The souvenir table was made ready with hand out items including hundreds of anniversary pennants we had assembled the evening before.

Multiple barrels were filled with water bottles and ice for the anticipated large crowds.

In an adjacent parking lot the miniature train crew was unloading their equipment.

Once the train was assembled they posed for a team photo.  These dedicated gentlemen put in many miles and hours every year traveling to events all over the country.

By 10:00am a long line was already forming to tour the museum car.

In fact there were probably over 200 people in the line that stretched down the platform and around the side of the depot to near the front door.

Multiple food trucks were set up in the side parking lot to handle the needs of the crowd.  As the temperature topped out in the 90′s I was a frequent visitor to the lemonade stand and the fresh cut fruit vendor.

The locomotive simulator in a trailer had followed us from Pocatello, and once again was quite popular with the kids.

In the early afternoon the UP “Train Town” presentation was made to local Boise officials.

One of the people who manage the depot for the city of Boise agreed to take me up on the roof for a higher vantage point of the crowd.  on our way up I took this view from a balcony overlooking the main waiting room.

From my new vantage point I could easily ilustrate there were still over 100 people in line.

A surge in visitors took the line around to the front of the depot again where I could easily see the city of Boise laid out below.

The miniature train was heavily patronized all day long.

As I hung around the rear platform of the business car Shoshone to take group photos a visitor from Boise showed me the Hamilton pocket watch his father had carried when he was a railroader.

Former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy gave an oral presentation on Idaho history that was very interesting.

Wonderful food was served up to the guests at the evening VIP reception.

As I waited in the rear area of the Shoshone to take group photos I spotted and captured this view of the Boise sign through the window.  This shot could almost be timeless except for the modern cars in the parking lot.

Soon afterwards I was taking this photo of the retired Idaho Attorney General and two friends on the back of the Shoshone.

On the other end of the train by the E9′s a smaller crowd was admiring their sleek and rounded lines.

Late in the afternoon a deja vu moment occurred when a thunderstorm loomed overhead exactly the same as the day before.  Once again it died out without reaching us but provided interesting lighting for this portrait of the train.

Shortly after 9:00pm the guests were gone and we departed to rejoin the main line at Nampa.  The sun was setting as we were about half way through our 15-mile trip down the branch.

I stretched my camera to the limits for this view from the dome lounge Walter Dean as we arrived in Nampa about 15 minutes after sunset while an eastbound freight was leaving town.

It had been a very rewarding day as the offical tally was over 5,000 visitors for the event.  Now we had a day of travel ahead to reach our next stop in Spokane, Washington.

After photographing the coupling and air test I went to bed as we started up the “Boise Cut-Off” since I had now been up for around 18 hours.  The next morning when I woke up we were sitting still next to the beautiful ex-UP depot that now belongs to the city of Boise and is used for  city events and available for rent for private functions.  We had all day off to rest and explore before the Boise open house the next day on the 8th.  After breakfast in the City of Denver I loaded up my camera gear and went out to explore my new surroundings.

In retrospect the city of Boise purchased usage rights to this photo and it now appears in their brochure advertising the depot and its facilities.

UP 2-8-2 #2295 is on permanent display at the west end of the depot building.

In the afternoon I caught a ride with one of the special agents who dropped me and several other employees downtown to explore.  I walked on to the state capital building at the north end of the main street.

Looking back south from the top of the steps the depot was readily visible on top of the hill at the south end of Boise.

The view of the inside of the dome  of the state capital building was very impressive.

Back on the street I caught these two views of the capital building with UP’s distinctive 150th Anniversary banners, the same as the ones I photographed in El Reno, Oklahoma back in May.

After enjoying the sights around town I caught a ride back to the train where in the late afternoon a thunderstorm started to build over the mountains to the north.

This beautiful UP shield is cast into the depot wall above the platform doors.

Later on before retiring for the night I took a quick night shot of our train in the depot.  A Boise police officer guarding the train was kind enough to put the headlights of his patrol unit on the front of the E9 for me.  Now I regretted not having one of the mechanical people come with me and turn on the headlights, but there would be other opportunities for that before the end of the trip.

The next day would prove to be long but very successful in terms of our goal to attract crowds of local citizens to come and see the train.

In October 12th’s blog post I covered my ride on the Pacific Northwest Special from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Pocatello, Idaho when the E9′s pulling an eight car train covered a little over 1,000 miles in roughly 26 hours from 11:00 pm on July 4th to 1:00 am on July 6th.  After taking the sunset shot from the dome/lounge Walter Dean in eastern Idaho, I had dinner with the crew in the dining car City of Denver.    This was followed by some spirited story telling back in the dome of the Walter Dean until I headed off to bed in my compartment in the Portola around 11:00pm while we were still some 60 miles east of Pocatello.

Following a few hours sleep I awoke to find us stationary, and could see daylight around the edges of my window shade.  I peeked around a corner to see a switching yard with some low hills in the distance and figured this was my first view ever of Pocatello.  Stepping out into the corridor after showering and getting dressed I could see a depot platform out the windows on that side of the crew car Portola.  In the City of Denver I found eggs, potatoes, sausage and toast ready for the crew self-serve buffet while the kitchen staff was beginning work on the lunch and dinner meals that would be served to invited guests later in the day.

After breakfast it was 7:30 am when I stepped down to the platform of the old UP passenger depot that was now the local UP headquarters for this area.  I made my way up front where several local railfans were trying to get shots of the E9′s, but naturally the sun was on the yard side of the track where they could not go.  I had all my PPE on, and after checking with one of the local officials, I was a gracious representative of the UP and took several of their cameras with me when I stepped across for this morning view of our train with the depot behind it.

Next I walked to the rear of the train for this view of the business/observation car Shoshone with the depot now fully visible.  Built by the Pullman company in 1914 it is the second oldest car in the UP Heritage Fleet.

Down by the entrance to the museum car Promontory the staff was setting up the handout table.

The public relations event was due to run from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm with a self-conducted tour through the Promontory as the only car whose interior was open to the public.

In addition to the train, one of UP’s trailer-mounted locomotive simulators along with UP’s rubber-tired miniature train ride and vendor exhibits and booths were all set up and ready for visitors.  The event had been locally well advertised, and as it got closer to 9:00 am large numbers of people began to arrive.  Many used the train as a background for family photos.

I helped out this family and many more during the day by offering to take a picture with their camera so they could all be in the photo.  The vendor area offered food and drink and various local items for sale.

The lines grew quickly for  UP’s miniature train ride.

The line was long for a visit to the locomotive simulator, and I used my photographer status to slip in for this view of a future engineer thoroughly engaged in his work.

Over on the depot platform the crowd to go through the museum car was also growing rapidly.

Here is a view of local families enjoying the interactive exhibits in the Promontory.

With her mother’s permission I had this little girl pose for me as in addition to the face painting over at the vendor area she was thoroughly enjoying her new UP pennant and fan.

A man-lift had been brought to the train so our mechanic could repair one of the exhaust fans on the roof of the City of Denver and clean the outside of the windows in the dome of the Walter Dean.  I put on the safety harness and got a briefing before using it to get an aerial view of the scene, although by the time I got up there the crowd had diminished for a while around lunch time.

In the early afternoon a ceremony was conducted where a framed proclamation, a sign and a commemorative challenge coin were presented to local officials to celebrate their city being chosen as a Union Pacific “Train Town”.  From the several thousand towns along the UP’s tracks around 200 were chosen to receive this honor including Pocatello, Boise, Spokane, Eugene and Portland that we visited on this trip.  This is what the proclamation looked like that was delivered here in Pocatello.

In this scene a few minutes later UP’s Director of Public Affairs for Idaho Dan Harbeke on the right helps a local official on the left unveil the Train Town sign for the crowd and the press.

The sun reflected off the glass such that I did not notice until that evening it looks like Dan is holding an empty frame!  No harm done in the end thank goodness.

Here is a closer view of the Train Town sign.

And a close up view of the commemorative coin.

Later on we had a reception on board the train for area VIP’s, and at the end they posed with Dan on the rear of the Shoshone in a scene I would repeat many times over the course of the trip.

Walking up and down the platform looking for intriguing people shots I encountered this couple.  Being interested in trains, when they had read about the event they decided to dress up and have their engagement pictures taken with the special.  Their photographer was no show however, and they were wondering what to do.  As you would guess I volunteered to take their photos and email them compliments of the Union Pacific.  Another small PR gesture that ensured they would always think good thoughts about the UP from now on.

By mid-afternoon the number of people on hand to see the train was increasing again, and I captured this young visitor at the handout table.

The miniature train was full up every trip all day long.

With the cooperation of the miniature train staff I staged this shot of the big 951 and the little 956 together.

After the evening reception for invited guests we were already packed up and ready to leave town for our exhibition in Boise on the 8th after a day of rest on the 7th.  The unofficial tally for the day was around 2000 visitors, and with the temperature in the high 90′s we had given out over 5000 bottles of water.  We got under way not long before sunset heading west on the Nampa Sub.

The actual moment of sunset found us near American Falls about twenty miles west of Pocatello running at 79 mph.

Later that night I cranked the ISO up to 25600 and managed this view of the E9′s about to take a green signal along the Snake River near Glenns Ferry, Idaho.

Day or night, the dome car is the place to be.  I stayed up until we reached Nampa, Idaho around 1:00am on the 7th where a WATCO crew from the Idaho Northern was ready to pull us backwards up the ex-UP line to Boise.

The train was making maybe 15 mph at this point so I had no problem moving ahead to the private crossing in the middle of the siding for a second sequence.  There was an eastbound intermodal train in the siding that helped to give definition to the westbound’s headlight as it cut through the heavy downpour.

Wednesday morning on the way to work I went the back way via Iona, and as I crested the hill at the west end I could see a headlight coming westbound at me in the distance.  I doubled back to the overlook just east of the west switch and had time to grab my camera but not an umbrella before snagging this shot of the UP 7349 just after it has crested the grade and started downhill.

I would have preferred to see the nose door closed, but maybe the conductor was taking a bath in there as I was getting soaked with no umbrella.  This was probably a “Z” train since it had UPS trailers on it.

With two up front and two on the rear the train was quickly up to track speed as it dropped off the side of the hill on the way to Aledo and Weatherford.

Heading on to work, at the east end of the Iona siding I pulled over for a grab shot of the westbound local with two GP60′s running close behind the intermodal.

The local was only going to Aledo today before returning to Fort Worth, and the dispatcher put him in the siding here at Iona to meet two eastbounds before they could get 30 minutes to switch at the Aledo grain elevator.  It would have been fun to stay and watch but it was time to head for the office.

After the sun got a little higher, on the way out of the yard I caught this view of the Herzog HZGX 186 dedicated power for one of their unit maintenance of way trains.  I am not sure if this is really a GP38-2 in disguise or what without more research.

After picking my wife up to go back to Fort Worth for breakfast, we caught this westbound intermodal train just west of the west switch at Iona.  With the sun behind the train I went for this broadside view of the UP 8466 West.

On New Year’s Eve on the way home from work I stopped near the house for this pastoral scene a few minutes after sunset.

After Judy got home we headed back to Fort Worth for dinner and I took the back road through Iona.  We ran into a thick fog on top of the hill and found an eastbound merchandise train waiting on the main with a red signal at the east end of the siding.  I cranked up the ISO to 12800 and a few minutes later the train got a green signal into Davidson Yard.  I captured this view of the crossing gates coming down in the fog as my last photo of 2012.

I knew the UP would operate a reduced schedule for New Years Day 2013, so mid-morning when I heard an AMNLB autorack train get a green signal at the west end of Davidson yard I quickly drove to the overlook into the cut at the west end of the siding at Iona.  The temperature was 40 degrees but the wind made it much more unpleasant, so I stayed in the Explorer until I heard a horn at the east end of Iona.  I was fortunate that the sun came out just before the UP 7363 running solo filled the viewfinder.

There were two new KCS auto cars in the train and they both had the anniversary logos on them.

The UP 8609 working as the DPU on this 1 x 1 train was just transitioning from power to dynamic braking as it slid past me on the way downhill to Aledo while the clouds once again blocked out the sun.

I am glad I got out for this train as only heard one eastbound on the radio later on before it got dark on the first day of 2013.

I drove on ahead a mile to catch them one more time at the grade crossing on the way to Cresson.  The fir trees and fence of the house out of sight to the left added a little color to the dry Texas winter scene.

The last twenty cars of the train were filled with natural gas pipe headed for the loadout at Decordova between Granbury and Tolar.

The crew called me on the radio and requested a set of prints of these shots for the engineer and conductor, and I told them I would be happy to oblige and put a selection in each of their stockings hung over the fireplace at Hodge Yard.

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!

My original plan was to drive over to Wylie Sunday afternoon to catch the KCS 2012 Christmas Train facing west in perfect light.  But then around 10:30 I got an email from crew member and friend Shawn Levy that they were going to turn the train around before the 4:00pm opening to the public.  This meant the engines would be parked in Wylie in terrible light coming right out of the sun.  So Judy and I raced to get out of the house and we made the 50 mile drive from home south of Fort Worth to Garland in record time thanks to the George Bush Turnpike.  They would be using the KCS’s ”iron triangle” in Dallas, Garland, Richardson and Plano where each leg of the wye is approximately five miles long.  The question was which way would they go out of Wylie to begin with?

I was not quite in radio range yet when the train was ready to leave Wylie Yard, but thanks to David Hawkins I learned the train would head south down the Dallas Sub first to Dallas Junction (ex-ATSF Zacha Junction) and then make a reverse move up the White Rock Industrial Lead.  Judy and I made it to the South Shiloh Road crossing just north of I635 in Garland about ten minutes ahead of the train.  I set up for this relatively pole-less photo as the train rolled by at about 20 mph.

By the time I got back in the Explorer and made it down to the junction, the conductor had thrown the switch and KCS1 was starting its backup move onto the White Rock Industrial Lead. I pulled over and shot the train backing up over East Northwest Highway with the Santa Fe emblems still showing on the bridge girders.

I did not see any good locations or lighting as the train backed up westbound along the north side of I635, so we jumped ahead to the only underpass on this route where the tracks go under Skillman and then Forest Lane.  The lighting was perfect in this view taken from the Forest Lane overpass with the train moving in reverse away from the camera.

We drove back to I635 and then headed north on Highway 75.  I thought I could beat the train to Campbell Road for my next shot, but they made excellent time and the Christmas caboose was just starting over US75 from right to left when I exited at Campbell Road.  Luckily traffic behind me was light and my windshield was clean so I took this slow-rolling view as the F’s backed over the busy highway.

I knew at this point I could not beat the train to any good photo locations near White Rock Junction where the train would start forward again eastbound towards Alliance Junction in Wylie.  We got back on US75 and headed north into Plano so while the train was navigating through the junction I could use the time to follow the Alliance Subdivision east through town.  The light would be off the nose now but  I wanted to find one more spot with decent scenery to catch the beautiful F-units before they turned north and directly out of the sun in Wylie.  I found what I was looking for a few hundred feet west of the Jupiter Road crossing in the back of an industrial park near the east end of the Plano siding.  With careful cropping I was able to get the first photo below of the whole train a few minutes later with no real signs that it was taken close to downtown Plano in the midst of urban sprawl.

One more shot of the power a few seconds later and then I photographed each car in the train since I had good side lighting.

Behind the nine business cars came the six special Christmas exhibit cars.

At this point we decided to let the train go as listening to the radio conversations the crowd to tour the train was already gathering in Wylie so we would have had a long wait to see the interior.  Instead we stopped for a late lunch at Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Grill (shameless plug, but the food is terrific!) at Campbell Road and US75 before heading back to Fort Worth with our mission accomplished!

A few minutes later we curved off the UP’s “transcon” onto the Pocatello Subdivsion, and I changed the radio from 2727 to 2020 as per the signs and timetable.

Very quickly we were back up to the 70 mph track speed as we started up the Pocatello Sub.

After this photo I left the Shoshone at the rear of the train and made my way back forward to the dome in the Walter Dean.  As I got there we started up a winding grade towards Kemmerer, Wyoming.

When we got to Kemmerer an eastbound train with a large block of refrigerator cars was in the siding for us.

West of Kemmerer at the 7331-foot siding at Fossil we went through the siding in an overtaking meet with a westbound stack train.

After the overtaking meet we headed downgrade to a valley between the mountain ranges and continued to speed on west over the flat lands.

At Montpelier, Idaho we met an eastbound train.

West of Montpelier the sun started to sink the last few inches to the horizon in front of us.

I waited for the opportunity of one last setting sun shot with the train, and around one curve in particular came the last and best shot of the day.

I put the camera away after that photograph and headed to the City of San Francisco for dinner.  Afterwards I watched signals flash by in the dark as we headed on towards our first stop in Pocatello.  About forty miles outside of town I gave up and went to my room to catch some sleep before our first exhibition day of the trip.

After a 30-minute stop we left town on Track One, the north track.  In the first few miles out of town we met three eastbound trains on Track two, the south track.

The country side grew even more sparse and inhospitable as our speed gradually increased to the 79 mph limit for passenger trains.

As the sun moved to the west in front of our train I took leave from the dome of the Walter Dean and walked back to the rear observation area of the business car Shoshone on the rear end.

As we passed the nine-mile long Chevron Industrial Spur about twenty miles east of Green River, a train could be seen leaving Track Two and heading up the branch line.

The surrounding hills grew taller as we approached Green River, and then we stopped just outside of town while an eastbound train completed a crew change at the depot.  Soon we started moving again and met the eastbound train before making our own stop at the depot.  In a few minutes we were moving again and crossed the town’s name sake, the Green River as we met the head end of another eastbound train and then its DPU.

We met two more eastbound trains dropping down the grade as we climbed up the shelf on the south side of the Green River leaving town on the UP Evanston Sub.

Next time I will cover the rest of our trip to Pocatello, Idaho to finish out July 5th of 2012.