I'd love to live on the farmstead where the old collapsed barn rests at the left edge of this photo.
After work today, here's the view that greeted me when I logged onto ATCS (click on the image, and take in the fleet of westbounds SWA had lined up):
That many westbounds that close together just cries out for a quick railfanning outing. Mrs. L4T was agreeable, so after a rushed supper it was off to the east. I had hoped to make it to Staples before meeting the first westbound and shoot BNSF 4444 east but no such luck. A COLX empty had us making a u-turn at CR 9. We shot back to the Wing River sag to shoot a Verndale Rail preview.
Knowing that we would see at least one or two more trains, it seemed appropriate to work from Verndale. The next train I shot at the east crossing, a location I have used probably a hundred times before.
Just after this train passed, an empty off the Brainerd Sub passed the detector at 151.6. Here's an attempt to make the location of the photo very evident.
And again, in short order the detector west of Staples announced the impending arrival of another westbound. This time Mrs. L4T suggested trying a shot near Bluffton, so off we were, to the Bluffton curve. This odd little train was led by a pair of SD70MAC's and consisted of some RRVW ballast cars, a couple of loaded coil steel cars with no covers, and a bunch of old ATSF and BN steel coal hoppers. Oh, how the mighty AC power has fallen.
The first shot of the evening, at the Wing River, was shot at 6:10 PM, while the final shot at the Bluffton curve was time stamped 6:54 PM. I guess trackwork is good for something, that being bunching up the trains. Not a bad 45 minutes of railfanning.
Hopefully this whets your appetite for some Staples Sub action at Verndale Rail 2010. I know I'm looking forward to it.
Jim
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