FL9

Going back again to September of 1983, it certainly appears I had lots of time for railfanning that month.  This day finds us on a highway overpass at the east end of Mullinville, Kansas about forty miles west of Pratt along highway 54.  An eastbound SP freight powered by Cotton Belt SD45T-2 9165 and three Milwaukee Road SD40-2’s leading three smoky GE’s has just passed by the local elevator on their way to Kansas City from Tucumcari, New Mexico.

The SP spent millions rebuilding this ex-Rock Island line to high speed standards, and out here in the flatlands of western Kansas trains running over it from a distance look like land ships as they make their way from town to town.