In the past several weeks I was fortunate enough to have caught the UP’s Western Pacific heritage unit leading trains over the Baird Subdivision three times. Personally I think it is one of the best executed special paint schemes in the bunch. The first round of photos came on Sunday, April 30th when intel advised me the 1983 was leading an eastbound intermodal train that would be passing through my area west of Fort Worth around noon with sun on the nose.
I studied the sun angle calculator and decided the best spot to go for nose and side light would be west of Weatherford around Millsap and the siding at Preble. Arriving in Millsap around 11:00 am, the first train I photographed was an eastbound merchandise at 11:29 am with five units up front led by a fairly clean SD70ACe.
Next up at 12:16 pm was my target train with a very clean 1983 doing the honors.
The dispatcher had spoken earlier about a possible meet with a westbound ZAILC at Preble, and the 1983 was rolling along at a sedate speed that gave me plenty of time to beat it to the Newberry /Doss Road crossing midway in the siding. Recently replaced ties waiting to be picked up line the right-of-way.
The intermodal train began to accelerate and it was evident they would not be meeting anything here. The dispatcher soon confirmed this and told the 1983 they would meet the ZAILC at Weatherford. ZAILC was just out of Fort Worth, so I drove to my favorite spot in North Annetta at milepost 270.5 and waited for the Z train to pass at 1:08 pm.
I waited patiently and was rewarded with my last shots of the day at 1:33 pm at this well manicured location.
The next opportunity presented itself on “Cinco de Mayo”, otherwise known as May 5th. The 1983 was once again leading an eastbound intermodal train, this time much later in the day. I decided to catch it one time near to home as it passed the west end of Iona siding. This time I used the drone to get more elevation and a better side view with the elevator at Aledo in the background at 5:54 pm.
For the time being, the third opportunity to photograph the 1983 leading came about with less of an advance plan on Saturday May 7th when it was westbound on the Baird Sub with yet another intermodal train. It was already west of Aledo when my wife and I got home from shopping, but after learning she had no other plans for the afternoon, I decided to hop in the Explorer and go after it.
My immediate goal was to catch the train at Judd siding where the Baird Sub and I20 parallel each other, but it looked like I would not make it there in time until the dispatcher had ther 1983 meet an eastbound at Brazos. That allowed me to be in position with time to spare for this photo at 2:56 pm. Note that the tie gang has been busy here too.
In fact the tie gang had initiated a slow order between Strawn and Mingus so I realized I had time to try for a drone shot west of Strawn where the tracks start up the bottom of Ranger Hill. I have my Texas Parks Permit for the future Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, so I launched from the road barrier at the parks edge and was in position for this pleasing view at 3:36 pm.
The radio now let me know of an ambitious game plan for the 1983 to take the siding at Tiffin just east of Ranger to meet three eastbound trains. The first eastbound was already waiting at Tiffin so I decided to pass on that one and drove directly to Ranger. When I got there the second eastbound, an intermodal train, was sitting in front of the old depot waiting for the first eastbound to leave Tiffin after 1983 took the siding. A few minutes later at 4:05 pm the second train started to move east past the museum displays.
According to the radio this train topped out at close to 15,000 feet and had two DPU’s in the middle.
I quickly turned to the right for a reflection of the DPU’s in the windows of a local bank.
A single DPU was bringing up the rear as the train accelerated past me.
At 4:23 pm the third eastbound in the form of an 11,000 foot stack train rolled through Ranger on its way to Tiffin.
I followed it out to the west end of Tiffin where I caught this view of a single mid train DPU at work.
A few minutes later the rear end of the eastbound stack train passed by and the conductor climbed back up onto the 1983. I used my Canon 7D Mark II with the 100-400 mm zoom for the next three photos.
The 1983 got a green signal to leave on and started towards me down by the switch at 4:33 pm.
I quickly switched to the Canon 5D Mark IV with 24-105 lens for the next two photos to continue the sequence.
Notice the black smudges around the doors just in front of the radiator area? I turned back here, but when 1983 reached the Sweetwater area it fell victim to a small fire in that area and was set out. Over the next few days it was moved dead back to Fort Worth where it was repaired and put back into service.
But I digress as I had one more train to catch on the way back home. When I arrived back at Judd siding I found the ZAILC sitting at the west end of the siding. Interpreting all the radio traffic, the ZAILC was planned to meet the same three eastbounds at Judd that 1983 had met at Tiffin. But when the first east man was passing the west switch at Judd, an air hose that was hanging too low caught on the grade crossing and ripped the whole hose bracket off the end of that car.
As that east bound’s crew was short on time, the dispatcher had the ZAILC’s crew tie their hot train down and transfer to the first eastbound train to set out the damaged car in the house track at the east end of Judd and then take the eastbound train on in to Fort Worth. While that was going on, a van would come out from Fort Worth with a new crew for the ZAILC and then take the east bound’s dead crew back to Fort Worth. Neither the 15,000 foot or the 11,000 foot stack trains now stuck west of Judd would probably make Fort Worth without changing crews, but that was a decision for later as the first eastbound needed to get under way ASAP so the other two could get past the ZAILC so its relief crew could eventually get that train moving towards Sweetwater.
Confused yet? My take on the whole matter was to park well up the dirt road from the head end of the ZAILC and launch the drone for this view of the ZAILC with the broken down eastbound behind it. The front half of the eastbound is out of sight performing the set out of the damaged car.
Everyone here had a full plate at this point, so I headed on home for a nice supper without any problems like this to deal with.
