Five extra private charter cars on Amtrak #4, 21SEP19, at Floyd, Missouri:
Southern Pacific roomette/sleeper, Baltimore & Ohio MOONLIGHT DOME, Iowa Pacific/SLRG CARITAS,
Northern Sky Charters NORTHERN SKY, Seaboard Air Line dome/observation HOLLYWOOD BEACH.

Another perspective on Amtrak, with BNSF power heading the opposite direction.

@Maersk.146 Nice shot

@jmadhavadas Thanks!

BNSF train symbol H-GALKCK-9 moves west through pouring rain. The Galesburg, Illinois
to Kansas City, Kansas general freight symbol is pronounced "Gal Kick" by employees.

Santa Fe caboose on the Topeka-St Joseph turn. 1986

Santa Fe bridge at Sibley, from south side looking NNE. 1985

Newly rebuilt GP25 (from ATSF GP50), has PTC gear in extended "eyebrow", with new PTC antennae on cab roof.

This view of the NS Grand River Bridge near Brunswick, Missouri,
shows with red X's the spans which were lost in the October 1, 2019,
flood event. See my photo in Spots for a more current view of the damage.

As of 20 OCT 19, NS bridge repairs include two new four-leg steel pilings in the main channel
and a multi-leg set at the east end. Not evident yet are the type of spans which will be used.

BNSF freights east of Bosworth, MO, 20OCT19

@Maersk.146 Nice clicks !!!

@jmadhavadas Many thanks!

BNSF doublestack train at Fleming, Missouri, 26OCT19

Leftover foggy scenes from last week:

EMDX 7212, an SD70ACe-T4 demonstrator, sits in a horrible
but well-lit position at KCS Knoche Yard in Kansas City, MO

NS completed work and reopened the Grand River bridge on 28 OCT 19, employing used spans of
varying lengths, including one that is even deeper than the original. That should work well
during the next flood!

@Maersk.146 Flooding happens regularly ?

@jmadhavadas Has been fairly common for the last few years, seems like. Because the levee system is nearly as high as track level, flood stage means that water engulfs the bridge structure, which then acts as a dam, trapping floating tree debris on the upstream side. That's what happened here at this bridge on October 1.

@Maersk.146 Interesting ...

Witnessed this race at Carrollton, Missouri, recently, a hot Z-train on the right is overtaking a slower freight. By the time they reach the next crossing, the Z-train is in the lead.

@Maersk.146 Wow !!!

More views of 4014 Tour event at Kansas City Union Station, 17-18 November 2019, in honor of Union Pacific's 150th Anniversary.

@Maersk.146 Nice pics of Big Boy !!!

@jmadhavadas Thanks! It was quite a sight!

Wider view of Amtrak P42DC 5, pulling #4 between Norborne and Carrollton, Missouri.

@Maersk.146 Beautiful shot !!!

@jmadhavadas Thanks! Had not caught either unit before, either, always a bonus!

UP 6616 assists 6856 West as they merge into Kansas City Terminal's east/west route across KC. Having come down the former Rock Island Spine Line from Iowa, they have one last hill to climb before arriving at Armourdale Yard in Kansas City, Kansas - the KCT between here and Union Station. However, 6616 is not loading properly and the train nearly fails to keep moving (a result of UP's version of Precision Scheduled Railroading, which reduces horsepower-per-ton ratios in an irrational scheme to save money on locomotives). Fortunately, the mechanical department is able to talk the crew through a complex reset procedure and the train is able to continue to its nearby destination.

EMDX 7208 SD70ACe-T4 demonstrator, on KCS at Kansas City, Missouri 28 NOV 19

BNSF 7820 East has 22,000 horsepower to pull, maybe, 1,000 trailing tons, an enormous
HPT ratio that screams "PREMIUM CUSTOMER SERVICE". Now THAT is Precision Scheduled Railroading!

@Maersk.146 Wow you sure have lots of freight action going on at your home place! I have to travel to another country to see this kind of train action

Btw, did all of those locos pull or some were on idle?

@Romet.Lyytsepp They could be operating, though I didn't make certain. At least three were online. Needless to say, one loco could have easily pulled such a short train, but BNSF does tend to overpower their premium trains, so as to ensure the fastest possible transit time. I'm sure UPS (all containers and trailers aboard this particular train are UPS) has high expectations for their cargo, and is willing to pay the cost for having such service.
It is good to live near the BNSF TransCon, that is for sure. My short attention span can't handle waiting very long between trains! Unfortunately, this one was blocked by a freight on the near track that a mere 30 seconds would have allowed to clear out of the way. It happens all too often and I suspect a conspiracy...

@Romet.Lyytsepp Please consider adding train photos and stories to this thread that would not normally be usable on the main page. It's getting lonely here in the Community section

My rock pile, from the road crossing.

@Maersk.146 Yes I was thinking about doing that! To be honest, I didn’t know that this thread about general railway photos even existed.. Usually I only upload photos to main page and don’t wander around here a lot.. I was thinking about starting a blog or something, because I have lots of other pictures to share, but now I know I can share them here! So expect to see something shortly

@Romet.Lyytsepp Good!

On 10/9/2019, Big Boy with special train arrived to the greater Los Angeles area for the first time after restoration. These are photos I took from Pepper Ave overpass moments after Big Boy came off from Palmdale Cutoff, they then took a wye track eastward and then started to reverse towards West Colton yard. This was a great show for me and to hundreds of other people who were on that bridge this day!


Dome passenger car UPP 9005 'Walter Dean' (1955):

Steam generator car UPP 209 'Howard Fogg' (1949):

Baggage/tool car UPP 6334 'Art Lockmann' (1962):

Ed Dickens keeping an eye on locomotive as they slowly roll under Pepper Ave bridge:

Big Boy with special train at West Colton yard:

@Romet.Lyytsepp Awesome sequence!

@Maersk.146 Thanks!

Trona Railway afternoon train leaving from mines at Trona:

On it's way to Searles:

Arriving to it's destination at Searles, an interchange station with Union Pacific:

Grupo Mexico tank car:

Trona Railway #2004 is a former Southern Pacific SD40T-2 #8517:

Switching works at Searles:

Northbound Union Pacific Army vehicle unit train from Fort Carson, CO, passed BNSF coal empty at Littleton, CO, 7 November 2019. Joint Line variety in Colorado.