It was a race where I had 26 miles to cover to beat a train that had 16 miles to cover at a lower average speed, and traffic was in my favor on the two lane road as I listened for the detector at milepost 38.3 as my first clue of whether I would win or lose. Happily I made it to my goal in 40 minutes without hearing anything on the radio. About five minutes later as I had my camera ready and was lining up my composition, the detector went off two miles north and I heard the faint chord of a K5LAA. I got ready and in no time at all I had this scene of the 1988 all alone up front captured for my efforts.

Another SD70ACe was on the rear as the train rolled out of sight and I headed back home happy that I had won the race and did not need to chase it further. Judy was ready when I got back and we left together to run errands and then get lunch in Saginaw. Before we stopped to eat I spotted a northbound empty coal train with all four units up front sitting in Saginaw Yard without a crew. The BNSF 6885 was leading, and when we got back in the car after eating the Wichita Falls Sub dispatcher was giving that unit a track warrant to leave Saginaw Yard. I drove up to the crossing at CP 10 and got this shot a few minutes later as the train accelerated out of town.

Sunday afternoon I got out for the ritual of the Fort Worth & Western’s Dublin Turn. I followed the train with three SD40’s and one GP38 climbing the grade from Mustang Creek to Cresson and came away with this shot from near milepost 17 with what remains of the spring weed flowers.

One photo each of the three major players in Fort Worth over the weekend. I stayed busy at work this week so I can go ahead and take next week off to catch a few trains and then work a few days for the UP on the 150th Anniversary Special from Fort Worth to El Reno.

I refused to give up now, and to my wife’s dismay we jumped on I35 South and the race was on as the special was running at around 60mph. I decided to head for the bridge shot at the north end of Grandview, and thanks to the Interstate we made it there five minutes ahead of the train. This time with the camera in single shot mode the coming and going results were much more acceptable.

UP has already chosen the first photo to be used on Fort Worth Service Unit emplyee’s birthday cards, so it was worth it after working my way back into my wife’s good graces. On Monday the 844 limped from Mt. Pleasant to Corsicana for the night before continuing to Hearne on Tuesday at 10:00am. The weather on Tuesday the 17th was forecast to be perfect, so I took off from my day job and left the house at 6:00am heading to Corsicana. I wanted to be there early in case the crew decided to leave before 10:00am, and the 844 was being serviced in the siding on the east side of town when I arrived shortly after 8:00am.

As the departure time approached I drove over to the south end of the curve where the Corsicana Sub turns south along side the Ennis Sub and the lighting would be perfect. Leonard Ruback from College Station joined me here shortly after 10:00am just before we heard the 844 whistle off. At 10:18 I recorded this sequence as ther 844 moved slowly into the perfect light allowing me to work a small patch of flowers right in front of me into the second photo.

Maximum speed for this day with flat spots on the drivers was 25mph, which along with the fact only a handful of other railfans and locals were following the train made this an easy chase. I and a few other fans following along drove to Angus where we set up with plenty of time to choose our shots before the 844 arrived. The second shot turned out to be perfect, and the UP has already taken several 13″ x 19″ prints of it to be framed for the Fort Worth offices.

Next it was on to Richland where once again everyone had plenty of time to line up the shots they wanted before the 844 came up the grade from the Richland Creek bridge.

I now drove on ahead to Wortham where I set the 5D Mark III with an attached Rode stereo microphone up on a tripod to see how it would do shooting HD video while I took these two shots with the Canon 60D using the 100-400mm zoom.

After packing up I easily overtook the 844 and support cars and found my next location in Mexia where once again I took stills and video.

The sun was starting to get high now, so I decided to catch the the train one more time in Groesbeck before starting back towards Corsicana. I set up for stills and video at the north end of town where there is a nice open area with no obstructions or pole lines visible.

I let Leonard and the others continue the chase while I grabbed some food from Sonic and caught the tow freights that were back-to-back behind the steam train. First was the UP 4847 South with a merchandise train running on yellow signals.

A few minutes later the UP 7721 South rolled by also running on yellow signals.

After these two trains came by I made it all the way back north to Richland before hearing the approach of the UP 6003 South on the radio. I took this sequence emphasizing the unique tri-light signals on this part of the old SP.

The UP 5370 South was close behind so I moved a little further north to capture the train as it crossed the Richland Creek trestle.

In addition to listening to the UP Corsicana and Ennis Sub dispatchers I had also been monitoring the BNSF DFW Sub dispatcher, and I learned the BNSF 4443 North out of Teague would be meeting the southbound local at Corsicana. I drove into town and set up on the north side of the uniquely designed depot for this view of what turned out to be a rock train.

While the rock train held the main for the meet with the local on the north side of town I relocated to just south of the diamond where the BSNF DFW Sub crosses over the UP Corsicana Sub. The local was powered this day by a pair of increasingly rare SD40-2’s that I relished as they pounded across the diamond.

At this exact same time the UP 6037 South arrived in Corsicana on the Ennis Sub and pulled down to the south end to set out a unit in the small yard there. I moved to the CTC switch where the Corsicana Sub on the right joins up with the Ennis Sub on the left as the power came back south on the Corsicsana Sub after setting out the specified unit.

The power pulled south on the Ennis Sub main and the conductor watched the switch as the dispatcher threw it back to the Ennis Sub and gave the crew permission to pass the red signal back against their train.

On the radio I heard the UP 8131 just east of town on the Corsicana Sub get permission from the dispatcher to pull on down to the end of the Corsicana Sub at the south end and wait for the departure of the UP 6037 South before following that train out of town. I drove back north to where the Corsicana Sub curved south for this long telephoto view complete with heat waves of the UP 8131 crossing over the BNSF diamond.

I switched to the short zoom to capture the approaching train turning the corner at Corsicana Sub milepost 621.3 and then back to the long zoom to record the train pulling down beside the UP 6037 South whose DPU unit was now starting to move away as it pushed the train out of town.

It was now after 4:00pm, and with nothing else nearby on the radio I packed it in and had an uneventful trip on home where I pulled into the driveway a little after 6:00pm. It had been a long but photographically fruitlful day as I have not spent much time around Corsicana in recent history.

The sun was still a little high at this location so I drove to the east end where the lower elevation put me closer to the horizon. I decided to use the Canon 60D along with the 100-400mm zoom to take advantage of the APS-C small-sized sensor so I could effectively zoom out to the equivalent of 600mm. I had time for two test shots and then the gates and flashers activated so I got into position for this sequence of the UP 4337 East leading an ILBMN stack train.

The final results were just what I was hoping for, and thanks to the UP for delivering a train at precisely the right moment so as to not make an April Fool’s joke out of my last minute trip to track side!

As soon as the two northbounds cleared the tower the UP 7356 West leading an intermodal bound for Sweetwater accelerated over the diamond with a steady exhaust beat.

Next up was the eight-car southbound special led by the E9’s with #949 up front.

The special stopped at the Ney Yard office to change crews while I drove down to the south end of the yard to scout out a clear location for the next photo opportunity. While I was looking around I heard the crew say they were ready to go and would be pulling down to the south end to fuel the 949 and the 963B. It appeared I had chosen the right place to be as the train pulled to a stop right next to me.

Looking to the southwest I could see a small gap at the edge of the cloud deck that indicated the sun would make a brief appearance for just a few minutes before disappearing below the horizon. I got ready and immediately took advantage of the lucky opportunity when the scene changed from overcast to full low sun in a matter of seconds.

As the train was in the final stages of fueling and the crew got a track warrant to enter the Midlothian Sub I took one final shot before the last rays of the sun vanished.

Then I moved to the small park a mile southeast of the yard to see what the 5D Mark III could do in low light with a moving train. I cranked up the ISO to 5000 for these last two shots and used 1/250 at f4 to stop the action as much as possible. Without applying any science and just looking at the results I can see the 5D Mark III did amazingly well with a moving train in what was essentially an unlit scene in complete darkness.

It definitely did better than my old 5D Mark II would have under the same circumstances, and I am looking forward to experimenting with its expanded ISO range and other new features.

I arrived a little after 8:00am and after passing a Secret Service check I joined in with the planning session for the Secretary’s tour starting at noon. As rain was anticipated a tent had been set up on the ramp area for the invited press and inside one of the truck shop bays an area had been set aside where PBS was setting up to interview the Secretary for their Nightly Business Report. From a standpoint of technology look at the grey backpack.

Where not long ago the only choice to provide a live feed from here in the field back to PBS would have been to use a satellite truck, now this $20,000 backpack uses wired Ethernet or wireless hot-spot or 3G or 4G signals aggregated through eight or more wireless cards from three carriers to provide the same function.

Secretary Geithner arrived around 11:30am and first toured the Intermodal Facility offices and met with local businessmen and BNSF officials.

Next the Secretary rode in one of the vans out to the viewing tent where he watched a demonstration of how containers are loaded onto rail cars while the press recorded the event.

After the demonstation was concluded our small caravan moved on to the garage where PBS’s Washington Bureau Chief Darren Gersh interviewed Secretary Geithner with new GE ES44C4 6875 intentionally displayed in the background.

Before long the event was concluded and the entourage left for the Secretary’s next appointment in Dallas. I looked out of the garage bay door and framed up this perfect scene complete with rain reflection to show off the intermodal facility.

I headed off in search of food and a dry and warm place to process from RAW to JPG so I could send my photos on to the BNSF and the Treasury Department. A link to the event can be found on the Treasury’s website by clicking below:

Secretary Geitner’s Visit to BNSF’s Alliance Intermodal Facility

Parked right next to it was the ex-SP B30-7 #7805 now rebuilt as RCE platform UP 158.

At the other end of the track was new SD70 ACe #8689.

I found the 8646 parked on the west side of the shop complex. Afternoon light would have been better but this was my window of opportunity and I made the most of it.

On the way out I paused to shoot the UP 7357 East as it was preparing to leave the yard and head towards Tower 55.

In and out in 30 minutes with my goal accomplished and a few extra good catches to boot.

On Tuesday February 14th a new lift bridge span was floated into place between two new lift towers that will increase the opening for boats and barges to 300 feet by this summer after the old bridge is removed and the channel widened. A work window started at 6:00am on Valentine’s Day to allow the contractors to stop water traffic for 72 hours and rail traffic for 12 hours after which monetary penalties would be incurred. The new bridge was built on shore and then floated out to the causeway where it was maneuvered into place between the new towers with two inches of clearance on each end.

Under the Truman-Hobbs act of 1940 that outlines the removal of hazardous bridges the Coast Guard ordered the widening of the channel in 2001 and is paying 95% of the 80 million dollar cost of the project. The other 5% is being shared by the City of Galveston, the Port of Galveston, Galveston County and the BNSF Railway.

BNSF retained me to do the still photography of the bridge installation on the 14th for them, and since my wife is from Houston we spent Saturday there and drove on down to Galveston on Sunday the 12th. That afternoon as we approached the north end of the causeway at Virginia Point an empty BNSF grain train was leaving the bridge northbound for Houston. I exited the highway and took these two shots across the marsh. In the second shot you can see what looks like a pink flamingo skimming the water.

This is the view from Virginia Point looking south across the causeway towards Galveston with the two new lift bridge towers dominating the scene. The track to the right is the BNSF and the line coming in from the left is the UP.

On Monday the 13th I went out to the bridge with the BNSF engineering staff to get acquanted with the project. Standing on the catwalk around the old bridge control house this is what a barge and push boat look like while “threading the needle” through the 100-foot wide slot. There is a lot of piloting skill involved here and I am sure these boat captains are going to breathe a lot easier once the channel is widened to 300 feet. The abandoned building across from me is the original 1909 drawbridge control house.

Later Monday afternoon in spite of using an umbrella I got soaked in rain squall to capture this view of a northbound BNSF manifest train coming off Galveston Island as it passed through the bascule drawbridge that would be retired in the next few days.

At sunrise on the 14th I was already in position to photograph the bridge span minutes before its departure from the shore where it was built about two miles from its new home. A pushboat was getting onto position on each side of the 100 by 300 foot barge carrying the 1050 ton bridge.

Once the bridge started moving I drove to the causeway on the mainland side and showed my credentials before driving out over the causeway to the job site. A thick fog had rolled in, but thanks to radar and GPS this did not deter the barge crews and the new span suddenly appeared from the east out of the all encompassing whiteness shortly after 8:00am.

By 10:30am the fog had lifted and the barge was in place so the crews could then carefully winch the bridge into place between the two towers with only a few inches to spare on each side.

Before the new bridge could be moved into its final resting place some of the supports and gears on the east side of the existing bridge had to be cut away to make room. The existing bridge then coasted down into the closed position for the final time. Here we see one of the contractors using a 4,500 degree acetylene torch to cut away the old bridge supports on the east side. The torch operator had to change tubes every few minutes as they were steadily vaporized in the heat and molten metal at the business end.

In order to get a better over all view I drove up and parked on the shoulder of the I45 highway bridge on the west side where I and the contractor’s and the Houston Chronicle’s photographers were protected by TXDOT and the Galveston PD while we worked. I took the opportunity to photograph the old causeway first looking south towards Galveston Island and then north towards the mainland. It has been eclipsed today but I can imagine building it was quite an engineering accomplishement back in 1909.

Push boats and winches worked in unison to move the new bridge into its final resting place around noon. Next work would begin to attach the lift and electical cables in all four corners of the new bridge while the barge was reconfigured to remove the old bridge.

Nature granted us a perfectly sunny work window for the final move into position with light winds and no rain after the fog lifted early that morning. By 1:30pm the thick fog had rolled back in, and in this view from only 100 yards west along the causeway from the job site all you can see is placid pelicans and the track disappearing towards the new span.

Wednesday was foggy and rainy so as Judy and I headed home I did not even stop at the job site as everyone worked around the clock to get the new bridge into operation. In the end the work took 12 more hours to complete beyond the 72 hour projected work window, but today the new bridge is working fine and the old bridge house and abutments are being removed while constant barge traffic has resumed. I ended up with around 250 still photos for the BNSF during my visit and I hope you enjoyed the 14 I was able to share with you here.

The northbound RDC’s had apparently finished their morning runs and pulled into the maintance facility after the southbound train had passed by.

I parked at the Lewisville Old Town station and caught the next set of southbound RDC’s.

Here are three views between Lewisville and Hebron looking through the windshield from the passenger compartment.

At the southern end of the DCTA line in Carrollton at the Trinity Mills station I caught a pair of RDC’s making a cross-platform transfer of passengers with a DART light rail train under cloudy skies.

Back in Lewisville I had full sun for this run by of a set of southbound RDC’s that had just left the Old Lewisville station.

Here is a view of the new Lewisville maintenance facility from Railroad Avenue on the east side of the main line. I believe that six of the eleven Stadler DMU’s have arrived, but none are in service yet as they are waiting for their FRA approval to operate and intermingle with the larger RDC’s.

Now it was time to actually go in for the open house. The 47,000 square-foot, 17 million dollar building is equipped with two run-through tracks with maintenance pits, two overhead cranes, 25-ton floor jacks and an exhaust collection system. Here is a view of one of the maintenance pits.

Just beyond the maintenance pit on this track is a small turntable for wheel sets.

Stadlet GTW 2-6 DMU #101 was on display inside the shop on the other track. Notice the flexible overhead exhaust abatement system.

There were several DCTA and local government officials who spoke in sequence to the assembled crowd.

The DCTA Board of Directors gathered at the end and soon it was time to cut the ribbon and then allow the guests to tour the interior of car #101.

Outside the shop building DMU #102 was on display and I worked it in with a set of the older RDC’s in the background.

These Old Budd RDC cars have seen a lot of service in the past fifty years in Canada and in Texas. It is my understanding once the eleven Stadler cars are in service the eleven RDC’s leased to the DCTA will be returned to the TRE and put into storage for future startups and special events.

These new Swiss honorary “RDC”’s will take some getting used to, but I do like the paint scheme Denton came up with.

In a few days I will determine what to share here next!

“It’s with a heavy heart I share this tragic news…

Shortly before 10am on Wednesday morning KCS lost one of their brothers in train service. Shannon Isaiah Bigler, 36, was killed in a one vehicle car accident on US 69 near Lone Oak. Authorities are reporting his vehicle hydroplaned and struck a tree. Earlier in the day he brought SHDA to Wylie from Shreveport. He leaves behind his wife and children, including one very young infant. His wife Nicole was a classmate of one of my brothers and was a member of my church. Please pray for comfort and peace for this sweet family, their relatives and friends, and his peers at KCS.”

I met a very nice man Saturday afternoon that I only will have ever known for a few minutes. Hindsight is the best sight, and I should have gone back to the car and gotten the flash unit in order to do a better job on these photos of Isaiah. I promised him in my email later that I would do a better job the next time. Now there will be no next time, but I am glad to at least have these to offer to his family.

Inside the first exhibit car was this display of uniforms worn by on board service personnel.

Across from the uniforms was this well lit HO model train donated by Walthers.

Looking back the other way here is a close up of a conductor’s uniform.

My attention was naturally drawn to the Amtrak horn exhibit.

First up was the Nathan P01235 used on the E60 electric locomotives.

Next in line was the Leslie SL-4T used on the EMD SDP40F locomotives.

Third up was the Nathan P1234A5 used on the P30CH, Turboliner, and first order of F40PH locomotives.

Finally came the famous Nathan K5LA used on later orders of F40PH and all AEM-7, P40 and P42 locomotives.

These plexiglass tubes with rope lighting really made the HO scale display trains stand out.

Here is the control stand from an EMD F40PH.

The next plexiglass tube contained a model of the Acela high speed train with old travel posters in the background.

Complimenting the Acela display was this exhibit showing off the cantenary used past and present in the Northeast Corridor.

As we left the last exhibit car I looked back for an overall view.

I don’t think anyone passed through the souvenir car without making a purchase, including John and family. Judy and I bought two coffee mugs, a book and video combo, and a Walthers Superliner lounge car to finish up a complete train set I have been putting together.

On the outside again I captured one of the car decals celebrating the 40th anniversary.

On the way out I took one last photo of the 822.

I do like this paint scheme on these units much more than the current one!