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McCloud Rails : Riding a Lookout Job
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Photo Essay by Roger Titus Page 2 |
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Two miles from Lookout
Junction the #38 passes Easter Curve, so named in honor of a derailment clean-up that the
railroad was forced to do over Easter Weekend a few years ago.
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The #38 passes the section sheds and junk piles
as the train arrives in Lookout Junction.
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A southbound BNSF freight racing down the mainline appears as the #38 pulls up past the yard lead switch.
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Once the train cleared the yard lead, the switch is thrown and the #38 backed the outbound train into
the set-out track. The seven cars in today's train are tied down, and the #38 is then cut off and switched
to the yard tracks to begin assembling the inbound train.
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The inbound cars are pulled forward out of the yard. A northbound BNSF train waits in the siding for
clearance to get back out onto the mainline.
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Another shot of the McCloud and BNSF freights posed side by side.
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Today's inbound train consists of two empty MR centerbeams and one empty gondola. The centerbeams will
be delivered to the Sierra Pacific Industries sawmill in Burney, while the gondola will be held in
McCloud to be loaded with the remains of wreck damaged woodchip hoppers cut up for scrap. The gondola
was spotted behind the two centerbeams, and the crew elected to switch the gondola so that it would be
ahead of the centerbeams. The centerbeams have been spotted on the inbound portion of the loop, and the
#38 is coupling onto the gondola.
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The inbound train is assembled and is ready to depart for the return trip to McCloud.
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The #38 pauses one last time to align the balloon track switch.
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The engineer on this trip was Michael Zetocha, who is seen here on the return trip to McCloud.
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