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Ames to Ralston With ISU RR Club members Chad Crawford and Paul P. Waugy Chleboune |
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PHOTO |
NOTES |
| Our trip started out on a very chilly October day. But with all the hot air three ISURR Club members can spout off, we hardly noticed. Because of the words "CNW" being spouted off in radio chatter, we headed toward Boone. Our first catch of the day was the CNW 6847 leading westbound MPRCB. It tied up right on the mainline with a whole bunch of traffic behind it. | |
| The second train behind CNW 6847 west was led by this big CNW AC4400 number 8827. We had to trek a little to grab a shot of her. A crew member shot the bull as he waited, and told us that it had taken all night to get from Clinton to Boone. | |
| It could be argued that the congestion was caused by this crazy guy on the tracks. It was actually the engineer, who decided to "pose" for the shot before I could change my mind about taking the picture!! Also note the headlight close behind the train. | |
| MPRNP was making a big mess of things, hanging over the yard and into the main line. To help things out, the east wayfrieght coupled on to the back to help clear things out. Here is former CNW 4709 switching the back end of PRNP. | |
| UP had a lot of power near the turntable, including this all-SP consist, a UP 'mini-wing' (actually the former CNW 4400) and a couple of CNW patches. | |
| CNW 6847 | We heard CNW 6847 get a crew change, so we decided to get ahead of it. Our first photo spot was at the quaint CNW bridge at Beaver. Here is the train at speed crossing the creek. |
| CHAD, YOU HOLD THE WHEEL! | Of course, Grand Jct. parallels the main line for a bit, so it seemed a perfect opportunity for some "speed" photos of CNW 6847. But I played it safe, and let Chad get the shots from the passenger side. Not too bad, Crawford! |
| Grand Jct. Fields | CNW 6847 passes through this farmstead near Grand Jct. Dry corn fields, a CNW engine and falling leaves show that its autumn in Iowa. |
| "Raccoon" on the Raccoon | At Jefferson, we set up near the Raccoon River bridge to catch CNW 8827on the impressive structure over the valley. In the summer, it's hard to photograph the bridge because of all the trees, but a significant amount of foliage had already fallen, and you can't complain too much about this shot. Someday I'll have to hike it and get a closer shot. |
| CNW 6847 through Autumn foliage | Our next stop was Scranton, where we photographed the CNW 6847 passing by the autumn colors north of the "lost lagoon" The trees are just outstanding! |
| CNW 6847 | One of those successful last second shots of CNW 6847 close up, as it passed under Hwy 25 in Scranton |
| CNW 4190 | Once this close to Scranton, its almost mandatory to get a shot of the GP7 in full CNW livery at Ralston. So here she is, switching some tank cars at West Central's corporate headquarters. |
| CNW 8572 | On the way home, we caught CNW 8572 sitting at the Boone Yard. It came in on a grain train. There are only six of these babies left on the entire system unpatched. |
| More Boone Engines | The wayfreight power pulled into the yard at Boone, making for an even more impressive lashup of power. From left to right, UPY 545, SP 367, UP 408, and CNW 8572 |
| UP 5024 | One of those great October sunsets provides the backdrop to the passing of a brand new UP SD70, #5024 at the Ames depot. This was during one of the prestigious Ames Railroad Club meetings at the depot. That's all for now... next week: Club trip to Mason City. |
| LAST WEEK'S UPDATE | One Lucky Day on the
Mainline Ames to West Marshalltown |
