FL9

After shooting the UP 3939 eastbound passing Tower 3, we moved to Tommy Shults’ house one block east of the diamond on the south side of the Glidden Sub.  The local based at Flatonia works in all four directions every day except Saturday, and at 9:19 am we observed him heading north out of the yard on the Cuero Sub to switch a local industry as the conductor clings to the side of the last car.  The Flatonia railfan platform is visible in front of the UP 1887.

We set up some lawn chairs in the driveway, and relaxed as the radio told us an eastbound train was coming to Flatonia to take the siding.  At 9:57 am a horn to the east stirred us to rise and view this westbound green board with the eastbound tucked into the siding beyond the diamond.  The switch in the foreground leads to the house track, and the next switch is the east leg of the wye to the southbound Cuero Sub.

Two minutes later at 9:59 am a merchandise train led by a venerable SD40-2 with well over 100 cars in tow growled past us on its way to San Antonio.

After the last car of the westbound cleared, the dispatcher lined the UP 9401 East out of the siding, and we photographed him at 10:09 am as he accelerated his own long train towards Houston.

Ten minutes after he passed by, the local made a reverse move back into the yard from the Cuero Sub north of the diamond at 10:19 am.

Next up on the parade would be a northbound KCS train off the Cuero Sub, so we held our position in the lawn chairs.