My friend Paul Beverung wanted to visit the Model Train Crossing hobby shop in North Richland Hills. The store is less than a five-minute walk from the Smithfield TEXRail station but on Saturday July 18, 2026 we decided to drive instead of taking the train from Fort Worth. After each of us made a purchase at the hobby shop, I noticed it was time for the weekend passenger train to leave Grapevine for the Stockyards. Paul and I drove a few blocks east of the station to a scenic spot and waited until 1:06 pm when westbound TEXRail train 930 slowed for its station stop at the northside platform.
Physically this was TEXRail train set number 103 named “Vasquez”.
At 1:15 pm the Grapevine Train with ex-Santa Fe GP7 number 2199 on the west end slow rolled by also taking the north track at East Smithfield.
On the east end of the train was FL9 number 2014 which was built as New Haven number 2041. I rode in the cab of this locomotive back in 1966 at age eleven while living in Connecticut but sadly have no photos.
The Grapevine Train kept moving westbound on the north track while eastbound TEXRail train number 930 arrived at the Smithfield Station on the south track. We could not drive back to the station fast enough to photograph this meet, so we let them go and headed back home. After I dropped Paul off at his home I heard over the radio that the westbound hot ZAILA out of Atlanta was passing Iona. I found a suitable location west of Paul’s home and triggered this exposure at 3:19 pm.
With three NS units on the point led by an SD70ACe and one UP unit, this was a good visual representation of the potential merger between UP and NS.
