Back in 2007 when my father was still alive out in Sweetwater I took him out for a drive on a Saturday afternoon. Stopping by the BNSF yard office I found out I had missed the CSX #1 leading an eastbound freight on its way to Temple by 15 minutes. The roads being what they are I would have had to probably go most of the way to Brownwood to get ahead of it, and I could not do that with my father in the car. I made it a goal to track it down sometime in the future whenever I was back east, but never got close in the following years.
Last week out of the blue I got a call from one of my friends that the CSX #1 was leading an eastbound train into the metroplex on the UP, so I finally put my plan into action. With a little help from friends at the UP it was spotted in a fairly good location so I could get a roster shot.
It had a light tower and a few poles in the background, but hey, sometimes you take what you can get, and I have no complaints as I finally accomplished my goal. The fact that my son lives in West Virginia makes it even better!
That’s interesting! I hadn’t realized that CSX had that unit numbered and named that way.
You can PS the poles. At least you caught it in the sun. It was through here on BNSF last spring in heavy overcast but I shot it anyway because it was unique and engine #1.
Good shootin’ Tex.