Yesterday, Friday January 10, 2025 I attended a friend’s funeral in Fort Worth. Afterwards I decided to see if I could find any westbound trains with the prevailing afternoon light on the UP Baird Sub near home. I saw a merchandise train that looked ready to leave Davidson Yard, but just red signals at the west end. I continued on in that direction and soon heard the dispatcher read a slow order to two trains leaving Fort Worth behind me.
I decided to set up at one of my favorite spots in North Annetta, and did not have to wait long for the NS 9959 leading five UP units flew past at 3:11 pm pulling the ZAILC “Laser” intermodal. I composed my photo with some of the remailing snow from the day before.
Thirty-six minutes later at 3:47 pm the merchandise train I had seen in the yard rolled past with the UP 7947 leading.
I thought about gong home after this train but received a call from friend Luke Meacham that mutual friend Wyatt Cook had seen on HeritageUnits.com that a ZMNLA was coming soon with UP 1943 the veteran’s locomotive leading. I stayed at my spot and alerted friend Nathan Beverung, but the shadows here started to cross the tracks as 5:00 pm approached, so I relocated east a mile to the FM 5 crossing. Just as I arrived, I heard the defect detector at Aledo sound off, and I got into position for this photo at 5:15 PM in near perfect light.
Thanks to friends I had my “photo of the day” and I started back home. One more westbound train was coming that I could have caught at Aledo, but I needed to pickup a take-out dinner for my wife. Friend Luke caught it and reported I had not missed anything special.
