Thanks to a tip this morning on the way to work I stopped west of Davidson Yard as the LBG79 local to Abilene was to be powered by the SSW 7286 and the SSW 9684, still in full Cotton Belt paint. My first inclination was to catch them leaving town with their train, but the radio clued me in to the fact that might take more time than I had available to wait. The 300 Yard was plugged, so the two units were instructed to run through the Number 2 new bypass to the west end of the yard so as to back onto their train. I put on my required PPE equipment and drove down to the west end of the new bypass tracks where in a few minutes I lensed the SSW 7286 coming my way.
The local power pulled past the switch into the 300 yard and waited for the yardmaster to line them back towards their train. This gave me the opportunity to shoot the 9684 as the conductor watched for the switch to line for his reverse move.
It is good to see these unpatched symbols of the past survive into the beginning of yet another year, but I’ll sadly bet the dreaded stencil will find them before it is over.
One Comment
Nice work on the Cotton Belt. Wish I could have made it over to chase these all the way to Abilene. -Dh