When I went to bed in Catoosa Friday night there was more rain due before morning, and it was not supposed to clear up until Saturday afternoon. However, when I woke up Saturday morning the skies were already clear, and I quickly loaded up and checked out to take advantage of the sunshine. I heard a westbound train on the radio passing Degroat a few miles east of Verdigris and I drove quickly to the long grassy area on the east side of the Cherokee Sub where in short order I captured this westbound intermodal in perfect light train heading to California.
I had not been able to catch any trains on Tiger Hill just west of Catoosa, and the radio indicated there were no eastbound trains nearby that would have good light. I quickly decided photos on Tiger Hill would wait until the next trip when I heard on the radio an eastbound Stillwater Central Train 405 was leaving Sapulpa on its way to their yard in Owasso. The ideal photo would be of the train in the country between Sapulpa and Tulsa, but it was too late for that now.
Taking into consideration the distance I now had to cover and not being familiar with the streets east of BNSF Cherokee Yard I decided to make a run for the open area at the 17th Street grade crossing at the east end of the yard where the Avard Sub becomes the Cherokee Sub. Along the way I heard the Cherokee Yardmaster tell the 405 train they had signal indication to take the bypass along the east side of the yard. Wasting no time, I made it there and within seconds of parking the headlight of the approaching 405 train appeared around the curve.
I managed to capture this sequence of it passing my location at the grade crossing. The power turned out to be the same four locomotives I had photographed in Sapulpa Thursday evening.
I followed the city streets along the east side of the yard heading west and came across the Cherokee Yard hump power about to shove a cut back towards the yard while passing the Route 66 monument. I quickly parked and captured this view of two SD70MAC’s.
Another mile to the south I stumbled across an eastbound ballast train from the south end of the Creek Sub while it was stopped for a crew change.
As I had just caught the Stillwater Central turn out of Oklahoma City to Owasso, I knew it would be several hours before it headed back west. The afternoon light would be excellent, but waiting for it to return would mean not getting back home until well after midnight. I decided there would be future opportunities and headed west on the Turner Turnpike pushing hard towards Oklahoma City. I made the run in about ninety minutes and when I was approaching the junction between I35 and I40 I picked up the Stillwater Central yardmaster telling an eastbound train out of Cyril to hold west of the yard until the yard job completed a few moves.
I realized this meant I had the opportunity to catch a train in perfect light crossing the North Canadian River bridge with the OKC skyline in the background. I made quick time to the small park next to the bridge at the west end of the yard just as the train was starting onto the bridge. Two Stillwater Central trains this morning with only seconds to spare!
Immediately after the freight has cleared up, the yard switcher pulled a cut out onto the bridge before starting to shove them back into a different track.
Now I had caught two Stillwater Central trains in different cities with seconds to spare, so I was very happy as I headed south on I35. My friend Ethan Whetstone was out railfanning trackside in Norman and I decided to stop by and visit with him for a few minutes. A southbound train passed by just before I arrived but there was a good chance I would overtake it on my own way home. Before long a northbound train came into view and we caught it together passing the blooming pear trees north of the depot.
After Ethan and I visited for a bit more I decided it was time to head on south. I took a quick cell grab of us before we parted ways.
I drove south to the Brooks Street crossing where in the mid 1970’s I lived in an apartment about 100 feet from the Santa Fe mainline while going to school at the University of Oklahoma. I lived on the ground floor facing the track and with the screen removed could easily hop out the windows to wave at friendly train crews and take pictures. While I was parked at the crossing a northbound freight came past the modern PTC signals in the same spot where twin searchlight signals stood back in the day.
Where all trains blew their horns here back in the 1970’s, these crossings are now part of a long quiet zone.
I turned for a going away shot showing the spot where my apartment complex once stood. Now it is a park area north and west of the crossing.
I had not passed this way for many years and while expecting change I was not expecting to see this open space. I drove back west on Lindsay Street to I35 and saw the campus was relatively unchanged. I made my way south to Purcell where I exited at the south end of town and gassed up the car so as to make it the rest of the way home. I heard on the radio the southbound train I had missed at Norman was going into the siding at Wayne to meet two northbounds.
I decided to take old Highway 77 south as I had done countless times while in college and I pulled over just north of Wayne for the first of the two northbounds. It turned out to be an empty ethanol train with a CSX leader.
I made my way a mile further south into the town of Wayne where I waited for the second northbound train to arrive and composed a shot including the local farmer’s coop.
As the southbound train in the siding started to move I photographed its single DPU, a Ferromex SD70ACe.
I drove on south down US 77 through Paoli and had plenty of time to pull over and catch the head end of the southbound merchandise train at the last rural crossing before reaching Pauls Valley.
The radio now informed me of an upcoming meet at Wynnewood, and due to the southbound train slowing down to enter the siding there I had no trouble getting ahead of it again to catch this view of it passing the town’s water tower just after entering the siding.
After the rear end of the southbound train cleared up in the siding, I spotted a mural celebrating the town that I could work into a photo with the northbound train leaving town.
Continuing south on US 77 I passed through Davis and got back on I35 South to go over the Arbuckle mountains. The radio was once again my friend as it alerted me to two more northbound trains that were leaving Overbrook south of Ardmore. I decided there was time to drive the seven miles east from Springer to Gene Autry to catch these two trains. I made it to the grade crossing just east of the Ardmore Air Park where after a short wait the first train turned out to be a a second empty ethanol train with only one locomotive.
About ten minutes later the second train appeared in the form of an Eagle Pass, Texas to Chicago “Z” train.
With these two catches I felt the day drawing to a close and with my hunger increasing I made my next stop in Gainesville for a nice Italian dinner at Luigi’s. When I was done, I checked on Amtrak 822 the Heartland Flyer making its evening run to Oklahoma City and saw it was running late enough I had time to catch it making its Gainesville station stop. When I arrived, there was already a green signal waiting for Amtrak’s departure.
The southbound merchandise train I had last photographed in Wynnewood was stopped and waiting across from the Gainesville yard office. Amtrak arrived at 6:40 pm and pulled to a stop.
After a five minute stop, Amtrak 822 started moving and took the green signal to leave town.
A few seconds later the signal is red as the rear of the train passes by.
At this point I thought I was done and ready to leave town, but at the southwest end of the depot on East California Street stands a restored old-time Gulf service station. I had seen it during the day, but now at night with the exquisite lighting turned on, It was worthy of a photo or two. I had not brought a tripod this trip, but I was able to manage these two sharp hand-held views.
As the final photo of the day and also this memorial trip, it was timely that a northbound freight showed up for me to include in this closing view.
I made it the rest of the way home without incident, happy to have had the opportunity to travel and say so long to an old friend who otherwise would have been photographing at my side for the whole trip. And in spirit maybe he was……
