Wednesday Sep 26 2007
Colorful ACE’s
Last Saturday the 22nd David Hawkins put the word out that a northbound UP train due into Fort Worth late in the day had two of the new KCS EMD SD70ACe’s for its sole motive power. I had to work around the house most of the day, so I was unable to join David and Shaun Levy and John Briggs on a drive to Waco to catch it down there. They all got really good roster shots of the units sitting in the Waco siding, and called me when the train left Bellmead northbound on the Fort Worth Sub heading my way.
I was able to leave the house around 6:15pm and head down I35 as the sun was dropping rapidly towards the horizon. I wanted to try to beat the train to Grandview, but thanks once again to the guys and constant phone calls it quickly became apparent the rapidly moving ALDTR (Automobiles - Laredo to Terminal Railroad of St. Louis) was going to easily beat me there. I remembered the rural grade crossing at County Road 405E just south of Alvarado would have direct sun until the last moment before sunset, so I pulled over there. I shut off the engine just as the detector at milepost 219.9 four miles further south went off. I had time to pull up a few tall weeds and get set for these three shots at 6:55pm as the very last of the sun glinted off the shiny new locomotives with the moon visible above the lead unit’s nose.
I followed the train back north, and when I heard him call a restricting signal on the approach to Egan, I exited off I35 and drove the two miles west over to the siding. The northbound MHOKC was in the hole, and the dispatcher quickly lined the ALDTR around it on the main line. The sun was now down when I took this shot at 7:20pm as the train blocked my view of Steve Bledsoe and his father Mike set up on the other side of the tracks.
I drove on ahead to the south end of Ney Yard where I finally caught up with the David, Shaun and John. We visited in the gathering darkness and watched the passage of the new ACE’s up the main and through Ney Yard a few minutes later. This was my first time to see and photograph the new KCS paint scheme in person, and I have to say I am very impressed!
