That thunderhead was really building.
The first semaphore signal on the line.
Semaphore signals at Colmer.
Wagon Mound.
Three views looking back.
Shoemaker siding in Shoemaker Canyon.
The canyon itself.
Semaphore signals.
Shoemaker Canyon.
Semaphore signals here.
Stable foundations at Fort Union.
Semaphore signals at Watrous. A few miles to the west, we slowed for the first washout area.
The trip through the first washout zone, the smaller of the two.
The train passed the east switch at Onava and I returned to my room for a few minutes as we made the station stop at Las Vegas, after which, I returned to the rear door.
One big thunderhead.
Semaphore signals.
Semaphore signals at Ojita.
Three more sets of semaphore signals.
A view looking back. The train stopped to wait for men and equipment to clear the tracks.
Semaphore signals at Chappelle. We would now enter the major washout zone which we ran through at restricted speed.
The repairs still underway.
This set of semaphore signals was in the middle.
Two cases of "Watching me, Watching you" as BNSF employees photographed our train as I photographed them in the scene.
The rest of the trip through the major washout zone as repairs had been made which allowed us to pass. That ended at the siding at Blanchard and we resumed speed.
The BNSF equipment was ready to resume work. The train took the "S" curve and crossed the Pecos River then we climbed up and over Glorieta Pass and down through Apache Canyon into Lamy, where a BNSF ballast train was waiting. From here, we proceeded to Albuquerque at a slower-than-normal speed as we were waiting on a New Mexico Railrunner train to Santa Fe which we met at Domingo. After a second meet with another one of their trains, we arrived at Albuquerque and I accessed the Internet using Herozdata to upload the pictures and story so far so Winston could start proofing. We departed at 6:55 PM {4:55 PM} with me in the dining car, seated with three other passengers. There was no bottled water so I had to go back to my room to get some. In addition, there was no bacon at lunch and they were out of all desserts except ice cream but I enjoyed another excellent steak and the vanilla ice cream.
I left the diner after we crossed the Rio Grande River and caught up the story by Dalies then had a shower before watching my "Poison Live" DVD which took me west towards Gallup. The DVD finished so I made up my room and called it a night. Tomorrow I will be home sweet home!
7/3/2010 I was awakened by loud talking just before Victorville and after preparing myself for the day, I enjoyed a Big Texas Cinnamon Roll and orange juice as the train rolled through the Upper Victorville Narrows. Conductor Dave Arthur stopped by for a visit as we climbed the east flank of Cajon Pass. There appeared to be fog on the west side of the pass as we arrived at Summit in bright sunshine. The train dropped down the south track through the fog bank then popped back into the sunshine. But near Cajon, we went back under the clouds as there was a BNSF stack train coming down Track 2 above Sullivans Curve. The fog continued through Blu Cut before we emerged into the sunshine and back into the fog just before our San Bernardino station and fresh air break stop. From here we ran to Riverside and on to Fullerton, then the final sprint into Los Angeles, arriving there at 9:28 AM {8:15 AM}, ending another great Southwest Chief trip.
Surfliner 768 7/3/2010I boarded the train home to Santa Ana and after it departed, I called Let's Talk Trains, the Internet radio show, as I usually do on a Saturday morning. We stopped at Fullerton and Anaheim before I detrained at Santa Ana, ending a fantastic trip of many new rides, the NRHS convention, West Virginia Rails 2010 and many more railroad items. Moreover, I was lucky to be on that first train through the washout area that had caused bussing from Albuquerque to Raton. It was good to be home! I was picked up and was very happy when we arrived at the house, ending this most wonderful Amtrak adventure.
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