RailfanRails

Posts and their content

2012-02-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

My most recent post was linked to a members only site. Only after asking the webmaster of that site to remove the link and having been ignored did I lock this site down.

Yes this blog is on the wide open net and may or may not contain information that some would like to review, but by placing the link to it behind a password protected site it is no longer free to everyone.

I will continue to monitor the sources of traffic to this blog and will take any actions necessary to ensure that the content and comments (good or bad) remain free to all. If I have to pay to join or register for any forum that this blog has been linked to without my knowledge, I will shut the site down again. Sharing of information is only effective when it is free and accessible to all.

Blair Sub Changes

2012-02-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, I spent some time along the Blair Sub to document the changes that are occurring as the second track is going in. For the a quick reference I have included a map (Blair Sub Changes) of the sub and the changes that have been observed.

Missouri Valley, IA
The current alignments where the Omaha Sub joins the Boone Sub and Blair sub will be dramatically changed.The Omaha to Boone sub transition will occur on the east side of Missouri Valley with the east side of the wye being extended eastward on a new track to a point around where the grain elevator is currently. Signal boxes and signal bases were observed being moved for this new alignment.

On the west side of the wye where the Omaha and Blair subs join the change will not be so dramatic. The ROW appears to being prepared for the track to be repositioned slightly further to the west and the connecting switch to be closer to the bridges over the creek on the west side of downtown Missouri Valley.

Allen Creek to California Jct., IA.
Late last year the sub grade was completed for both the new second track and the third track. With winter now occurring, track work was stopped in mid November. But some work has been occurring for signaling and onsite switch building.

On the ROW for track 2 the cross-over switch has been laid out just east of Italy Ave. While on the north side the concrete ties have been positioned for the switch to the third main.

One change that was noted was the closing of Grover Ave about a mile east of California Jct. This road is also now marked as a private road on the south side of the ROW.

On the east side of California Jct, signal crews were noted working on signal cables and junction boxes.A cross over switch on the new main is also being constructed on the ROW.

California Jct, IA to Corning Ave.
The news here is grading has started from Fremont Ave to east of Corning Ave.The face of California Jct has been changed now but will result in more active once this is completed.

East of Austin Ave., heavy excavating machinery was parked and being serviced for next weeks work.

West of Austin Ave, the grading of the new ROW has started but is not as far along as the section between Fremont and Austin Aves.

It does not appear that the grading has progressed up to the slough. On the west side of the slough up to Corning Ave, new survey stakes were noted but no active grading was seen.

Corning Ave to Hwy 92 Blair, NE
No activity was noted between these two points. The beginning of the new double track is just south west of the Hwy 92 crossing.

Hwy 92 Blair to Kennard, NE
The old CTC signals are now gone. A couple of weeks ago they were still in place but the heads had been turned toward the mains.

East Kennard Siding to West Kennard Siding
The old Kennard siding has been disassembled and is in the process of being rebuilt from the grown up and will be shifted closer to Hwy 30 (based on the survey flags).

Along the hill that old Co Rd 32 runs on there are survey flags from the guard rail that blocks the old crossing down to were Co Rd 25 joins Co Rd 32. This appears to indicate that the side of the hill will be excavated to allow for the new track to be shifted south buy about 6-10 feet. This also may be the end of this old road.

The first creek crossing south of Co Rd 25 is being reworked with a fill and culvert are being built. This maybe a new bridge or a temp crossing of the creek to allow excavating equipment access to the area. Further down to the west end of the old Kennard siding, the other creek bridge area is also being worked. It is unknown if these two bridges will be replaced of if the work is to allow excavators access.

West Kennard to Co Rd 21
Trees and vegetation has been removed on the south side of the ROW between these two points. Additionally culvert work was seen for the drainage under the ROW west of the Hwy 30 over crossing.

The new ROW has been staked out between these two points but no active grading was observed.

CO Rd 21 to Co Rd 19

There is a major change in the works for the curve to the west of the Co Rd 21 crossing. Excavators were busy contouring the side of the hill and dumping this dirt on the side of the hill next to Co rd 21. Its unknown if this dirt will be reused later in the project of if the farmer who owns this land will be getting a bonus of new farm land.

Co Rd 19 to Co Rd P34
This area is is away from the road and a bit harder to observe. At the Co Rd 19 crossing the ROW west is staked out and there was a truck mounted drill and pipes observed on the south side of the crossing.

Co Rd P34 to Co Rd 15
Arlington Hill will definitely be change by this construction. The area just southwest of the P34 crossing is almost unrecognizable now and the excavating has not even started.

The trees and vegetation on the south side of the ROW have been removed and the area is being prepped for excavation work.

View from the P34 grade crossing showing how much of the hill will be trimmed back.

Looking east from the crossing this curve will see some changes also.

Co Rd 15 area
This area will also experience a dramatic change. From the way the survey flags are laid out the line should cut across the existing track and straighten out the s-curve to the west of the crossing. It should be interesting to see how this will all occur as the line has some housing close to the ROW.

Looking west from the crossing the prep work for the elimination of the s-curves has already started.

No other work was observed toward Arlington with the except of tree and vegetation removal.

A trip around the triangle

2012-01-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

Saturday was supposed to be a decent day so I decided to head out and see what was going on with the Blair Sub double tracking project. The day started out with a stop in Council Bluffs, IA to see what was going on. Unfortunately there was a lack of traffic which foreshadowed what the day was going to be like.

Council Bluffs, IA
The new track on the southeast side of the yard was being readied for installation. A front end loader was distributing the new ties along the ROW and the switch at 16th Ave was built and ready for installation.

UP MCBNC was pumping air on its train
4529-5006-3920

BNSF local switcher
503

IAIS yard job
601-650

IAIS CBBI power
505-501

The CN was heard on the scanner asking the UP for permission to make a move on the UP in N. Omaha and there was no CN road power to be seen in the yard. The UP north yard was nearly empty with only the north yard switcher working. Both the MCBSS and MCBVP had left and the MKCVP was late into Council Bluffs.

Missouri Valley, IA
On the drive north to Mo Valley there wasn't any activity spotted on the UP until the Loveland exit. The MSXCB was spotted rolling under the CN fly-over but the power was on the other side of the incline and could not be identified. At Canal St. the MPRCB was caught heading off the Boone Sub onto the Omaha Sub.

UP MPRCB
4072-4333-5474-7397

UP ETOH train in the yard
6602-7192

Missouri Valley to Blair
There was no movements on the Blair Sub and radio traffic was non-existent. At Italy Ave new ribbon rail was seen on both sides of the existing main heading west ready for installation on new ties once they are laid out. The PCI staging area was also pretty empty as all the heavy equipment was gone.

Just east of California Jct the hardware for the new switches has been distributed for the track crews to build the switch from.From the looks of the activity the UP may start laying track in March or April between Allen Creek and east California Jct. As a side note the UP has Grover Ave barricaded and closed at the crossing.

West from Fremont Ave at California Jct. the UP had been doing preliminary prep work on the new ROW. Piles of old ties were spotted at Fremont Ave and Austin Ave. From Austin Ave west to Corning Ave some activities has been occurring on the new ROW (no building/grading) by trucks.

From Corning Ave west to the Missouri River no activity or signs of recent activity were seen. A port-a-potty was seen under the UP Missouri River bridge. I'm not sure why its there as no activity was spotted in that area.

Blair to Kennard
No activity was spotted in Blair until the area around CP Duffy. Lots of MOW crews where seen in the area but no actual work was noted. Driving along the line all the old signals have been deactivated and the heads turned toward the ROW. No train activity was spotted along this stretch either

Kennard to East Fremont
Lots of MOW crews where noted on the southwest side of Kennard with a flagman spotted resting in his pickup in the field on the north side of the ROW near the bridge.

Kennard siding was in a state of disassembly with stick rail having been pulled and laid inside the gauge. The mid siding signal was also dead with the head turned toward the ROW. At the south end of the old Kennard siding a new access road is being build for heavy equipment to use for access off of Hwy 30. The area around the south switch has also been graded and leveled for vehicles.

South of the Hwy 30 bridge to the top of Arlington Hill the south side of the main is being cleared of vegetation. This clearing has changed the look of the area around the County Rd P34 crossing. The greatest change is the removal of the giant Oak tree just to the southwest of the crossing.

On the western slope of Arlington Hill no activity was spotted with the exception of a worker placing survey flags behind the tree farm. The area at the top of the hill looks like it will be changed significantly based on where these flags were being placed.

On the east side of Arlington the survey stakes have reappeared west of S 8th st. If I followed them correctly there appears to be a house that will have to be removed for the new ROW. The old Elkhorn ROW is still being used as an access road in Arlington and as a curious note the current UP bridge over the creek on the east side of Arlington has bridge piers wide enough for a second bridge.

No activity was noted from the west side of the Elkhorn River to East Fremont.

Fremont, NE
Fremont was quite, even scanner traffic was at a minimum. The BNSF had a bit of power tied down on some spurs to the west of the depot but no activity. At the diamonds a UP MOW crew was performing welding on the frogs. Due to this a UP train was tied down for a crew change west of N. Pierce St. This train would end up have some excitement on the east side of Fremont as a car of butter caught fire.

UP switcher
510

UP QNPEL
5131-4547-4373

BNSF local power
2751-GP38-3R
2702

BNSF short southbound train tied down
6157

Fremont to Omaha

The QNPEL was stopped short of Hills Farm Rd for a car of butter that was smoking heavily. Radio chatter was heavy as the UP managers where communicating with the conductor to find out what was in the car and the adjacent car. Once it was determined that there were no haz-mat materials in either car the the order to the crew to vacate was rescinded. Fire crews from Fremont Rural Fire Department arrived on scene and began to assess the situation. I was able to observe flames coming out of the car, but it was mostly smoke that was observed.

Since the main was shutdown no trains were seen on the way into Omaha.

Friday Jan 20th

2012-01-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

With 5+ weeks of PTO banked, I took Friday off to head north to my parents house. Along the way the UP was active north of Mondamin to Sioux City. With the following spotted along the way.

River Sioux, IA

MCBVP+MCBSX combined train

Blencoe, IA

MSXCB

Onawa, IA

Pt. Neal Coal load

Salix, IA - MVPNP

Sgt. Bluff, IA

UP Pt. Neal local

Sioux City, IA

CN Sioux City - Ft. Dodge local

CN 2697-2432

CN local switcher

EJ&E 665

UP local power

502

UP unit in yard

6617

UP yard switcher

UP 50-2100

UP MCBSX

UP 3830-4965-821

power and train was left behind by the MCBVP

UP light power laying over from a grain train at Sloan, IA

UP 6705-6499-6913

BNSF MWILKCK

BNSF 4416-777-702

BNSF south end witcher

BNSF 2793-2859

BNSF north end switcher

BNSF 3429-1538

Council Bluffs, IA

CN switcher

EJ&E 673

UP MSXCB

UP 9357-2351

Held at Ave C for permission to head down the 12th st line.

UP eb freight

UP 7169-7313

Jan 14th, 2011

2012-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Some may have noticed that my postings have been reduced since the first of the year. One reason is I have been cutting back on my railfan activities. After 35 years of railfanning I have come to the conclusion that I really do not enjoy it as much as I did many years ago. Many factors are contributing to this decline in personal satisfaction; rabidly idiotic railfans, the hostle environment that the industry has toward railfans and not having my son with me to railfan with are some of the major reason for my scaling back. I'm not sure if I will return to the levels of active railfanning that I had engaged in during the past, only time will really tell.

Saturday Jan 14th
The day started out with some thick overcast but this did burn away around 11 am to become a fairly nice day. I spent a couple of hours checking out the action in Council Bluffs but there really was not that much going on.

IAIS
I could find no evidence that the BICB had came into town. The yard was nearly empty and no road power other that the typical stored power was seen. IAIS 601 & 650 were active in the yard and were seen over in the UP pool yard later in the morning pulling a cut of stack cars for the IAIS ramp.

BNSF
The Bayard turn was seen pulling into Council Bluffs after its overnight run from Bayard. The power appeared to be a ratty ex ATSF B40-8W and three Geeps.

Council Bluffs switcher
503

CN/IC
The inbound CB local can in with three CN units with a SD75I being cut off to replace the IC SD40-2 that had been in town since they reopened the line.

Ft Dodge to CB local
2413-2635-5692

Local switcher
IC 6206

Union Pacific
The UP was providing the most action even though there was not a lot of though trains. It was also noted that the UP has started to install the new by-pass track in between 16th Ave and S 16th St.This new track will allow train to enter or leave the yard without interfering with switch crews.

MCBPR
5769-7117 DPU 8178

UP coal load
7118-6216 DPU 5824

Both of these trains where brought into Council Bluffs on Friday night as the MNPCBB and were split up in the UP (ex CNW) north yard.

MCBSS
6629-6613-5925

MCBVP
5931-6452-6455

MNPCB
6679-6176-547-816

A short weekend

2012-01-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

I only engaged in one day of train watching this past weekend which was Sunday. As is typical the sky was a milky overcast with high sun occasionally peaking through, so photography was not the best.

Sunday Jan 8th
I only ventured out to Council Bluffs and train traffic was light. Only 3 trains where seen moving during the 3 hours I was out which is sort of unusual for even a Sunday.

KCS grain shuttle at the north Bartlett elevator
BNSF 6078- BNSF 6108

It unsual to see BNSF power on these KCS grain shuttles unless there has been an issue with the power since its left KC. Typically when this occurs the BNSF tacks on an additional unit to get it over the road.

UP North Yard switcher
581-513

UP MKCVP
4150-7360-503

CN/IC local switcher
IC 6202

UP Pool yard switcher
UPY 584-HLCX 3839

UP MCBDMX
4693-8465

UP local power
571-521

IAIS CBBI
513 DPU 502

UP Mid America coal load
8208 DPU 5783

BNSF Island Park local
793-6840

New Years Weekend

2012-01-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

Even though it was a three day weekend, I did not spend much time out doing any railfanning. The time I did spend out and about was productive though.

Saturday Dec 31st
Saturday was sort of a interesting day weather wise. It started out with filtered sunshine but quickly became overcast with sun returning late in the day. In many ways it was sorta like how the year was for me.

Council Bluffs
UP QNPEL
4845-4440-9567

UP MCBCO
2363-2267-6260-4212-510

KCS grain train at south Bartlett elevator
4025-4614

BNSF CB switcher
503

IAIS BICB
512-500

UP power parked on the Q transfer
7132-7290-7242

KCS grain train at north Bartlett elevator
4020-4699

UP north yard switcher
1209-536

CN/IC

6100 brought in road train
6202 local switch engine

UP MKCVP
4100-9518

UP MCBDM
5087-4553-2337

BNSF Island Park local
4183-4854

Pacific Junction, IA
BNSF coal load parked on the old yard siding
9616-5721 DPU 9354

Oreapolis, NE
BNSF coal empty
KCS 4771-BNSF 9663

UP MKCCP
I was not able to see the power for this train

Sunday Jan 1st, 2012
Sunday was a better sun day but was a very windy and cold start to the new year. Not much was running as the railroads where in a shutdown state, so it was just a quick trip to Council Bluffs to see what was laying over.

BNSF Bayard Local
1533-3004-2871-549-520

BNSF empty grain train on the IAIS
6794-1019-4903

IAIS BICB
511-506

UP MCBDM
4815-9740-4507

UP MCBPR
UP 6689-KCS 4109-UP 9795

CN/IC local switcher
IC 6202

UP coal load
6844-7273 DPU 6998

Christmas Weekend

2011-12-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

I got a early start on the weekend's railfanning with a couple of hours on Friday afternoon, but really did not engage in much more than some light train watching for the rest of the weekend.

Friday Dec23rd
I headed over to CB to hunt for the CN/IC but had no luck in finding them in town.

Council Bluffs, IA
Locos laying over in the UP Pool yard
UP 3783-FMX 4082-FMX 4049-UP 4950

KCS grain train at north Bartlett elevator
4582-4580

UP MKCVP
8469-7467

UP eb coal load
7218-5846 DPU 7088

BNSF Council Bluffs switcher
503

UP north yard switcher
UP 586-UPY 591

UP eb stack train
7402-4962-3827-5071-4941-8518

UP MCBDM
7475-9110-8181

UP eb empty grain train
5953-5869-6652

UP MNPCBB
5994-6625-6395-5572-6011-5948

Saturday Dec 23rd
For a change of pace I ventured over to Lincoln and returned to Omaha via Louisville, NE.

Havelock, NE
BNSF power laying over
2660-2770

BNSF switcher
BNSF 2273-EMDX 789

Lincoln, NE
wb coal empty
6416-5655

eb coal load
9841-9406 DPU 9363

AGP Mill
AGPX 1644

Waverly, NE
wb coal empty
5803-6279 DPU-5801

Ashland, NE
wb coal empty
8927-9557 DPU 6261

local tied down in the yard
2024-2751

wb coal empty
6344-9321

South Bend, NE
eb coal load
9204-6226

Sunday Dec 25th
Christmas day was a trip home to Sioux City. The BNSF was running trains but was mostly closed while the UP had a couple of trains during the day.

Sioux City, IA
CN/IC
Inbound Ft Dodge local power
BCR 4614-IC 1000

Local switcher
CN 2413

UP MKCVP
5612-8198

BNSF MLINNTN
8226-5321

BNSF Sioux Falls local

2051-2280-2984

BNSF Core Line local
3008-3033

BNSF switcher power sets
2859-3407 and 2802-3429

BNSF MNTNKCK
8168-8115-913

BNSF MKCKNTN
BNSF 7903-BNSF 686-BNSF 4830-CSX 8068-EMDX 9022

DAIR Hudson local
2513-2512

Monday Dec 26th
I made another attempt at finding the CN in Council Bluffs as the embargo was to be lifted on the 26th and the local switch job was to be reestablished. I only ventured out for about an hour and there was no activity to mention.

Council Bluffs, IA
BNSF Potash empty
8960-8940

IAIS BICB
510

KCS grain train at the south Bartlett elevator
4043-4058

December 17th and 18th

2011-12-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

A nice mid December weekend for some railfanning.

Saturday Dec 17th
Saturday was a a day to just relax and see what was going on in the local area.

Council Bluffs, IA
KCS grain train
3816-4583

UP MCBDMX
4075-8035

UP MSXCB
2367-2100-502

UP coal load
5658-7131 DPU 6479

A quick run up to the Honey Creek exit on I-29 for a look at the progress the CN has had on the rebuilding showd that the track was back in place and ballast work was being performed. Lots of progress since the last weekend.

There were two grain trains that were either on the BNSF Council Bluffs sub or where getting ready to head out onto the sub so I headed down river to Pacific Jct, IA to catch them before heading for home.

Pacific Jct., IA
BNSF grain train off the Bayard line
7872-7404-7264

BNSF wb coal empty
5700-5948 DPU 6280-9555

Oreapolis, NE
BNSF wb coal empty
6188-5698

Sunday December 18th
A quick look around Council Bluffs and Missouri Valley before calling it a day.

Council Bluffs, IA

BNSF grain train off the Bayard line
4151-5192-4502

UP MKCVP
7671-8193

UP lite power from the north yard
2381-2474

UP eb coal load
5575-6881

Missouri Valley, IA

UP unit in yard
4665

UP eb stack train
8579-7394 DPU 3957-8380

UP eb stack train
UP 7700 - KCS SD70ACe

Dec 10th and 11th

2011-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

A nice change of pace for this weekend, Saturday was sunny with a nice layer of frost on everything from the over night ice fog.

Saturday Dec 10th
Started the day out in my normal fashion with a trip to Council Bluffs.

Council Bluffs, IA
BNSF CB local
503

KCS grain train at s Bartlett Elevator
KCS 4027-TFM 1622

BNSF Bayard Local was parked in the old Milw yard
549- EMDX 785-556-3020

UP light power from Island Park
6488-7162

After a drive by the old CNW yard it was north to Missouri Valley to check out the progress on the rebuilding of the CN/IC line into Council Bluffs.

Missouri Valley, IA
UP eb coal load
7218-5846 DPU 5629

A broken rail on the Blair sub had westbound trains backed up in Missouri Valley eastward.

UP wb freight
5624-5172

UP nb grain train
5945-5948

UP ZDLSK
7666-4979-5502

This train went into emergency just south of Canal street due to a air hose coming undone.After watching it pull out of town I headed north to Mondamin to catch the MSXCB with a NS unit leading.

Mondamin, IA
UP MSXCB
NS 9913-2100-2181-5923-5065

UP sb loaded grain train
UP 6696-5990-9680 DPU 7194

After this train, it was time to head back to CB and get some lunch.

Council Bluffs, IA
UP QNPSK
UP 3799-CSX 71-UP 9667

UP Blair, NE local
UP 5116-4961

Sunday Dec 11th
Sunday was more like how the Saturdays have been lately. Cloudy with a little bit of low filtered sunlight to tease you with.

A quick run to the post office reveled a stopped empty grain train to start the day out with.

Bellevue, NE
UP grain empty
8196-7256-6258

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB/CBBI
508-504

UP eb stack train
8608-5536 DPU 8654

UP lite power move
8223-9264-9132-9101-9175-9297-9319-9226-9284-9185-9139

UP MKCVP
5473-4115

Omaha, NE
I missed the head end of a eb UP freight

BNSF wb loaded potash train
NS 8821 was the sole power.

Dec 3rd and 4th

2011-12-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Finally the first significant snow of the season occurred, so it was a weekend of slipping and sliding.

Saturday Dec 3rd.
The morning started out dark and raining but since it was supposed to change over into snow, I headed out for some snow action.

Council Bluffs, IA
KCS grain train at the north Bartlett elevator.
4621-3932

Missouri Valley, IA
UP wb empty coaler
6669-7010

UP eb stack train
5678-4940 DPU 7775

UP wb empty coaler
6619-6272 DPU 5964

Council Bluffs, IA
UP eb coal load
6839-5629 DPU 6487

UP MCBSX
2181-2100-HLCX 1043

Sunday Dec 4th
The weather guessers had predicted sunny skies for Sunday, well they where sorta correct as the sun came out later in the afternoon.

Oreapolis, NE
BNSF wb ETOH train
4855-6182

Plattsmouth, NE
BNSF wb coal empty
5829-9948 DPU 9277-9473

Pacific Jct, IA
BNSF wb coal empty
5859-9497

BNSF wb coal empty
8922-9214

BNSF eb coal load
9211-9213

Lots of scanner traffic and trains where backed up on the Napier sub but I have found that staying in one place too long around the BNSF invites the SA's

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
508-504

UP MKCVP
7832-9482-MJRX 711

UP Special
8695

UP MPRCB
4725-9595

UP eb coal load
5954-7204

BNSF Island Park local
4503-5051

BNSF Council Bluffs switcher
503

November 26th and 27th, 2011

2011-11-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

Just a lazy weekend to do some exploring and train watching around the area.

Saturday the 27th
Saturday was a nasty dreary and extremely windy day, but since I had nothing better to do I was out the door around 9am and when to see what was going on.

Council Bluffs
IAIS BICB
507 (one unit today)
This same unit took a 20 car CBBI eastbound later in the afternoon.

KCS grain train south Bartlett elevator
4618-4583

IAIS local switcher
601-650

UP power parked on the Q transfer
5756-5663-8189

KCS grain train north Bartlett elevator
4708-4694

UP MPRCB
8406-7104-5252

UP coal load
5854-6233 DPU 7120

California Jct, IA
UP MVPNP
5976-6750-6178-6929-8114 DPU unknown SD90MAC

The crew of this train called me in and even indicated to the dispatcher that I was a railfan. This didn't stop the road master from taking matter into his own hands by chasing me down out on Hwy 30 and then tailgating me until I did an emergency pull over onto the shoulder. I did file a police report with the Harrison County Sheriff concerning the UPRR's harassment.

UP eb stack train
7646-4807-4444 DPU 7931

Council Bluffs, IA
BNSF Island Park Local
5051-4503

Sunday November 28th
The sun was out but the wind was still blowing.

Bellevue, NE
UP unknown nb freight
4584-3855-4787

UP sb grain train parked next to the freight
Head end units where not view able but the DPU was UP 8227

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
511-503

BNSF local
503

Missouri Valley, IA
UP MCHNP
5081-6395

Blair, NE
UP MSSNP
6571-5713 DPU 7236

UP wb stack train
7417-8646 DPU 4709-8668

Fremont, NE
BNSF local power
2751-2392

UP MNPCBB
5781-6609-8081-6625-6226 DPU 88220

Valley, NE
UP wb grain train
5663-5783 DPU 8186

UP local power
2301-2385

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

Having no intention of doing any railfanning during the holiday, I was surprised that I encountered as much activity as I did.

The day started out with me driving up to my parents house in S. Sioux City and once I was in Sioux City a quick drive through the local yards.

I-29 North
I encounter a stopped freight on the old CNW north of Honey Creek, IA. It was too far away to see the units to determine which train it was.

PCI has completed the rebuilding of the section of the CN/IC/CCP main that was washed out south of the Honey Creek I-29 exit. The pulled the old rail back up on the new ROW. No other repair work was observed except for clean up of the debris along the ROW.

The MSXCB was seen parked north of the Boyer River bridge waiting for a clear shot south to Council Bluffs. No other trains where encountered until Sloan, IA.

At Sloan a grain train was sitting at the local elevator. The power for this train wasn't park in Sloan nor Sioux City. At Salix the MCBVP was in the siding waiting for its sb counter part to leave Sioux City.

A Pt. Neal coaler was seen at the SC airport in Sgt Bluff, IA heading for a slow run around the ballon track while it unloads.

Sioux City
As a came into SC a sb BNSF freight was seen crossing the Missouri River and I wasn't able to see the power.

The CN switch job was actively placing empties at the Cargill plant and was using GT 4930 as the power. At the yard office CN 5347 and 5700 were parked.

The UP yard was about half full with a empty Potash train on the track next to the main. Three GP38-2's were resting at the old diesel shop location. Sitting on the main at 28th st was the MVPNP with UP 6473-6888-4368-8065-8077 as the head end power and the DPU (another SD90MAC) was out in Leeds. This train was nearly 2 miles long.

Over on the BNSF side of town was a nb empty grain train with BNSF 4302-5399-4541. Two switch jobs were also working the north and south ends of the yard.

The DAIR is still moving rock trains. 2 GP39-2's, 2 GP50's and DAIR 23 were parked in the yard.

I-29 South
Heading back home I encountered a nb BNSF coaler parked on the Missouri River bridge. The next train was on the UP at Salix. The MKCVP was in the siding waiting for another Pt. Neal bound coaler to run around it. The coaler was seen between Salix and Sloan so the VP didn't have long to wait. The last train for the day was encounter in the narrows in Council Bluffs. A coal load was getting back up to track speed after coming through the north yard are.

November 19th and 20th, 2011

2011-11-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

Typical weekend for winter with one day being cloudy and dreary and the other having low filtered sunlight.

Saturday November 19th
Started out the day with a drive through Council Bluffs and ended up in Missouri Valley, IA.

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
500-503

KCS Grain Train at south Bartlett elevator
4127-4599

UP grain train power sitting on the Q connector in the Pool yard
8158-8109-8162

I-29 Honey Creek exit
The washed out CN mainline is now being rebuilt. PCI appears to be the contractor that won the rebuilt contract for the line as they where working on restoring the road bed at this washout spot. The track was cut and pushed to the side of the old roadbed to allow access to the ROW. A couple of dozers had leveled the old roadbed and created a "road" out to the ROW to allow side dump semi's to drive out and dump crushed rock that is being used for the new roadbed. This rock is then being spread out and compacted by a dozer and then a roller.

Missouri Valley, IA
The MPRCB was being held at the Boyer river bridge waiting for a hole in the eastbound parade to make the run to Council Bluffs.

Eastbound Coal load
6520-7073 DPU 6727

Eastbound Coal load
6517-5902 DPU 6536

ZG2SC
8681-4455-4197-4529

After having to deal with a crazed tweaker who was upset that I parked in front of her house on a public street, I had enough of Missouri Valley and headed back toward home.

Council Bluffs, IA
Eastbound Coal load
5903-6831 DPU 5974

Eastbound Coal load
7315-6460 DPU 5966

MCBDM
8153-9397- SD70M

MKCCP
8063-4904-4663

Omaha, NE
I noticed a UP special parked on the spur across from TD Ameritrade and took a short run over to see what was there. UP 7503 was on the point of three passenger cars and a power car.

Sunday November 20th
A typical lazy Sunday day, with me starting out late and only hanging out around the local area.

Council Bluffs, IA
UP MKCCP
7495-4780-5469

UP Eastbound coal load
6784-5753 DPU 5791

UP Eastbound K-line stack train
5054-8441-3928

UP MNPCB
6546-6477

BNSF potash load for the Bayard branch
HLCX 5984- NS 2616

UP Eastbound coal load
5954-7204 DPU 5881

UP Eastbound coal load
7117-6213 DPU 6742

IAIS BICB
507-513

November 5th and 6th, 2011

2011-11-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

The first weekend of November and the weekend for the time change back to standard time. Its really hard to believe that the year is almost over.

I started out Saturday with no real plans except to get lost somewhere.The past week had been hell and the cumulative affects of my drawn out 4 year divorce had left me in a pretty foul mood.

Saturday November 5th
Council Bluffs, IA
KCS grain train at south Bartlett Elevator
4692-4016

UP grain train power
6359-6269-7521
Power was laying over on the Q connector after having brought in a grain train for the Bungee facility south of Council Bluffs.

KCS grain train at north Bartlet elevator
4707-3941

UP MOW train
4023-9318
This was a slot train that a excavator was dumping dirt and rock out of along the west side of the UP north yard (old CNW yard)

From Council Bluffs I headed north to Missouri Valley and had turned right on Hwy 30 to head into western Iowa but turned around on the east side of town and headed back west.At Blair I continued west on Hwy 91 until Hwy 275 and then I turned north.

Uehling, NE
BNSF sb empty sand train
BNSF 6238- FMX 4601

Oakland, NE
Central Valley Ag flood loader
BNSF 4674- NS 9487

Continuing north I headed over to Bancroft and Pender, NE to explore the ghosts of the old CStpM&O. At Bancroft the old depot is still standing though its been heavily modified from its original appearance. Heading north along Hwy 16 to Pender the old ROW can be seen in a few places, but is has been pretty much plowed under my the area farmers. The depot at Pender also still stands but is now used by a local concrete company.

On the return trip south, I got off the highway at Uehling and followed the BNSF south to Winslow via the backroads. I was able to explore the new double track project the BNSF has started south of Uehling. Its currently starting out as a new siding but will be expanding over the next couple of years.

Fremont, NE
BNSF nb on the main at Pappa
BNSF 5707 - EMDX 9031

UP power laying over
5653-7491
6713-6059-6273-7111

UP wb freight off the Blair sub
UP 5563 DPU UP 8479

BNSF nb freight
4458-5242

BNSF local power
2309

Valley NE
UP power laying over
6178-6832-6451-4412-6854

Sunday November 6th
The time change had my schedule messed up and after the previous days trip, I just stayed around the local area.

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
505-508

KCS grain train for the Cargill elevator
3957-3942

UP MSXCBX
5116-9397-2237-2267

UP eb coal load
UP 5763-6248 DPU 6607

UP MPRCB
5207-9754

UP QNPSK
UP 4844 - CSX 4786 - UP 9355

BNSF Island Park local
4642-4804

BNSF local switcher 3171

Before heading for home, I made one last stop at Oreapolis.

Oreapolis, NE
BNSF eb coal load
BNSF 8821 DPU BNSF 5821

BNSF wb coal empty
BNSF 9152-5830 DPU BNSF 6281

Oct 29th and 30th 2011

2011-10-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

October seems to have gone by way too quickly this year. Winter really is only a couple of weeks away as it usually snows in the first part of November. Hopefully this winter is not too bad, I'm not really a fan of the snow and cold.

Saturday 29th
Saturday started out cold but sunny and I was out the door around 9 am. First stop was the usual drive through Council Bluffs. I had thought about going by Gibson to see what was there but wasn't in the mood for the BNSF's bullshit.

Council Bluffs, IA
KCS Grain train at south Bartlett elevator
4127-4599

BNSF Switcher
556

IAIS BICB
511-513

BNSF Island Park local
626-4093

UP unit on the Q connector
7120

KCS Grain train at the north Bartlett Elevator
4596-4706

UP MKCVP
7764-7522

With the MKCVP making a set out in the old CNW yard and the scanner chatter indicating a fleet of eastbounds I headed up to Mo Valley, IA.

Missouri Valley, IA
UP MSXCB
2061-2363

eb Coal load
6848 DPU 6605

eb MOW train off the Sioux City sub
4368-4942

eb Stack train
7644-3792-4635 DPU ES44AC

wb Coal empty
7170-6224 DPU 6592

wb Stack train
5123-8594

eb Coal load
7105-6900 DPU 5974

Another eb coal load got by me without me being able to see the unit numbers.After these trains it was fairly quite so I headed back to Council Bluffs before heading for home.

Council Bluffs, IA
eb Grain empty
5824-6509-6187

eb Coal load
UP 7283 - SP 107

Sunday Oct 30th
Sunday is typically the day I check out the BNSF. I started out the morning heading down to Oreapolis but after only seeing one in an hour I headed over to Pacific Junction, IA before looping back up to Council Bluffs.

Oreapolis, NE
wb Coal empty
5858-9458

Plattesmouth, NE
eb Coal load
6038-9949

Pacific Junction, IA

Tied down sb ballast train on Napier Sub
9429-9145

eb Coal load
9222-9714 DPU 8887

KCS Grain train on the Council Bluffs sub
3902-4008

I also missed the ZCHIDEN and a wb coal empty while driving to the north side of Pac Jct.

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
504-503

BNSF yard
KCS 4127-BNSF 556-BNSF 3171-BNSF 3030
KCS 4599

The BNSF Bayard local was also working the southeast end of the old Milw yard with four GP's of various types.

UP eb stack train
7772-3819-4146 DPU 7439

UP wb coal empty
6913-6431

UP MCBDM
UP 4574-NS 9610

The BNSF...Buffets Nasty Security Force

2011-10-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Is BNSF clamping down on photographers?

Unfortunately this is true. Even on public property and non-railroad private property the BNSF Special Agents and employees actively confront and report anyone with a camera. Every time I am near the BNSF Omaha area terminals the scanner cranks up with conversations concerning my vehicle and its description, accusations of me being Arabic, etc.

The other week, one of the Omaha Gibson terminal utility men go into his own personal vehicle drove out of the employee parking lot and parked so I could not pass/drive (he blocked the road) by on Missouri Ave in Omaha. This is a public street mind you. He only moved when I got out of my vehicle with my camera in hand to record his actions. While he was leaving scanner traffic had this individual reporting me as a possible "suspicious" person. Lets see, I'm suspicious and have not broken any laws while this employee blocks a public road and makes a false report of suspicious activity.

This war on railfans is only beginning. The BNSF plays games to entice the gullible with free calendars and a special website designed for the fans of the BNSF. Problem is this is just a front for them to gather fans personal information so they know who you are.

Paranoid...nope, just not one of the sheep.

Oct 15th and 16th

2011-10-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

The fall weekends are always the best time of year. The lighting is at its best and traffic on the railroads is high with grain trains and the ramp up to the holidays.

On Saturday I took a run up to the Blair Sub to see what has been going on especially on the NE side as it had been a couple of weeks since I had been on that side of the Blair Sub. To make it interesting I waited for a wb train at Missouri Valley to follow over to Fremont.

Saturday Oct 15th
As with most outings, I started out in Council Bluffs, IA before heading out to Fremont and then returned via the same routing.

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
513
The other ES was not seen with the 513.

UP Grain Train power
UP 6376-6305
They were parked on the BN lead east of the pool yard.

UP MKCVP
UP 4197-4538

UP MSXCB
HLCX 5956-UP 2061-827

Missouri Valley, IA
UP eb grain load
UP7273-7207-8633

QSKDL
UP 8695-8656-7418

Fremont, NE
UP Mid America coal load
UP 5622 DPU UP 5872

BNSF local power
BNSF 2770-2358

BNSF nb sand train
BNSF 4326-740

UP switcher
UP 815

UP Ballast train
UP 2334-4552

UP ZDLSK
UP 5375-4824-5114

UP wb coal empty
UP 5830-7095 DPU UP 5933

UP eb load load
UP 7295-6213 DPU 5917

California Jct., IA
UP wb stack train
UP 8670-5476 DPU UP 4845-7347

UP MCHNP
UP 8036-3821

Sunday Oct 16th
Sunday started out sort of gloomy with it trying to rain but this burned off around 11 am revealing a nice and sunny afternoon.I started Sunday out in Oreapolis, NE before heading over to Pacific Jct, IA to check the progress of the Napier Sub reopening. From there is was back up to Council Bluffs.

Oreapolis, NE
BNSF MGALLIN
BNSF 626-4093

BNSF eb coal load
BNSF 6263-9295 DPU BNSF 9783

BNSF eb coal load
BNSF 6318-5890 DPU 6173

BNSF wb coal empty
BNSF 8916-5647

Pacific Jct, IA
The Napier sub was back in business and the BNSF was running empties nb/wb empties nose to tail. In the 30 minutes I was in Pacific Jct, I witnessed 3 trains either coming off the Napier sub or lined up to follow.

BNSF nb/wb coal empty
BNSF 5923 DPU BNSF 5707-5632

BNSF wb coal empty
BNSF 6385-9505-5921

BNSF wb coal empty
Unable to get unit numbers but power was 2 ES44AC's. Train was an empty coal with about 20 loaded company tank cars with diesel fuel on the head end.

BNSF nb/wb coal empty
BNSF 9996-9352-6257-9447

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
IAIS 512-506

UP MCBDM
UP 5023-9663 - CN 5738

KCS grain train at N Bartlett Elevator
KCS 4595- TFM 1608

UP MKCVP
UP 4838-4234

A broken rain stopped all traffic so it was time to head for home but a side detour for a look a stopped eb stack train.

Omaha, NE

UP 7432-4508 DPU UP-8655

Oct 8th and 9th 2011

2011-10-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

An interesting weekend as both days started out sunny but turned to clouds in the afternoon. Saturday was the worse of the two as it became cloudy around 11 am.

Saturday Oct 8th.
I started the day out in Council Bluffs with a quick trip up to the Missouri Valley, IA area to check out the progress on the double tracking between Allen Creek and California Jct, IA.

Council Bluffs, IA
UP MNCCB
UP 4319-2299-2331

KCS Grain train
KCS 4125 - TFM 1658
This train came in last Sunday to be loaded. Its highly unusual for a loaded train to stay in town.

UP MSXCB
UP 2302-9474-536-826

Missouri Valley, IA
UP PRCB
UP 8044-8204-5188

California Jct, IA
QELNP
UP 8592-NS 7717- HLCX 5956

The new ROW for the double tracking is progressing between Italy Ave west of Mo Valley to California Jct. The north side is projected to be a third track/siding to allow for crew changes and appears to be the furthest along. It is nearly completed between Grover Ave and Italy Ave with fines having been laid up to about a 1/4 mile east of Grover Ave. There is still grading being done on the south side ROW est of Grover Ave. From Grover Ave west to California Jct both sides of the ROW are still being worked on. The UP is also pulling signal cables along the new ROW's.

Sunday Oct 9th
Sundays weather was more promising and I headed out to Oreapolis, NE and Pacific Jct, IA to see what has been going on there. As I crossed over the tracks at LaPlatte, NE a sb UP coaler was slowly rolling up to the diamond at Oreapolis as an eb BNSF coal load was crossing in front of it. From Pacific Jct I headed back north to Council Bluffs which turned out to be quite busy.

Oreapolis, NE
UP OMAX coal load
UP 6907-6282 UP 7189 DPU

Pacific Jct, IA
BNSF eb coal load
BNSF 6042-5816 DPU BNSF 9148-5780-5659

BNSF eb coal load
BNSF 8869-6252 DPU Unknown SD70MAC

BNSF eb coal load
BNSF 9607 DPU 5702

Council Bluffs, IA
UP light power
UP 2311-2100

UP MPRCB
UP 4961-8077

UP eb coal load
UP 5994-7063 DPU 6443

UP eb coal load
UP 5600-5700 DPU 5724

UP eb coal load
UP 6592-7108 DPU 5556

UP MKCVP
UP 5552-3934

UP light power
SP 187- UP 6013-7280

UP MCBDM
UP 3845-8240-6385

Oct 1st and 2nd

2011-10-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here. The fields are being harvested and the days are shorter. The low sun and crisp skies are near perfect for photography.

Saturday Oct 1st.
The day started out with a drive to Council Bluffs and ended up taking me to Kennard, NE for a look at the progress of the second main installation.

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
512-505

UP MCBPR
4428-4185-4247

UP Lt Power move
8698-8688

KCS Grain Train
3901-4123

UP MKCVP
5605-7260-6433

Missouri Valley, IA
UP Blair local
2100-2311

AMTK 6 detour
UP 6050-AMTK 160- AMTK 60

UP MOW Train
261-5080

UP eb Stack and Auto
7464-5029 DPU 8616-5207

UP eb Freight
4776-4763

UP wb Stack
7731-3812- DPU 4108-8424

UP eb Grain empty
7132-5023 DPU 7242

Between Blair and Kennard, NE
UP MVPNP
8203-6268 DPU 8002

UP wb empty coaler
UP 6453-6161

UP wb empty coaler
UP 5730 DPU 6827

Omaha, NE
UP MNPBO
6071-6438-3749-6956-unknown AC4400CW

Sunday Oct 2nd

Sunday was a day to just explore around the Omaha and Council Bluffs area.

Omaha, NE
BNSF Gibson Yard
4565, 2024-3111, 746, 2392

UP Display track
UP 7400 RGC Pink Ribbon Unit

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS BICB
507-502

KCS grain train power
4108-4603

BNSF switcher
3121

UP MSXCB
9474-2302

UP Engineering Special
8988-8998

KCS grain empty
KCS 4125 - TFM 1658

UP MKCVP
UP 4890 - NS 8424

UP eb coal load
5909-6271 DPU 6592

UP eb ETOH empty
5107-3897-4514

UP MKCCP
UP 7676-2366 DPU 7475

Some video from the weekend.

Sept 24th and 25th

2011-09-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a trip to Sioux City for a change of pace and to see the family. I-29 was opened the evening of the 23rd so it was a straight shot up interstate to ole Sewer City.

Sioux City, IA
UP Port Neal local
UP 827-828

DAIR Hudson, SD local
DAIR 2512-2511

UP power parked in the stockyards
UP 4149-3981

DAIR switcher power
DAIR 7 & 9

CN Sioux City - Ft Dodge local
CN 2673-2546

CN switcher
CN/IC 9619

UP power in yard
UP 7464-5080-2061

UP MCBVP
UP 7163-5955-8183

BNSF MNTNLIN
BNSF 9323-4781-4766

S. Sioux City, NE
BNSF grain extra at Cargill
BNSF 6678-7525 DPU 4373

On trip back to Omaha encountered an empty UP rail train in the stockyards, a empty coaler south of Blencoe, IA and the MKCVP south of Mondamin, IA.

Sunday I started out by taking a drive by the BNSF Gibson yard in S. Omaha, NE before heading over into Iowa to explore.

Omaha, NE
Power on ready tracks
BNSF 4141-5146-556-4523

Power on an unknown train
BNSF 5261-766

Council Bluffs, IA
North CB Bartlett grain elevator
KCS 4582-4039

UP coal load
UP 5647-6309 DPU 6564

UP coal empty
UP 5884-6167

UP MNPEL
UP 6824-8480-8077-5990 DPU 6441

UP Pool Yard switcher
UP 831-1209

IAIS transfer
IAIS 601-650-720

UP empty grain train
UP 4833-6399-5863

UP Engineering special
UP 8688-8698 and about 15 cars

KCS grain train at S Bartlett elevator
TFM 1606-KCS 4578

Honey Creek, IA
ZG3BR
UP 7454-7733-4915 DPU 7348

I also encountered two westbound coal empties between Mo Valley and CB but was not able to get unit numbers. The UP had a 12 hour curfew on the Blair Sub and was routing westbounds through Omaha.

Sept 10th and 11th

2011-09-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday Sept 10th
After reading that the tie train for the new second track between Blair and Kennard had arrived in Blair on Friday I decided to make a trip up to Blair.

Council Bluffs
IAIS
BICB
501-507

BNSF
Local power
BNSF 3201-3111-2309

Missouri Valley
Blair Local
UP 9474-2302

SB Mixed Freight
UP 8166-2337

Blair
Tie train
UP 8036-3949

MVPNP
UP 8223-6079 DPU 7165

Missouri Valley
WB Ethanol Train
UP 6736-6418

EB mixed Freight
UP 7854-9389-2247-CEFX 1038

wb Coal empty
UP 5886-6466

Council Bluffs
MNPBO
UP 6660-5872-3880-5840-SP 199-UP 5775

Sunday September 11th
Sunday was a day to hang out around town. I did start out in Oreapolis, NE and ended up in Council Bluffs via Pacific Jct.

Council Bluffs
Mid America coal empty
UP 6503 DPU UP AC44W

WEPX Coal load
UP 5719-5920 DPU 6719

MNPPR
UP 7896-9341-CNW 8701 DPU 5587

UP Officer Special
UP 7523

There was lots of coal train traffic on the UP Omaha Sub and I missed about 5 trains moving around town. The BNSF Creston sub was also active with me missing 3 trains between Oreapolis and Pacific Jct.

Sept 4th, 2011

2011-09-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sept 4^th

I started the day out in North Platte and followed the UP eastward to Gothenburg. Since I wanted to follow the old CBQ/BN/BNSF line from Sterling CO into Holdrege, NE, I headed south to HWY 23 at Gothenburg, NE. From There I followed the Nebraska Kansas and Colorado into Holdrege and then the BNSF into Hastings, NE. From Hastings I headed back up to I-80 until Lincoln where I got off on Hwy 6 and followed the BNSF into Ashland, NE.

Along Hwy 30 heading east

UP MP 274

WB grain loads

UP 5682-6467 DPU UP 5959

UP MP 268

WB coal empty

UP 5931-6046 DP UP 6273

UP MP 265

WB grain load

UP 7205 DPU FMX 4622-UP 5654

UP MP 262

WB coal empty

UP 5890-7025 DPU UP 6619

UP MP 258

WB freight

UP 2468-8180-4551

UP MP 253

WB coal empty

UP 5710-5664 DPU UP 5579

Loomis, NE

Grain Elevator

DLCX 2000

Holdrege, NE

Nebraska Kansas Colorado

HLCX 5005

DLCX 1202

NKCR 9259

NKCR 7427

Havelock, NE

WB Freight

BNSF 750-4646

Waverly, NE

EB freight

BNSF 1103-4776

Ashland, NE

MLINLIN

BNSF 549-520

Sept 3rd, 2011

2011-09-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 3

Saturday was the start of my trip to North Platte. This was sort of a spur of the moment trip and I really did not have any goals in mind other than to explore and take pictures of depots and switchers at the various grain elevators on the way.

I left Omaha heading west on Hwy 92 with my first stop being at Mead, NE to capture the Frontier CO-OP GP10 and the UP depot that is in the town park.

After that it was back west on Hwy 92 with a detour stop in Brainard, NE. A drive around the grain elevator didn’t reveal any switchers but a shuttlewagon was parked in the elevator parking lot. Back out on 92, I headed west to Hwy 15 and a run up to David City. I was able to capture both the UP and the old Q depots but there were no switchers in town.

From David City it was north to Columbus and a look at the NCRC. About the time I got into Columbus it started to rain which quickly developed in a steady down pour. A drive out on Hwy 81 to the northwest side of town didn’t produce any NCRC units but the MNCCB had just arrived from Norfolk and the crwew was being taken back to the yard office. Power was UP 4418-3904. UP local power parked in the yard was UP 833, UP 505 and UP 2262.

From Columbus I headed west on Hwy 30. Below is a list of what was seen along the way. Not everything is listed as some slipped by me here and there.

Sliver Creek, NE

Platte Valley CO-OP

Ex CNW 4162

EB coal load

UP 5998 DPU UP 7190

Clarks, NE

EB coal load

UP 6617-SP177 DPU UP 7189

Thumbell, NE

Debruce Grain

JWS 76

MP 120

MNPPR

UP 4262-4048

MP 139

EB coal load

UP 5575-7057 DPU 6625

Grand Island, NE

MGINP

UP 2447-1601-1589

Wood River, NE

MNPCBB

UP 8201-6413-6185-6692-6624 DPU 8171

Grain Elevator

BEBX 2054

EB Light Power

UP 6540-7051-7249

Shelton, NE

Cargill Elevator

Unknown # GP7r

Gibbon, NE

ZSKDL

UP 4920-7881-5114

Cargill Elevator

2002, 9349

Elm Creek

Grain Elevator

AGREX 824

MP 180

EB coal load

UP 6854-7014 DPU 6384

Kearney, NE

EB Mixed Freight

UP 3825-4242-4751

EB Perishable

UP 8659-4261-7844

WB Z train

UP 3922-4194-3792-3889-4097

EB coal load

UP 7200-6222 DPU 6709

Local power

UP 826-504

MP 209

EB coal load

UP 7120-6166 DPU 6812

Lexington, NE

Local Power

UP 508-832

UP 505

In transit to Cozad

DBGX 6634 ex AGP

Grain Elevator

I&M Raillink

612

WB Stack train

UP 8686-4736-2409-2456 DPU4581-8687

EB Stack Train

UP 5452-4000 DPU 4220-8449

Cozad, NE

Peavey Grain 1261

This unit is to be replaced by the DBGX 6634 spotted in Cozad.

MP 246

EB coal load

UP 6789-6268 DPU 6329

Gothenburg, NE

WB coal empty

UP 7170-6837 DPU 5724

Grain Elevator

MJRX 1021

EB Empty Auto

UP 8119

MP 255

EB Stack Train

UP 7730-4820-4953 DPU 7693

MP 257

EB Mixed Freight

UP 7392-4231 DPU 6995

MP 265

EB coal load

UP 5872-6881 DPU 6244

MP 272

EB coal load

UP 5658-7104 DPU 6535

MP 275

QSKNP

UP 8650-CSX 5349- CSX 7564

North Platte, NE

MCA 7515

There were too many UP units to record.

Aug 27th and 28th 2011

2011-08-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

August 27, 2011
I started out the weekend with a trip to Sioux City, IA and was rewarded with some interesting units.

Council Bluffs, IA
At the north Bartlett elevator was a loaded KCS grain train with two Belles, KCS 4682 and 4036.

The QNPSK was going by the north yard and I was unable to see what the head end power was. UP 8016 was cut in about 2/3 of the way back in the train as a DPU, though.

Blencoe, IA
Blencoe is the main pssing siding between California Jct and Salix, IA on the Sioux City sub and today there where two trains in Blenco. The MCBVP was passing an empty Pt. Neal coal train.

Salix, IA
The MKCVP was in the Salix siding waiting for MOW equipment to clear the main at Sgt. Bluff, IA.

Sioux City, IA
First stop in town is the Dakota & Iowa ex Milw east yard. Today was sort of a disappointment as only the Hudson local was in town with DAIR 2513 & 2512. The local switch engine was DAIR 4 and tucked away at the end of what was the Milw main was DAIR 6 and 21. I'm not sure why these would be placed there except maybe they are being stored.

Next stop is the CN/IC/CCP yard office for a look at the power. Today was a suprise as the Ft Dodge local had came in with BC Rail 4625 and CN 2556 as the road power. IC 3133 (in CN paint) has been the local switcher power for a while and she was just getting ready to start the days activities. The inbound train had left there train on the main as the old IC yard is always full. The 3133 would pull this train off the main and clear thru the yard to allow the local to leave later in the morning.

A quick drive by the UP yard on my way over to the BNSF didn't revel any UP trains waiting to head north. I did miss an southbound BNSF rock train while driving over to the BNSF side of town. UP power in the yard was UP 515, UP 827, UP 828 and job one had UP 2181 and 817 for their switch power.

The BNSF north end was active with BNSF 2856 and BNSF 3464 switching cars for the MLINNTN which was sitting on the main with BNSF 7472 and BNSF 4849 as power.

While the north switcher was going about its business a loaded coal train passed through and I was not able to see the unit numbers. The DPU was 9898, though. Shortly after a sb COLX empty came in with BNSF 9466 as the head end unit.

After an hour the CN local was ready to head out of Sioux City. They called the UP dispatcher, got permission and did not waste anytime heading east. We setup in Leeds, IA to get video of them rolling out of town.

While the CN local was leaving the MCBVP was calling for permission to enter the yard. Today's train was a heavy one as it was combined with the MCBSX. Power was UP 6551-6319-5981-9373-2337 and the train stretched from around 20th street back to the around 3rd st. The UP 9373-2337 where left in town and powered the MSXCB back to Council Bluffs.

That was it for the rest of the day except for a couple of coal trains that I spotted in Missouri Valley, IA and between there and Council Bluffs on the drive back home.

August 28, 2011
The sun was out when I left for the morning but this quickly gave way to clouds and thunderstorms only to become sunny again later in the afternoon. The worse part about the storms was the UP was busy during for a change on a Sunday.

A drive by the Iowa Interstate to see what the BICB power was found IAIS 507-504 tied down behind the stored units.

In the UP north yard was a UP officer special that would head out later in the day. Power was UP 8125-8564 with 8 cars. UP 8218 was being ferried by the hostlers over to the siding into the north Bartlett elevator to be tied onto the rear of the KCS grain train to facilitate the cross town backup that will be needed to get this train over to the UP - IAIS interchange in the pool yard. On the north end of the North yard the MKCVP was making a pick up and getting ready to depart for Sioux City and Valley Park, MN.

I found a quite spot to park and waited for the traffic to come to me before the morning storms rolled in.
MSXCB
UP 2337-9373

QNPEL
UP 7785-NS 8386 - DPU UP 7618

Z Train
UP 7415-4618-4416 - DPU UP 1982

BNSF Council Bluffs extra
BNSF 551-556

UP EB Stack train
UP 7432-4823-4775

UP EB Grain Empty
UP 8021-6410 - DPU UP 7305-5906

UP EB Coal Load
UP 5770-6229 - DPU unknown

BNSF Island Park Local
BNSF 4767-4623

UP MNPPR
UP 3843-2272

After this I headed down to Oreapolis for some afternoon action.Upon arriving I found a WB empty holding on track two and a EB coal load holding west of the diamond. Both where waiting for the UP SCBCB which crossed about 15 minutes after I arrived.

EB Coal load
BNSF 9231-9837-DPU 8928

EB Coal load
BNSF 8972 -9387 - DPU unknown

WB Coal empty
BNSF 9712-9255 - DPU 8870

Over all Sunday was probably my most productive day of railfaning in quit some time. Video of the coalers at Oreapolis can be found here http://www.youtube.com/user/cnw6500?feature=mhee

August 6, 2010

2011-08-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

After a couple of extremely hot weekends and being on call, I was able to get out without any distractions today. This along with the decreased outflows at Gavin Pt dam prompted me to take a look at the local flooding before heading out to Fremont, NE.

The BNSF Omaha Sub has resurfaced at the Hwy 370 overpass in Bellevue, NE. The siding still has a spot or two that are under water, though. A local new video showed the CN/IC near Musical Hills Lane in N. Council Bluffs. This track will need some pretty heavy work as the river was flowing over it at a pretty good click for over a month.

Curiosity got the best of me and I drove down to where Joslin Rd crosses the UP just south of Old Mormon Bridge Rd. I'm glad I did as it answered a question I had concerning the gravel pit further down the road. Joslin Rd was flooded out and this pit was a major source of rock for levee work and road work in the area. The UP turned over access to the old second track ROW and the gravel pit turned it into a one way road. Empty trucks take Lime Kiln Rd., load out and then head north up the old ROW to access Old Mormon Bridge Rd.

Missouri Valley was actually busy while I made a brief stop. The ZG2LT was making a crew change at the office while a MOW train of concrete ties and ballast was waiting on the old west yard lead. Power was a standard cab SD60 and a SD60M, while the z train was 4 SD70M's and a lone SD70ACe. After the z train passed by me I headed out to Italy avenue to see what was occurring with the heavy equipment there. The contractor has started up the earth moving for the second track and for what appears to be a set of tracks on the north side of the crossing.

California Jct is now seeing earth work for this second track. East of the crossing, the area south of the current tracks has been cleared and a heavy dozer was working. There was also a loaded grain train on the Sioux City Sub waiting to head west after the z train. Two AC4400CW's on the head end with one pushing as per the normal practice. The only item of interest was the UP 6715 had been repainted recently and now has a flag and UP paint over her old CNW paint. We caught this train later slowly climbing Blair Hill and follower her into Fremont.

Fremont was quite during the time we where there. Only 2 UP trains and the normal BNSF local power tied down. The MNPCBB was just going thru the east side of Fremont as we arrived. This train was having issues as we where able to catch up to it at Valley after spending around 45 minutes in Fremont. It was being followed by a coal load for Mid America in Council Bluffs. The only other train we encountered was a WEPX coal load parked on the east side of Fremont.

The day after

2011-06-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

South 8th ave into the Gibson yard area of S. Omaha ia open again. The Hills Bros box plant is free of water and there are locomotives back in Gibson. The area around Hickory St and S 2nd St is another story. Lots of water is still over the rail and debris has also been deposited on the tracks

The area around the Izard pumping station which is right next to the UP 844 display is a mess. Signs of a lot of water is visible for blocks to the north of the pump station. 844 would not have been damaged but the 26 passenger cars and support cars where vulnerable to flood damage if the secondary pumps had not been used.

Traffic was flowing on all of the sub divisions into and out of Omaha/Council Bluffs. The BNSF Island Park local even had a UP SD70ACe and two CSX ES44DC's that it picked up at Bungee.

The bad news....its raining and storming again.

Omaha Area Flooding 06/25/11

2011-06-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

2 - 3 inches of rain feel between 0400 and 0630 this morning leaving alot of areas underwater.

I left my house around 11am and noticed that the Big Papio creek was levee full just to the east of my home. While driving south to Oreapolis a quick look over to the east at La Platte revieled that the Papio was almost to the top of the levee.

Oreapolis is basically lost. The road into the area is closed and underwater. The BNSF main track 1 had just the rail head above the water. Track two has been elevated but is still barely above the water. On the Omaha Sub was a loaded ballast train that was cut off due to the track 1 issues and the east leg of the wye also being under water. The area surrounding the diamond crossing is becoming a lake and the only available access point being from the west.

In Bellevue, NE the BNSF Omaha Sub north of the levee that was built across the track at Hwy 370 is underwater. The main and siding have been covered and are for a significant distance to the north. The BNSF will have lots of rebuilding in this area once the flood waters receed.

On the Iowa side 192nd St from Hwy 370 to Council Bluffs will soon be impassible. I encountered a couple of sections of the road where is was water covered and the level was rising. This is the gravel road that is used by BNSF and UP crew vans to get access to the small yard at the Bunge Soybean plant.

On the northside of Council Bluffs the Beano crossing (Musical Hills Lane) for the UP has been raised but the CN crossing is an island and flood waters have now reached the land in between the CN and UP (see above picture). The UP should be save as the row was raised a foot two weeks ago.

Omaha is having issues today. The BNSF dragged all of the units they had in their S. Omaha Gibson yard and the two shoving platforms out and had them parked and shut down at the Amtrak station. This got my curiosity up and I headed down to Gibson yard. Soon after crossing over the tracks on Missouri Ave the hell mary move became apparent.

It appears that the storm water has collected in the "bowl" that is the Gibson yard area and has flooded a large section of the area. Omaha city crews where setting up pumps and trying to pump the water out but the damage had already been done. The Hills Bros box plant has been flood out and probably sustained some significant damage.

The BNSF owned line that is used by the UP for N. Omaha access was also observed as being under water just north of the I-80 Missouri River bridge. This eccentially cuts off the UP 844 and 26 passenger cars at the TD Ameritrade stadium and would prevent them from being removed if there was a levee break in the N. Omaha area.

Pre-Flood Report

2011-06-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

A run down of observations the last couple of days of the lines around Omaha, NE. before the Mo finally over tops some levees.

BNSF
Omaha Sub: Severed in S. Omaha at Missouri Ave for a levee to protect the sewer treatment plant. Severed at Bellevue just south of Hwy 370 with a levee across the tracks to protect the city's water supply and waste water plant.

Creston Sub: Open with a high potential for flooding at Pacific Jct, IA.

Napier Sub: Open but projected to be closed later in the week when the Missouri tops the levees west of Hamburg, IA. A trip to Hamburg showed the elevators being emptied of grain and the residents packing up to leave.

There are two Ohio rail cranes and Bartlett Elevator has two GP7's for power. Its unknown if these will be gathered up and dragged out before the water comes in.

Council Bluffs Sub: Open, but has a high probability of being impacted south of Council Bluffs especially if there are any levee breaks.

Sioux City Sub:Open, not expected to have any impact except for detours.

Union Pacific
Omaha Sub: Open, but may be closed at Council Bluffs. The city has dirt stockpiled to close the gap in the north side levee that protects Council Bluffs.

Missouri Valley - Omaha and Blair Subs join the Iowa main and the town has been told to expect flooding. The town folk are packing up and leaving but I did not observe any preparations by the UP to protect infrastructure yesterday.

Blair Sub: Currently has a daylight MOW closure. Westbounds and eastbounds are fleeting on the Omaha sub between Mo Valley and Council Bluffs, IA. MOW appears to be tie, rail, ballast type of work. No infrastructure fortification noted. Line could be impacted by flooding.

Sioux City Sub: Open, but more than likely will be impacted in multiple locations.

Falls City Sub: Open, no impacted expected until flood waters reach St Joe, Missouri.

CN/IC
The Ft Dodge train took all the stored cars out of the yard in Council Bluffs yesterday. Interchange cars are in the yard along with the CN 4028. No dirt was noted next to the CN track to fill in the levee gap in Council Bluffs.

Losts of county roads are under water and lots of farmers are moving equipment and household items to high ground. Country roads are really busy with all this traffic.

Another Rainy Cloudy Day

2011-05-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Nice days have been hard to come by this year and today was no exception. Started out the day with a run to South Omaha to see what the BNSF has been up to and to check out the river.
Bayard Local power:
BNSF 551 - BNSF 556 - BNSF 2821

Road Power
EMDX/OWY 9096 - BN 8118

Island Park local power
BNSF 520 - BNSF 690

Switcher/Local units
BNSF 2358 - BNSF 3035 & BNSF 503 - EMDX 767

A MKCKOMA was inbound and at Oreapolis but after about 15 minutes of waiting I headed over to Council Bluffs.

CBBI
IAIS 511 - IAIS 513

KCS grain train
KCS 4117 - KCSdeMX 4065

BNSF local power
BNSF 3138

IC/CN road power
CN 2405 - IC 9573
CN 4028 was switching the interchange and N Omaha train.

The clouds where not letting up and the prior incident with the BNSF (previous blog) had pissed me off so I headed for Performance CDJ for an oil change.

A quick stop to see Frank at the hobby shop and to pick up some reading material resulted in me deciding to take a run back over to Council Bluffs.

At 50th street Omaha
UP 6995 - UP 6772 w/ a freight

CNW yard in Council Bluffs
MKCVP was getting ready to depart after making a setout and pickup.
UP 9735 - UP 9548

Sgt Bluff IA Mid America coaler
UP 6801 - UP 6623 - DPU UP 6948

Stopped at 9th Ave
UP 7389 - UP 4104 w/ a freight

12th street line
MCBDM was setting out a bad order
UP 5111 - UP 8225 - UP 6350 - UP 7292

The BNSF just doesn't get it

2011-05-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am now convinced that the Omaha Gibson terminal is crazy and hell bent on finding a terrorist under every stone and behind every tree. Case in point for today.

I decided to see how high the Missouri River was in the S. Omaha area and see what affect it might have on the railroad and the waste treatment plant. While down there I stopped and photographed the BNSF units from the very public Omaha S. 8th St. The scanner revealed that an inbound train was coming in from Oreapolis shortly and I parked in the Hills Bros packaging plant drive way to get a shot of it coming in along the Bluff. While parked I heard on the scanner a crew (who I could see) call me into the yardmaster. Now I'm on private property but not the BNSF's and they really can't say anything about me being there, so I activate the camcorder on my phone and wait for the confrontation. After about 15 mins of waiting for the train and seeing that it had not shown up there I headed out for Council Bluffs.

I noticed that there were two KCS units parked in the BNSF CB yard so I drove down S 5th St to get a shot. While doing this a crew van showed up and one of the crew proceeded to exit the van and walk across the open space to confront me. He asked if he could help me and I asked him the same as it appeared he was after something. I proceeded to video tape the encounter and informed the individual he was being recorded.

I also informed him he was violating FRA GCOR rules by harassing me on public land. He proceeded to call the Gibson terminal and inform them I am of Middle Eastern descent (which I am not) just to get the hornets nest stirred. I left after that and continued to listed to him on the radio.

In the video you can clearly see the street sign. These are Council Bluffs, Iowa street signs and the roads are Council Bluffs, IA maintained and owned roads. The road in the fore ground is the BNSF access road which the individual is clearly on the other side of. The individual was clearly violating GCOR 1.6 and 1.7:

1.6 Conduct

Employees must not be:
1. Careless of the safety of themselves or others
2. Negligent
3. Insubordinate
4. Dishonest <--
5. Immoral
6. Quarrelsome
or
7. Discourteous <--

1.7 Altercations

Employees must not enter into altercations with each other, play practical
jokes, or wrestle while on duty or on railroad property.

I already have a open complaint with the ACLU concerning the railroads disregard of the First Amendment and ongoing harassment and this will be shared with them.

Train Nut

2011-05-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

Now as a railfan this is pretty much a normal term expressed by railroaders when they feel someone is taking too much of an interest in trains, but when called this by a Police officer over the radio its another thing.

Yesterday was a gorgeous afternoon and I went out to soak up the sun, watch some train action and generally relax before the week ahead. A trip to a spot I had found that afforded me some solitude and a safe place to relax and watch was in order, so I headed to downtown Plattsmouth.

Plattsmouth reminds me of my hometown and was high on my list of towns to move to when my lease is up, but that all changed with two quick words uttered by an individual who should know better.

Around 1500 yesterday (05/22/11) all the towns patrol cars headed down by the river and then parked window to window so the officers could talk at each other. This went on for about 15 minutes or so until about 1515 when they all came back into town. I watched them come on back and cross the railroad tracks about 20 yards away and wonder if one of them was a cop I had meet a couple of weeks ago. Sure enough he was in the last car and the one who candidly announced to everyone listening that "there is the train nut".

Now how do I know he did this? Well my scanner was on and it was set to trunking mode which opens up all the bands allowing me to hear many channels. I was also watching them go but and witnessed the office raise his mic look at me then heard "there is the train nut" as he drove by.

Big deal most would say, but it is. A police office should not express a derogatory term over an open frequency. An officer should also not express any indication of prejudice. This officer showed to me that he is not a person of integrity and has shown to me that the town is of the same level of integrity by employing this type of individual. I can only imagine that this Officer also shows the same prejudice to other people. Bird watchers must be bird nuts, the tourist that the town is trying to attract must be just plain nuts, the people who travel to they area for the Lewis and Clark history must be history nuts, etc.

What a shame.

May 7th and 8th

2011-05-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

May7, 2011
I started the weekend in Oreopolis, NE fairly early (for me anyway) due to having to do a systems check around 1300. I headed out the door around 0745 and crossed the Platte river just as a northbound UP stack train was crossing the river around 0800. Waiting out the northbound UP stack train was the MLINLIN on the north side of the wye in Oreopolis.

Having missed the stack train I headed down to the sand pit crossing and waited for the action.

Coal Load
BNSF 5949 - 5725 - DPU 6258

Coal Empty
BNSF 9815 - 5943

A northbound UP empty grain train was next up over the diamonds

Coal Empty
BNSF 5608 - KCS 4606

UP OMAX coal loads
UP 7170 - 6155 - DPU 7059 - 7202

A BNSF westbound snuck thru while I was away filming the OMAX train.

Coal Empty
NS 9216 - BNSF 4480 - 6385

Coal Load
BNSF 9909 - 9663 - DPU 5868

A quick run over to Plattesmouth in search of better sun resulted in a westbound and a conversation with a local city cop. While talking about the railroad he stated that the BNSF was recently doing core sampling of the Missouri River bed in preparation of building a second bridge over the Missouri.

Coal Empty
BNSF 9311 - 9606 - 8901 - 9802

After the BNSF 9909 continued east, I headed back to Oreopolis.

Coal Load
BNSF 5832 - 8949 - DPU 5768

I headed back over to Plattesmouth to get some video but skipped this train as I already captured it at Oreopolis, but I wanted to capture the one behind it.

Coal Load
BNSF 6371 - 6435 - DPU 5883

It was now around noon and I headed back home and encountered the Island Park local waiting at north Oreopolis for a signal to head east to Pacific Jct and then north to the Bunge plant and Council Bluffs.

BNSF 690 - 5009

May 8, 2010
It was Mothers Day and a trip home to S. Sioux City was a change from the local area. A run thru the local CB area before getting blown north was in order first though.

BICB
IAIS 512 - 508

UP power in the Pool yard for interchange with the BNSF. These units had been overhauled in North Little Rock and where moved to CB as a special movement. There next stop is Albia, IA and new paint at Relco.

UP 1350 - DRGW Patch
SSW 7637
UP 1485 SP Patch
UP 1354
UP 1412 - SP Patch
UP 1370 - DRGW Patch
UP 1486 - SP Patch
UP 1344 - DRGW Patch
UPY 827

Sioux City
DAIR 22 - 4027 Hawarden Local
DAIR 2510 - 2511 Rock Train
DAIR 23 switcher

CN 5288 - 9620 Ft. Dodge local
CN 5674 switcher

MCBVP
UP 7168 - 6195 - 7230 was making a pickup in the SC yard.

MLINNTN
BNSF 1001 - 5667

MSUXLIN
BNSF 619 - 5951

That's it until next report.

Of Unicorns and Glitter

2011-05-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

Its time to be careful again (actually more careful than before) as the news hawks have a death grip on one of the plans that al Qaeda was considering for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
From CNN;

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a notice tied to rail security Thursday.

The unclassified notice to "federal, state, local and tribal partners" says that, in February 2010, al Qaeda members discussed a plan to derail trains in the United States by placing obstructions on tracks, according to a law enforcement source who received the notice."

This will give the already paranoid public and overly zealous railroad SA's a reason to single out those of us who like to engage in our hobby.

There are some points to remember:

Public land is just that public, and you are protected under the laws of safe passage and allowed to engage in legal activities without fear of harassment or persecution.
Photography is not illegal in the United States.

Excerpt from a USA Today article:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2006-08-11-photography-rights_x.htm for the full article

The law in the United States of America is pretty simple. You are allowed to photograph anything with the following exceptions:

• Certain military installations or operations.

• People who have a reasonable expectation of privacy. That is, people who are some place that's not easily visible to the general public, e.g., if you shoot through someone's window with a telephoto lens.

That's it.

You can shoot pictures of children; your rights don't change because of their age or where they are, as long as they're visible from a place that's open to the public. (So no sneaking into schools or climbing fences.)

Video taping has some more gray areas because of copyright issues, but in general the same rules apply. If anyone can see it, you can shoot it.

And yes, you can shoot on private property if it's open to the public. That includes malls, retails stores, Starbucks, banks, and office-building lobbies. If you're asked to stop and refuse, you run the risk of being charged with trespassing, but your pictures are yours. No one can legally take your camera or your memory card without a court order.

You can also shoot in subways and at airports. Check your local laws about the subway, but in New York, Washington, and San Francisco it's perfectly legal. Airport security is regulated by the Transportation Security Administration, and it's quite clear: Photography is A-OK at any commercial airport in the U.S. as long as you're in an area open to the public.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Now, it is highly probable that if you are out minding your own business enjoying yourself and happen to be seen as a threat that you will be confronted. The UPRR and BNSF routinely disciplines employees for not reporting suspicious people near their property. Keep in mind the term "suspicious" is basically a open wide definition for the railroads.

If you are confronted and are on public land, you are not subject to an interrogation by anyone (include regular police officers, remember your Miranda Rights). If you are, the law is on your side and use the law to your advantage.

Keep your mouth shut, the person interrogating you does not have a need to know other than you are on public property. This includes railroad SA's.

If this is a regular sworn Police agency you are required to identify yourself but do not allow yourself to be interrogated without a lawyer present.

Record the encounter.

Document, document, document.
Most modern cell phones will record sounds and or video, use them.

A recording is definitive proof of the encounter.

File a police report to protect your rights.

The railroads like to report people as terrorist suspects and you may have an FBI terrorist task force visit.
A police report is an official statement that can be used to protect you.

Dial 911 if the individual/s are threatening in any manner; verbal or physical.

Another item that is nice to have with you is the Photographers Rights (http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf). This won't get the po po out of your face but may get mister or misses concerned citizen or an overly zealous security gaurd to back off.

The most important thing to remember is be safe, the world is full of empowered idiots.

April 30th and May 1st

2011-05-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Finally a weekend that wasn't cloudy, rainy or one that I needed to be somewhere else.

April 30th.
I started the day out with no specific plans other that to stay close to home as I was on call. This was a good plan but I ended up in Fremont spending some time with a friend from Sioux City.

Council Bluffs, IA
IAIS 513 and 512 had brought in the BICB earlier in the morning.

CN road power was 2594-2405-9620 with 2605 blue flagged on the scale track. Appears that the 9620 may have been swapped out for with the 2605 to be used as the local switcher.

KCS 4577 and 4606 where at the north Bartlett elevator waiting for their train to be loaded.

While tanking up the Jeep a loaded coaler came through town, so I headed to Mo Valley to try and get some video of it.

Missouri Valley, IA
UP 6059-7118-DPU-7291 rolled thru with that loaded coaler I had seen in Council Bluffs.
UP 4170-4485 where laying over in the yard after working the week on various MOW trains in the area.

My friend texted me indicating he was heading for Fremont following a BNSF down from Sioux City with a catfish in the lead.

I ended up taking the back roads from Missouri Valley to Fremont where I could. The UP was busy working on the second track ROW west of Blair and was working on culverts along the new ROW with lots of heavy equipment observed at Kennard working on the west side of town.

I missed a eastbound stacker just west of the Elkhorn River, but it really wasn't that big of a loss.

Fremont, NE
I missed the BNSF southbound by about 10 minutes but did hear the chatter on the scanner. For the next 3 hours we where entertained by a number of UP and one BNSF train.

QNPPR
UP 4112-9547

BNSF local laying over
BNSF 2135-2392

UP Ballast train eb
UP 4076-6499

UP Coal load eb
UP 5843-75782-DPU-7303

BNSF Coal empty wb/sb
BNSF 6334-9341

MPRNP
UP 8603-1966-6325 (SP Patch)

QDLSK
UP 7772-7766-4964

MVPNP
UP 6836-SP 266-UP 6720 (CNW Patch)

MNPCB
UP 5983-6291-DPU-7200-6251-5669

A coal empty passed on the other track as the 191 cars of this train rolled by.

AGBMI
UP 7435-7795

The clouds started to roll in and it was time to head for home so this was the last train of the day.

May 1st
Really just a lazy day as I only had an idea of what I wanted to do so I just headed out and went where I went.

Council Bluffs, IA
A KCS grain train came in over night and was at the south Bartlett elevator getting loaded. The one at the north elevator had also left sometime overnight.

KCS 4680-4583

BNSF 2660 was the local switcher

UP 6499-6850-7086 were parked on the Q track on the east side of the pool yard waiting while their train is unloaded at Bunge south of CB.

CN 2605 was at the CB yard office.

MPRCB
UP 9691-9385-3955 took the 12th st line into the pool yard. 9691 was sounding pretty unhealthy every time the throttle was notched out.

MCBSX light power
UP 3830-3794

MCOCB
UP 7077-9306-2382-2348

MNPCB
UP 6658-6915-7412-7454

Both the MCOCB and MNPCB where yarding their trains and jocking for track space on the south end of the yard.

BICB
IAIS 506-507

I then headed south along the bluffs to Pacific Junction, IA, with a swing by the Bunge complex. The BNSF Island Park local rolled in while I was take a shot of the Bunge SW7 at the potash unloading track. Two B40-8W's where the power for the 87 cars.

Pacific Junction, IA
Two coalers where parked in town, one loaded one empty.

Coal load
BNSF 5831-9539-6209

Coal empty had two GE's and an EMD for power.

There is a B&B gang working on bridges south of P Jct on the KC line. One derrick was in the old north side spur and the other was on a spur south of the wyes. There was also alot of dirt being moved around in the old yard, not sure what is going on.

Seeing as the scanner was quite, I headed toward home and Oreopolis, NE.

Oreopolis, NE
MLINGAL
BNSF 1092-7216

Unknown westbound freight
BNSF 5318-4530-8106

After that, I headed for home.

Is Spring here?

2011-04-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Finally a weekend without snow, rain and cold temps allowed for me to spend some time out enjoying the weather. My only limiting factor this weekend was being on call.

Saturday
I got out of the house a little later than I wanted to and did not get to catch the morning fleet on the Falls City sub into Omaha. I did hear two of the north bounds between 0800 and 0900, though.

A drive through Council Bluffs before I headed out to Blair was somewhat productive.

IAIS
BICB power was 508-506

CN
9460 was building its train for Omaha.
2615 was the road power laying over for the evening train.

KCS
4595-4606 had brought in an empty grain train for the Bartlett elevator on the north end of Council Bluffs.

A couple of UP coal trains snuck around me as I was getting gas and breakfast.

Before heading over to Blair, I sat in Mo Valley waiting for a westbound to follow over but after about 45 mins nothing had came in to follow. So out of boredom, I took the long way to Blair via the back roads to California Jct where a headlight off to the east showed a westbound waiting to head out on the single track to Kennard. The signals at Cal Jct were all red westbound indicating a train off the Sioux City Sub was a good possibility.

Blair Hill
First up was a westbound loaded grain train with UP 7697-6563-8434 as the power.
An empty coaler with UP 6531 on the head end and UP 6579 as the DPU.
The AGBMI with UP 4995-4108 was third.
A westbound stacker with UP 7823-4704-7740 was up next.
The final train was a short MOW train with two SD70M's and three flats with concrete ties.

After this train passed I headed back to Omaha as my pager was going off.

Sunday
Sunday started out nice and warm with a hazy sun. It hasn't been like that in sometime and really set in spring fever.

A quick run thru Council Bluffs to see what had changed overnight before a run down to Pacific Jct., IA and over to Plattsmouth/Oreopolis, NE.

IAIS
BICB power was 500-503

UP
MPRCB with 8145-8024-9533 made its morning run down the 12th st line into the pool yard.
MNPCB with UP 5674-UP 8532-UPY 597-UPY 656-UP 7199 was yarding its train.
HLCX 3839 - UP 505 where waiting for MOW permission to proceed into there zone as they replaced ties on the line from the Mary switch to the yard.

BNSF
At the Hwy 370 overpass a ES44AC and a SD70MAC where bringing in a KCS grain train for loading at the south Council Bluffs Bartlett elevator.

The drive down to Pacific Jct pretty much devoid of trains. The IAIS 601-650 set where sitting under the I-29 overpass waiting for permission to enter the BNSF for a run over to the Mid America power plant and Bungee Ethenol facility. Only one coaler was being unloaded that I could see from the interstate.

At Pacific Jct, I was expecting to see a couple of trains waiting to make the run over to Plattsmouth but there where none. A wb empty coaler did pull up soon after I arrived and waited for a Council Bluffs local to come in from the west.

BNSF 4753 - 791 took the west leg of the wye for the slow run north about 20 minutes after I arrived. BNSF 6006-9363-6052 continued west after the local cleared the junction. The scanner was quite and there did not appear to be anymore trains so I followed the DPU over to Plattsmouth.

After about 25 minutes a wb empty coaler was heard blowing for the crossings over in Iowa and I setup to be able to watch it come across the river bridge and through town. BNSF 8807-9310-6256-9943-5642 were the power for this empty hopper train. Not hearing any scanner chatter, I ran over to Oreopolis to sit and wait.

BNSF 8123 showed up after about 10 minutes with a westbound train of empty windmill blade flatcars. It came to a stop and waited for a couple of eb coalers. BNSF 6409-5968-5775 was the first followed by BNSF 9267-5848 a short time later. After this the westboud started back west.

I then called it a day and headed back home.

A quite weekend

2011-03-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

The weekend was "normal" for being able to railfan. No incidents to speak of but the crews I did encounter seem to be "spooked" and nervous when around them.
I spoke to my oldest boy who still lives in California and he said that the UPSA's are now taking photos of people they encounter. These are not distant shoots but full face shots. My oldest was caught crossing an unmarked property line and was instantly confronted. In order to be released he had to submit to a photo. Not only is your license plate and driver license information gathered by UPSA's but your picture is also being added to their database.

And now a call from the BNSF

2011-03-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

Seems that the railroads just want to be heard. A BNSF SA called me at my desk this morning saying I caused them all kinds of problems on Saturday. I informed him he needed to talk to the FBI Task force as I had already discussed the incident with them. The convesation evolved in to threats from both side with the agent closing his conversation with "you are a terrorist and will be treated like one".

An now the UPSA's

2011-03-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

A UPSA showed up at my workplace this afternoon. This time my employer informed him that he was not welcome and to leave. Before leaving he informed the security office to tell me not to take pictures in a specific are anymore. Since I was on public property, that is a pretty tall order.

I placed a call the ACLU this afternoon to request information on my rights and was given the email address of info@aclunebraska.org to send the information into.

This won't be the last of this nonsense it appears.

Railroad war on railfans

2011-03-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a visit from the Terrorism Joint Task force yesterday at my work (why at my work who knows) concerning a report by the BNSF that I am a potential terrorist. This little visit will probably mean the termination of my employment, which in this day and age of employers would be the norm.

This incident stemmed from an encounter with a BNSF vehicle on Saturday morning. I was chased down by a 08 or 09 White Jeep Commander on S 8th St. with the driver trying to force me off the road. This individual then proceeded to chase me up S 13th st. I called 911 on this vehicle and reported the incident in real time providing the vehicle description and license plate number.

I was interviewed by the task force and really do not know what the outcome will be. It appears that the railroads in Omaha and Council Bluffs are preparing a spring offensive against railfans. Looks like its time to find a lawyer.

Remember you no longer have the rights you where born with.

This is MOP Garcia

2011-03-06T12:47:00.001-08:00

Around 11 am this morning I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Garcia while waiting for the UP 1989 to enter the BNSF at the Amtrak station. Needless to say Mr. Garcia lived up to what UPRR wants their personnel to be.

To back up a bit I was in my Jeep reading the paper and emails in the Schneider Trucking lot next to the Amtrak station when I noticed Mr. Garcia leave his units and walk around a 1/4 mile to where I was parked. First thing out of his mouth is "Do you work for the BNSF"? Well here we go he is going to bitch me up and down for being on railroad property. My answer is short and to the point, "No and this isn't RR property". Well this set off a tirade between us. Just as I thought he had decided to leave he abruptly stops, turns around and starts to write down my license plate info. To me this is a blatant threat as the UPSA's keep a database of people they encounter on UPRR property. Since I wasn't on UPRR property and he wasn't an UPSA, I jumped out of my Jeep and started to take pictures of Mr. Garcia. Knowing he was in the wrong he tried to hid his face every time I pointed the camera at him.

I left the lot and drove down Pacific street listening to Garcia call for an SA. As I was setting up to get a better shot of him I noticed he was climbing down the BNSF embankment to get to Pacific street. As he was crossing the road I grabbed the shot of him above. When I stopped at Pacific and South 7th, Garcia came up to my Jeep stuck his head into my window and stated "In my mind you are a fucken terrorist and I will report you as one".

Well Garcia you are the terrorist trying to terrorize someone by threatening them.

Mo Valley to Fremont and back home 04/10/10

2010-04-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Its only been a month and a week since I made a simular trip, and what a change. The snow is gone and the plants are coming alive.

Mo Valley

Arrived around0815

e/b empty grainer

UP 6511

UP 7284

w/b Z train

UP 4654

UP 7643

UP 8562

UP 4865

e/b K train

UP 7877

UP 8418

UP 4413

UP 7633 - DPU

e/b grain train

UP 6055

UP 5789

UP 5941 - DPU

w/b mixed freight

UP 7829

UP 8226 - DPU

e/b empty grainer

UP 7173

UP 7074

UP 6924 - DPU

e/b mixed freight

UP 8155

UP 6533

UP 8111 - DPU

traffic died down so we headed for Blair, NE around 0930

Blair, NE

Savage terminal

SRVX 8608

DLCX 8608

The SD40-2 was switching in the yard.

The ZDLSKP got by us while we where exploring the SC&P depot in the park.

Fremont, NE

BNSF local

EMDX 798

BNSF 2817

e/b UP coaler

UP 7304

UP 6286

UP 6629

Scoular Grain was assembling a grain train with SCOX 5001

Laid over grain train power

UP 5968

UP 6366

UP 5668

UP Local power

UP 521

w/b loaded grain train

UP 7269

UP 7015

UP 8221 - DPU

n/b BNSF DSG empty

BNSF 5235

BNSF 8280

CSX 368

Arlington, NE area

w/b UP mixed freight

UP 6556

UP 7234

UP 6313

UP 6754 - DPU

w/b empty coaler

UP 6513

UP 6191

UP 7002

We only had about 5 trains get past us, so all in all it was a fairly productive day.

Council Bluffs 03/19/10

2010-03-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

A quick run through Council Bluffs, IA before heading for home.

BNSF yard

KCS 4584
KCS 4587

Both in gray and there outbound grain train was being loaded at Bartlet Grain.

EMDX 783

Sitting on the main with a string of cars for Gibson yard.

BNSF 2277 H1 scheme

Idling behind the KCS units

IAIS Yard

IAIS 512
IAIS ES44AC # unknown

Departing the engine terminal for the yard.

Power sitting in the engine terminal (not all engine numbers have been recorded)

IAIS 703
IAIS 512
IAIS 601
IAIS 721
IAIS 708
IAIS 152
IAIS 155

Over the last month or so the SD38-2's in storage have been disappearing from Council Bluffs.

UP yard

Units in the engine terminal (not all units noted)

UP 6750
NS 9479
UP 4421
UP 4175
UP 4809 FF
UPY 591

Heading into the yard off the main.

UP 2331
UP 2363
MP 13774 caboose
no cars but a 5 man crew.

Unknown Z Train departing the pool yard.

UP 7802
UP 7786
UP 5266

UP local at the old CNW yard

UP 501
UP 502

CN Yard

Road power was two SD40-2w's

CN 5276
CN 5321

Local switch unit

CN 5644

UP at N. Council Bluffs

Unknown freight

UP 7103
UP AC44/60CW unit number unknown
UP 1440

Foamers ... who f$@k'n needs 'um

2009-05-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

After 30 years of enjoying this hobby, I have hit the end of my patience with foamers and in many ways the hobby in general.

In a country that we call home
In a land that's skin and bone
There's a place that's hardly known.

When I was younger, I was pretty much a solitary railfan. Only a few other fans where ever encountered in my daily rounds of the areas in which I lived, and those that where encountered would be the classic definition of a foamer; buttons, patches and knows everything about nothing and proud to inform you of it. Those where the days, I truly miss them. Today, well that's another thing.

Mountains appearing with the sun
Rivers of light they westward run
Night is draining from the firmament.

Growing up watching CNW GP15-1's and GP7's rocking and rolling over roadbed that was horrible when it was good combined with Trains, Railfan and early CTC board articles by the "Masters" caused me to want to explore beyond the dead end town I grew up in. Its too bad those "Masters" didn't include the foamer element in their works, I might have very well have stayed on the farm if it had.

Railway fettler broken down
On a branch line somewhere south
Off the map and off the world.

There is no end to the world that I see

The 20 or so years up until the last 10 or so, where good years for me in regards to being a railfan. I was blessed with opportunities to live in and visit many of the railfan meccas with the exception of the "holy grail" of my railfan dreams, California. That all changed in 2002 and in retrospective was the beginning of the end of my enjoyment of the hobby.

There is no end to the world that I see

As we swing from star to star
We're not going very far
The land is hard and gives no quarter.

The end of the last century brought about a new beginning in the methods in which foamers interacted. It was no longer a casual encounter or a planned one at a public meeting but one in which the idiot was presented. Now having grown up in a no nonsense, take no crap manner I was immediately on the defensive and offensive against what I was brought up to regard as pure ignorance.

The o'cannon garrison falls down
You cannot hear the church bell sound
The sun beats down and gives no sanctuary.

The manifestation of ignorance is extremely pronounced in the less than 30 foamer. The overwhelming sense of entitlement and empowerment is a common theme. The instant gratification is multiplied 1000 fold via the Internet and is cancerous, spreading quickly to the older more easily influenced foamers. Myspace, Railroad pictures.net, text messages and cliche message groups have replaced the old process of communicating in person. The hobby has become a popularity contest among individuals who have no idea why they are even participating.

As sure as I stand on this place
The spirit comes
Let lightning strike and leave no trace.

Buttons, patches, bad clothes and uninformed expert opinion would be pretty good about right now.

Midnight Oil
World That I See lyrics

July 4th Weekend

2008-07-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

I havn't been posting much as I really do not like the format of this blog template. I've attempted to import some different temples that have been created for Blogger, but they tend to not work.

The 4th weekend was somewhat productive but limited by high gas prices and being on call.

July 4th, 2008

IG2OA

UP 3907 - UP 8388

wb Auto train

UP 5229 - UP 4652

eb Stack train

UP 4163 - UP 4431

Amtrak #6

AMTK 157 - AMTK 68

MRVSJ

UP 5412 - UP 5420

QPDRV

UP 5445 - UP 5426 - UP 4580 - UP 5186 - UP 8315 / DPU UP 5388 - UP 5361

July 5th, 2008

wb Stack train

UP 3907 - UP 5029

Rocklin Rocket

UP 567 - UP 600

ASJNP

UP 5567 - UP 4896 - UP 5061

QSTDVJ

BNSF 4195 - BNSF 4595 - BNSF 4491

eb Grain train

UP 8123 - UP 6270 SPP* - UP 7107

Amtrak #5

AMTK 179 - Amtk 11

July 6th, 2008

Light power off the MOARV

UP 5363 - UP 5380 - UP 3962 - UP 5383 - UP 8430

MRVRO

UP 1983 - UP 2912 - UP 8187

Amtrak #6

AMTK 179 - AMTK 11

April 12th and 13th, 2008

2008-04-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

April 12th and 13th
A very slow weekend around town.

April 12th
We got a late start to the day and didn't get out until the early afternoon.

QRVWC

UP 5450
UP 4408
UP 5449

Light power

UP 5106
UP 7789
UP 5424
UP 9614
UP 4885

MRORV

UP 5581
UP 4413
UP 4600
UP 4399
UP 5575 - DPU

MRVTR

UP 3091
UP 3899

MWCPD

UP 5410
UP 4850
UP 4936

eb Stack train

UP 4646
UP 5073

Amtrak #5

AMTK 4
AMTK 156

QPDWC

UP 5440
UP 4635
UP 4921
UP 9677

April 13th.
My sons 18th birthday and it was an extremely slow Sunday.

Light power

UP 4254
UP 4807
UP 9231
UP 3174
UP 3941

Light Power

UP 4562
UP 8525
UP 4463

Amtrak #6

AMTK 4
AMTK 159

LRD96

UP 5394
UP 5414

MNPRV

UP 5176
UPY 896
UP 4079
UP 5012
UP 8590

Light power

UP 4059
UP 9272
UP 5437
UP 5431

April 5th and 6th, 2008

2008-04-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

April 5th and 6th.

April 5th and 6th.
A trip to James, CA and some time around home for this weekend.

April 5th
The day started in Roseville and from there we ventured up to the horseshoe curve at James, CA.

wb Grain train - Roseville, CA

UP 8116
UP 6343
UP 7710

sb Baretable - Sunset-Whitney, CA

UP 8616
UP 7846

HPASBAR - Craig, CA

BNSF 4954
BNSF 4399

eb Stack - Craig, CA

UP 4954
UP 4399

QPDRVD - Oroville, CA

UP 7610
UP 9796
UP 3855

IG3OA - James, CA

UP 7829
UP 7800

MRORV - James, CA

UP 3999
UP 4926
UP 3334
UP 2481

Stack train - Roseville, CA

UP 5541
UP 9823

Unknown freight - Roseville, CA

UP 5454
UP 4640
UP 3903

Stack train - Roseville, CA

UP 4739
UP 7609

April 6th

Sunday was typically quite.

sb Grain train

UP 5870
SP 144

eb Auto train

UP 5582
UP 5562
UP 5166
UP 5004
UP 4554

QDVSTJ

BNSF 4064
NS 9427
NS 9486

March 29th and 30th, 2008

2008-03-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

March 29th and 30th.

The UP had the Cal-P line closed for tunnel repairs with the old WP/UP Altamont line expected to see traffic increases due to Cal-P train detours. Due to this we headed to the bay area and to some new territory. Too bad the weather did not cooperate.

March 29th

We started the day in the Livermore, CA end of the pass and ended back up in Roseville, CA.

MRVWCB ?? east of Livermore

UP 5441
UP 5429
UP 4673

Stack train at Altamont, CA

UP 7783
UP 9640

Stack train at Altamont, CA

UP 4335
UP 5276
UP 5045

QRVWC at Lathrop, CA

UP 5362
UP 5025
UP 5505
UP 4499 - DPU
UP 4516 - DPU
UP 5354 - DPU

Stack train at Lathrop, CA

UP 4329
UP 4298

Bare table at Stockton, CA

UP 3811
UP 4908

MRVFR at Stockton, CA

UP 5376
UP 2310

March 30th

A quite morning around Roseville, CA.

Light power

UP 7795
UP 3479
UP 2245

Light Power

UP 9460
UP 2826
UP 3473

Railgrinder train

RG318

Amtrak #6

AMTK 10
AMTK 180

Light power

UP 5389
UP 3781
UP 4108

Stack train

UP 3950
UP 4427
UP 7711

March 22nd and 23rd, 2008

2008-03-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

March 22nd and 23rd.

Lots of action around the area.

March 22nd

A very busy day had us running around the various photo spots.

Grain Train

UP 6826
UP 5810
UP 7281

Light Power

UP 4697
UP 4857
UP 2346

MRORV

UP 8387
UP 9652
UP 4185

Light Power

UP 5472
UP 5354

Stack train

UP 4927
UP 4392

MRVTR

UP 4168
UP 5377

MNPRV

UP 5571
UP 4861
UP 4093
UP 3974

Coal train

UP 6373 - SPP*
UP 5929
UP 5958

Stack train

UP 4070
UP 4261

Light Power

UP 7726
UP 2386
UP 8608

MFRNP

UP 7760
UP 9503
UP 3789
UP 5112
UP 8324 - DPU

QHKRV

UP 3829
UP 4504
UP 5563
UP 4875
UP 5395
UP 4893

Light Power

UP 5366
UP 5384
UP 9620

March 23

Sunday was a bit slower.

Unknown freight on the rockpile.

UP 5193
UP 4242
UP 4634
UP 9614

AWSNP

UP 4770
UP 5182

Auto train

UP 5105
UP 4152
UP 5225

Amtrak #6

AMTK 163
AMTK 125

Stack train

UP4938
UP 4556

QDVSTJ

BNSF 7720
BNSF 5278
BNSF 5413
BNSF 817

SPP* = Southern Pacific Patch

March 15th and 16th, 2008

2008-03-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

March 15th and 16th
We where given a rare treat on Saturday in the form of a tour of the old SP Sacramento shops. Lots of interesting material and machines are buried in those buildings.

March 15th
The day started out in Roseville with the afternoon in Sacramento.

Auto Train

UP 4701

UP 9818

MNPST

UP 7781

UP 8570

UP 4523

Redding Turn

UP 1355 - RGP*

UP 1365

UP 9989

Amtrak #6

AMTK 86

AMTK 15

Stack train

UP 8575

UP 8563

UP 8580

MOARV

UP 5317

UP 9810

UP 5381

UP 4767

UP 4144

QRVWC

UP 9717

UP 4335

UP 7793

QRVWCB? at Sacramento

UP 4304

UP 5275

UP 7774

March 16th
A late start to the day yielded some good train watching.

Grain train

UP 5554

UP 4587

UP 8122

UP 6618

UP 6389 - SPP*

UP 8069

UP 5557 - DPU

UP 5576 - DPU

UP 5562 - DPU

Light Power

UP 3827

UP 3821

Amtrak Reno Fun Train

AMTK 116

AMTK 205

MRVPTX

UP 5414

UP 5367

UP 5278

Light Power

UP 5380

UP 9501

UP 5432

Folsom turn

UP 1386 - SSWP*

UP 2528

QRVNPP

UP 7631

UP 4319

UP 4090

UP 5580

MRORVB

UP 4045

UP 4107

UP 4034

SPP* = Southern Pacific patch
SSWP* = SSW patch
RGP* = DRGW patch

March 8th and 9th, 2008

2008-03-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

March 8th and 9th.

Winterail weekend, but I'm cheap so no quality time with the foamers.

March 8th.
I spent a little bit of time hanging out around Roseville, CA.

AWSNP

UP 9749

UP 4595

UP 2358

UP 2160

MRVROB

UP 9690

UP 8608

Light Power

UP 9319

UP 5415

UP 4669

UP 5976

Redding Turn

UP 1530 - SPP*

UP 1355 - RGP*

UP 2528

Light Power

UP 4275

UP 4935

UP 4936

Amtrak #6

AMTK 138

AMTK 156

MMIRV

UP 8547

UP 5381

Light Power

UP 5574

UP 5577

UP 5555

Grain Train

UP 6595

UP 6457

UP 6360 - SPP*

UP 5566 - DPU

UP 5576 - DPU

UP 5561 - DPU

UP 5567 - DPU

Bare table

UP 4434

UP 3978

Auto train

UP 9510

UP 3182

UP 3039

March 9th
A little bit quieter.

Light Power

UP 5427

UP 5309

UP 5403

ZNPOA

UP 4378

UP 5188

UP 5073

Light Power

UP 5415

UP 4392

UP 5393

Bare table

UP 7631

UP 2399

Amtrak #6

AMTK 97

AMTK 15

SPP* = Southern Pacific Patch
RGP* = DRGW Patch

March 1st and 2nd, 2008

2008-03-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

March 1st and 2nd.

The first day of March brought a new face to the area. The Rarus Railway took over the Sierra Northern operation at McClellan park and we took a trip over to see the new units.

March 1st
Rocklin Rocket at Roseville, CA

UP 1365

UP 1346 - RGP*

Redding Turn at Roseville, CA

UP 1530 - SPP*

UP 1355 - RGP*

UP 1372 - RGP*

Rarus Power at McClellan, CA

RARW - 107

RARW - 105

Stack train at Roseville, CA

UP 4929

UP 5006

UP 3848

UP 4608

Light Power at Roseville, CA

UP 5430

UP 5066

UP 3444

Light Power at Roseville, CA

UP 5402

UP 4094

UP 4907

Grain train at Roseville, CA

UP 6047

UP 6207

UP 6153

Coal train at Roseville, CA

UP 5942

UP 6690

UP 7126

March 2nd
Only a quick run around the yard where a couple of trains where observed.

MNPRV at Roseville, CA

UP 8393

UP 4570

UP 4593

MRVTR at Antelope, CA

UP 9825

UP 9780

SPP* = Southern Pacific patched
RGP* = DRGW Patched

February 23rd, 2008

2008-02-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

February 23rd

A wet, stormy weekend so only one day was spent railfanning.

LRD96/Stockton Turn at Roseville, CA.

UP 3566
UP 4989

Four way meet at Ostrom, CA.

sb/wb Auto Train on main

UP 85743
UP 3174
UP 9618

nb/eb Stack Train in siding

UP 5169
UP 4352

Redding Turn in the siding

UP 1530 - SPP*
UP 2541
UP 2528

sb/wb Stack Train on main

UP 3810
UP 4276

Rocklin Rocket in Roseville, CA

UP 1528 - SSWP*
UP 791

SPP = Southern Pacific Patch

SSW = SSW Patch

February 16th and 18th, 2008

2008-02-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

February 16th and 18th.

A three day weekend, but only two days of train watching.

February 16th
Call has come back around again, so its a stay close to home weekend.

Light Power

UP 5254
UP 4132
UP 526

Light Power

UP 8339
UP 4619

Grain Train at Antelope

UP 5272
UP 4620
FMX 4682

Amtrak #6

AMTK 185
AMTK 206

MOARV at CP Citrus

UP 5449
UP 2186
UP 3714

QWCRV

UP 5432
UP 4380
UP 4669
UP 9592
UP 4348 - DPU
UP 5382 - DPU

MRVEU

UP 4452
UP 4063
UP 4532

WB Auto Train

UP 7640
UP 5103
UP 5096

wb Auto Train at Sunset-Whitney

UP 4656
UP 9337

February 18th.
A busy Monday to keep us occupied.

QDVSTJ at Antelope

BNSF 4917
BNSF 858
BNSF 4730

Cement Train

UP 4649
UP 4175
UP 4757

Amtrak #6

AMTK 150
AMTK 182

MRVNW

UP 5394
UP 7576
UP 4438
UP 2561

MRVTR

UP 4500
UP 3828

QRVWC

UP 5511
UP 4780
UP 5444

Ballast Train

UP 4495
UP 5172
UP 5696
UP 8594

Light Power

UP 8320
UP 2162
UP 5371
UP 2405
UP 2416
UP 5593

February 9th and 10th, 2008

2008-02-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

February 9th and 10th

A clear and bright weekend after almost an entire month of rain and clouds. After the previous weekend snows, I was looking forward to getting some action in the snow. Unfortunately we where only able to get Amtrak 6 in the snow.

February 9th.

Started out rather slow with the three lined up on the west end of the yard, but nothing on the east end, so we would have to wait for #6 to begin our chase up the hill.

MRVNW at Antelope

UP 3870

UP 4577

Light power at switch 5

UP 5582

UP 5579

UP 8510

UP 4419

Redding Turn at Sunset-Whitney

UP 1372 - RGP*

UP 2528

UP 1365

MRVML at Antelope

UP 5387

UP 4716

UP 4360

Amtrak 6 at Antelope

AMTK 99

AMTK 164

MRVNP at Newcastle

UP 5554

UP 5570

UP 5563

UP 3829

UP 4341

UP 4973

Febuary 10th

Sunday started out really slow. The arrival side of the yard was empty and the receiving service tracks where also empty, but it got busier a little later.

Light Power

UP 3941

UP 2186

UP 9744

QPDRV

UP 8601

UP 4616

UP 4486

UP 8534

MNPST

UP 4216

UP 8350

UP 9547

Light Power

UP 4248

UP 8017

UP 4590

UP 4861

UP 5490

ASJNP

UP 5567

UP 5573

UP 8514

UP 4431

Light Power

UP 8543

UP 5548

UP 4805

UP 5449

UP 4953

UP 5455

QRVWC at Antelope

UP 7782

UP 4821

UP 4416

UP 5413 - DPU

UP 5441 - DPU

UP 5340 - DPU

RGP = Rio Grande Patch

Feburary 2nd and 3rd, 2008

2008-02-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

Feburary 2nd and 3rd.
Well after three weeks or working and rain, I wasn't going to let a predicted rain/snow storm stop me from heading out. Besides it gave me an excuse to break in my new Jeep.

Saturday Feburary 2nd
Reading reports of Amtrak 6 being stuck in Gold Run got me thinking it was time to head up the hill, but first a run around the yard to see if there where any trains lined up to head up that we could follow.

The long line of stored units is slowly making its way to the shop for a looking over. Most of the units where retired in the last weeks of Jan and the lease units where getting preped to be returned to CEFX.

We did get into some snow around Wiemer Crossing and it was really snowing up around Alta and Gold Run. This allowed us to get some shots but after spending a hour 100' from the Alta off ramp. I had had enough of California drivers in the snow.

Light Power movement

UP 9379
UP 7612
UP 4043

Light Power movement

UP 5424
UP 4048

Light Power movement

UP 4826
UP 5367
UP 8324
UP 8395

e/b Grain Train

UP 6748
UP 6292 - SPP*
UP 7094

w/b Auto train off the Valley

UP 4487
UP 4607

MRVNP at Colfax

UP 5572
UP 5575
UP 8611
UP 3817
UP 4572
UP 5569 - DPU
UP 5576 - DPU

QRVPD at Roseville

UP 5121
UP 4772
UP 2080

QNPFRP at Roseville

UP 4822
UP 7730
UP 7726

Sunday Feburary 3rd
Ironically Sunday was the first sunny day is quite some time but there was nothing moving for trains.

e/b Auto Train

UP 4487
UP 4607

QPDWC at Antelope

UP 7699
UP 3891
UP 9693
UP 4398 - DPU
UP 4048 - DPU
UP 5454 - DPU

n/b HBARPAS at Sacramento

BNSF 4767
BNSF 4513
BNSF 4153
BNSF 4909

* SPP - Southern Pacific Patch

December 24th and 25th, 2007

2008-01-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

December 24th and 25th.
Christmas Eve and Christmas day action.

Monday December 24th
A surprisingly busy Monday morning, but the action tapered off by the afternoon as the UP was shutting down operations for the holiday.

Stack Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 3869
UP 7617
UP 4934

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 45
AMTK 58

Auto Train at Antelope, CA.

UP 7755
UP 5305

Stack Train at Brighton, CA.

UP 5255
UP 9646
UP 4938
UP 7748
UP 3919
UP 5536
UP 9798
UP 3833
UP 5040

QDVSTJ at Brighton, CA.

BNSF 4725
BNSF 5308
BNSF 4410

MRVFR at Antelope, CA.

UP 5444
UP 5455
UP 5447
UP 1451
UP 813
UP 3542

Auto Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 4319
UP 4441

MRORV at Roseville, CA.

UP 8336
UP 2219
UP 2347

Tuesday December 25th
Nothing to report.

December 22nd and 23rd, 2008

2008-01-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

December 22nd and 23rd.
Another weekend of being on call, so it was spent close to home. Saturday started out sunny but by early afternoon was cloudy and looking to rain.

Saturday December 22nd

MRVTR at Antelope, CA

UP 4594
UP 5429

Lt Power at Antelope, CA.

UP 5560
UP 5568
UP 5557

QDVSTJ at Antelope, CA.

BNSF 7590
BNSF 5246
BNSF 4761

wb Auto Rack at Roseville, CA.

UP 3825
UP 9215

MRORV at Roseville, CA.

UP 3908
UP 9781
UP 3836
UP 5569

ZLCSE at Roseville, CA.

UP 7602
UP 5093
UP 4974

wb Grain Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 8235
UP 7662
UP 6278
UP 6655

QWCRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 5326
UP 4244
UP 4627
UP 4289
UP 5524 - DPU

Sunday December 23rd
A slow sunny day around Roseville.

wb Auto Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 4889
UP 4524

Lt Power at Roseville, CA.

UP 7708
UP 5411
UP 4493

Lt Power at Roseville, CA.

UP 4629
UP 4862
UP 3781
UP 5426

Lt Power at Roseville, CA.

UP 4432
UP 7710
UP 5582
UP 5564

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 129
AMTK 44

MNPRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 7787
UP 9479
UP 2365
UP 9357 - DPU
UP 5485 - DPU

December 15th and 16th, 2007

2008-01-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

December 15th and 16th.
Saturday started out with the typical winter fog, but after being on call the week prior I was looking forward to finding an eastbound and following it up the Hill.

Saturday December 15th
The day started out in Roseville with lunch in Truckee and ending back home in Roseville.

MMIRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 8607
UP 3192

QWCRV at Antelope, CA.

UP 7763
UP 5423
UP 5289
UP 5480
UP 5447
UP 5422

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 4096
UP 5443
UP 3868
UP 5459

Lt power at Roseville, CA.

UP 8326
UP 9715
UP 2752
UP 5570
UP 3542
UP 2850

Lt power at Roseville, CA.

UP 566
UP 589

Amtrak # 6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 40
AMTK 100

wb Auto rack at Truckee, CA.

UP 3865
UP 3258
GECX 8652
UP 5558
UP 5563

Sunday December 16th
Another typical Sunday morning around Roseville.

Grain train at Roseville, CA.

UP 6565
UP 6465
UP 8177

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 5517
UP 5281
UP 7763
UP 5558
UP 5581
UP 5578
UP 5570
UP 5573

QFRNPP at Roseville, CA.

UP 5424
UP 5451
UP 5401
UP 5052
UP 4891
UP 5184

Auto rack at Roseville, CA.

UP 7737
UP 8550

QWCPD at Roseville, CA.

UP 6651
UP 7732
UP 3970

December 8th and 9th, 2007

2008-01-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

December 8th and 9th.
Being on call limited my range this weekend, so it was spent around town.

Saturday December 8th
Around the Roseville area.

Redding Turn at Roseville, CA.

UP 1524
UP 9992
UP 1448

QPDRVX at Roseville, CA.

UP 5441
UP 5379
UP 5446
UP 4221

MRVRO at Roseville, CA.

UP 5567
UP 5568
UP 5582
UP 5586
UP 4138
UP 8334
UP 9594

ZLCSE at Roseville, CA.

UP 5109
UP 9741
UP 5065

Amtrak # 6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 40
AMTK 100

Unknown stack at Roseville, CA.

UP 7647
UP 9587
UP 4084

Unknown stack at Roseville, CA.

UP 8588
UP 4084

Sunday December 9th
A typical Sunday morning.

MRORVB at Roseville, CA.

UP 5574
UPY 1484
UP 8500
UP 4525

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 4817
UP 5549
UP 9733
UP 7722

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 207
AMTK 74

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 566
UP 589
UP 1215
UP 1510

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 5426
UP 5378
UP 3890

Empty grain train at Roseville, CA.

UP 6746
UP 6654
UP 6357

Stockton Turn at Roseville, CA.

UP 9251
UP 4002

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 7601
UP 2397
UP 4096

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 5459
UP 3868
UP 5443

MNPST at Roseville, CA.UP 7692

UP 4991
UP 8538
UP 5575

December 1st and 2nd, 2007

2008-01-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

December 1st and 2nd.
Saturday was spent on a trip to Woodland and Marysville, CA while Sunday was spent around Roseville.

Saturday December 1st
I was hoping to catch the NREX 2007 running around on the California Northern, but it appears that CFNR isn't running on the weekends like it was a year or so ago.

The day started out in Roseville with the Redding Turn and ends back in Roseville with the MRVEU.

Redding Turn at Roseville, CA.

UP 1346
UP 1365
UP 1448

Amtrak 729 at Roseville, CA.

CDTX 2006

MNWRV at N. Highlands, CA.

UP 8323
UP 4082
UP 3255

ZLCBR at Ewing, CA.

UP 8405
UP 8560
UP 8608

Unknown gondola train at Sunset-Whitney, CA.

UP 4717
UP 4672

MRVEU at Roseville, CA.

UP 5462
UP 5402
UP 5430
UP 5286

Sunday December 2nd
A fairly busy Sunday morning around Roseville, CA.

Lt. power at Roseville, CA.

UP 4388
UP 4786
UP 5413
UP 5384

QPDRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 5488
UP 3996
UP 7606 - DPU
UP 7632 - DPU

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 40
AMTK 100

ABNKC at Roseville, CA.

UP 4260
UP 5127
UP 4325

MRVTR at Roseville, CA.

UP 4553
UP 8331

MRVFR at Roseville, CA,

UP 4000
UP 4595

Unknown stacker at Roseville, CA.

UP 5051
UP 4991

MNPRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 9174
UP 4002
UP 9251
UP 5492
UP 9738
UP 5567
UP 5578

November 24th and 25th, 2007

2008-01-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

November 24th and 25th.
A lazy and cold weekend of train watching.

Saturday November 24th
After doing something other than train watching in the morning, I took a quick drive around the yard to see what was going on.

QNPRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 5320
UP 8376
UP 5583
UP 5575
UP 5560 - mid-train DPU
UP 5577 - mid-train DPU
UP 9692 - rear train DPU
UP 5334 - rear train DPU

Unknown train at Roseville, CA.

UP 8310
UP 5080
UP 4076

MRVFR at Roseville, CA

UP 5353
UP 4324
UP 4816

Sunday November 25th
Sunday morning was really slow around Roseville, CA.

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 198
AMTK 167

Grain Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 5949
UP 7235
UP 6565
UP 7305
UP 5588 - DPU
UP 5566 - DPU
UP 5571 - DPU

IG2OA at Roseville, CA.

UP 4327
UP 3882
UP 5156
UP 5098

November 22nd and 23rd, 2007

2008-01-24T18:17:00.000-08:00

November 22nd and 23rd.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday train watching

Thursday November 22rd
A surprisingly busy day for a holiday.

Lt Power move at Roseville, CA.

UP 3854
UP 4557
UP 5435
UP 4020

Empty Grain Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 7659
UP 7039
UP 6227

Loaded Grain Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 5717
UP 8358
UP 5513

QDVSTJ at Newcastle, CA.

BNSF 7563
BNSF 4513
BNSF 4859

QRVNP at Gold Run, CA.

UP 5578
UP 5582
UP 5006
UP 4877
UP 4467
UP 5568
UP 5566 - DPU

Friday November 23rd
Black Friday was a little bit slow around Roseville, CA.

MRVEU at Rosevile, CA.

UP 5553
UP 5325
UP 5407

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 168
AMTK 179

ISCOA at Roseville, CA.

UP 4826
UP 4976
UP 5095

QRVWC at Antelope, CA.

UP 7368
UP 8553
UP 5454
UP 9460 - DPU
UP 5358 - DPU

KMNOA at Roseville, CA.

UP 4265
UP 4702

November 17th and 18th, 2007

2008-01-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

November 17th and 18th.
Typical November weather in the Valley, fog in the mornings and filtered sunlight in the afternoons.

Saturday November 17th
A busy day around Roseville, CA.

Auto Rack at Antelope, CA.

UP 4021
UP 2223
UP 4584

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 51
AMTK 19

ZLCBR at Roseville, CA.

UP 4312
UP 5120
UP 9685

Rocklin Rocket at Sunset-Whitney, CA.

UP 589
UP 566

Redding Turn at Roseville, CA.

UP 1386
UP 526
UP 992

MRVTR at Sacramento, CA.

UP 9831
UP 4557
CFNR 106

Ballast Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 3873
UP 4557
UP 9333
UP 3854

MMIRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 4773
UP 4533

QPDRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 5480
UP 5376
UP 4388
UP 4944

MNPRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 5581
UP 4209
UP 9616
UP 4633
UP 5576 DPU
UP 5575 DPU

Sunday November 18th
Much slower day as is usual on Sundays around Roseville, CA.

Auto Rack at Roseville, CA.

UP 3804
UP 9390
UP 5572

Amtrak #6 at Sacramento, CA.

AMTK 61
AMTK 122

Stack Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 8560
UP 9652
UP 9702

MRVFR at Antelope, CA.

UP 4419
UP 2933
UP 3980

Amtrak #5 at Roseville, CA.

AMTK 41
AMTK 190

Grain Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 8255
UP 7261
UP 8063

November 10th and 11th, 2007

2008-01-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

November 10th and 11th.
A foggy, rainy weekend with a slow Saturday and a busy Sunday.

Saturday November 10th
The weather was horrible so it was off to the International Railfair train show.

ZLBSE at Roseville, CA.

UP 7799
UP 5179
UP 4644

Ballast Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 9333
UP 3854

MRVNP at Roseville, CA.

UP 5578
UP 5575
UP 7756
UP 5161
UP 4974
UP 2862
UP 5559 DPU
UP 5566 DPU

Sunday November 11th
Sunday started out foggy but cleared out in the valley and slowly out to the foothills.

Lt Power at Antelope, CA.

UPY 862
UPY 857

Stack train at Antelope, CA.

UP 4205
UP 8425

Amtrak #6 at Sacramento, CA.

UP 51
UP 19
UP 172 - wreck damaged

Stack Train at Roseville, CA.

UP 7780
UP 8601

MRVNP at Roseville, CA.

UP 5376
UP 4944
UP 4388

QDVSTJ at Roseville, CA.

UP 5568 - BNSF power had a on line failure on the pass and this unit was added at Sparks, NV.
BNSF 4752
BNSF 8212
BNSF 6344

Lt Power at Roseville, CA.

UP 6781
UP 8074
UP 5829

Power came in from Polk after leaving a unit cement train there.

November 3rd and 4th, 2007

2008-01-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

November 3rd and 4th.
A trip to Chico, Oroville, and some lazy time around Roseville, CA.

Saturday November 3rd.
The day started off with the ZLBSE in Roseville and ended with a BNSF grain train in Rio Oso, CA.

ZLBSE at Roseville, CA.

UP 4102
UP 4359
UP 9506

Rocklin Rocket at Sunset-Whitney, CA.

UP 812
UP 649

QHKRV at Ostrom, CA.

UP 8384
UP 5363
UP 5413
UP 5421

MRVPD at Ostrom, CA.

UP 5452
UP 5416

Rare unknown sb BNSF grain train at Rio Oso, CA.

BNSF 5497
BNSF 7653
BNSF 4927
BNSF 710

Sunday November 4th
A lazy Sunday around Roseville, CA.

MWCCO at Roseville, CA.

UP 5535
UP 9164

Baretable train at Sunset-Whitney, CA.

UP 4302
UP 4488

MRORV at Roseville, CA.

UP 3801
UP 5514
UP 7786

wb Grain train at Roseville, CA.

UP 6793
UP 6243
UP 6569
UP 5572 DPU
UP 5582 DPU
UP 5582 DPU
UP 5561 DPU
UP 5568 DPU

October 27th and 28th, 2007

2008-01-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

October 27th and 28th.

Some time spent around the Sacramento and the Roseville, Ca areas.

Saturday October 27th
A really slow day which was unfortunate since I pretty much had the day to do what I wanted.

Rocklin Rocket at Roseville, CA

UP 566
UP 589

HBARPAS at Sacramento, CA

BNSF 4885
BNSF 1017
BNSF 5069
CN 2600
BNSF 831

MRVNW at Sacramento, CA

UP 4207
UP 4901

Empty Grain Train at Roseville, CA

UP 5033
UP 4819

QFRNPP at Roseville, CA

UP 7729
UP 3859

Sunday October 28th
Sunday started out with me wondering it was going to be a dead day. Both the receiving and departure yards for the hump in Roseville where empty, but the morning soon proved to be productive.

Grain Train at Citrus Heights, CA

UP 5559
UP 6027
UP 5890
UP 5995
UP 7003

Grain Train at Citrus, CA

UP 5454
UP 9638
UP 4344

QWCRV at Antelope, CA

UP 5459
UP 5061
UP 3779
UP 5356 - DPU
UP 4398 - DPU

KOAMN at Antelope, CA

UP 4743
UP 8394

MEUWC at Roseville, CA

UP 4399
UP 3746
UP 5299

Lt Power at Roseville, CA

UP 5089
UP 9449
HLCX 6335

QPDRV at Roseville, CA.

UP 5418
UP 9754
UP 5381

QPDWC at Brock, CA.

UP 5363
UP 5413
UP 5421

October 20th and 21st, 2007

2008-01-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

October 20th and 21st.

A trip to Oakdale, Riverbank, Stockton and the Roseville, Ca areas.

Saturday October 20th
Finely we got a whole weekend without obligations or work and we headed for the Central Valley.

Stockton, CA

ZNBYWSP

BNSF 7537
BNSF 778
BNSF 707
BNSF 720

Riverbank, CA

North end switch

BNSF 2422
BNSF 2412

Oakdale, CA

Sierra Diner Train

SERA 50

UP Oakdale Turn

UP 1489
UP 1495

The SERA 40 and 44 BLW S12's are showing signs of being actively stripped of parts. An unexpected sight was the ex Swanson Milling GP-9 that showed up on the SERA property last year was stripped down to the prime mover and half the cab. The long hood and front half of the unit where missing.

Stockton, CA
We headed back to Stockton as there was nothing going on in Riverbank. West of Escalon a nb San Joaquin passed us with Amtrak 180 as the lead unit.
A quick stop at the BNSF Mormon yard showed the engine terminal full with a couple of interesting units. BNSF 3118 and NS 9387 helped break the orange and green monotony. At the east end of the yard are the Rail Power demo units in cold storage.They have been there since the RPRX 5402 took off unattended for no reason.

A run over to the UP side of things found some activity, but not much.

QFRNPP

UP 5501
UP 5264
UP 5028
UP 8550

BNSF Transfer

BNSF 2949
BNSF 2536

Sacramento, CA
After driving around the central valley without any luck on the train watching front, its was time to head for home, but we where sidetracked by the MRVNW at Elvas. A quick turn around and then down to Haggin resulted in the most trains for the day even though we did miss a sb stacker.

Unknown eb Auto Train

UP 4036
UP 9625

Unknown wb Auto Train

UP 5201
UP 3794
UP 4083
UP 9068

ZLCBR

UP 3803
UP 4359
UP 4491

After sitting for about 45 mins the MRVNW had still not moved from Elvas and the auto rack train was still waiting for it to clear and since there where things I needed to do, it was time to go.

Sunday October 21st
Sunday was a typical Sunday for traffic levels. Traffic has been off for quite sometime and always amazes me how empty the yard has been looking lately.
The east end of the yard had a CTC failure and all trains entering and leaving the yard had to hand throw all switches. This made for some extra radio traffic giving us some heads ups.

QNPFRP at Antelope, CA

UP 7733
UP 4225
UP 4423
UP 5572
UP 5568 - rear DPU

MRVTR at Citrus, CA

UP 4134
UP 5053

Lt Power at Roseville, CA

UP 3905
UP 4872

Lt Power at Roseville, CA

UP 3291
UP 2462

ASJNP at E. Roseville, CA

UP 4904
UP 9773
UP 9775
UP 9734
UP 9722
UP 9541
UP 9239
UP 9619
UP 4685

They had a bad order tank car and ended up setting it out in the city yard.

MRVEU at Roseville, CA

UP 5476
UP 7699
UP 5181

October 13th and 14th, 2007

2008-01-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

October 13th and 14th.

A weekend around the home front.

Saturday October 13th
After having to work the weekend before and trying to get caught up on misc items, I was able to squeeze in some train watching time.

Roseville, CA

The day started off foggy, very winter like even though its only the beginning of fall. The other surprise was the sight of the departure yard empty, not a car in sight.

Unknown sb grain train

UP 6543
UP 6245
UP 5735
UP 5567 - DPU
UP 5569 - DPU
UP 5578 - DPU
UP 5571 - DPU

Lt. Power

UP 4677
UP 4161
UP 5371

MRVNW at Citrus, CA

UP 5387
UP 5374

Redding Turn

UP 2933
UP 1376
UP 1451

ZLCBR

UP 5471
UP 9776
UP 9655

Lt. Power

UP 4570
UP 4398
UP 5386
UP 5415
UP 4505
UP 4009
UP 4139

QDVSTJ

BNSF 7581
BNSF 5503
BNSF 4764
BNSF 8635

Lt. Power

UP 5454
UP 5413
UP 5383
UP 8153

Sunday October 21st
Sunday was a rush day to see what we could find before my son had to go to work.

MWCPW at Citrus, CA

UP 5461
UP 4446
UP 5381

MNPFR at Brighton, CA

UP 5064
UP 4299
UP 3271
UP 4957

IG2OA at Brighton, CA

UP 8505
UP 4296
UP 5157

Unknown Auto Rack at Haggin, CA

UP 3158
UP 2940

September 29th and 30th, 2007

2008-01-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

September 29th and 30th

Some observations around Roseville, Ca and the lower Valley sub between Roseville and Marysville, CA

Saturday Sept 29th
Saturday started out wet and cloudy but turned out to be fine later in the afternoon. Time constants limited the amount of time spent railfanning, but the time taken did present some jewels.

On the way to Sacramento two east bounds where encountered along Roseville road with the second being the catch of the month.

MNWRV

UP 9723
UP 8331

An unknown empty grain train

UP 6619
KCS 4682 Southern Belle
KCS 4685 Southern Belle
KCS 4680 Primer

We followed this train up to Newcastle, CA but had to return home for a late afternoon appointment.

Sunday Sept 30th
Sunday started out cool, crisp and slow around the Roseville yard complex. We spotted a stack train head up the Valley sub and after a look to see if any west bounds where lined up to leave, we headed up the Valley.

This was the first time in over a month since I've been up to Marysville and the UP has been busy. Lots of track and bridge work being done. A new bridge is going in at Pleasant Grove creek just south of Sunset-Whitney. The siding at Sunset-Whitney has been rebuilt (it was pretty rickety last time I looked at it) and the bridge over the Bear River is having the wooden deck replaced with a concrete deck.

Trains where more frequent than the day before, but not as many as I’d hoped.

QPDRV north of Lincoln, CA

UP 4348
UP 5456
UP 4501

KOAMN in the siding at Ostrom, CA

UP 4134
UP 5053

IG2OA at Ostrom, CA

UP 9783
UP 4993
UP 8569

MRVPD at Sunset-Whitney, CA

UP 5438
UP 4812
UP 5371

EB empty grain train at W. Roseville, CA

UP 5366
UP 6174

December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2008

2008-01-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

December 31, 2007
The year ended on a quite note with very little movement occurring. A couple of trains where observed out and about, though.

Unknown freight parked at Swanson, CA.

UP 5560
UP 5561
UP 3860
UP 3699
UP 3885

Amtrak #6

AMTK 95
AMTK 155

MRVNW at Antelope

UP 5406
UP 5026
UP 9625
UP 5454
UP 5419

wb Grain Train at West Roseville, CA

UP 5968
UP 6737 cnwp*
UP 6190 spp*

Lt. Power movement at Roseville, CA

UP 5361
UP 54513
UP 5435
UP 9758
UP 5293
UP 7730
UP 5338

MRVML at Elk Grove, CA

UP 5484
UP 9806
UP 9713

January 1, 2008

The first day of the new year was sunny and busy for a holiday.

Amtrak #6 at Roseville, CA

AMTK 174
AMTK 4

MRVNW at N. Highlands, CA

UP 4901
UP 4944
FURX 8093 bnp*
UP 2580

QSTDVJ at N. Highlands, CA

BNSF 4990
BNSF 4311
BNSF 4553

ZCSLT at Brighton, CA

UP 4261
UP 4567
UP 4155

Lt. Power at Roseville, CA

UP 5381
UP 5403
UP 5182

Stack Train at Roseville, CA

UP 4370
UP 4772
UP 8516
UP 4490

*
cnwp = CNW Patch
spp = Southern Pacific Patch
bnp = BN Patch

UP NorCal meltdown

2004-03-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

Melt down?

Lets see. Roseville yard was stuffed this morning. 4 trains parked on the main between Antelope and Swanson. A dead train on the main at Del Paso, 3 tied up behind it. The siding and main at Sunset-Whitney both have dead trains. Three dead trains on the main between Sunset-Whitney and Brock (~25 miles) Ostrom siding and Brock siding are both occupied. A dead train is on the main at Marysville and the first siding north of Binney Jct. is occuppied. 13+ trains parked within the Roseville triangle. Sounds like a typical day in Northern California.

02/14/04 - Sightings

2004-02-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

Good to see the weatherman was wrong. Was supposed to be cloudy/rainy, but the sun was out. I got a late start to the day out around 1330 I figured a spin around the Roseville yard was in order.

A look to the west and east while crossing over the yard on the Antelope over pass showed trains parked on the mainline at Antelope and one getting ready to head out of the yard. UP 3632-3374 are leading a wb freight from the yard. Amtrak #6 was really late. Around 1330 AMTK 156-136 lead #6 by the Roseville Auction. The service tracks where full and had two jewels in them. RSSX 7983 one of the GP9's from Lathrop and CNW8646 where spotted.

After #6 cleared the Roseville depot the scanner picked up an inbound west bound freight off of Donnor. A run to Cattlemans caught UP5806 (a filthy flag unit)-9355-9210-4393 pn this freight. Sitting on the number one main was the first of the seven parked trains that I counted. This one had some weird power. UP 7529-UPY862; a AC6000CW and a SD38-2R. I decided to head back into the Roseville to where the Valley line and the Donnor line join up. The Rocklin Rocket (UP 598-771) was on the wb leg of the wye from the Valley waiting for the freight to clear so it could back into the yard.

After this it was a drive along the south side of the yard and then down Roseville road to look at the parked trains west of the yard. The yard was packed. Even the Rockpile had freights lined up on the tracks. Nothing really exciting going on in the yard, but did catch the top of a CDTX/AMTK F59PHI on one of the outbound tracks.

The parked trains where strung out for about 7 miles, first one was noted at the Antelope cross overs but could not get the unit numbers. Behind it at Citrus Heights was another with UP 3728-8798-1355 (DRGW Patch)-9322-699. The next one was noted at the Watt Ave overpass. UP 3647-2745 (SP Patch) where the power on this one. At Plane Haven was UP 3247-3488. Under the I-80 overpass was UP 3450-3383 and the last set train was parked across from the RTA shops with UP 3327-3635.

A full yard and 7 parked trains; thats about normal for Roseville. Below is a complete list of observed units (sorry but the format gets lost on here)

Unit Number Type Railroad Location Notes
136 P42 AMTK Roseville, CA
158 P42 AMTK Roseville, CA
8646 C44-9W CNW Roseville, CA
7780 C40-8W CSX Roseville, CA
7983 GP9 RSSX Roseville, CA
567 GP38-2 UP Roseville, CA SP Patch
598 GP38-2 UP Roseville, CA
621 GP38-2 UP Roseville, CA
686 GP38-2 UP Roseville, CA
699 GP38-2 UP Citrus Heights, CA RCL
771 GP38-2 UP Roseville, CA
1355 GP40-2 UP Citrus Heights, CA DRGW Patch
2372 SD60M UP Roseville, CA
2745 SD40M-2 UP Walerga,CA P Patch
3192 SD40-2 UP Roseville, CA
3217 SD40-2 UP Roseville, CA
3247 SD40-2 UP Plane Haven, CA
3327 SD40-2 UP Swanston, CA Snoot
3374 SD40-2 UP Roseville, CA Snoot
3383 SD40-2 UP Plane Haven, CA Snoot
3450 SD40-2 UP Plane Haven, CA Snoot
3488 SD40-2 UP Plane Haven, CA Snoot
3632 SD40-2 UP Roseville, CA
3635 SD40-2 UP Swanston, CA
3647 SD40-2 UP Walerga,CA
3728 SD40-2 UP Citrus Heights, CA
3978 SD70M UP Roseville, CA
4006 SD70M UP Roseville, CA
4103 SD70M UP Roseville, CA
4393 SD70M UP Rocklin, CA
4648 SD70M UP Roseville, CA
4708 SD70M UP Roseville, CA
4774 SD70M UP Roseville, CA FF
4851 SD70M UP Roseville, CA FLR
4998 SD70M UP Roseville, CA FF
5806 AC4400CCTE UP Rocklin, CA Flag
5831 AC4400CCTE UP Roseville, CA
7529 AC6000CW UP Roseville, CA
8098 SD9043MAC UP Roseville, CA
8798 SD40T-2 UP Citrus Heights, CA
9096 C40-8 UP Roseville, CA
9210 C40-8 UP Rocklin, CA
9304 C40-8 UP Roseville, CA
9322 C40-8 UP Citrus Heights, CA
9355 C40-8 UP Rocklin, CA
9445 C41-8W UP Roseville, CA
9671 C44-9W UP Roseville, CA
9676 C44-9W UP Roseville, CA
862 SD38-2R UPY Roseville, CA
1298 SW1500 UPY Roseville, CA

2004-02-15T08:13:00.000-08:00