I should savor this now because in a couple of years everything will probably have either and ACe or a GEVO on the point. Let’s see, David Hawkins, the ”Plano Grey” KCS, and myself are involved, so Leonard should have plenty to work with to make a possibly witty remark.
I had already promised to pickup Danny Sisson for some railfanning early Saturday morning, and when I received an email from David Hawkins about the KCS SD70ACe #4029 leading a UP train southbound on the Choctaw Sub, I knew what our goal would be. This would be my first KCS SD70ACe, so I was game in spite of the complete overcast at dawn on Saturday. Danny and I first saw a meet at Roanoke between loaded coal train and light power, and heard on the radio our train was a UP MKCFW who was at Mingo for our light power. We drove north to milepost 423 north of Argyle, and waited for him to come to us. He turned out to have all KCS power as two SD40-2’s coupled to the 4029, and we got several shots between Argyle and Roanoke. You would be seeing those shots now instead, but when we stopped on top of the HIghway 114 overpass at Roanoke, the sun started to come out for us.
As he pulled into the siding, we had full sun down at the south end.
Now was the time for a front roster shot.
And for a rear detail shot.
Within a few minutes along came a northbound empty grain train led by the SD70ACe’s arch rival, a new GE C45ACCTE.
Our luck now ran out, and the clouds returned within a minute of this shot. We got several more trains around Fort Worth, and we were about ready for lunch when Danny heard DS22 talk to the BNSF 9390 at “the firehouse crossing” to meeet two trains. Guessing this was referring to downtown Haslet, we raced up there in time to see the BNSF SD70ACe #9390 North waiting for two southbounds. He was not in a great spot for phots, so we waited until after the meets to catch him at the north end of the auto facility as he left to meet Amtrak 821 at Ponder. In a contrast beetween the old and the new, the 2006 SD70ACe was paired up with a 1958 vintage ex-GN SD9 #6120.
After lunch Danny and I made a pass through Saginaw on the way back to his residence. I had been thinking that now having bagged a KCS and a BNSF SD70ACe leading separate trains, all I needed to round out the local scene was a UP version. Soon while I was on the way home alone, fate came through in the form of a track warrant to the UP 8376 south to depart on the MIdlothian Sub. I headed east on I20 and south on Business 287, passing up weed grown spots until I arrived a the south end of Bisbee siding. It was still mostly cloudy, so I composed a shot to accentuate the red northbound signal as the third ACe of the day rolled by with its merchandise train on the way to Hearne.
One Comment
It was a great day indeed. Thanks to the M/W’s speed restriction we were blessed with some awesome photo ops of the KCS units. Thanks again, David Hawkins for the heads up and most of all - thanks to Kenny. This was my first pair of “ACEs” day.
Danny