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St. Paul to Omaha |
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PHOTO |
NOTES |
| The trip back home would start out with speculation of seeing a C44-9 led MITDA. I hung out around St. Paul for its arrival, only to find that the engine had been swapped with what was scheduled to be the second engine. I ended up having to settle for this shot instead. | |
| On our way to deliver an EOT to the CP for the new AHAKS auto train (which was really going to be called "ASSKS" but you can see the problems with that) I noticed this Erie Mining Alco at the CP shops. | |
| In Park Yard, this boarded up CNW caboose waits for something to happen | |
| Just when I was going to leave, we heard on the phone that there had been a "derailment" at Western Avenue yard. Luckily when I arrived, I found out it was a minor derailment. Snow just packed in the switch, causing the points not to join together, which led the wheels of the tank car right into the ground. | |
| The trip to Omaha would be delayed until after dark for this, so our trip begins north of Des Moines on Saturday morning. Spine traffic is heavy, with four southbounds between Cambridge and Des Moines. The second, stuck in the same block with EADM, was the new "hot" auto train, led by CP 5776. | |
| Auto Train | Before the auto train started, CP power south of St. Paul was pretty rare, so I decided to chase the train down to Guthrie for a last shot. |
| CNW 8817 | Later that afternoon, it was on to Council Bluffs. On the way, I would catch CNW 8817 leading an eastbound coal train. It was pretty dark and cloudy, so my shot of the oncoming train didn't come out. Here's the passing photo. |
| GTW 5813 | In Omaha, we managed to get out and drive around a little after the big test. At the IC yard, GTW 5813 switched. This ends the curse of all of my GTW photos not coming out! |
| IAIS 801 | Council Bluffs is a spaghetti bowl of tracks coming in and out of the former UP yard, where the CNW, Milwaukee Road, and Rock Island all competed for UP's Chicago traffic. Today, the UP operates the CNW, the IAIS operates the RI, and BNSF operates the Milwaukee (but only to Bayard) At the IAIS yard, we asked for permission to go in and photograph their two wide-cab alcos, #801 and 802. Here, the last rays of sun shine on 801. |
| IAIS 802 | Not to be left out, 802 also found my camera lens. Too bad it was getting so dark! |
| CNW 8810 | On the way home Friday, I was greeted with yet another CNW engine, this time CNW 8810. Here it is waiting for an intermodal to crossover to continue movement. |
| CNW 8810 | With the sun setting fast, I decided to chase the engine until dark. Here I am, one arm on the wheel, one on the camera, pacing the lone unit on the DPU train. |
| CNW 8810 | Here, CNW 8810 passes by a pair of signals in the western Iowa CTC territory. |
| Boyer River | My final shot of 8810 comes at the Boyer River bridge. Of course! Darkness fell quickly after this shot, and it was time to get back to Ames. |
| DME 3800 | Signs of the REAL IC&E: A blue and yellow DM&E GeeP switches the ICE yard at Mason City. Here it is passing the old Milwaukee depot. |
| DME 3800 | Here's another shot of it in Mason City. |
| KCS 2015 | I smell a merger... This was one of two KCS engines idling at the ICE shops in Mason City. What a nice couple of merger partners these two would make... Email me if you'd like to see a shot of the other KCS engine at Mason. |
| Bonus! Mills and Boone leftovers | |
| CNW 8819 | CNW 8819 was getting ready to latch on to a coal train on my last trip over to Boone. Non-UP consists are still nice to catch every now and then. |
| UP 3077 | Unfortunately, its about time to update the patch section. CNW 6914, one of the only SY units left, has become UP 3077. But the paint still looks nice at least. |
| Mills, IA | There's something about the old Mills diamond where the old IC crossed the Rock Island. |
| UP 1078 | On an old CNW branchline west of Iowa Falls, a lone UP engine trundles toward town with a cut of cars. |
| LAST UPDATE | Chasing Soo and Rio Grande Engines in St. Paul |
