FL9

This last weekend the weather was nearly perfect, so Saturday morning Judy and I headed south to meet up with Tommy Shults and pay a first visit to the Flatonia Railfan Platform he inspired.  I had been requested by Trains Magazine to put together an article on Flatonia similar to the one that appeared in the January 2007 issue on Georgia’s railfan platforms, and now was the time to get it done.

We got out of Benbrook just before 9:00am after a visit to the Post Office so I could mail my entries to the Center for Railroad Photography and Art for their 2007 competition (always keep trying!).  We decided to follow the BNSF Fort Worth Sub to Temple, and approaching Cleburne from Cresson, the BNSF 9399 North was told on the radio to pull up to the north end of Midway to wait on traffic ahead.  We stopped by, and I shot this rear view to take advantage of the full sun.

The Fort Worth Sub was otherwise dead, and not until we arrived at McGregor did we encounter another train.  The light was wrong for northbounds, but I set up opposite the depot anyway to include a point of reference.  The lead unit was something of a rarity even on home rails, a Norfolk Southern GE C39-8.

As he passed by I panned the lead unit for a closer look in spite of the deep shadows.  In retrospect this model does look something like a giant GE toaster!

By the schedule Amtrak 22 should be in the picture soon, so I called Amtrak’s “Julie” who confirmed the train was on time.  As the lighting conditions would not improve anywhere between here and Temple, we decided to hang around the McGregor depot.