On October 9, GoRail and KBT, together with KBT Member R.J. Corman, participated in a “cracker barrel session” about the economic benefits of freight rail at the Kentucky League of Cities annual conference in Louisville at the Galt House Hotel and Convention Center.
More than 25 years ago, ground was broken on a 1,300-acre tract of farmland in Scott County. The spot is now home to KBT Member Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), Toyota’s largest manufacturing facility outside of Japan, with nearly 7,000 employees. The location of TMMK has helped shape Kentucky’s automotive industry landscape into the powerhouse that it is today. Scott County was chosen because of its access to freight rail. In addition, Toyota has about 100 automotive suppliers in Kentucky alone, which employ over 9,600 workers dedicated to producing parts for Toyota vehicles.
Toyota continues to expand this facility, creating even more new jobs in Kentucky. In 2013, TMMK announced a significant upgrade at the facility with plans to invest $530 million and create 750 new jobs. This is just one example how freight rail helps create jobs in Kentucky, a state that is fortunate to have 2,600 miles of freight rail lines moving everything from cars to coal.
America’s privately owned freight railroads have invested more than $550 billion of their own funds – not taxpayer dollars – back into the rail network since 1980, including $26 billion this year alone. These infusions of private capital have made the US rail system the safest, most productive and efficient freight rail network in the world.
GoRail helps spread the word about the importance of a strong and growing freight rail system to the broader economy and to businesses and communities large and small in Kentucky and nationwide.
With freight volumes continuing to rise as the economy picks up steam, rail will have an event larger role to play, including accommodating growth in Kentucky’s automotive industry, safely delivering energy supplies and continuing to support economic growth in the Commonwealth.
Union Pacific’s “Pink Ribbon” locmootive, #7400, sits at West Colton Yard waiting for its next assignment on November 4, 2014. – Matt Gentry
A welcome set of foreign power heads west towards Los Angeles as NS #8830 Standard Cab makes its way around West Colton Yard. – Matt Gentry
A different view of a power move at West Colton Yard. UP is lucky I left my chainsaw in Indiana for that pole would come down in the cover of darkness! – Matt Gentry
And welcome to November, 2014….traditionally our elections of officers month. Steve Miller kindly nominated Yours Truly for Chapter President, which caught me off guard. I accepted with reservations. I served as Chapter President for three years and enjoyed it very much. I was, however, relieved when Tom Johnson accepted the nomination last year. Not wanting to act in haste I as said, accepted. Now having had a few weeks to give it some thought, I withdraw my acceptance.
Last September, while enjoying the Chapter Pic-Nic in Crofton, I went to Bill Farrell with the idea that he accepts a nomination for Chapter President. He was very receptive to the idea and as I have learned, he has some great ideas. And I like change once in a while, thinking said change is productive.
So, I humbly ask the Chapter Membership accept my withdrawal from the Chapter Presidential Race! And, let us all grow our Chapter.
Rick Bivins
This video was shot in April and May of 2014 and covers 200 miles of the Seligman Sub of the BNSF mainline. We travel eastward from Needles, CA, to Williams Junction, AZ.
A very good three dimensional map is included near the beginning of the video so that the viewer gets a clear picture of the route he will travel and the topography that will be encountered along the way. The low point on the Seligman is 456’ above sea level at the east end of Topock, just east of the Colorado River which is the boundary between California and Arizona. The right of way reaches to 7300’ above sea level just west of Flagstaff but our tour stops short of that in Part 1.
We are treated to some triple track action at Needles with a train on each track.
The wide screen format, excellent image quality, beautiful desert scenery, and good train action make this a very good video.
Chapter member Gary Ostlund, Gorham resident Chuck Cason, and Chapter members Rick Bivins and Steve Miller pose for a photo on what appears to have been a beautiful day of railfanning at Gorham Il.
– submitted by Gary Ostlund
A northbound autorack train with a form SP locomotive pass through Gorham Il. – Rick Bivins
A southbound train led by CN #8854 with what appears to be an ex UP GP-38 have just crossed the Big Muddy River bridge. – Rick Bivins
A northbound train with Ferromex locomotives lead an autorack train just north of Thebes Il. – Rick Bivins
A shot of a small locomotive rebuilding facility on Nash Rd. just south of Cape Girardeau. This is “Port Authority” property near the river. Several ex-P&L Geeps and a few high hood locomotives were seen on the property. – Rick Bivins
Union Pacific train KLBNS 21 (Priority Intermodal; Long Beach CA – Shreveport LA) passes by the Amtrak station in western Palm Springs, California, hidden away among the trees alongside the sand-covered track on the left. UP SD70ACe 8754 is leading AC4400CW 6526 and ES44AC 8013 as the train threads its way through the hundreds of wind turbines that dot San Gorgonio Pass. Once in Shreveport, this train is handed off to the Norfolk Southern to continue on to Atlanta, Georgia. (Photos by Matt Gentry)
It wasn’t too long after I arrived in California and became acquainted with the local railfan community that I began wondering when, and if, any railfan trips would happen like I began to enjoy so much back in the Midwest. The trips to Gorham, IL., Princeton, IN., and handfuls of other places really became something I looked forward to doing with fellow Chapter members. So you can believe I was curious if it would be the same out here.
Well, it took a little time and getting to know some of these people better, but it finally happened. A co-worker, Craig, asked if I wanted to join him and a friend/railfan/photographer to make a trip east to Colton Yard, San Bernardino, San Timoteo and Beaumont Pass. In my mind, I was asking if he really had to ask, but decided a simple “yes” would be a better answer.
At first, I was rather curious as to why Craig decided to go railfanning on a Sunday of all days. My experience with Sunday train watching is a lot of sitting and waiting with not many trains. But I was quickly reminded that this is Southern California; trains originate all day, every day.
Our first stop was at the Pepper St. over pass on the East end of UP’s West Colton Yard. This was mostly to see if anything interesting was originating and heading east that we could catch going through Beaumont Pass. This stop also provided to be a little bit of a downer. Reason why is because there was a very heavy marine layer that moved in off the Pacific overnight and didn’t appear to be moving out anytime soon. Cloud cover? In Southern California? Yes, I was just as shocked as you!
So, after two westbound trains passed under Pepper St., we finally saw an originating train leaving the yard to head east. The best part was it had an oddball locomotive in consist, a GMTX GP38-2 from GATX locomotive leasing. This gave reason to head east without further question. As I mentioned in my last article, foreign power is a rarity in this part of California so the railfans give chase to anything out of the ordinary. (Head north to Mojave and Tehachapi and you can see foreign power all day long…)
We went to the furthest point east that we would reach all day which was Palm Springs, at the foot of San Gorgonio Pass. What I couldn’t get over was the sheer amount of wind that was blowing through this area. Definitely not a spot for shooting video without expensive sound equipment to prevent the sound of the wind on the footage.
UP SD70ACe leads a stack train west towards Los Angeles CA with a shockingly clean SD70M #3904 and ES44AC #7726 in tow.
We knew that we were ahead of the GMTX locomotive, but still knew that this was a good spot to wait for any train. Since Craig and our fellow railfan, Charles, are skilled photographers, they were very conscious of the suns position throughout the day. This spot proved to be a little tricky, but I feel the photo turned out well. But once again, I am happy with a lot less in my photography. I’m sure time around these guys will make me become a lot harder on my shots.
Due to the wind, and not having a safe place to shoot photos from, we headed west back towards Beaumont. On the way, we noticed that a rock train had left the quarry in Cabazon, so we headed in to Beaumont to look for a spot in which the sun, getting higher all the time, might be half-way decent. We finally found a spot at Hinda, in western Beaumont, which has a fairly new highway overpass. This spot proves that if I continue to do this, I need to invest in a different camera. But the shots turned out ok.
After lunch, we continued west to an area called Redlands. This was my favorite spot of the whole day. Double track main line (in this area anyway), brilliantly clear skies, and being in the middle of an orange grove was really pretty cool. The only down side was that we must have hit a lull in UP traffic as there weren’t too many trains. But, we waited around for a bit and managed to catch a few. I must say that I will be frequenting this area a lot I think.
After we caught a few trains through Redlands, we got word that a brand new UP GEVO would be rolling into Colton Yard before too long. New power is treated the same as foreign power or even Heritage units out here, so we quickly made our way back in hopes to watch it come down the cut off from Cajon Pass and into the yard.
We stuck around and chatted with a few other railfans that Craig and Charles know, watched a few more trains, and decided it was time to call it a day. It was 4:30 pm by this point and since Craig and I left Orange CA at 6am, we were starting to get tired. So as we are going to drop Charles off, we notice a train heading west towards Colton Yard, thinking its just another stack train. But no! As luck would have it, this was a train carrying nothing but wind turbine components! We quickly turned around to go back to the Pepper Street overpass, but as soon as we get there, this train takes the cut off to make its way towards Cajon Pass. So back in the car we go to give chase.
GMTX #2110 helps lead a train east out of UP’s Colton Yard.
By this time, light was becoming a larg factor. The sun was setting and shadows were being cast giving us less than optimal conditions. Luckily Craig knew a few places that would yield some shots.
After we got these, I made the suggestion we head up Cajon Blvd and try to catch it one last time before we lost all daylight. Plus, there would be a chance to see BNSF trains making their way up and down Cajon Blvd, so it wouldn’t be all for nothing. Honestly, it was kind of nice seeing some BNSF as compared to nothing but Armour Yellow all day!
After hanging out at the top of Cajon Blvd while the windmill train waited on a few south/west bound trains, the sun had tucked in behind the mountains and any opportunities were lost to get it in good light. So we headed back down towards San Bernardino. But, lo and behold there were two unique locomotives at a grain elevator along the highway. Two BNSF PR30C locomotives. I had never heard of these before, and honestly, I think they are really neat looking locomotives.
The small story behind these locomotives is that EMD was so confident that UP would end up buying these units that they painted the demonstrators in UP colors just short of having them lettered for UP. But, you guessed it, UP didn’t buy them! BNSF actually bought a few, including the two that are in UP colors, which are the two we saw. They have four or six more in BNSF paint.
With the sun having completely set, it was finally time to end our day and head back to the city. I for one am very happy I went, plus I learned a fair amount for the next time I go out to shoot photos. All in all, a great day and I can’t wait to do it again and to go to new locations!
The rock train that had just left the quarry in Cabazon. This was pretty neat to see. This train is ran with power on each end signifying that it is ran point to point with no area to turn engines around. I was particularly happy to see it as it reminded me of the coal trains that run up into Yankeetown with NS power on them; one locomotive at each end.
BNSF #7533 leads its train down grade to Bakersfield as it heads around the Tehachapi Loop. Since the train is not heading to LA, this train has more than Tier 4 ES44 locomotives!
UP #6495 brings up the rear of the wind turbine component train as it heads up the Palmdale Cutoff towards Cajon Pass.
Even though only two of the three trains are moving, this shot gives the illusion of a bit more chaos than is actually taking place as the UP train from Roseville continues down the Palmdale Cutoff, passing the wind turbine train, with a BNSF stack train heading towards San Bernardino.
As the sun sets behind the San Gabriel Mountains, this is the last decent shot of a long but fantastic day of railfanning.
UP SD60M #2442 passes the rear of its train as it comes off the balloon track to head west towards Los Angeles. Remember, everything leaving Colton Yard starts off going east!
Another busy shot from early in the day when an eastbound stack train prepares meet a westbound manifest with a ballast train that sits silently at Colton Yard.
One of my better shots of the day, and my favorite location of the whole day, UP #7514 leads its train west towards Colton Yard as it passes through Redlands, CA. with orange groves on either side of the tracks.
Although similar to the above photo, I wanted to share this photo as you can see on the first car behind the locomotives, this train has an ArroWedge container. I assume this is all in the name of aerodynamics and attempted fuel savings.
SD40T-2 WRIX #2940 sits cold at a grain elevator on the east side of Cajon Blvd. I still can’t believe this locmotive is a cean as it is!
GMTX #2110 helps lead a train east out of UP’s Colton Yard.
BNSF #6716 makes its way up from San Bernardino as it begins to battle Cajon Pass. this was one of the many BNSF trains that passed while we waited for the UP train to clear the Palmdale Cutoff to allow the wind turbine train to proceed. Unfortunately, the sun set behind the San Gabriel Mountains before the wind turbine train set out.
BNSF PR30C #1323 along with #1322 await orders to take a cut of grain cars back into San Bernardino and possibly points east. These are the two PR30Cs that were originally delivered to UP that UP did not want. BNSF purchased the units and simply applied decals to the Armour Yellow paint.
NS “Southern” Heritage Unit on train #168 is departing the West End of the siding in the Golden Hour of Light at Golden Gate , Illinois on 21 Sept 2014. – Bill Grady
This is one of my favorite DVDs in my collection of over 150 RR videos. I admit to being biased by my affection for the Denver & Rio Grande Western RR and for the beauty along the route from Denver to Salt Lake City. I rode that route in 1960 on the California Zephyr when I was just eleven years old. That experience left impressions on me that remain to this day. Also covered in this video are the routes from Denver to Pueblo and from Minturn over the Tennessee Pass to Pueblo.
The filming took place in 1986 while the Denver & Rio Grande Western was still an independent railroad and the freight trains were pulled by locomotives proudly wearing the D&RGW badging.
We see the Amtrak California Zephyr climb the grade up the Front Range of the Rockies and then watch a freight train pass though the six mile long Moffat Tunnel at the Continental Divide.
Next up is a cab ride through Gore Canyon, a narrow, rugged canyon with the Colorado River white water rapids running through it. The scenery in Gore Canyon is spectacular.
The chapter devoted to the route from Minturn eastward to Pueblo contains some exciting railroad action against the backdrop of golden aspen leaves shining in the sun on the mountain slopes. Helper locomotives are added to trains at Minturn before they tackle the grade to Tennessee Pass.
There is no mention of helpers until they are cut loose at the summit of Tennessee Pass and sent back down to Minturn. One of the shortcomings of this video is the shortage of narration. We are told very little about the trains we are viewing as far as their origin, their cargo, their destination, or the types of locomotives being used.
It was disappointing how few scenes from Royal Gorge were included in the video. The trains on the Minturn to Pueblo route had to pass through Royal Gorge before arriving at Pueblo fifty miles to the east of the gorge.
There was no use of maps in this video and that is inexcusable. They show diagrams of the routes but they are only lines with dots on either end with the names of the locations printed next to them, no map features at all, not even the outline of the state boundary. If the viewer didn’t know beforehand that the subject matter was in Colorado, he would never know it from the video.
Despite the mentioned short comings, I still say this is one of my favorites. As good as it is, it could have been much better, though.
