Part of the fun and excitement of our Sesquicentennial project was the possibility that for every train each of us saw
and photographed, there would be others out there seeing and photographing the same trains at different locations and
at different times of the day. Here,
we present a collection of photos of the same trains photographed in two or more locations by two or more persons on the
weekend of September 6 and 7, 2003.
Please click any of the following photos to see a larger image.
BNSF M-HOUTPL from Galveston to Cameron
Jimmy Barlow photographed train M-HOUTPL (Houston - Temple manifest freight) at Rosenberg early on the afternoon of
September 7. The train had travelled over a hundred miles by the time Leonard Ruback documented it
in Milano, and then Stephen Foyt caught it seven miles further up the road at Hoyte and chased it to Cameron.
Its presence was even documented on
a computer screen in BNSF's dispatching center in Fort Worth, which displayed the CTC territory of BNSF's Galveston
Sub dispatcher.
UP rock train RBRHT : Milano and Rockdale
Leonard Ruback and Stephen Foyt also tag-teamed on UP rock train RBRHT (Bryan - Hunter), photographing it about 10
miles apart on the UP Austin Subdivision at Milano and Rockdale. Neither were lucky enough to catch the train with the lead
locomotive's door closed.
Amtrak # 2 from Houston to Orange
Amtrak train # 2, the eastbound Sunset Limited , arrived in the Houston area a little before noon on
Sunday, September 7. Howard Laker photographed it just east of Stafford in Missouri City, and Bryan Flint was waiting
at Eureka Jct as the train got closer to Houston. After its Houston station stop, Bryan followed the train
east, photographing it crossing the San Jacinto River between Sheldon and Crosby. Finally, Jeff Steen was on the
scene in Orange when # 2 approached the Texas-Louisiana state line.
UP's Sheldon Switcher in Sheldon
After chasing Amtrak # 2 from Houston to Sheldon, Bryan Flint photographed UP's Sheldon switcher idling in
Sheldon shortly after 1 p.m. Later in the afternoon, Union Pacific conductor Doug Wooten -- working from
Beaumont to Houston on train MLIEW (Livonia, LA - Houston's Englewood Yard) -- photographed his own train next to
the Sheldon switcher as his train waited for a signal to continue west.
MTEAPTR - two locations in Houston
Bob King photographed BNSF train M-TEAPTR (Teague - Houston-PTRA) near Casey Yard
northwest of Houston at 3:28 p.m. Later in the day, Jimmy Barlow photographed the TEAPTR's
power after the crew had yarded their train at PTRA's North Yard.
UP's SHOGY in Spring and Millican
Union Pacific's SHOGY, also known as "The Windmill Train ", turned a few heads and generated numerous
sighting reports as it headed northwest out of Houston on September 7, carrying components for large wind turbines
destined for Wyoming. Stephen Foster photographed it passing through Spring, while Ken Whitehead --
stationed further up the
road -- caught it in Millican (between Navasota and Bryan).
UP's ZMQLA in Fort Worth and Abilene
Union Pacific's ZMQLA, running against several eastbounds on the Union Pacific Baird Subdivision, took a real
pounding in getting over the road from Fort Worth to Sweetwater. Wes Carr photographed the train passing through
Fort Worth's Centennial Yard at 7:29 am, but seven hours later, the train had only made it as far west as Abilene, where
Ken Fitzgerald photographed it at 2:35 pm.
KCS military train: from North Texas to the Panhandle on BNSF
On Saturday, September 6, Joshua Chlapek photographed a KCS military train north of Fort Worth
at Krum on the BNSF Fort Worth Subdivision. The train had originated on KCS trackage and was destined to a
military facility in the Pacific Northwest, via BNSF trackage.
By Sunday afternoon, the train -- still powered by
two KCS diesels -- had travelled over 450 miles and had made it to the Texas Panhandle,
where Len Kratz
(visiting the area from Arizona) spent part of the day documenting rail operations.
Len photographed the train on
the BNSF Dalhart Subdivision at Guy (between Dalhart and Texline), 18 miles
east of the Texas-New Mexico state line.
BNSF dispatcher Wes Carr,
at work Sunday afternoon on the BNSF Amarillo desk (whose territory includes
the Dalhart Sub), photographed his CTWC
(Computerized Track Warrant Control) screen, which indicates that the train
(identified by its lead locomotive, KCS 647)
was running on track warrant authority from
milepost 370 to Texline, and that the crew had reported their train "all
clear" of milepost 414.
