Midweek Photos 1/8/2014

At 8 degrees above zero this Am in Berea, Ohio it made for a frosty train watching.  Few trains do to many frozen switches.

Here is a lonely little guy waiting to shuttle his grain cars for load out.  What would be the model of this one?  Next is a covered pile of corn, and finally an uncovered mountain of corn.  Along US 30 near Clarks Ne. 

That is a GP7, probably a former C&NW judging by the colors.

 Yes, CNW.  It's been there quite awhile.  The place to look for oddball engines and refugees are the grain elevators of the Midwest.  I can find you stuff from the 1940s still in use around here.

Kent in SD

Somebody last week was wanting diesel in the dark.  Since it's winter, I have them!  I put on my best mountaineering clothing and headed out into the darkness Sunday night.  As it turned out it only hit 20 below, and I was sweating in my Mountain Hardwear Absolute Zero suit.  I had to peel a few layers off.  All to no avail however as BNSF didn't seem to be running any trains anywhere near me.  Photo'ing trains is sort of like duck hunting--some times despite your best efforts you come home empty handed.  The D&I was to run a train that night but they decided not to.  Their guys were whining about it and they were also afraid of breaking a rail in the cold with their heavy quarry trains.  So, they ran it Wednesday night when it was a warm +10.  I managed to snag a few shots.  I also have a couple in the hopper from last Friday night when they ran a n/b in a freezing ran.

First shot, me doing a selfie in front of a frozen waterfall in Sioux Falls, SD.  My breathe has frozen around the hood of my parka.  Unlike where Tim lives, our snow isn't likely going anywhere for several more months.

Second shot, n/b D&I train at Canton, SD.  This is a pretty large scale shot--note how tiny the grain semi-truck appears next to the bins in the background.  I used my biggest lights for this as they were not only big, they were 150 yards away!

Third shot, n/b D&I at BNSF depot in Sioux Falls, SD. Depot is still in use by BNSF.

Fourth shot, s/b train at Westfield, IA from last night. It took forever for the train to make it from Hawarden to me. I sat in an old folding aluminum lawn chair along the ROW drinking a root beer while waiting for it.  Cars on nearby Iowa Hwy 3 were slowing down to look at me, no doubt the people in them were thinking, "What the heck?" 

For those of you wanting a world class polar expedition/high altitude moutaineering outfit, Mountain Hardwear is closing out the red colored Absolute Zero suit.  Wearing this with proper base layers will keep you warm down to about 60 below zero.  It will keep you very warm wearing only your underwear underneath it at minus 10.  If you look at photos/videos of climbers on Mt. Everest or K2, this is probably what they are wearing.  At five hundred bucks, it's an astonishingly good deal!  Get one of these and you'll never be cold again.  

http://www.everestgear.com/om1298.html

Kent in SD

Yes, and it was probably a Rock Island unit originally. Its sister is at IRM, and they intend to paint it in RI livery at some point:

Traffic levels drop big time for the ARR in the winter.  Several locos get parked for the winter.  Even the big MACs get parked.  Here's an old photo, several years old.  The ARR GP49s are long gone from Alaska.

Behind the cab, it does appear to be a GP7.  However, the battery box side panels and the handrail stanchions ahead of the cab are of the type used on GP9's and GP18's.

Most likely, it actually is a GP7 with shop repairs having been made to the nose section after 1954 with then-current parts.

 

Yes, and it was probably a Rock Island unit originally. Its sister is at IRM, and they intend to paint it in RI livery at some point:

 

Yep it is a former Rock Island unit...#4508.

I have never really cared for the blue/white RI paint scheme, but this photo is growing on me.

The good thing about Rock Island is they had so many different color schemes in their history, they don't need to go with the white and blue.  They can use the red and gold, or red black and white if they choose. 

Now for a couple more snow shots I accidentally left out on Wednesday.  I took this upper shot of the Steamtown sign at the park entrance, then went in closer.

Peek a boo!  I see the Delaware-Lackawanna C630 no 3000 still in her General Electric colors and markings.  The railfans around here do not like her, and call her Pinky.  I guess they like every color but pink.  Carry on, gentlemen!