Last Days of Alto

Alto Tower, Altoona, Pa.; May 11, 2012

The end is near for a Pennsylvania Railroad icon. Alto Tower in Altoona, Pa., has watched the passing parade of freight and passenger trains since it opened in 1880. It has seen trains from Pennsy successors Penn Central, Conrail and Norfolk Southern pass it windows, and watched as the Penn Central's passenger trains gave way to Amtrak in 1971.

Modernization of railroad signaling systems across the country, accelerated by the mandate to have Positive Train Control installed on all main lines by 2015, has caused the wholesale replacement of classic signal structures throughout the U.S. Alto Tower has been swept up in that same modernization. Long controlling the switches used to shuttle helper locomotives onto trains heading for the climb up the Allegheny Mountains, with the trains guided by classic PRR position light signals, the tower's functions will be shifted to a centralized dispatcher.

Alto Tower, Altoona, Pa.; May 11, 2012

With rumors swirling that the tower would be closed down in mid-May 2012, I headed out to Altoona for one final photography session of the tower. Late in the night of May 11, I was set up on the 17th Street bridge to photograph freights and helper sets as they paraded by the tower. The final shots were clicked off at 3:00 a.m. in the morning of May 12.

After a quick nap in the car, I was back at the tower shortly after sunrise to get some last daylight shots. If there is any consolation to the story, the tower is expected to be left standing intact for the foreseeable future. It's location -- sandwiched between a four-lane highway and the railroad -- would make public access (and thus a museum effort) difficult where it stands. Perhaps it could be moved to the nearby Railroaders' Memorial Museum or even just across the tracks where there is available open space.

Towers once dotted the entire Pennsylvania every few miles. Indeed, Alto had sisters within eyesight in either direction. But Alto became the last, and it will soon join the others as a piece of history.

Alto Tower, Altoona, Pa.; May 12, 2012

Bonus Shot -- before shooting Alto Tower on May 11, I headed up to Gallitzin to see if my flash equipment could light up trains exiting the tunnel at the summit of the Alleghenies. The photo below was taken with four strobes.

Norfolk Southern; Gallitzin, Pa.; May 11, 2012

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Narrow Gauge Ghost

Yeah, it's May 2012 but there is still some neat stuff from 2011 we wanted to bring you. Enjoy this vignette from Colorado that occurred in September 2011.

Denver & Rio Grande Western 485; Perry's Pond, Cumbres, Colorado

Denver & Rio Grande Western K-36 class 2-8-2 No. 485 fell into the turntable pit in Salida, Colo., and was subsequently scrapped in 1955. It is the only one of the Rio Grande's ten K-36s to be scrapped; the other nine have found homes on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

So how could No. 485 be working its way from Chama, N.M., to Cumbres Pass, Colo., on September 21, 2011?

The answer starts the previous night, September 20, in the shop of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic. In preparation for a photo charter, Pete Lerro of Lerro Productions and his team are scraping numbers off the side of K-36 No. 489 and swapping out number boards. The C&TS has filed paperwork with the Federal Railroad Administration for a number reassignment, and the result is D&RGW No. 485 is once again an official locomotive.

Mitch Goldman of Lerro Productions removes a number from K-36 No. 489

The new vinyl "5" on the sides of the reincarnated 485 were a bit too white, but a little soot from the ground outside the shop and a bit of elbow grease soon disguised the new digit. The next morning No. 485 was on the point of a freight train ready to make its way up the four percent grade to the 10,000-foot summit of Cumbres Pass.

D&RGW No. 485 outside Chama, N.M.

For the first part of the Lerro Productions charter the photo line followed along in cars, with the train lowing down occasionally to let photographers get ahead. One of the better locations was the S-curve along Highway 18 as the train worked its way through the hills outside of Chama (above). Upon arrival at Cumbres Pass, the chasers became riders, boarding the train to head for Tanglefoot Curve, a signature location on the Colorado narrow gauge circle (below).

D&RGW No. 485; Tanglefoot Curve, Cumbres, Colo.

The train pushed back to Cumbres Pass from Tanglefoot Curve and turned on the wye at the summit, where a few runbys were held just at sunset. The setting sun along with the smoke and steam in the thin mountain air made for a moody narrow gauge scene right out of the 1950s (below).

Sunset at Cumbres Pass, Colo.

Up next was a night photo session at the summit, with No. 485 providing a lot of steam to the assembled photo line (below). Several different angles were available. The crew provided a steamy blowdown to add contrast to the scene.

Night on the narrow gauge at Cumbres Pass, Colo.

The final shots of No. 485 would be under a blanket of stars at the summit (below). The photographers would return to their cars to drive back to Chama, while the crew would bring No. 485 down the hill in darkness. No. 485 would power regular trains on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic on September 22, but the following day a "9" would be applied to each side of the cab and No. 485 would once again vanish into the pages of history.

Under the stars at Cumbres Pass

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Scenic Sounder

We're still working through a backlog of photos on the website, so while we catch up we'll look at some golden semi-oldies. We'll head back to June of last year for this post.

Sounder; Edmonds, Wash.; June 17, 2011

Sounder is the commuter railroad operated by Sound Transit (which also operates streetcars and light rail) in the Seattle area. With lines both north and south out of Seattle, Sounder has numerous trains every weekday. And Sounder is one of the most scenic commuter lines in the United States, with running along Puget Sound north of Seattle (such as above at Edmonds) and vistas of Mount Rainier to the south. We'll take a tour of Sounder from Everett through Seattle to Tacoma.

Sounder; Everett, Wash.; June 16, 2011

We'll start our tour at the line's north end in Everett. Sounder operates over BNSF trackage, and in Everett we find a tunnel under the town. F59PHI is pushing a northbound train into the tunnel. ORCA is a fare card for transportation on all Sound Transit rail and bus lines. The tunnel opened in 1900 as part of the Great Northern.

Sounder; Edmonds, Wash.; June 17, 2011

One of the most scenic locations on the Sounder system is at Edmonds, where the railroad hugs Puget Sound. The yellow signs along the tracks indicate the speed limit of 45 m.p.h. for northbound BNSF freights, while Sounder (and Amtrak) are allowed 50 m.p.h.

Sounder; Edmonds, Wash.; June 17, 2011

South of the station in Edmonds we see a northbound train being pushed as it passes a marina. Edmonds is also the home to Washington State Ferry service to Kingston.

Sounder; King Street Station, Seattle, Wash.; June 22, 2011

King Street Station is at the south end of a tunnel under Seattle. The ORCA locomotive, No. 902, is pushing an Everett-bound train into the tunnel as it leaves the station. King Street Station was opened in 1906, serving the Great Northern and Northern Pacific. "Modernized" in the mid-20th century, King Street Station is undergoing a restoration to remove much of the modernization (such as drop ceilings), restoring it to its as-built grandeur.

Amtrak and Sounder; Seattle, Wash.; June 17, 2011

It's a pleasant day for Mariners baseball, so the retractable roof over Safeco Field is open and hanging over the tracks shared by Amtrak and Sounder just south of King Street Station. Amtrak NPCU No. 90250 leads a Cascades train past the servicing yard for Sound Transit. Visible under the roof is Qwest Field (since renamed CenturyLink Field), home the NFL Seahawks.

Sounder; Waller, Wash.; June 23, 2011

South of Seattle, Sounder serves Tacoma. Just minutes from the end of the line, F59PHI No. 908 leads a train across 52nd Street in Waller.

Sounder; Waller, Wash.; June 21, 2011

From the same grade crossing at 52nd Street we get this magnificent view of Mount Rainier. At 14,411 feet in altitude, Mount Rainier is the most topographically prominent mountain in the lower 48 states, and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.

Sounder; Tacoma, Wash.; June 23, 2011

Our tour of Sounder ends at the line's southern
terminus in Tacoma. F59PHI No. 904 will shortly lead its train along a long wooden trestle on former Milwaukee Road trackage and arrive in the Tacoma station (itself a converted Milwaukee Road freight house). After unloading, No. 904 will join Nos. 905, 908 and 906 in the yard for the night.

As you can see, Sounder is a modern -- and scenic -- commuter railroad. It's well worth a visit if you are in the Pacific Northwest.

And while we're here, how about a plug -- the shot of Mount Rainier (above) is one of my favorite photos from last year and I selected it for the cover of my Trackside Travelogue 2011 book. The book is 240 pages on high quality paper, sized 10x8 (horizontal format), with one photo per page. For more details on the book, head on over to our bookstore. You can preview the entire book and get ordering information.

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Remembering the Iron Range

We're bringing the blog back to life, and we'll start with a borderline golden oldie. We'll go back to last September to get things started.

North Shore Scenic; Knife River, Minn.; September 10, 2011

One of the great railroading regions in North America is the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. When I first visited the area in the early 1990s the big attraction were the EMD F-units operating on Erie Mining's railroad from the ore fields to Lake Superior at Taconite Harbor. Alas, my one trip to the railroad while it was running resulted in one day of photography with the railroad quiet on the rest of the days of the trip. Most time was spent on the "other" railroad, the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range. After Erie Mining stopped running its railroad in 2001, subsequent trips found more time spent on the DM&IR, which emerged as a pretty cool railroad in its own right after emerging from the shadow of Erie Mining.

North Shore Scenic; Palmers, Minn.; September 10, 2011

Time marches on, however, and the DM&IR was soon sold to Canadian National in 2004 and the slow process of assimilation started. The Missabe's attractive locomotives were retired or painted into CN colors, and by the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century there was very little of the Missabe identity still visible.

In September 2011 the Lake Superior Railroad Museum of Duluth operated a weekend that brought back the Iron Range of the 1990s. Over two days the museum would operate ore trains (using cars graciously loaned by Canadian National), one day using the museum's Erie Mining F-units on Saturday, September 10, and the museum's DM&IR SD18 No. 193 and SD-M No. 316 from the Missabe Railroad Historical Society on Sunday the 11th. The trip would operate on the North Shore Scenic, a former DM&IR line between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minn., operated by the museum.

North Shore Scenic; Knife River, Minn.; September 10, 2011

North Shore Scenic; Knife River, Minn.

The photo freight train had the aforementioned Erie Mining F-units on the north end of the train. On the south end was the museum's Soo Line F7 No. 2500. The result gave the appearance of two different ore trains from two different railroads, depending on which end you were shooting. Passengers were shuffled between photo locations in a passenger train led by Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic RS1 No. 101, owned by the DSS&A Division of the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society (and kept at the museum in Duluth). Photo stops were arranged by Steve Glischinski, who picked stops based on sun angles, utilizing many of the several bridges located on the scenic branch line. The bridge at Knife River provided bookends to a productive day, starting with the Erie Mining units posed on the bridge (top photo) and finishing with Soo Line No. 2500 posing with flowers (above). The grand finale was DSS&A No. 101 with a near-perfect reflection, put to an end when two kayakers paddled through the reflection as the photo stop was wrapping up (right). At least the kayakers had kayaks in DSS&A colors! All in all, it was a fine day.

The next day the Missabe had the spotlight as the 193 and 316 shared the spotlight on the ore train. The first photo stop of the day was in downtown Duluth at Fitger's, an old brewery along the waterfront.

North Shore Scenic; Duluth, Minn.; September 11, 2011

 On this day passengers rode in a caboose at the rear of the ore train. Plenty of opportunities were provided on the many curves on the branch line to get a brakeman's view ahead. 

North Shore Scenic; Lakeside, Minn.; September 11, 2011

The two Missabe veterans put on a spirited show, bringing back some great scenes of the way it was (even if the "good old days" in this instance were only about a decade ago). Soon the train returned to Duluth, putting an end to "old school Missabe."

North Shore Scenic; Palmers, Minn.; September 11, 2011

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The Reading T-1s

Reading 2102; Reading, Penn., September 1985

So how did it all start? How did I get interested in trains? To find that answer, you need to go back to the 1960s. The Reading Company had pulled three of their 4-8-4 T1-class steam locomotives out of retirement to run on what the railroad called Iron Horse Rambles. I was just a tyke at the time, but Dad took me on the excursions out of Reading Terminal in Philadelphia to eastern Pennsylvania destinations with exotic names like Macungie and Tamaqua. It was through these three locomotives, Nos. 2100, 2102 and 2124 (especially 2124) that got me hooked on steam.

My next encounter with a Reading T-1 wouldn't be until 1979. The Chessie System was operating its Chessie Steam Special throughout the northeast and I got out a few times to see it. T-1 No. 2101 (a T-1 the Reading had saved but never used on the Rambles) had the honors of pulling the train, but painted in the Chessie corporate colors it just wasn't the same. (Side note: The Chessie colors are my all-time favorite diesel colors, but when affixed to a steam locomotive it's a little disconcerting...)

Chessie Steam Special 2101; Perryville, Md.; 

Fast forward to 1985. Reading 2102 had operated sporadically in the Northeast since the end of the Rambles for Rails Diversified and had finally wandered back to its home in Reading, Pa., thanks to Rails Diversified and the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society. In freight service, the T-1s wore basic black, but for the Rambles the Reading added yellow handrails and white tires. It was the Rambles scheme the 2102 wore when it returned to Reading, and while there it ran a set of new Iron Horse Rambles (albeit not railroad sponsored). When I first saw it, it brought back a rush of memories. Talk about going back in time...

Reading 2102 in its Iron Horse Rambles paint scheme; Reading, Penn.

In 1986 the T-1 was acquired by the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern (also known more simply as the Reading & Northern). And, they put it to work, hauling coal (at least for photographers) just as it did in the 1950s.

Reading & Northern 2102 in "freight black;" Port Clinton, Penn.

Alas, 2102 would soon be out of service again, as its flue time expired in 1991 and it has been cold ever since. As this is written it has been two decades since a Reading T-1 ran. But, I would have one more encounter with a T-1. My favorite of the Northerns, 2124, had been retired by the Reading before the Rambles program had even ended  in the mid-1960s and it went on a long journey to Steamtown U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, Vt. When the Steamtown collection moved to Scranton, Penn., in 1984, the 2124 was brought back to its home state. On May 6, 2010, Pete Lerro of Lerro Productions used a little smoke and light to bring 2124 seemingly back to life. It had been 45 years since I had a close encounter with the 2124. It was good to be paying attention to my old flame -- the one that started the love affair --once again.

Reading 2124; Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton, Penn.; May 6, 2010

Thanks to Christopher Bost for getting some of my fuzzy T-1 history squared away.

A Dash of Nutmeg

All the photos from this trip can be found here in Photo Lines.

Metro-North; Cos Cob, Connecticut; May 14, 2011

The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum in Willimantic asked me to come up with my lights and pit on a night photo session for -- not a railroad group, but a camera club! Intrigued, I agreed to do it, and plotted a two-day trip into the Nutmeg State with my brother Bruce and friend Mike Burkhart on May 14-15, 2011.

Our first stop would be along Metro-North at Cos Cob, where we hoped to get some of the new M8 cars that have just been put into service by the commuter railroad. Alas, we didn't get any M8s, but we did find some angles to work, including getting the classic ex-New Haven Railroad tower in the background (above).

Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum; Willimantic, Conn.

Happy with that, we moved on looking for Shore Line East at Guilford. Alas, this commuter operator was running its weekend trains with leased Amtrak diesels, some of which had battered Shore Line East decals on the nose and some that didn't. We also caught a handful of Amtrak's Northeast Direct and Acela Express trains working between Boston and New York. Getting over to Old Saybrook, we just missed an Amtrak work train. A quick run up to Essex to check on the status of the Valley Railroad's new steam locomotive was thwarted when we discovered that Thomas the Tank Engine was in town. We found a neat shot along the railroad with a "No Thomas Parking" sign, but the little blue engine had made his last run of the day at this point.

Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum; Willimantic, Conn.

At the museum, we found coordinator Tom Nanos and an enthusiastic group that had never photographed trains before. We lit up a few station scenes featuring the museum's ex-Metro-North FL9 diesels, complete in New Haven paint. From there we headed over to the roundhouse for a multiple locomotive line-up, and finished off with the CERM's traditional "shower of sparks" night shot of someone grinding away at a steam locomotive (okay, the steam locomotive was not harmed; the sparks came from grinding a piece of metal that was clamped to the steam locomotive). All in all, the folks got about 30 opportunities to photograph different equipment from different angles, and the museum's "actors" who posed in the photos certainly brought the scenes to life. It was a great time.

The next morning we were up early to shoot the Providence & Worcester as it made its way south along the Thames River. Our target was getting the train passing the U.S.S. Nautilus, the nuclear-powered submarine that's now a museum at the U.S. Coast Guard sub base in Groton. Clouds dogged the shot, but we were able to get the train there and again as it made its way to the interchange with the New England Central across the Thames in New London. A small trestle provided a good photo prop to get the train. We chased it back past the sub base and continued on one more stop at Mill Cove before breaking away.

Providence & Worcester; New London, Connecticut; May 15, 2011

That shot of Thomas the Tank Engine was still on our minds, so we headed back to Essex and awaited the blue engine's next departure. Since the shot was better when Thomas returned, we hung around and got the inbound move for the shot showing how friendly Thomas's neighbors can be.

Thomas the Tank Engine; Essex, Connecticut; May 15, 2011

The weather wasn't great and Shore Line East still wasn't cooperating (leased Amtrak power was still leading all trains this day), but we got some Amtrak and SLE at Westbrook and Guilford before heading west of New Haven and back onto Metro-North. We paused at Old Greenwich to shoot Amtrak and commuter cars, and finally got a set of the new M8s. But it was getting dark, so after a few trains we called it a day and headed home, wrapping up our visit to the Nutmeg State.

South Florida Fun and Sun

All photos from this trip can be found here.

Florida East Coast; Jupiter, Florida; March 25, 2011

Back in March I went to Florida on a lighthouse tour with Pete Lerro of Lerro Productions. There wasn't much time to do any rail photography while the trip was going on, but as the tour wound down a few opportunities presented themselves, and spending a few extra days in the Sunshine State after the tour allowed for some solid railroad shooting.

Bahia Honda Bridge; March 20, 2011

The first opportunities came as the result of a last-minute change in plans during the lighthouse tour. A boat ride from Key West to the Dry Tortugas was canceled due to heavy seas, so the four of us on the tour chartered a small plane to fly to some lighthouses. As the plane could only hold three people plus the pilot, we broke our group into two sections. Pete and my brother Bruce took the first flight, while Dennis Morgan and I headed back up the Keys to shoot some remnants of the Florida East Coast's Key West extension (opened in 1912). Most of the bridges used by the FEC were later used by U.S. 1 after the FEC abandoned the line following the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, and most of the bridges have since been bypassed by new highway bridges. Two of the most interesting bridges can be found on either side of Bahia Honda Key -- on the south (west) side is a through truss bridge where the highway was simply placed on top of the trusses following the railroad's abandonment. On the north (east) side is Sevenmile Bridge that connects to Marathon Key.

By March 21 the tour was winding down with Pete and Dennis working their way towards the airport. A free afternoon at Fort Lauderdale found us shooting the evening rush of Tri-Rail commuter trains. Pete, an avowed steam fan, couldn't quite figure out what all the excitement was about over diesels. The next morning we shot the last of the lighthouses on the tour (at Jupiter Inlet), Pete and Dennis headed to the airport and Bruce and I headed trackside. We were back near Fort Lauderdale for the evening Tri-Rail rush, then caught a Florida East Coast train in Fort Pierce to wrap up the day.

Tri-Rail; West Palm Beach, Florida; March 22, 2011

The following day, March 23, was spent largely in the Fort Pierce area with a side trip to Stuart. The Florida East Coast is a tough railroad to shoot during the day (most traffic is at night), but the ATCS Monitor software allows you see what the dispatcher is seeing for the entire railroad and lets you find those elusive daytime freights with ease. We started out shooting South Central Florida Express, a railroad that primarily serves the sugar cane fields in its namesake location but also interchanges some mixed merchandise with the FEC in Fort Pierce. The highlight of the day was heading down to the long bridge in Stuart where we caught two northbound FEC trains on the bridge and a southbound shortly thereafter.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Florida; March 23, 2011

The next day we ventured down to Clewiston, the headquarters town of South Central Florida Express, to check out the cane operations. Things seemed unusually quiet down there, quieter than we had been told they should be. We couldn't find much in the way of cane harvest trains, but we did follow the road train out of town heading for the CSX interchange in Sebring. The scenic highlight of the trip is the bridge at Moore Haven, but the light wasn't around enough to make the shot look really good. Back at Clewiston not much was happening, so we ventured back out looking for the return of the Sebring train. It came back with no freight -- just light locomotives. And when they got to the bridge at Moore Haven, a large cloud blocked the sun just long enough for the locomotives to get across the bridge in shadow. This wasn't our day...

South Central Florida Express; Palmdale, Florida; March 24, 2011

Back at the shop, we did find another non-cane switch job working outside Clewiston and followed it back into town. Soon everything was tied up and the quiet railroad was even quieter. It wouldn't be until later that we would find out the cane harvesting season ended three days before our visit.

South Central Florida Express; Clewiston, Florida; March 24, 2011

The next day we had three bridges on the Florida East Coast locked into our sights. All we would need would be enough trains to shoot. The first was in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a lift bridge with a conveniently located parking deck that provided a nice view of a southbound. A northbound also came, but the way the lift span is configured the shot is definitely better for a southbound.

Florida East Coast; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; March 25, 2011

Getting a morning southbound at Stuart was almost a daily obsession, but once again trains did not cooperate. Thus, we found ourselves at Jupiter for our next bridge shot, getting both a southbound (top photo of this blog entry) and a northbound. Then, we found the bridge at Roseland using Google maps and headed there for an evening shot of a northbound; a southbound met the northbound just north of the bridge. Six trains on the FEC in daylight, three in each direction. By FEC standards, a pretty busy day.

Our last day in Florida was mostly visiting relatives, but good timing put us and northbound FEC train No.202 in Fort Pierce at the same time. Our final shot would be of two yellow SD40-2s leading the train over a small bridge on the north end of town.

Florida East Coast; Fort Pierce, Florida; March 26, 2011

There are still things I need to shoot in Florida. A morning southbound at Stuart remains elusive, and getting back to the cane fields -- this time in season! -- is a priority. Toss in Amtrak trains and the Bone Valley phosphate fields near Tampa (and the Tampa streetcar) and the Sunshine State still beckons.

The Great Triangle Trip Part 2 - Up The Mississippi

Part 1 of the trip can be found here.
Photos of the trip can be found here.

Union Pacific; Morley, Louisiana; February 22, 2011

When last we met, we had just left New Orleans and were heading north. Our stop on Tuesday, February 22, was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where we met up with Forrest Becht for a day of shooting. The weather was dismal as we sought out some Union Pacific and Kansas City Southern trains south of the city. We finally camped out at the end of the lift bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway waiting for an eastbound. Trackwork dogged us however, and after shooting a westbound (above) it would be a couple of hours before an eastbound -- with Norfolk Southern power -- would show up.

Our luck turned a bit on Wednesday, February 23. We met up with Mick Nussbaum in Meridian, Mississippi, and got the grand tour of the city. The northbound Crescent came through and we even had a bit of sun as the train passed under an ex-Southern Railway cantilever signal bridge.

Amtrak; Meridian, Mississippi; February 23, 2011

Our ultimate destination for the day was Jackson, Mississippi, and we hoped for a westbound Kansas City Southern train. As fate would have it the westbound showed up right about when we needed it to and the chase was on -- at least for awhile. As the train was passing through Newton it went into emergency, coming to a stop with every grade crossing in town blocked. The conductor needed to walk all 8000 feet of train to find the problem and we knew that would take awhile. Fortunately, the head end was parked in a nice location, so we were able to get a shot or two and head on to Jackson.

Kansas City Southern; Newton, Mississippi; February 23, 2011

Our goal was to get to the railroad location of Switch Tender in Jackson where Kansas City Southern crosses the former Illinois Central (now Canadian National) main line on a series of hand thrown switches. While the sun wasn't completely cooperative, there were enough trains that sunny shots were possible, including a meet with the two railroads.

KCS and Canadian National; Switch Tender, Jackson, Mississippi; February 23, 2011

Who would have thought a decade or two ago that Canadian National would serve the deep U.S. south? Our best shot of the day would have seemed almost ludicrous a decade ago -- a locomotive from BC Rail (also a part of Canadian National) leading a train through Mississippi. This would be our last sunny shot of the trip -- and we still had several days to go!

Canadian National; Switch Tender, Jackson, Mississippi; February 23, 2011

Canadian National; Memphis, Tenn.; February 24, 2011

The next day would be perhaps the most disappointing day of the trip. I had never been to Memphis before, and what a wonderful city it is! We had a list of shots we wanted to get, including trains passing the abandoned tower at Aulon Junction (didn't get it) and the Liberty Bowl (got it sort of). Other shots we tried to get included CN Junction and KC Junction, but bad weather prevented anything decent. Most of the day was spent over on the streetcars downtown, and there are several good angles there. Too bad the sun didn't cooperate. The one thing that did work out, though, was Memphis ribs. Dinner consisted of a rack at the Rendezvous. We walked back to the car in shirt-sleeve weather. By the time we drove to St. Louis, five hours up the Mississippi, it was snowing.

Memphis Area Transit Authority; Memphis, Tennessee; February 24, 2011

Our hopes for getting shots of trains passing under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis were pretty well shot down as soon as it was bright enough to see on Friday morning; the gray Arch did not exactly pop against the gray skies. Near Gateway Yard across the Mississippi in East St. Louis, Illinois, we shot a Kansas City Southern train, snow stuck to the front, with the St. Louis skyline in the background.

Kansas City Southern; East St. Louis, Illinois; February 25, 2011

BNSF on TRRA; St. Louis, Mo.

Our tour guide was Mark Mautner and he has a great knowledge of St. Louis photo locations. We tried the shot that was on the then-current Amtrak timetable cover of a train passing the Arch (taken by Mark's brother Mike on a far sunnier day) and got two BNSF coal trains on the Terminal Railroad of St. Louis trackage directly under the Arch. We poked around on the Manufacturers Railway, in its last days of serving the Busch brewery, and headed across the river to check out ethanol and grain switching operations.

On our list was getting some power from the Terminal Railroad of St. Louis in its new paint scheme. The end-cab switchers are gone from the railroad, but the line's new road power is pretty sharp. We found a set at North Market Street in St. Louis early in the day, then found another set working at the Pillsbury Siding just off Kingshighway in the northern part of the city during the afternoon. Then it was back downtown to shoot Amtrak before calling it a day. We had a long drive ahead of us up to the western outer regions of Chicagoland, so we bid Mark goodbye and hit the road.

Terminal Railroad of St. Louis; North Market, St. Louis, Missouri; February 25, 2011

Union Pacific; Nelson, Ill.; February 26, 2011

The next day was the memorial service (more of a life celebration) for Jim Boyd in Dixon, Illinois. We spent the gloomy morning at nearby Nelson, waiting for a train to come under the coaling tower there. Then it was on to the celebration where we met up with friends of Jim that we knew and friends we were meeting for the first time (but I had read about them in the pages of Railfan & Railroad, so it seemed like I knew them for years). We had a dinner of Al & Leda's pizza (Jim's favorite), watched some slides of travels with Jim, then headed back to the motel. On Sunday we visited with Mike Schafer, editor of Passenger Train Journal, then hit the road eastward. We tied up near Sandusky, Ohio, that night and finished the drive to New Jersey on Monday. No photos were taken on the last two days of the trip.