Out east of Kansas City about 20 miles or so, there's a small town called
Henrietta. You can be standing next to the rails
while a BNSF freight train blasts by at almost 80 miles an hour. Advice: Don't stand that close to the rails.
Gravel leaking from a hopper traveling at that speed can cause serious injuries.
Never mind what could happen should something really go wrong...
The picture of BN 8080 was shot as the locomotive went
by at that speed. The two black & white photos were also taken at Henrietta.
The next two rows were taken in the KCS yard in Kansas City. BNSF travels through the yard on a fairly
regular basis.
The lone picture on row 4 was shot with a digital camera on our most recent run to Henrietta. Given the
way that picture (and the others we took) came out, I'm seriously considering abandoning 35mm film altogether.
Like the Union Pacific, BNSF has a good sized facility in Fort Worth, Texas also.
These pictures were taken just as the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe merger was in its final stages. During that time, the budding BNSF railroad
police were following the rules to the letter. Railfanning in the yard was out. But a few good pictures were still to be had if you knew where the
property line was. In all fairness to the railroad police, they were never anything but polite if someone got overzealous chasing a photo.
For the cabs and other close up shots, a zoom lens became the photographers best friend.
