10/04/2010 I arose at 6:00 AM at the Depot Inn & Suites and after my morning duties, had breakfast then obtained the keys to the van and drove into La Plata, turning right on Missouri Highway 156 then left onto Missouri Route 3 and saw a train approach.
A BNSF eastbound came beneath my location and made its way east into the morning sun. I continued on Missouri Route 3 to US Highway 36 and drove west before turning left on Missouri 139, which took me through Sumner.
There is never a train when you need one, including here at the BNSF bridge across the Grand River. From here I took Route D west and turned left on US Highway 65, taking that into Carrollton.
I was surprised to find Southern caboose X348, built by Gantt Manufacturing the 1970's, in north Carrollton before locating the old Santa Fe station.
The former Santa Fe station in Carrollton built in 1916. Both the town and the county were named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. From here I drove US Highway 65 south across the Missouri River and parked the van before walking out on the bridge.
I did not like this location so drove into Waverly by taking Main Street down to the park, through which the Union Pacific River Line runs. I parked the van facing out to enable a quick escape after the steam train passed.
The Missouri River at Waverly. I walked to my photo location and introduced myself to the other railfans who were there. We all waited about thirty minutes when someone spotted the headlight coming down the tracks.
Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 3985 ran through Waverly. I made my quick escape, being the second car out, and took US Highway 65 to Missouri 240/41, taking that to the bridge over the Union Pacific mainline east of Marshall. Here we learned that a large group of people thought the train was coming along the Kansas City Southern line, so they were not here along the Union Pacific mainline. I met a few more railfans here and soon we saw the train coming again towards us.
Union Pacific 3985 came into Marshall, Missouri, after which a local railfan led me to Indian Foothill Park and there we found Union Pacific 3985.
Union Pacific 3985 being serviced. I returned to Missouri 240/41 and went east on Missouri 41 to Lamine for my next pictures. Again I met several new people, including Steve Mitchell, owner of Yard Goat Images, from whom I had just bought some DVD's last week. Talk about a small world. There were five of us enjoying the very nice day when about five minutes before the train arrived, twenty people, including the Union Pacific Special Agent, arrived.
Union Pacific 3985 ran through Lamine on its way to Jefferson City. I led the way to Interstate 70, on which I sped east on the first Boonville exit, and took Business 70 in Boonville, turned left on US Highway 40 to Water Street and parked off a driveway before running out onto the US 40 bridge. The former Missouri-Kansas-Texas bridge over the Missouri River would the background.
Union Pacific 3985 gave us a smokey run through Boonville.
After the train passed, I walked further north out onto the bridge for another picture of the railroad bridge then back at the van, I went west on Water Street to High Street, on which I turned right and found what I was looking for.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Boonville station with a Missouri-Kansax-Texas caboose in front.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas caboose 134 built by International Car in 1969. This caboose was on the last train that came through Boonville.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Boonville station built in 1912, the last station built of five in the Spanish mission style and is the last one standing.
One more view of the station. From here I returned to Interstate 70, taking it east to Columbia, where I found the KFC but no signs of the Columbia Terminal Railroad. I then took US Highway 63 north La Plata, where I stopped to show Bob Cox my pictures before I filled the van with petrol and returned it to the Depot Inn & Suites. Later, I had a Porterhouse steak at the Red Rooster then relaxed the rest of the evening.
10/5/2010 I was up at 7:45 AM and went to the lobby for breakfast then acquired the keys to the golf cart and took it down to the Amtrak station.
The former Santa Fe, now Amtrak, station in La Plata, built in 1945.
There are four new Santa Fe emblems on the building. I then drove the golf cart to the southern part of the Trainparty.com building and parked then climbed up onto the former Wabash south bridge abutment.
The Chris Guenzler Million Mile Lookout Point sits across the BNSF mainline from my location. After I adjusted the tree branches for a port hole to see the tracks through the leaves, I was ready for a westbound.
BNSF 7276 West with a Norfolk Southern locomotive in its consist came by. I went back to the golf cart and saw a car at the Trainparty building so parked north of it and went inside to see if they had a ladder, which they did. I took it outside and went behind the building where I lined it up with the ladder on the tower that would take me up to the first platform. I climbed up very carefully and once there, sat down below the line of sight of the Trainweb webcams that are there. I would now wait for some trains and Bob Cox was helpful with train locations during this time.
The first train was Union Pacific 7405 West, a stack train with DPU 7754 on the rear.
The pile of spikes was much shorter from Sunday's work.
My view of La Plata from way up here.
Next, BNSF 7557 West went through.
Union Pacific 7684 West came through with DPU 8481.
It iss a long way down!
Next came BNSF 7560 West with DPU's 7292 and 7416.
An Amish buggy crossing the BNSF mainline.
Amtrak's Southwest Chief this morning had Chicago, Burlington and Quincy California Zephyr "Silver Solurium" on the rear. I climbed cafefully down, returned the ladder then visited with Shivam before driving over to Amtrak and thanked Bob Cox for his help with my little project. I returned to the Depot Inn & Suites and relaxed the rest of the afternoon then at 5:15 PM, the Cox family and I went to Ruby Tuesday in Kirksville where I had a ribeye steak. Back at the hotel, I took one last sauna tub bath, packed and at 7:45 PM, Brock drove me down to the station to wait for the start of my trip home.
Southwest Chief 3 10/5/2010The train arrived at La Plata much too fast and my sleeper was four cars off the platform. The Assistant Conductor wanted me to walk through the train and I refused since I had hurt my back the last time that was requested of me. I walked down the ballast to my sleeping car, where Michael had the step box down from me. He led me to Room 10 for my trip west and we departed with P42DCs 144 and 114, baggage 1234, transition 39032, sleepers 32025 and 32019, diner 38028, lounge 33029 with coaches 34078, 34048 and 31002. I walked the train and found Richard Talmy, a former Pacific Parlour Car attendant who was now working in the dining car, and showed him my Union Pacific 3985 pictures after he had commented on seeing it yesterday in Kansas City. I tried my new CD player which worked very well and then made up my room and called it a night.
10/06/2010 After bouncing all the way across most of Kansas last night, I arose for a pre-dawn breakfast, having French Toast and bacon while seated with two very nice ladies going from Michigan to Paso Robles. After I put the room back together, I listened to my first CD of the day, "Odyssey West". Our train met a BNSF freight just east of the Lamar station and after changing my clothes, listened to my "Two Rivers Junction " CD as the train made its way into La Junta, our first fresh air stop of the day. We departed there at 8:49 AM {8:30 AM} and proceeded to Trinidad. Since it was autumn, my next musical choice was Jethro Tull "Roots to Branches" then his "Songs from the Wood", which took me to Trinidad and beyond.
We went through Raton Tunnel then descended to Raton for another fresh air break, leaving there where I put on my Chicago "If You Leave Me Now!" CD as we headed to Las Vegas. Michael stopped by to tell me a rare tornado derailed cars on a freight train but Train 4 did get by. I had lunch at noon with a couple and a lady from Indiana, enjoying the Angus burger then returned to my room and relaxed before going to the lounge but the cafe attendant closed without making an announcement. I called Julie and learned that the eastbound was expected to arrive at Albuquerque at 1:40 PM, or 1 hour and 18 minutes late. We stopped at Las Vegas before continuing to Lamy, at which time I called dear friend Carole Walker of Bella Vista Travel and asked her to check the Trainorders.com Western Board, where she found a post mentioning that around 5:30 AM, 20-25 cars were on the ground. There were 37 BNSF freight crews who were dying on the law and the tracks were expected to be re-opened by midnight. I learned later that there were four tornados which hit Belmont, Arizona, and the second one detrailed the stack train.
We climbed up and over Glorieta Pass and dropped down through Apache Canyon to Lamy, arriving there early. Conductor Nancy Wolfe stopped by my room to tell me they would be bussing passengers from Winslow all the way to Los Angeles, and I asked her to find me a room on tomorrow's train. She returned my tickets with my new room and car number handwritten on it. I asked if I had to see the station agent and she said I would just have to walk aboard the sleeper tomorrow. Conductor Nancy Wolfe is one exceptional Amtrak employee, and she proved it to me once again. I had called Randy and Marie Jackson to let them know what was happening, and called them back to let them know that I would be staying with them, so I was now set. I left a message at home, telling my mother of the new plan. We went by the eastbound Southwest Chief near Sandria before we arriving at Albuquerque, where I detrained for 24 hours.
Albuquerque 10/6/2010Randy and Marie picked me up and we went to the Texas Roundhouse for dinner then drove near the Balloon Festival but the balloons were grounded due to high winds so drove north on a road along the railroad tracks, saw a green signal with a headlight approaching from behind. Randy stopped and I set up for pictures.
New Mexico Railrunner Train 522 on its way to Santa Fe. We made our way to their home in Rio Rancho and I checked the Internet before watching a few episodes of "NCIS" and called it a night.
10/7/2010 Sleeping in late, my first duty was to check the Internet before buying a Railrunner Day Pass. Randy and I had a nice visit over breakfast and watched the Weather Channel to see the extent of the damage at Belmont, Arizona by the four different tornados, then watched ESPN Sports Center. We went down the hill to get petrol at Sam's Club then over to Jason's Deli for an early lunch before Randy and Marie took me to the US 550/Sandoval Railrunner station and dropped me off. A big thank you to both of them for taking care of me during my unexepcted visit. Now I waited for Railrunner Train 509 to arrive.
The train came in twelve minutes late and I was off for Belen. As I had already written about this service, I would just relax. We passed the on-time backwards Southwest Chief with the baggage car on the rear as we neared downtown Albuquerque, which was the same train I had been on yesterday. I then read Xpress Magazine as we continued on to Belen.
The Los Lunes Santa Fe station is in Daniel Fernandez Memorial Park in Los Lunes. I detrained at Belen and stretched my legs for a few minutes before reboarding Train 514 for my relaxing return trip, during which I recharged my mobile phone as we went north. Once back in Albuquerque, I bought a Coca-Cola and relaxed on the platform in the shade for my train for home and saw my Sleeping Car Attendant, Michael, who would be deadheading home.
Railrunner 516 for Santa Fe came out to its boarding location to load the passengers.
