FL9

The Renner Connection came into being when the KCS acquired the old Santa Fe between Denton and Dallas, and needed a direct route west from Wylie to reach this trackage without having to run south to Dallas and then reverse directions.  The KCS acquired the old Cotton Belt from Wylie to Renner where it passed under the old ATSF trackage, and then built a ramp in the northeast quadrant to carry trains up or down from the Cotton Belt to the ATSF.

Here we see a westbound intermodal train climbing up the new connection to continue its journey west from Greenville to BNSF’s Alliance Yard in August of 1999.  An ex-SP SD45T-2 #4509 leads three other gray units up to the Renner Connection switch out of the picture to the left.  The ex-Cotton Belt in the foreground from here west is operated by the DGNO, and I’m standing next to the ex-ATSF tracks that lead on south to Zacha Junction.

I’m going to be busy for awhile after work processing and printing images from the UP Safety Special and the wedding I photgraphed last week, so it looks like we will be living out of the slide boxes here for the time being.  First up for today from August of 1999 is a westbound intermodal on the UP Baird Sub at the east switch of Iona, just west of Fort Worth.

Where today you get a set of yellow SD70M’s on 90% of the trains here, eight years ago you would see just about anything they could put together out here pulling a train.  This lashup consisted of a GP60, an SD45T-2R, and two SD40-2’s.  It was great to the ear also!

The news made the rounds last week while I was out in west Texas that 1901 ex-SP 2-6-0 #1744 has been granted another life.  Purchased in the late 1990’s by the FWWR as an intended backup engine for the 2248, the 1744 languished at 8th Avenue until its purchase and rebuilding by Rio Grande Pacific for use on their Big Easy Steam Train near New Orleans.  Here we see the engine during its first move on August 28th in 2000 at 8th Avenue as it makes its way over temporary track to live rail.

The 1744 was then lettered for the New Orleans & Gulf Coast.  Over the next week the engine ran on a series of break-in runs over the FWWR such as this one photographed in Trinity Park on a northbound run.

The New Orleans operation was shut down after only a few months due to lack of patronage, and the engine has been in storage there until its recent purchase by the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad for use over La Veta Pass between Alamosa and La Veta, Colorado.  Way to go Ed Ellis and Earl Knoob!

Saturday morning I left dad’s house and ran an errand or two around Sweetwater before heading back to Fort Worth.  I heard a westbound approaching the depot on the radio, so I stopped by the old T&P depot location and took this shot with the remaining foundation and the state historical marker.

As the train slowed to a stop at the Sweetwater yard office, a small marker on the ground in the left of the picture jogged my memory, and instantly brought a point of focus to this past week’s message delivered aboard the UP west Texas safety special.  I walked over for a closer look at this personal marker whose flowers have been freshly maintained by relatives for more than a year now.

At this spot a person on foot lost their life, relatives lost a loved one, and a train crew gained a personal burden.  It is too late in this case, but always remember to never try to beat a train on foot or in your car, and educate everyone you influence to do the same.  The alternative negatively effects the lives of others forever, to say nothing of your own.