FL9

Hopefully the pictures I should be taking today as you read this will not be the final curtain for the wonderful Texas State Railroad.  In the meantime, here are some great memories.  My first visit was in 1985, and here we see #201 out of Palestine meeting #400 out of Rusk in what was a typical scene over the years at Mewshaw Siding.

Twenty-nine years later in the spring we see TSRR #300 westbound passing a blooming dogwood tree west of Maydelle, TX on 3/27/04.

If we are lucky an operator will be found for this important part of our state’s history.  If not, it will be a loss to all of us. 

Today if things are going according to plan, Judy and I are on our way to Palestine, TX for the Texas State Railroad railfan weekend.  For now, here is a slide showing what at the time was one of the hottest trains on the Santa Fe between Chicago and Houston.

Intermodal train 185 is westbound at Otoe, Oklahoma between Red Rock and Perry with a B23-7 and a GP20 for power on September 1st in 1981.  Check out that well-maintained pole line, now rapidly becoming extinct.

We’ll be taking a few days hiatus from the Montana trip blogs as I want to devote the proper amount of time to their composition.  We will see a few days of old slides as Judy and I are packing tonight so we can drive down to Palestine on Friday to attend this weekend’s (last?) Texas State Railroad railfan weekend.  Hopefully I will have a few good steam shots for you next week.

Now for Thursday night we will step back to a time in the early 1970’s shortly after the inception of Amtrak.  I was a high school student in Ardmore, Oklahoma when I took this first shot on July 8th in 1972 from the 5th Street overpass.  Train 16 is still known as the Texas Chief, but now instead of warbonnet F-units, now it is pulled by ratty-looking ex-UP E-9’s with all their logos removed.

Now once again from the 5th Street overpass almost two years later on June 1st in 1974, the power on train 16 looks considerably better in the form of two nearly new SDP40F’s.  I’m not sure why #523 has two different number boards.

Now back to cleaning my camera equipment for what I hope will be a great weekend.

Our first stop after leaving the Orange Caboose on Saturday morning was at the “Goat Lick” overlook.  When I had shot the mother goat and her kid yesterday I had been standing on the shoulder of Route 2; but there is an actual overlook you access from an off the road parking lot and a short walk down a paved path.  As the Flathead River carved out the valley over the centuries, in this spot it exposed a cache of minerals spread over a steep slope that the goats come for miles around to lick by instinct for their health.  Five of them were present this morning, moving vetically with the same ease as you or I would move horizontally.

(Read on …)