FL9

While deciding what to do today, I remembered an email from friend MIke Gitlin that Amtrak #21 would have P32-8BWH #504 on the point today.  That was a rare enough occurrance in this era of shovel noses that I decided to go after it.  I followed #21’s late progress on the Amtrak website, and headed over to Ayres Avenue in east Fort Worth on the UP at the proper time.  Number 22 was late as well, and I heard on the radio that he would be backing out of the ITC and into the Ney bypass south of Tower 55 to meet #21.

I arrived at Ayres Avenue about 10 minutes ahead of #21, and to the west sat the reason for #22 having to hold back in the form of a dead eastbound UP freight with no crew on the south track.  Soon I heard the K5LA on #504 as it approached with a background of thunderstorms over Dallas.

Then I was almost caught off guard by two private cars on the rear, the sleeper “Evelyn Henry” and the dome/observation “Warren R. Henry”, but I still managed one grab shot.

I decided I would wait here for #22 to shoot him with the dead UP freight, and then reposition to Magnolia Street on the BNSF south of Tower 55 to get a betteer shot of #504 and the private cars.  It was not long before train #22 with engine #23 shot by on the north track of what was effectively a single track railroad.

I drove on over to Magnolia Street and parked on the west side of the BNSF, then perused a couple of magazines for what turned out to be over an hour before #21 was released.  The light had only gotten better as he moved slowly past me.

Choosing this low-speed location gave me more than enough time to set up for the going away shot.  I was even graced with a waving passenger to make the scene perfect.  A little research on the web netted me the facts that this car started life as Union Pacific dome/obs #9007, and was built in 1955 by American Car & Foundry.  It is apparently owned now by Trans-Texas Rail Shops in San Antonio, and is marketed by Patrick Henry Creative Promotions in Houston for rental purposes.

The BNSF 4793 North had also been waiting patiently on #21 in the siding at Birds, so I made it down to the crossing at Hemphill Street just in time to get him coming out onto the main.

There was a second northbound waiting at Crowley, and he came north also as soon as #21 had cleared.  I caught him flirting with the lengthening evening shadows just south of the south switch at Birds.

I swung around for the going away shot as he approached the green board at the south end of Birds, sending him on up to Tower 55.

Saturday afternoon turned out pretty well, so now what will Sunday bring?