Busy BNSF

When I finished my errands just before 4:00pm on Thurday afternoon April 2nd I was close to Saginaw and decided to check out the rail action before heading home. I spotted four BNSF Gensets with a long string of cars northbound in the transfer track from North Yard to the Fort Worth Sub waiting patiently south of the East McLeroy crossing.

The radio soon clued me in that DS22’s plan was that two southbound grain trains would run on the Fort Worth Sub out of Lake Wanda; then the train in front of me would come out of the transfer and go north to Alliance Yard; and finally a loaded coal train would then come off the Wichita Falls Sub and run south into Saginaw Yard. I drove to just north of the McLeroy crossing as the best lit spot for the two grain trains. The first one out of Lake Wanda was led by the BNSF 7537.

By some form of coincidence the second grain train 25 minutes later had a lead unit exactly 100 numbers below the first train in the form of the BNSF 7437.

As the second grain train slowly passed by I took the opportunity to relocate to Lake Wanda with a quick side trip to the Cranz Farm crossing where the loaded coal train waited with the BNSF 9312 leading.

At Lake Wanda I walked out into the field south of the grade crossing and a few minutes later caught the northbound transfer job coming around the corner from Saginaw.

The four Gensets were all working full throttle as they passed by sounding just like a herd of 18-wheelers going by on the highway.

For my final shot of the afternoon I relocated to CP 3548 at the south leg of the wye for one more picture of the loaded grain train heading for Saginaw Yard.

Four well-lit trains in roughly 90 minutes did not seem bad in today’s economy, so next I headed home for supper.