Weekend in Grand Island, NE

Winter just seems to want to stick around and the weekend of March 23rd and 24th was a good example of that. The girlfriend and I headed over to Grand Island, NE for the state Womens Bowling tournament that she was bowling in and for me to spend a couple of hours or so watching trains.

We left the Omaha area in bright sunshine but a storm was getting its act together out west. The brunt of this early spring snow storm was supposed to impact Kansas with a predicted 2-4 inched in the Grand Island area. Thankfully this never occurred but we did get a chance to drive on some icy roads on Sunday morning.

Saturday March 23rd
I left the girlfriend at the Bowling center around noon and had about 3 hours to get out and explore. The weather was pretty bad at this time with really dark skies with light snow and rain. Not a good scenario or having too much fun but I made the most of it.

The first train I encountered was the ZG2SC as it passed through the yard and headed west. Figuring I would not be able to get ahead of it I detoured over to N Oak and E Front St to see what was going on. Under the BNSF overcrossing the Nebraska Central was doing some work on the west end of the Grand Island yard. NCRC 8118-8123 were switching out a box car that they eventually shoved down into the area of the yard that they park their power at. After watching them do this and taking a look at the signals and hearing no scanner traffic, I made an impulse decision to head west and see how far I could get before having to turn around.

While crossing over the UP mainline on the west side of Grand Island, I noticed that the z train was still in the area and moving west really slow.

UP 7990 and the ZG2SC from Hwy 30.

Not sure why this high priority train was basically crawling along at 45 mph but I figured it was a good opportunity to get some foul weather moody pacing shots. I was able to catch up to it between Alda and Wood River, NE and fired off a couple of shots that I knew would not be perfect but was hoping they would be salvageable. Power for the ZG2SC was UP 7990-7201-4376-4888-4055.

At Gibbon, NE an empty coaler was holding on the Marysville line for the westbound Z train and a loaded coaler was slowly rolling toward the jct. UP 6747-6621 DPU 6608 had the eastbound coal load while UP 5921-7121 DPU 7236 held on the Marysville line with the empties..

UP 6747 leads a coal load west of Gibbon, NE.

Having made some good time to Gibbon, I continued over to Kearney, NE to see if I could catch the ex BRC GP7 at the Peavey elevator. As my luck has been with this unit it was locked up in the elevator load shed. A drive by the UP yard did revel the UP 504-823 that are the local switchers based in Kearney. With just over a hour to get back to the bowling center, I headed back into Grand Island with only one more train seen for the day. The Grand Island to North Platte local was seen at Alda with UP 1645-1641-1593 and about 30 cars in tow. This train has been powered by three SD40-2's and SD40N's for the last 3 years or so and reminds me of the days when I would sit along side the tracks in Wood River watching the UP run trains like street cars.

Sunday March 24th
We woke up to some nice clear skies but a brutal north wind around 30 mph. A quick morning rush to get the gf to the bowling center by 0730 was needed before any train watching could occur and this allowed the sun to get a bit higher in the sky.

I was able to get about 3.5 hours of train watching in before heading back to the Omaha area. Since I was also out taking pictures of the old buildings and signs that are still around, I did miss a few trains during that time.

0740 - Westbound UP stack train
UP 8710-7613 DPU 7431

A drive around the yard to check out the local power and various MOW train power sets.
Switcher set - 518-508
MOW train - 4069-4658
Loaded grain train 6313-6398-7920
MOW train - 5184-9640
MOW train - 8248-5631
Nebraska Central - 8118-8123 and a set of two additional SD40-2's

Nebraska Central SD40-2's 8118-8123

After getting pics of the Nebraska Central units I took off to find some old and obscure items in downtown Grand Island. During this time I missed a BNSF westbound stack train that was followed by a westbound freight. The UP sent a coal empty and an eastbound stack train thru also.

0905 - Eastbound UP stack train
UP 6850-6743-6052-5072 DPU 6713

With the downturn in coal loadings formerly coal train only power is starting to become common on these higher priority trains.

UP 6850 leads a eastbound stacker into Grand Island.

0920 - BNSF Coal empties
BNSF 6340-6054 DPU 5856

BNSF 5856 passes over the UP QNPEL.

0922 - UP QNPEL eastbound
UP 8498-7736

0935 - UP ZSKGR westbound
UP 6451-6470-7097

UP 6451 leads the empty salad shooter out of Grand Island, NE.

0945 - BNSF Coal load
Missed the single headend unit but got the 6221 DPU

1009 - BNSF Coal load
BNSF 9272-5897 DPU 9835

BNSF 9272 leads a coal load south over the UP mainline.

1011 - UP Mid America coal empties
UP 5700-7195 DPU 7279

1019 - UP loaded grain train westbound.
UP 7920-6398-6313

Power had run around the train and departed westbound with the loaded train from earlier. While getting in position to photograph this train the BNSF sent a coal load over the departing train.

UP 7920 departing Grand Island with a loaded grain train as a BNSF coal load passes over head.

1050 -UP  ZG2SE westbound.
UP 8477-7607-7806-8778-8576

1052 - BNSF coal empties
BNSF 9277-9938 DPU 5729

1111 - BNSF eastbound freight
BNSF 4325-4169 DPU 6763

BNSF 4325 leads a southbound freight through Grand Island, NE

After this last train passed through it was time to meet the gf , have some lunch and head back to Omaha.

December Blair Sub Construction Update 21012

A week before Christmas I was able to get out and take a look at the construction progress on the Blair Sub. In short not much has taken place but there are a couple of items worth reporting.

Arlington, NE

The new double track bridge was cut in in late November. This involved replacing the current bridge with the construction of a new double track concrete deck bridge.

At the grain elevator in Arlington MOW crews were noted working with panel track sections. I do not know what they were doing or if these panels are going to be used in the area.

Kennard, NE

The biggest development is the relaying of the old Kennard siding as the second main track. This section was completely rebuilt and two new bridges were installed as part of this rebuild. The track had been laid and connected at the old West Kennard switch but had not been ballasted when I visited. Crews where noted moving ballast regulators and tampers into the spur on the west side of Kennard. Once this track is finished the line will be double tracked from CP Allen Creek to a mile east of California Jct, IA and then from CP Duffy on the southwest side of Blair to the west end of the old Kennard siding.

Fremont to Missouri Valley

From east Fremont, NE to Missouri Valley, IA no new work was noted. The new row that was created from west Kennard to the west side of Arlington is ready for ties and rail to be installed. The crossings that will receive flashers have had the new bases installed and signal boxes all wired for the installations.

A UP conductor was noted as indicating that the union announced that no new work would occur on the project until 2014. There was no indication that the current work would be finished in 2013 or if the project  will be dormant until 2014.

Spring weather and time will tell.

A cloudy Saturday

On Saturday, I was able to sneak away for a couple of hours to do some train watching making a circle from Omaha to Fremont to Missouri Valley and back to Omaha. This seems to be one of my  more permanent train watching patterns as I typically encounter a fair number of trains following this route.

During the overnight and Saturday morning we had our first rain in quite awhile.The 1/2 to 3/4 inches of rain made the back roads interesting to drive on later in the day while I was out on the Blair Sub. It also left the sky dark and full of heavy clouds. So making the best of it I converted the days images to black and white.

Heading out of Omaha, I didn't encounter any trains until the Dodge St/Hwy 6 over crossing near 144th where I spotted the tell end of a eastbound bare table. I was hoping that this wouldn't be the way the morning was going to go. By the time I got to Fremont I was really wondering if the day was going to be a bust as I hadn't encountered any trains until then. Just east of  Fremont while on old Hwy 275 I was greeted by the MNCCB heading toward Omaha behind UP 4935-2168-4721.

UP 6532 leads a train of company hoppers eb toward Fremont, NE.

Continuing on into town and crossing over the ex CNW yard on S. Bell st, I spotted a westbound booze train changing crews. I started to head over toward the BNSF/UP diamonds but noticed that the train had already started to head west so I drove over to Ridge rd to get a shot of the train with the town in the background. No sooner had I pulled up and an eastbound coal load of company hoppers starts blowing for the crossing. UP 6532-7255 DPU 6392 rolled out of the fog and misty low cloud to block my planned shot of the booze train. I was hoping that the booze train would slow down or stop but soon UP 5693-6189 rolled past me on the opposite side. Crap I hate it when that happens.

Coal loads and booze

Once the coal loads cleared the crossing I headed on up to Pappa siding on the BNSF to see if any southbound BNSF trains were holding while the UP trains cleared the diamonds. The siding was empty but the Fremont switch engine, BNSF 2828 was parked on the Frontier Grain spur.

With no action on the BNSF I headed back south and noticed a set of eastbound headlights on the UP from the N. Pierce st crossing. I pulled over and parked hoping to catch them as they pulled into town. After a couple of minutes the eastbound hadn't moved any closer to me so I started to head for the BNSF side of town.

Broken chatter on the scanner had a northbound BNSF train releasing the track warrant from Elk siding south to Ashland and BNSF 7356-6824 soon brought a north bound empty booze train across the diamonds.The radio chatter continued on the BNSF side with the dispatcher placing the northbound booze train into the siding at Pappa and moving a southbound from the siding at Elk down toYutan siding to meet another northbound out of Ashland who was to meet the southbound that the booze train sitting at Pappa is waiting for at Elk siding. Got that?

The BNSF was fairly busy but I wanted to check on the Blair sub double tracking and decided to head that way instead of chasing the BNSF. Before heading out of town I spotted the BNSF local power tied down west of the depot with BNSF 2809-2304 being the assigned power. Over at the UP depot the UP Fremont switcher power UP 517-833 were tied down in their usual spot.

Heading east and crossing over the ex CNW yard I noticed a green signal for a westbound to head off the Blair sub to the Columbus sub. While driving east on Morningside rd near the Fremont power plant, I spotted an westbound perishable with UP 8524-4111-7508 leading about 35 empty refers. As it went by me I also spotted a westbound mixed freight on the Omaha Sub. A quick u-turn was in order.

DPU 6757 passed the UP 4332 on the MCBNP.

Driving west on Morningside rd I spotted the eastbound train I had setup for earlier starting through town. UP 6510-6445 DPU 6757 had a NSPX coal load heading for Omaha and a run up the Sioux City sub to Minneapolis. I was able to catch the DPU passing a late MCBNP on the east side of Fremont. The tardy MCBNP had UP 4332-1976-8285 as power and was being held for the empty perishable.

With the back tracking done I headed back east out of town to Military Ave to follow the tracks over to the Elkhorn river.The overnight rain had turned this normally decent gravel road into a mess, ruts and soggy car tracks made for a fun drive. Gumbo really lets one know its time for new tires as I was spinning and sliding the whole time.

UP 6866 leads the MSSNP into Arlington.

No trains were spotted until Arlington where I encountered the MSSNP dropping down off of Arlington Hill on the east side of town. The MSSNP had the UP 6866-8139 DPU 6952 as power.

The next train I encountered was a westbound stack train between Arlington and Kennard. UP 8638-4759 DPU 7622 made good work of the climb up Arlington Hill. The train was mostly domestic containers with some maritime containers thrown in.

As I dropped down the hill on Hwy 30 into Kennard I spotted another westbound stack train with UP 7831-4526 DPU 5226-7524 as power. This train was made up of mostly maritime containers and may have been a Seattle bound train.

From Kennard to Council Bluffs I didn't encounter anymore trains which was unusual. At N. Council Bluffs the first coaler I had encountered in Fremont was holding at beanos for the MNPCH with UP 4346-8227-4975 to run around it.

While in Council Bluffs I was surprised to see that the CN/IC yard was empty. Saturday has been a day that the road train comes into CB but the road power was nowhere to be found. Scanner chatter did reveal that the CN Switch crew was out and over on the Omaha side.

Over in the UP Pool yard UP 536-511-512 were noted sitting in the middle of the yard. These units maybe the N. Omaha power as its unusual to see three GP38-2's together unless they are on this train. While checking these units out the NSPX train encountered at had pulled up to 9th street to wait for the two trains in front of it to head out of town. With nothing currently moving I headed over to get some gas and to check out the BNSF and IAIS.

The BNSF Island Park local was working at the S. Bartlett elevator putting its train of aboutr 5 cars together. Today's power was BNSF 9634-6797-3020 which was overkill for the amount of cars to be moved. The BNSF CB switcher is BNSF 8613 and she had about 25 cars tied on to her. These would be interchanged with the IAIS later in the evening.

The IAIS was quite. The CBBI was already made up and had two ES44AC's and a GP38-2 as power. With the opening of the new shop at Yocum the stored power has been slowly moving east. There was around 6-8 units still on the storage tracks though.

Before heading for home I headed back over to 9th Ave to catch an eastbound mixed freight. Power was UP 4104-8656-KCS 4615. Its unusual to see KCS power on the UP in this area so that was an interesting sight. The terminal yard master was giving the MCBDM permission to make a double over and to head out of town so I headed down to see what the power would be. A ratty GE was today's leader so I decided it was time to head for home.

South Central NE

It had been awhile since I really went out and did some exploring and while building a map of industrial locomotives I got the urge to get out and look for some industrial units close by. With my work schedule and always being on call every 3 weeks I don't have much free time but I had a spur of the moment idea to take the 9th off to explore.

I headed out the door a bit later than I had liked but was able to get to all the areas I wanted to before the day was over. Heading to Lincoln to head south for the first planned stop of Hallam, NE I made a detour over to Hwy 6 from I-80 to follow the BNSF into Havelock. \

Ashland was quite and I didn't see my first train until I was west of town about 3 miles. A westbound empty coaler was sitting at the cross overs between Ashland and Greenwood. Since it was just a couple of plain Jane ES44AC's for power I continued on west and was surprised to find a Habsco rail grinder in the house track at Greenwood. This train set has the two ex GE B30-7's as power units for the grinder cars and movement.

RMSX 1101 rail grinder at Greenwood NE

After a brief look around the train it was time to head westbound again. Next up was the MKCKWIL sitting in Waverly, NE and a westbound Maresk double stack stopped between Waverly and Havelock. I stopped to get shots of both because I typically do not get harassed while taking shots from Hwy 6.

MKCKWIL sitting on the main waiting for a new crew at Waverly, NE

BNSF 6712 leads a Maresk double stack sitting east of Havlock, NE

I caught the tail end of the "rush" hour traffic in Lincoln and just headed right on through town on Hwy 6 to Hwy 77 south. Driving over the BNSF yard I caught a glimpse of BNSF 9999 and a number of other units including some SD40-2 hump engines.

The first stop of was Hallam, NE at the NPPD power plant. NPPD has a GP38-2 as the switcher located at the power plant just north of town. This is also the end of the line for the old RI mainline north out of Fairbury NE. Unfortunately there was a coal train being unloaded and the unit was not visibly from the road. I'll have to check it out the next time I'm down in that area.

With Hallam being a bust I got back on Hwy 77 and headed for Beatrice, NE and the Alco that lives at the coop elevator. Relco 707 and SNCC 2004 are used to shuffle empty grain hoppers but today they were being serviced by a mobile Relco crew. SW7 SNCC 2004 was being worked on while I was there. Not sure what they were working on but the fireman side doors for the compressor where open and a guy was noted under the unit working near the air reservoir tanks.

SNCC 2004 and Relco 707 resting under a hazy dusty morning sky.

While finding my way down to the coop I stumbled across some rare surviving freight cars; B17/B24 aircraft wing cars. They are no longer on trucks but were fairly intact with the old Burlington Route herald still visible on one side of each of the cars. Both are sitting on cinder block foundations just east of the coop being used for sheds.

B17/B24 aircraft wind car used as a storage shed.

While two more have been incorporated into a warehouse at the Beatrice Scrap Shredder yard.

Beatrice Scrap Shredder warehouse.

Having found the first Alco of the day I took off for Plymouth NE for the next one on my mental list. RLCX 1051 an S-2 is assigned to the local coop and had just finished loading a grain train in the last day or two. The loads were sitting southwest of the coop waiting for the UP to come and drag them out of town.

My next stop was Jansen, NE. I wasn't really sure what would be found there as both Google Earth and Bing images of the area are of low quality. The images seem to show an Alco switcher on the north east side of the town but only a visual inspection would confirm this. Unfortunately the switcher was not to be found but a rather nice looking GP7 is used to shuffle around the grain cars. The thought of an Alco was nice but the sight of a GP7 in 2012 is also a nice one.

JLCX 101 resting in the mid morning sun in Jansen, NE

Having finished getting my shots and a frame number of the unit it was time to head down to Fairbury and to check out the town. On the agenda was to get a shot of the old RI division point depot/office which I was able to do, but I also tripped over a couple of other interesting items.Over on the UP main an old RI/CNW snowplow was sitting on a spur. This old RI plow was probably used in this area while working for the RI but in her painted CNW colors she looked out of place.

In the area between the RI depot and the road is a small park containing an ex RI gas electric and the ex CB&Q depot from Kesterson, NE. The gas electric is looking pretty rough and the old Q depot is in the grounds of the riding train that is east of the depot. 

ex CRIP gas electric stuff and mounted

ex CB&Q Kesterson NE depot

Fairbury was my turn around point though I wouldn't be going home the same direction I had came, so I continued to travel west to go east. After making the turn north on Hwy 81 at Hebron, NE I headed up to Carlton, NE to check out the Alco S-2 working at the elevator. 

The 'downtown" area of Carlton is south of Hwy 4 and I soon made my way from Hwy 4 down to the elevators only to be disappointed that the Alco was nowhere to be found. I did happen to notice that the new flood loader that had been built on the west side of town had a CN painted loco that needed to be checked out. I was able to drive up to the area where the unit was parked and got a semi distant shot of CGAX 6128. This unit appears to be an the ex IC 6128 but I could not get up close to check for frame numbers to confirm its heritage. The one item I noticed is the unit may have been deturboed and may now be an SD38-2.

CGAX 6128 at Carlton NE

After the side trip to Carlton I back tracked 6 miles to Hwy 81 for the next stop in Fairmont, NE. Before getting to Fairmont a stop in Geneva to grab a quick shot of the derelict ex GTW 0-8-0 that resides on the north side of town was in order. Its strange seeing this loco out in the open miles from active rail

Missing a lot of parts.

After this little diversion it was back on the road to Fairmont. I wanted to catch the GP10 that works the ethanol plant on the west side of Hwy 81 but was only able to catch a long distance glimpse. So I took off for the next objective; Manning Rail.

First unit I was able to get to was the Watco SW2 being prepped for interchange. Railserve was onsite installing alignment couplers and was about half way completed. A local stopped to talk to me and stated that they had to finish the job today so the unit can be moved to Birmingham, AL. Since it was already 2 pm I don't think they got it done in time.

WAMX 105 an SW1 repowered with a Cummins genset.

 After walking around and getting shots of the SW2, I walked over to its replacement unit. Manning Rail 4602 had been delivered in the last couple of weeks and was looking good in red and blue. Unfortunately the unit is positioned so that its a morning photo. Since I'm was about 2 hours from home I took the shots anyway.

Manning Rail 4602 at Fairmont, NE.

Since I had a 4 pm appointment back in Omaha it was time to leave. All in all it was a good trip even though two Alcos couldn't be found. 

UP Blair Sub Construction update 10/12/12

Only a short update as work has pretty much stopped on the sub.

The bridge east of Arlington is still being built. The pre-stressed concrete deck sections has been brought in and are positioned on each side of the creek. The headers are also staged to be positioned for the sections of the deck.

At Kennard the new switch which will be the other half of the cross overs is being installed. This is about 100-150 feet west of the Linn St crossing. Once this switch is installed the double track should be extended to the end of the old West Kennard switch. That is if the super foamers proclamation in August is correct.

On the Iowa side the only work observed was a MOW crew working on the cross over switches west of Allen Creek. The third main is also now connected to the main on both ends. New signals have also been installed protecting all three tracks eastbound just east of Italy Ave.

An 844 Sunday

The decision to go out and catch the 844 on Sunday was just one of those spur of the moment wild hair type of decisions. After a lazy Sunday morning I was checking out the various railfan sources and stumbled on the realization that the 844 was heading back to Council Bluffs that afternoon. She was scheduled to have a servicing stop at Dunlap, IA at 1515, so the girlfriend and I made the decision to try and head out there to meet up and follow her back to CB.

Getting out the door around 1415, I thought it would be cutting it close to run the 50+ miles from my house in Bellevue to Dunlap but my concern wasn't needed. A check of the UP Steam twitter feed and the UP GPS tracking map showed that she was pretty far behind schedule and was still east of Carroll, IA when I arrived in Missouri Valley, IA. So with that knowledge (smart phones are nice for this type of tracking) I set out to find some spots to get a shot or two.

The back roads west of Woodbine, IA were scouted but I soon rejected the area as the main gravel road was pretty loose and wouldn't have been good to use as a chase road. The road condition and the spotting of BNSFrailfan - aka Allen Love, Jr. trespassing on the CN bridge over the UP convinced me to head further east with the Arion Ia area as a potential spot to setup. I wasn't in the mood for a UP popo encounter.

Checking the UP GPS tracking map showed that 844 was stopped near Carroll IA so I continued to head east until Denison, IA. I was thinking of going even further east but decided to stop and setup near the old CNW depot. After about 20-30 minutes of waiting, 844's whistle could be heard approaching from the east but ominously so could a air horn coming from the west. When I setup I was concerned about getting stuck on the wrong side if an eastbound came through and this thought kept getting louder as the steam whistle and the air horn keep getting closer to me. Well luck was on my side as 844 came into view before the eastbound did.

I packed up and headed west out of Denison to eventually catch up with the 844 as she made the servicing stop in Dunlap. By Arion I had caught the pace crowd who had Hwy 30 all gummed up while they paced the steamer. I absolutely hate these people especially on 2 lane roads that have impatient local drivers and foamers all mixed together. Its only a sneeze away from a big chain reaction wreck.

I was able to pass the line east of Dow City and get ahead of the chasers to setup at the Boyer River crossing west of Dunlap. I was the second person there and setup on the north side of the tracks to hopefully prevent getting blocked by another eastbound. In the 20 or so minutes I was waiting a couple of others showed up including a woman who was determined to stand on or near the tracks with her back pointed toward eastbound traffic. I was convinced she would be the next Darwin award winner as no matter what, she was going to get that shot where she wanted to stand.

844 got the highball at 1730 and the track and time was released allowing eastbounds to proceed which meant there was a good possibility of a meet at the bridge. Unfortunately this did occur and blocked a couple of people who had setup on the south side of the tracks.

After the stack train passed, I packed up and headed west to see if I could get one more setup for the day. The bridge construction on Hwy 30 east of Woodbine put an end to that though as all westbound traffic has to hold for a green signal to cross the single lane bridge. We were able to follow her into Missouri Valley and  was stopped at the Loveland IA crossing by the train before heading for home.

All in all a nice way to spend an Sunday afternoon.

Blair Sub Construction Update

Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to get out and explore the work being done on the new double track the UP is building on the Blair Sub. Since my last report there has been some significant progress made on the Iowa side as well as the area from Kennard to Arlington, NE.

On the 7th I as able to do some exploring on the Iowa side of the project. At that time the new second main had been ballasted and the new cross over switch east of Italy Ave had been installed installed. The main had been extended as far as Allen Creek but had not been cut into the existing second main. Westbound movements still had to take the switch at Allen Creek to access the single track sub.

MKCVP passing through Allen Creek by the end of the new double track.

New second main looking west toward California Jct., IA

On the 14th one of the areas infamous mentally and socially unstable super foamers reported that the new double track section from Allen Creek to just east of California Jct was now open. Interestingly (probably telling of his status) no one replied to his notice.

During my trip to this area on the 20th it was observed that the new second main was indeed completed and being used. While looking over the area west from Italy Ave, I noticed that the old main had a MOW mobile welding truck on it and the third main contained around 20 ballast cars parked on it. A curious observation on the third main is that the eastern most 20 feet of track had been cut and stacked on top of  the continuous track.

UP 6747 leads a eb empty auto rack train on the new second main at Italy Ave west of Missouri Valley, IA.

At California Jct., IA the old CNW search light signals have been retired and pointed away from the main in favor of the new UP Darth Vader signals. Track sub grade work has stopped short of the west Fremont Ave crossing. Utility poles are being installed that will clear the new ROW both horizontally and vertically. Once this is completed the little bit of remaining ROW work should be finished rather quickly.

Looking west from Fremont Ave at California Jct., IA.

Current junction for the end of double track east of California Jct., IA.

Old CNW search lights have been replaced by new signals at California Jct., IA.

On both sides of the Austin Ave crossing I noted that the UP had laid down asphalt on top of the sub grade fines. I had only seen this done once before by the BNSF in western TX on the double tracking of the transcon. I am guessing this was done to add more stability to the row as this is old river bottom land and can get water logged during wet times.

Another interesting item was noted on the east side of the Austin Ave crossing. Four corrugated pipes around 12 inches in diameter are sticking up about a foot out of the ground in a square grid pattern. I'm not sure what these are for and can only assume its for signals.

The bridge over the slough between Austin and Corning Avenues is completed and ready for ties and track to be laid. The row is also completed up to the Corning Ave from the east.

Asphalt sub base west of Austin ave crossing.

West of Corning Ave there has been another dramatic change in the past two weeks. On the 7th I noted that grading of the new row toward the river had started. On the 20th this work had progressed to the point were the new row has the sub base fines laid down. On the north side of the existing row grading is occurring and trucks hauling in dirt were noted dumping there loads about half way up the incline to the Missouri River bridge.

A look out sits on the freshly built row as grading continues on the northwest side of  the Corning Ave crossing.

It is difficult to see what is actually occurring on the north side of the row west from Corning Ave as roads are not readily available. There is a county road that does go under the Hwy 30 bridge to the north side but is it closed except to construction crews. A grader and trucks dropping loads were seen across the fields along the southwestern running tangent but no real detail could be seen.

From the Blair, NE side of the river I could not see any activity on the Iowa side. I did notice that there is excavation work and pilings be positioned just north of the public boat ramp. I do not know if this is work being done by the city or part of the UP project. A curious note is this work does line up with the old SC&P row that lead to the river ferries back in the late 1880's.

West from Blair no other work was noted until Kennard, NE. The bridge work that had been reported previously is now completed on the old Kennard siding. The old row has been regraded and sub base fines laid down and compacted. Ribbon rail has been laid next to the new row and the row is being prepped for ties and the rail to be installed.

Looking west along the old Kennard siding.

From the area of the old West Kennard siding to Co Rd 21, the row grading has been completed and the sub base fines laid down. Culvert and bridge work is also completed and the row is nearly ready for ties and rail to be installed. Looking west from the Co Rd 21 crossing the new row is clearly visible with the white rock sub grade laid down. It appears that the existing track will deviate into the new cut and the new track will cross the existing line. When the time comes for this cut over it will result in the line being shut down while for awhile. These typically occurs on Mondays when traffic on the sub is low.

Looking west from Co Rd 21 at new row.

Looking east toward Kennard from Co Rd 21.

On both sides of the Co Rd 19 crossing the row grading is completed and the sub base fines have been installed. At the top of Arlington Hill the excavation work on the cutting back of the hill to the east has been completed along with the installation of the bridge east of the hill. Grading and sub base fines have been laid and the row is nearing completion for ties and rail to be installed.

Looking up grade west from Co Rd 19.

The area around Co Rd 15 is still under construction. It is here where the line will be dramatically changed, The s-curve west of the crossing will be removed and the line shifted to the north from its present location at the crossing. Some of the sub grade has been completed west of Co Rd 15 heading down grade toward Arlington, but this section is not complete.

The s-curve west of Co Rd 15 that will be eliminated.

At Co Rd P11 heavy equipment was seen working the new row up to the creek. West from the creek up to the grain elevator on the east side of Arlington, NE, row work has started. 

From Arlington west to Fremont no work has begun.

Heavy equipment working west of Co Rd P11.

UP Sioux City Sub

This is an exploration of the Union Pacific's Sioux City Sub from California Jct., IA to Sioux City IA. The Sgt Bluff Industrial and Dakota City Industrial leads will also be looked at. Current and historical images will be used along with a map of the Sioux City Sub 

History Lesson
The line from California Jct. to Sioux City was originally built in the fall of 1867 and spring of 1968 by the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad with funding from the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad (CNW leased company). In 1864 the UP was released from its obligation to build a branch to Sioux City as required by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. The SC&P completed what would have been a UP branch line had this obligation not been lifted, though the UP branch would not have followed the current route.

Current State
Since the merger with the CNW in 1995 the UP has operated the Sioux City sub and brought some much needed improvements to this line. Rail, ties, ballast and a new siding are the most obvious changes to the line. Unfortunately these improvements also resulted in the loss of the lower quadrant semaphores with the standard UP Darth Vader tricolor signals for the ABS system.

A westbound grain trains passed the east leg of the wye at California Jct on the Blair Sub.

California Jct., IA
The Sioux City sub begins at California Jct for northbound/eastbound trains and ends there for southbound/westbound trains.

Northbound trains off the Omaha sub will call the Sioux City branch dispatcher at south Missouri Valley for permission to enter the branch. While the crew awaits permission from DS 47, DS 20 is contacted to gain permission to cross from the Omaha Sub to the Blair Sub to access the wye at California Jct. This complicated process occurs in the distance of less than 10 miles and often results in northbound trains holding at Missouri Valley until  a slot is open on the Blair sub to proceed.

A Sloan , IA bound empty grain train takes the hard right onto the Sioux City sub off the Blair sub at California Jct.

Once permission is given by DS 47 on the Sioux City sub it will typically be from from California Jct to either Mondamin or Blencoe, IA. The sub is TWC and meets occur at these two locations along with Salix, IA. Since this is a TWC line listening to the scanner traffic and noting how far a train has permission to proceed to will give a good indication of where a meet will occur.

Southbound trains off the Sioux City Sub are held just north of California Jct. before proceeding either west on the Blair Sub or east on the Blair Sub to the Omaha sub.

A loaded grain train is holding north of California Jct for permission to proceed west on the Blair Sub.

Mondamin, IA
Mondamin has the first siding north of California Jct. Of the sidings along the sub this is the smallest at just over 5300' long. Mondamin was once a junction with the CNW Boyer Valley line. This line was removed in the 50's and 60's in sections heading east to Wall Lake, IA. This junction configuration resulted in the Mondamin siding taking a jaunt to the east around where the old yard was located before returning to the main north of Mondamin.

The local coop still has a load out track connected to the siding, though no cars have been observed at this elevator for some time.

A loaded coaler crosses over the Little Sioux River just north of River Sioux, IA.

Blencoe, IA.
Blencoe has the longest siding between Sioux City and California Jct. Most meets are staged at Blencoe due to its length.

Blencoe does have one customer as the coop will receive inbound cars of fertilizer and will ship an occasional grain load out.The coop is typically switched by the MSXCB as the switch is south facing.

MVPNP holds in the siding at Blencoe for a northbound MKCVP

The MVPNP meets a coaler under the coop elevators in Blencoe, IA.

Onawa, IA

Onawa was once the junction with the CNW Maple River line. This line connected on the south side of Onawa and the old ROW can be seen in places.The CNW depot was moved a number of years ago and now rests in the city park on the north side of Onawa. This is one of only two depots still standing from the Sioux City Sub.

Onawa has one customer left on the UP. Northern Ag Services, where loads of salvaged grain are shipped from its facility. This is also the location of a rare Vulcan end cab switcher.

A loaded Pt Neal coaler heading for Pt Neal, IA.

Sloan, IA.

Sloan, IA is home to the only shuttle loader on the line. Western Iowa Coop loads 110 car grain trains using an ex SBD GP16 that is typically locked away in the engine house in Sloan.

There is also a siding at Sloan that is typically used for MOW storage.

Salix, IA

A new siding was built between Salix and Sgt Bluff, IA in the late 90's to replace the Sgt Bluff siding. This siding is used to facilitate meets with coal trains entering or exiting the Sgt Bluff Industrial lead and road trains out of or into Sioux City.

An empty grain train exits the north end of the Salix Siding.

A southbound ETOH train takes the siding at Salix as the MNPVP holds the main.

Heading south between Sgt Bluff and Salix a loaded ETOH train makes track speed.

Sgt Bluff, IA

Sgt Bluff was once connected to the Moville Extension that headed east to Moville, IA and connected with the Maple River line further east. This line was abandoned in the 50's in sections heading east from Sgt Bluff. Little ofthe ROW can be seen today in Sgt Bluff due to urban sprawl.

Sgt Bluff is also the location of the Sgt Bluff Industrial lead and its many industries and the four coal power plants at Pt. Neal. This important line is responsible for enough car loads to fill a daily train between Sioux City and Council Bluffs, IA

A BN powered coal train passes the CNW depot at Sgt Bluff, IA.

The biggest customers on the lead are MidAmerica energy and AGP. MidAmerica has 4 power generation plants at Port Neal landing with the largest of these being Pt Neal #4. At any given time a coal train can be found unloading at either the Pt Neal #4 loop or the Pt Neal 1,2 &3 loop. These trains are exclusively powered by UP units as the BNSF no longer has the contract to delivery coal to these plants.

EMNPA passes through Sgt Bluff, IA 

AGP is located next door to Pt. Neal #4 and has an extensive operation. Unit trains of soybeans are often unloaded here and soy meal and refined soybean oil are shipped out. The AGP plant employes two switchers of its own for in plant movements. An AGP painted B23-7 and a GP9 can be seen on the south side of the plant moving cars.

CF Industries is another large shipper. The former Terra Chemical plant is located to the north of the Pt Neal 1,2, & 3 complex. This facility is not longer accessible due to increased security measures in place. The plant is switched by a GE 65T center cab switcher.

Just south of Sgt Bluff, IA the MVPNP is heading for California Jct and points west.

Under the I-29 overpass the Sgt Bluff Industrial lead splits with a line heading south to Pt. Neal and another heading north to the Big Soo terminal area. Along the line to the Big Soo terminal are a number of important shippers.

Compressed Steel moved its operations to the industrial area south of the Big Soo terminal after the city requested it be moved out of downtown. A number of gondolas of scrap are shipped out daily.

Cloverleaf Cold Storage ships ARMN refers of boxed pork products from the warehouse in this industrial area. Shipments of boxed pork and beef have been increasing since the UP merger.

The Big Soo terminal was once an important barge transload terminal. Today it serves as a fertilizer transload facility since river barges no longer travel to Sioux City.

Sioux City, IA

Sioux City is a shadow of its former self. The once busy yard is now just a shell  with a number of tracks having been removed and the locomotive shop and servicing facilities removed. With the loss of a number of tracks this yard is typically packed. The MCBVP/MVPNP and MKCVP trains typically make setouts and pickups that are greater than 50 cars.

EMNPA heads out of Sioux City with UP power during a cold winter day in 1982.

At the north end of the UP yard the UP joins the CN mailine to LeMars, IA. This switch marks the end/begining of the Sioux City Sub.

A southbound UP grain train holds on the CN main at the switch marking the beginning of the Sioux City Sub for a new crew to board.

20+ years earlier a CNW grain train holds at the switch for a new crew.

In the city proper there are very few customers. The largest is Tyson Cold Storage who ships ARMN refers of boxed beefs on a daily basis. Additional customer activity is interchange with the CN, DAIR and the BNSF railroads.

DAIR interchanges complete ballast trains with the UP along with Georgetown gravel and rock trains.BNSF and CN interchange cars with the UP with the most interchange occurring with the BNSF. As a curious note the DM&E and Dakota Southern railroad has the ability to interchange with UP at Sioux City as part of the state of South Dakota's agreement with the BNSF that allowed it to purchase of the state owned lines. So far the Dakota Southern and DM&E have not exercised these rights.

A southbound empty coaler crosses the Floyd river in Sioux City.

Dakota City Industrial lead is the remnants of the CStPM&O mainline to Omaha, Norfolk and the NE Nebraska branch lines. This line was severed to Omaha in the 30's with Omaha freights using the Sioux City Sub to California Jct and then the Blair sub to Blair to regain access to the Omaha tracks to N. Omaha. In 1977 the remaining track from Norfolk, NE to Dakota City NE was abandoned and removed.

CNW 4170 takes the dip at Ferry, NE as it leaves the BN main to its own track. 

During the CNW years this track age suffered from deferred maintenance and was a 5 mph roller coaster ride from Ferry to Dakota City. In the mid 90's an Oats processing plant opened on the CNW track and the line was repaired to allow 286000lb cars and 10 mph speeds. The UP has further upgraded this line to but still maintains the speed at 10 mph .

Tyson foods is the largest shipper on this line after Vittera Grain. Roughly 10-15 tank cars of tallow and a couple of cover hoppers of recovered grain are shipped out daily.

 Trains along the line:

• MVPNP - Manifest Valley Park, MN to North Platte, NE is typically a early morning southbound on the Sioux City sub.
• MCBVP - Manifest Council Bluiffs, IA to Valley Park, MN is typically an early to mid morning northbound on the Sioux City sub.
• MCBSX - Manifest Council Bluffs, IA to Sioux City, IA is typically a late afternoon to early evening on the Sioux City sub.
• MSXCB - Manifest Sioux City, IA to Council Bluffs, IA is typically an early morning train on the Sioux City sub.
• MidAmerica coalers can appear at anytime.
• Northern States Power coal loads and empties are seen twice to three times a week.
• Grain loads and empties can appear at anytime.
• ETOH loads and empties can appear at anytime.
• Occassionally a detour off the spine line will appear.
• Rock and ballast trains can appear at anytime.

A typical day will find between 7-10 trains daily on the sub.

Radio Frequencies

• UP DS 47 - 161.175  California Jct. to Sioux City, IA
• UP DS 20 - 160.740 Omaha and Blair Subs
• UP Sioux City yard - 160.680
• BNSF St. Joe DS 99 - 161.235
• BNSF Sioux City yard - 160.680