Back on January 12th, 2026, thanks to improved surgical choices, I finally had a birth defect in my left ankle corrected that had caused me increasing pain as I walked into old age. I chose to have ankle fusion surgery, the result being the bottom of my left fibula and the ankle with a few added parts are all fused together. By March I had graduated from different casts to a lower leg boot.
Early on in March I had been cleared to drive about the time I learned that Wabtec would be testing new CPKC ES44’s at their plant in far north Fort Worth. On March 12th I rolled the dice and drove up to the two-mile test track where chance prevailed as a pair of CPKC’s were out operating for the first time. I will miss the KCS heritage paint scheme but I must admit this new logo looks good.
As the two locomotives moved back and forth while a technician on each end worked through their check lists, I judged the early afternoon sun angles and came up with these four views in short order.
I was happy with the results of this short session, so I decided to take my shotgun rider Judy to lunch in nearby Justin. When we headed back south past the plant on the way home the two units had pulled back into the plant so our timing had been perfect.
