows.

To the right of the last shot is the base of a bluff so I thought I'd try and get up there, luckily there is a single track road and look out park, but you do need to trog through the brush to get good shots.

That's a better view, another coal train rolls by.



DPU on the rear of 130 loads. Basically from here to the Maryhill bridge 7 or so miles away is zero access other than walking, there's a track along the river side but as can be seen, you're well below the rail line level.



Same vantage point and a loaded oil train rolls by.



Then it was off to Towal, it's way over in the distance on the left bank of the last shot, about six or so miles away, again near zero track access.

I'd picked Towal as there's a nice cliff face the track hugs and it makes good shots for sunny face westbound. Unfortunately at this time (1300) BNSF just basically shut down as did UP, maybe it was Sunday afternoon, maybe it was the heat.

Either way it was just sit and wait for something and several hours later a eastbound rolled through.



Bored!



An hour or so later another eastbound from a slightly different and tighter angle.



The sun was about 10 minutes from going behind the mountain and there was no chance a westbound would come so as the stacker rolled by I repositioned for the shot I wanted and grabbed a DPU tester.



Ideally I need to be right a few more feet to clear that tree and show the slide fence a bit more, but it shows that it'll work if I revisit and zoom tighter to about mid train where it bends.

On the way back some high level cloud rolled in and Mt Hood just over 50 miles away towered tall in the distance, not trains but too good a shot not to take. I thought about editing put the lone telegraph pole but when I did the shot lost something.

What is interesting about Mount Hood is that it's 7707' high, BNSF Transcon 2 just West of Flagstaff tops out at 7354' that's a hell of a height for a railway to pass over. I've been to the Transcon 2 summit and there are peaks higher nearby, so you don't get the feel that it's that high at all.

I know there are railway passes higher but I doubt any come close to the tonnages that Transcon 2 pushes over theirs.

 

[Osgood]

 

[Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen]

Thanks for these great photos Mick. Don't forget that the photographers such as Ansel Adams would spend all day getting just a couple of shots.

atb
Tim

 

[Big Train James]

A few questions or comments......

Post #23, UP 5325 on the trash train appears to feature the new UP paint scheme but without the small flags on the sides of the nose. Wasn't aware that was an option.

Post #28, the current UP main over Sherman Hill tops out at 8015' elevation. It's probably the closest comp to the BNSF transcon in terms of volume of trains. The Rio Grande Tennessee pass line, out of service since 1997, topped out at 10,227'. While it saw heavy tonnage trains, it never handled the volume that either the UP or BNSF transcon routes feature. Max ruling grade on the Tennessee Pass route was 3.0%. Unfortunately UP mothballed the line a year before I moved to Colorado.

I'm curious if you are seeing much shipping action on the river. I thought there should be a fair amount of barge tow traffic, but I don't see evidence of much activity at all in background of shots. The one obvious thing is a what appears to be a cruise ship, which isn't something I expected to see.

It's not something that would be practical to do coming from the UK, but I've often thought a mountain bike would be a useful tool for railfanning in many instances. It could get you places that might not be suitable for many vehicles, but get you there faster than hiking. Add a couple of panniers - no, not that kind - and you could haul just about anything you might need. I also have this idea that it would be a good defense if the authorities ever took interest in you, as you couldn't realistically steal giant flat screen tv's from a container and carry them away on your bicycle.

There sure are a lot of wires and poles everywhere along the lines out there, often in the way. I don't remember being struck by that when viewing your shots from previous trips to Cajon.

Lastly, I appreciate the wider cropping on the later shots. I think it gives the photos a sense of place, there's no mistaking the location. The tight shots are great too, but I think the combination of trains with environment = gestalt.

 

[Big Train James]

Forgot one, I think there is a power shortage at the moment, with most if not all of the class 1 railroads. Self-inflicted in nearly every instance, as the railroads have cut equipment and personnel in pursuit of the PSR operating ratio holy grail. I know that NS just recently started leasing ex-BNSF sd70mac's that had been sold off to Wells Fargo leasing. Beyond that, I've seen a lot of tatty older power in consists lately, locos that had been mothballed pending either rebuild or sale, or even older power like Dash 2 era EMD's that had been relegated to yard and local duties. The photo of the whiteface BN sd60 also includes what looks like an sd40-2 at the rear of the consist. That's at least three generations ago in loco technology terms, if you include the Dash 2 era that ended in 1984, the sd60/GE dash 7/8 eras, and then the sd70/dash 9 era.

The other issue is a lack of crews. Even with extra power back on line, trains often sit for extended periods until crews come available. The railroads cut crews and power, trying to lower expenses. They made everything so tight it squeaks, which is fine when things work right and volumes are within capacity. When things go wrong though, it all goes to pretty quickly.

 

[Lancastrian]

Thanks for these great photos Mick. Don't forget that the photographers such as Ansel Adams would spend all day getting just a couple of shots.

atb
Tim

Tim,

He did have to transport everything in on pack animals, and 10 x 8 wet collodion glass plates kind of limits your shooting rate. Additionally, he wasn't really railfanning like O. Winston Link or Nicholas Morant.

Ian

 

[mickoo]

A few questions or comments......

Post #23, UP 5325 on the trash train appears to feature the new UP paint scheme but without the small flags on the sides of the nose. Wasn't aware that was an option.

Post #28, the current UP main over Sherman Hill tops out at 8015' elevation. It's probably the closest comp to the BNSF transcon in terms of volume of trains. The Rio Grande Tennessee pass line, out of service since 1997, topped out at 10,227'. While it saw heavy tonnage trains, it never handled the volume that either the UP or BNSF transcon routes feature. Max ruling grade on the Tennessee Pass route was 3.0%. Unfortunately UP mothballed the line a year before I moved to Colorado.

I'm curious if you are seeing much shipping action on the river. I thought there should be a fair amount of barge tow traffic, but I don't see evidence of much activity at all in background of shots. The one obvious thing is a what appears to be a cruise ship, which isn't something I expected to see.

It's not something that would be practical to do coming from the UK, but I've often thought a mountain bike would be a useful tool for railfanning in many instances. It could get you places that might not be suitable for many vehicles, but get you there faster than hiking. Add a couple of panniers - no, not that kind - and you could haul just about anything you might need. I also have this idea that it would be a good defense if the authorities ever took interest in you, as you couldn't realistically steal giant flat screen tv's from a container and carry them away on your bicycle.

There sure are a lot of wires and poles everywhere along the lines out there, often in the way. I don't remember being struck by that when viewing your shots from previous trips to Cajon.

Lastly, I appreciate the wider cropping on the later shots. I think it gives the photos a sense of place, there's no mistaking the location. The tight shots are great too, but I think the combination of trains with environment = gestalt.

There's not much barge traffic, maybe one or two a day, today there was none, the other day four, no idea what the cruise ships are, there's a hand full of them plying up and down, usually between dams but there is a bigger one that seems to run much further, probably booze boats or floating casino's.

The third engine was a GP and I failed to get a decent photo so yes, three generations in one consist.

There are a lot of poles and they're aright pain in the arse to be honest, they're always on the wrong side of the line where ever a good shot can be had, aka between you and the train, I'm all for heritage artefacts but these are just plain painful to work around.

The wide shot is difficult and often you're just jammed up against the tracks, hemmed in by the interstate, cliffs or the river, it's tighter than I want but I can't do anything about the geology, much as I'd like to sometimes. Often where you can get a wider view you can't access it so that's another hurdle.

Summits, yes I forgot about those, the point I suppose I was trying to make is that for folks from the UK, these are really really high lol!

Mountain bike would be handy in some cases but most of the time you need mountaineering gear to get to some places, quite often is human FWD to get where you need to go, hands and feet to climb up.

 

[mickoo]

Today was abysmal, I'd moved over to the North West side of the gorge where it is more rocky but harder to photograph but the results are much more rewarding.

Moderate high level cloud gave a watery sunlight but it broke through now and again, but not when there were any trains, I stuck it out and only saw four trains in seven hours (I did get two other unplanned ones but not in locations I'd staked out), UP on the other hand were having a field day with nine trains in total, all across the water from me. It looks like BNSF were doing track work again and speaking to the two Aussie guys I've met out here they seem to be doing a lot of it, so much so that we're giving it until Thursday and then heading up to Spokane because the gorge traffic is just useless.

Just West of Lyle is a rocky outcrop with four small tunnels in succession, all good shots when the sun shines and you can get water side for sunny side up shots all day, the only down side is you're totally exposed to the elements, in this case watery sun but worst of all, wind, a good steady 30-40 all day, it's not a cold wind but the buffeting does your head in. The problem is you need to man-goat up the bluffs so you can't sit in the rental and just pop out for each shot, you need to camp out on the end at least 150' up above the river and wait for the trains.

Before all that I headed east to see if the manifest was as Wisram waiting to cross the river, it wasn't but it actually came down the hill in the blind side of the rental, so I missed it until it was on top of me, I scooted ahead for this one lousy unplanned shot.



He soon crossed the river but instead of turning right to the east turned left to the west, excellent I'll catch him at Lyle, no chance, he never turned up all day and when I went back to Wisram at dusk he wasn't there, so he must have backed into Wisram, run round and headed East. Why he didn't take the east fork I don't know, they've been using it all the other times.



On to West Lyle, first up some east bounds into the sun, what little there was of it, bight but soft shadows.







The second was the loaded trash train and this consist will be heading back on point with the empties tomorrow, it had a MAC on point which was a bonus but the trailing unit was also a MAC so hopefully get that tomorrow on the way back. Actually, the trash train and the Amtrak are the only two guaranteed trains to run, everything else gets stopped for MOW but these two always find a path through every day.



I wanted a westbound shot coming across this fill but needed to be on the next bluff along (more man-goating) but grabbed this returning empty trash train from a distance. Normally it returns in the afternoon but it's a Monday so probably Saturdays train with nothing on Sunday.



And then in the gap between the two bluffs.





On the South side I missed the UP local from The Dalles to......(don't know), he came back two hours later with five loaded centre beams.



The shot I really wanted in the afternoon was here.



I'd already sat for two hours for west bounds on the previous bluff and here for 90 minutes and had frankly had enough, I looked into the distance at Lyle (you can see the headlights easily over in the tree line....if there are any..... and though sod it I'm going back to the rental for a bite to eat and get out of the wind.

It takes about 2-3 minutes to climb down and just then I heard a train go by underneath, it also takes about 2-3 minutes for them to get from Lyle to here so he must have appeared almost as soon as I turned my back, I scrambled up a small rocky bund and grabbed a dirty into the sun grab shot of the DPU.



Back at the rental (parked in a rest area that overlooks all this) I spotted another westbound and this was an easy walk to the fence to grab, in the back ground is the first bluff I camped out on.



I sat for another hour and decided to head back, jumped over to the UP side and on a whim headed back to Wisram and spotted a fast moving Z train, I spun around by Celilo and blitzed back, but no where near far enough ahead to get to the spot I wanted, so bailed out at the dam and just managed this rush shot, hence being a bit blurred, by this time I didn't care.



Over the river in the The Dalles I spotted a UP stacker rolling slowly through and the Motel is over there so headed over to the yard area, he didn't stop but a manifest was already held for him to pass, by this time the sun was well below the horizon so some dusk shots were all I could get.



Twenty minuets later he was off, in the meantime the Aussie guys had rolled up, they'd had a shit day too, so once the DPU cleared we went around the corner for beer and a curry and talked rubbish about trains.

 

[Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen]

Hi Mick,

Have you considered getting a drone to help cover these difficult photo positions?

Tim

 

[mickoo]

Hi Mick,

Have you considered getting a drone to help cover these difficult photo positions?

Tim

I have and then discarded it for several reasons.

First off getting one into the country, not sure how they are over here with drones and usage, second, whilst they offer a different perspective I kind of view them as cheating, especially when you can man goat to the location, third, seems a shame to destroy the peace and beauty with a bloody drone, if I saw one it'd tick me off no end and as this is an area of natural beauty I wouldn't be surprised if they were banned.

Lastly and unknown until I got here, it's bloody windy in the narrows where all the trees are, it's not so bad in the grass lands areas East of The Dalles, but West is like being back at work, there's a fair chop to the water and lots of kite boarders and wind surfers. That means you need to move up to a bigger machine and thus weight group which means licenses and permits to fly and the restrictions that come with operating a heavier machine, like no where near people etc.

 

[mickoo]

Another really slow day, but productive for other reasons.

The only train I got in a planned location was this eastbound early on at Cooks, this area (bay and peninsular has lots of angles you can work).

I had seen one train earlier getting here, nine units up front, a real mish mash of BNSF Ex ATSF, NS, FXE and CP and I had a spot I could get them all in, but I was due to hit Lyle 25mph town limits and he was on me in no time, I bailed out just before and got one shot straight into the sun and full of dust from me driving into the gravel turnout at high speed, I've not even bothered to process it



I've just posted the wide shot for now, then I met the Aussie guys and we went for coffee and missed two other trains.

On the way back to a little nook I've found at tunnel 5 I bagged this stone barge in the river.



Back at tunnel 5 nothing moved from 11AM until a hi-railer turned up around 1PM, the three of us just stood and talked shop really. Anyway we were technically on BNSF land next to the track and figured he was going to ask us to move on, but no, he came over and chatted and nearly 90 minutes later he moved off.

In brief terms, BNSF had carried out a massive tie replacement program from Lyle to a point 50 miles west, everyday from 11AM to 5PM they closed the line except for one or two priority trains, the trash train and an odd Z here and there. Fridays and Saturdays I gathered were work rest days hence the upsurge last week. He was carrying out a final track inspection and waiting for another hi-railer with a crew who were putting all the greasers back on. They duly arrived and refitted the greaser and all toodled off to Bingham to get off the track. We did ask about the trash train and he said it was in the next section waiting for clearance. He did also confirm that usual traffic flow was 20-30 a day but I gather that did included nights as well, even so, 10-15 a day is good enough for me, given the mileage between locations I need to travel.

Sure enough, just after 5PM the trash train ripped through, long shot through tunnel 5 as it approaches, I'd stayed here as it's a nice little spot and I knew the MACs were on point as I'd seen it go up yesterday; basically todays empty power is yesterdays loaded power. I should have waited a bit longer but he was really moving and I needed to move back and change lenses.



Wide shot at tunnel 5, behind is a nice 1930's concrete skew bridge which I'd like to model at some point, that'll feature in hopefully tomorrows first shot; the inspection guy told us there's a local from Portland to Bingham on Weds, arrives around 9AM, switches the lumber yard and goes back late morning, it also runs on Sunday.




Just west of here near Cooks is a big truss bridge, the CTC was lit for putting a train in the hole so I duly positioned myself for a sunny side shot, 40 minutes later the sun was almost down, cloud was building and I decided to head back the rental 300 yds away. Lo and behold, as soon as I got back and turned around he was coming across the causeway and I was left with a shoot from the hip shot from the roadside.



You can just see the top of the truss bridge over the second covered hopper, so near, yet so far. Behind me around the corner was the diverging switch and I got a better shot of the DPU as it rolled into the siding.



By this time he was down to 5 mph and came to a stand just around the corner at Cooks, and so the day came full circle.



On the way back BNSF had flooded the line, I counted six trains in the hole in 20 or so miles, but also spotted the Amtrak at Bingham so bailed out and grabbed a quick shot as he left, very smooth and very very quiet, I think these are European engines, not really up to speed on them but they had singing traction motors which usually means 3ph drives.



Just outside Bingham a manifest was in the hole, head on was prohibited by shrubbery but the trailing unit was a pale face 60M, in fact the same one seen previously.



Round at East Lyle another grainer was in the hole, this time with a NS unit in the consist.


Finally heading back across the river at The Dalles, I spotted a big cement train rolling to a stand with two CP units on the rear. So far I've never seen any foreign power on the UP side, let alone a pair together. By this time everyone had gone home and the local industries at the east end of the yard were deserted, so I sneaked down the side of one and bagged a yard shot; during the day you'd certainly get hollered at.

Low angle to hide the poles.



At the head end were even more surprises, a CP unit and of all things, a KCS stealth unit. CP I can understand as it's not too far away, but KCS is about as far aware from Oregon as you can get.



Light fading I grabbed some late dusk shots from the bridge in the back ground, no tripod, just resting on the railing.



I tried several different angles to try and get the dratted pole clear of the GP60 yard goat but none worked and showed the right side of the cement train which I wanted to keep in shot as it curved away. The other shots were between the two subject matters, they work okay but this one I think worked better.

Across the road a view of the main yard looking East, such that it is, I've not actually seen anything move and suspect a lot of this is stored stock, certainly the reefer stock.



I probably need to work these more when I get home.

 

[Lancastrian]

Mick,

"Bloody drones". There were two loitering around Eilean Donan castle last night and getting into shots. Plus, the annoying whine disturbing the peace of the evening.
As for KCS motive power, I refer you to my 2019 photos of one in British Columbia...even further away than your spot in Oregon.
I hope you're having a grand time though.

Ian

 

[Jordan]

At the head end were even more surprises, a CP unit and of all things, a KCS stealth unit. CP I can understand as it's not too far away, but KCS is about as far aware from Oregon as you can get.

You'll be aware that CP & KCS merged recently....