Based on many years of past experiences with large crowds chasing special event trains I had carefully studied maps, Google Earth, railroad schedules and timetables. My goal as always was to safely maximize the number of times I could catch the train and come away with good quality unique photographs. I had identified zones of opportunity where based upon crowd size at each location I could make a quick determination if I wanted to stop or go to the next spot or take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
My starting point was the bridge in Mooringsport, Louisiana, and since the train was scheduled to leave Shreveport around 18 miles to the south around 8:00 am I was onsite by 7:00 am. I picked a spot on the old highway bridge to take advantage of the prefect morning light on the adjacent railroad bridge and set up my video camera on a tripod to run while I took still photos. The train left Shreveport early and at 7:45 am it was showtime at the bridge with the train running about 50 mph.
This shot is my favorite with the rods down purely by chance.
Here is the video of the same run by. At first the engineer uses the air whistle to blow for the grade crossing just before the bridge and then switches to the deeper chord of the steam whistle.
I quickly made my way back to the car, but as I crossed the tracks to leave town, I saw a northbound headlight approaching. I pulled over and jumped out with seconds to spare to catch this empty coal train in fast pursuit of the CP 2816.
The two-lane roads that more closely follow the CPKC main line to Texarkana 64 miles to the north would give me little opportunity to get ahead of the fast-moving train, let alone get through town without further delay. Interstate 49 ended just south of Ashdown and put me on US Highway 59/71 about 20 minutes ahead of the train. I did not see any appealing locations in Ashdown, Arkansas but I liked the Mill Street crossing in the next town of Wilton, Arkansas. At 9:59 am the train caught up with me there.
Once again, another rods down catch of the moving CP 2816.
Just beyond the head end of the train the main line turns sharply northwest and takes what could best described as the long way around to DeQueen, Arkansas. Once again trying to follow that route would probably leave me well behind the train. I stuck with the more direct Highway 59/71 and once gain made it to DeQueen about 20 minutes ahead of the train. Not finding a good spot in town I continued north on Highway 59/71 and pulled over with others at the overpass over the CPKC a few miles north of town with the following results at 10:55 am.
Maybe because this was Monday and many chasers had to work or saw it on the southbound trip, but railfans and locals were not out in the large numbers that I had anticipated and planned for. What with the highway traffic being light and the train slowed by grades and multiple curves through the hills; I easily reached my next photo location at the County Road One crossing at the south end of Grannis, Arkansas about ten minutes ahead of the train.
Wanting to include one of the distinctive KCS concrete mileposts with their iconic F-units, I had photographed the KCS business train here back on May 5, 2022, as it was heading north to Kansas City.
The lighting for a photo of CP 2816 here was not optimal due to it being a month later and a much earlier time of the day, but I still wanted at least one photo with a milepost marker. Also, the train would be stopping for 30 minutes for service in “downtown” Grannis about two miles further north; so I had time to get this photo and then catch it in Grannis and head on north ahead of the train’s departure.
I set up the video camera and at 11:20 am captured this scene. Adobe Lightroom helped with the hig sun and backlit shadows in the camera raw original. You will notice a bit of movement in the video as the train’s passage caused the ground to shake and the vibrations were picked up by the tripod.
I packed up and drove on into Grannis where the train had stopped. There was not a large crowd present, so I parked and worked my way up to the property line where I was able to get this sequence of photos.
After this sequence I left Grannis about ten minutes ahead of the train to scout my next location. Not finding anything of particular interest, I mulled over the thought that of all the KCS business trains I had photographed in this area I had never caught one passing the depot at Mena, Arkansas. This was due to the fear of getting caught up in traffic and falling too far behind.
Not seeing a horde of people in Mena, I decided the reward of including a great landmark in a train photo outweighed the potential risk. I found a good parking place to escape from and set up north of the depot with the intention of including people and background buildings in the photos this time. The train came into view at 12:44 pm and here are the results.
After this going away cab photo, I jumped back in the car and joined a line of traffic heading north out of Mena in the wake of the train’s passage. By the time I was a few miles east of the track’s summit at Rich Mountain, I was ahead of the train and the citizen crowd chasing it and just had to deal with fellow photographers along Highway 59/271. I decided to pass up the summit as there was already a pretty good crowd there, and I sped on downhill towards the passing siding at Page, Oklahoma.
By the time I reached Page, I had decided I would fly the drone to capture the train coming out of the pass down from the summit of Rich Mountain. The crows was down at the grade crossing as I had heard the train would be stopping there to meet a southbound freight. I found a spot about 1/2 mile off the highway where I could successfully launch and retrieve the drone. When I had a sense that the train was getting close, I flew my DJI Mavic 2 Pro and completed the following set of photos as the train slowed to a stop at 1:41 pm.
After a safe landing I decided to get ahead of the train again while it waited on the southbound freight to arrive. I let the freight go since the CP 2816 was my primary goal. Exploring off of Highway 59/271 in the community of Zoe, Oklahoma I found my inspiration at the Hicks Road grade crossing where another one of KCS’s concrete milepost was located. Two photographers were already standing in the composition I desired, but they were very nice, and we formed a small photo line at 2:28 pm for this better lighted milepost photo.
The train would be overnighting at Heavener, Oklahoma, and we were now in the home stretch. I did not see anything else I liked short of there, so I made for the Avenue F grade crossing a few blocks south of the yard. There were about a dozen photographers there ahead of me, but I was able to slip into the line for the final sequence of the day at 2:46 pm.
As the train pulled into the yard at Heavener and prepared to tie down, I enjoyed a great late lunch at a small Mexican restaurant with a great view of the train. It was evident the train was not parked in a spot for any decent night exposures, so I headed on north towards my hotel room in Poteau. Along the way at the north end of the Heavener Siding I caught some light power moving south to the fuel racks.
After checking into my room, I filled up the car for the next day’s less ambitious chase and drove over to the main line to see if I could catch one more train for the day. It turned out luck was on my side as a southbound grain train came through with 2 x 3 power configuration for the many grades between Kansas and the Gulf of Mexico.
Now it was time for dinner and thinking about what I wanted to accomplish the next day before heading back to Texas.
