FL9

This morning Judy and I left Benbrook around 8:30am to visit my father in Sweetwater.  We drove on I20 in heavy fog until a few miles west of the Brazos River where we finally broke out into partly cloudy skies.  As we approached the exit at the east end of Judd siding, the radio alerted us to the UP 8323 West meeting the BNSF 4564 East.  We pulled off and stopped on the side of the road just in time for this shot of the BNSF train accelerating out of the siding.

The UP train was highballing on west at track speed, but as the Baird Sub takes the long way around to Ranger, we headed there next on I20.  I set up for a well-lit shot of the westbound passing the depot, but then on the radio I heard the westbound take the siding at Tiffen east of town, and a horn in the distance behind me confimed an eastbound approaching.  I moved on down some and set up this angle to include the Roaring Ranger Museum sign as a merchandise train passed by.  Look closely and see where someone has painted a face in the dirt on the nose.

I had to wait a few minutes on the 8323 West as it ended up flagging past a red signal out of Tiffen and came by the depot at restricted speed.

Before the train came up to a green signal and got back to business, we were able to get ahead enough for one more picture as it rounded a sharp curve on the way out of Ranger at track speed.

With three trains now in the bag, a time check indicated we needed to head on to our goal and meet up with my dad.