FL9

I drove back north through Park Springs and followed the tracks as much as possible north to Bowie looking for a good spot to get a final runby after the 844 left Chico on its return trip to Waurika.  If I had gone into Chico I might have gotten a few shots of 844 slipping its drivers and the crew putting down sand by hand to compensate for the Wye being overzealously greased, but hindsight is the best sight.  The train was going to be backlit now for anything but a full broadside.  I looked at the 287 overpass, but if I was on top I could not get a going-away shot of the scene I had missed that morning in addition to the coming-at-me photo.  I looked at the overpass in downtown Bowie, but wires blocked this view.  As I looped by the BNSF Wichita Falls Sub, I spotted a northbound headlight and quickly stopped for this picture of a  northbound coal empty.

I paced the train up to the UP diamond for this shot of the DPU, but did not see a shot I liked here either for the steam special.

I finally decided to set up underneath the 287 overpass with the long telephoto to start with an “in-your-face” shot and then end up with a going-away view of the drumhead and the approach signal for the BNSF crossing.  I found a nice shady spot under the bridge to park in and read my train magazines until I heard the 844 hit the detector at Park Springs about nine miles south.  When the engine swung around the curve and into sight, I was ready.

Looking at the results in the review screen, I could tell I would be satisfied and it was time to start heading back to Fort Worth.  I bid the special farewell for now, but little did I know at that time I was not done with trains yet for the day……