railfan trip to Black Hills

Going west on highway # 2 from Thedford toward Alliance, first we have photos of where the double tracks go under the highway.  Note the middle fork Loup river here.  Interestingly, there was at least one small stretch of single track before Alliance.  Next we have a scene from the Spade ranch store.  Sits right along the highway and tracks.  The sign explains the history of the actual ranch.  The store sells most things western and some nice purses and jewelry too.  You can again see how the coal is loaded in Wyoming, just flat on top, not the mounds which I guess happens on the eastern mines. If you travel this road, do so in the morning when the sun is at your back, if there is a better stretch of highway for a road trip, I have not seen it. A couple of photos short I see.

We got within a few miles of Sturgis but the heat and crowds made us reconsider. We continued on and by chance we came across these during a gas stop in Deer Lodge Montana. Pretty cool find and totally unexpected.

Pete

Just came back from Black Hills myself (with family). Did the usual tourist stuff. Mt. Rushmore, Bear country. Did ride the Black Hills Central out of Hill City, SD. The power was the ex. Weyrehouser compound 2-6-6-2T. Nice couple hour excursion. Just missed Sturgis motorcycle rally by a few days!

Deer Lodge is a great stop and is so easy to get off and on the interstate.  Here are some shots of power in Crawford Ne.  Power no doubt waiting to help on the hill just south of town.  What appears to be a Wye is actually where the cowboy line of the C&NW crossed the Burlington.  Going east on it would take you into Chadron Ne.  A line then went up to the Black Hills with a branch going into Hot Springs. 

When I crossed the country alone in 1998 during my Army PCS move to WA state, I passed right through the area but had no idea of the Little Joe on display at Deer Lodge (in the pre-internet era, you just couldn't look up everything on a trip from Baltimore to Tacoma) and nothing was running at the Black Hills Central as it was October at the time (and the Mallet wasn't restored to operating condition for a few years after that). I've never been back in that area but I'd love to ride behind that Mallet someday.

Next we travel north out of Crawford on highway 71 which will lead us to Hot Springs SD. It is the first weekend of Sturgis but on 71 the traffic is almost non-existent for most of the 40 miles.  In fact one stretch I timed the distance between meeting vehicles.  In 11 minutes, with us hitting 70 mph, we met a second car at the end of 11 minutes and no bikes. About 30 miles out we stopped at Ardmore SD.  Photos show almost a ghost town, but an old hotel right next to a large flat area, suggesting that it could have been a crew change point some years ago.  I attempt to attach a couple of short videos.  Also is a photo of the protection offered to motorists at a major rural crossing of the double tracks.   Maybe folks in SD do not rate better protection or they are just smarter and don't need more!  Does this look like the middle of nowhere?  

One video I missed yesterday.  Taken at Ardmore South Dakota.  Ardmore is now listed as a ghost town.  It looked like one place might have occupants though.  It shows two of the planes en route to the west coast no doubt.  Anyone know the contents of the odd shaped cars just ahead of the fuselages?  I assume plane related. 

nice Pics and videos, thanks for sharing

Great catch of the aircraft parts train. Looks like you found a nice shady spot to photograph from. 

franktrain

Thanks for the comments.  It was hot that day in Ardmore and the few trees there looked like a good spot to relax.  Now we move on to Hill City SD. Many of you have no doubt been there to ride the train to Keystone and back.  We did not do the ride this time, but did donate to the museum and took a tour of the inside.  I failed to get a shot of the two wheeled cart inside.  I had not seen one of those before in person.  Its C&NW.  Last pic is from the nice HO layout inside.  Nicely done coal hill dump.  Next up is the main reason I wanted to stop.  That is their version of a drover caboose.  Rick was not in town that day, and thus I did not get to look inside as hoped.  But nicely restored on the outside anyway, and I believe they sometimes allow it to run on the train.  The museum is raffling off a two week rail trip across Canada.  Entry ends 8/25.  Cost is 100 but only 1000 tickets sold.  Donation if nothing else to a good cause.  Then finally we have a shot of the depot area with great sky.  It can storm in a hurry and pretty severe at times in the Hills.

OK, now to Sturgis, think its all bikes?  The first photo shows a radical unit, the second shows the congestion.  Then just on the west end of town, bikes are backed up waiting to get into town, and when we go the opposite direction to turn into a T-shirt mecca, bikes are blocking the RR crossing.  But, things clear out fast when this unit (third photo) comes barreling through.  He started on the horn a long way back.  He came through at a pretty good clip too.  I wonder who the driver thought he was to force the bikers off of the tracks!  Typical engine service guy.  Anyway a couple of shots of these nicely painted units.  I do not know the exact name of the RR these days. 

The RCPE is the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern. It is now a Genesee & Wyoming property and the motive power is quickly being repainted into their orange, yellow and black. You got an increasingly rare find, a solid blue and yellow set of engines. Good catch.

The last of the trip photos, here is for you Milwaukee fans,  Mitchell South Dakota, where I believe the Milwaukee once plied.  Nowadays the BNSF.  The station has been "preserved" as a very nice restaurant with the interior still retaining some semblance of RR use.  Be sure to stop there and eat or drink if you are on I 90. Not much except fast food from there on if you are heading west.   You have to go into town, its only about two miles off the trail.  Rails are in good shape as you can see.   No live action when we stopped there to eat and stretch.