Road Trip 2012!

Road Trip 2012!

This was a 5200 mile (well, ok, 5183 miles) road trip to the National Train Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan along with a lot of railfanning along the way. It was a great trip and it was good to get back to Upper Michigan (where I am from) and enjoy some cool weather after the heat of another summer in Central Arizona. This was my first long trip since going over to the Dark Side, aka shooting digital photos! I have sold all of my film cameras and other film equipment and I am now shooting only digital photos with a pair of Canon 7D cameras.

	This was the first photo of the trip, and of course a cloud came along and blocked out the sun just as the train was going by. Some Photoshopping helped a little in making the photo somewhat decent. Bluewater, New Mexico - July 29, 2012.
	Some Union Pacific switching activity at the Dalhart, Texas yard on July 30, 2012.
	A leased unit on the Union Pacific at Dalhart, Texas - July 30, 2012.
	A westbound grain train near Stevens, Texas - July 30, 2012.
	The next 5 photos are of the head on wreck at Goodwell, Oklahoma that happened June 24, 2012. This was a really bad wreck that cost 3 men their lives. July 30, 2012.
	Goodwell, Oklahoma - July 30, 2012.
	Goodwell, Oklahoma - July 30, 2012.
	Goodwell, Oklahoma - July 30, 2012.
	Goodwell, Oklahoma - July 30, 2012.
	A local train in the hole at Optima, Oklahoma - July 30, 2012.
	A Union Pacific concrete tie train crossing the Cimarron River near Kismet, Oklahoma on July 30, 2012.
	An ADM unit at Plains, Oklahoma on July 30, 2012.
	The concrete tie train shown earlier is passing through Plains, Oklahoma - July 30, 2012.
	The BNSF has stored quite a few units at Newton, Kansas. July 30, 2012.
	More stored units at Newton, Kansas on July 30, 2012.
	A bright and clean unit at Newton, Kansas on July 30, 2012.
	My first Iowa Interstate photo taken at Homestead, Iowa on July 31, 2012.
	A late afternoon westbound at Oxford, Iowa on July 31, 2012.
	Back to Homestead to get this photo of the westbound passing the tied down coal train. Homestead, Iowa - July 31, 2012.
	Here we are at the National Train Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan as some of the club members set up the layout. August 2, 2012. This is the Wisconsin & Michigan Model Railroad Club, and I've been a member off and on for about 50 years now.
	This layout goes together really fast. Grand Rapids, Michigan - August 2, 2012.
	A couple of days later as trains are running for the show. August 5, 2012 at Grand Rapids, Michigan.
	Kids of all ages are taking in the sights. Grand Rapids, Michigan - August 5, 2012.
	Next day we are headed to Menominee and at Baldwin, Michigan I got this photo of an old coaling tower. No luck getting a photo of the train switching there....just was not accessible. August 6, 2012.
	Later that afternoon I got this westbound train at the former Soo Line yard in Gladstone, Michigan. August 6, 2012.
	Here is a southbound train at Mile 52 in Menominee, Michigan. August 7, 2012.
	Just over 48 years earlier I took this photo of the southbound Peninsula 400 at the exact same spot as the photo above. July 2, 1964. Even the power lines and cat-tails are still there, although the trees certainly have grown a lot!
	My first photo of a Iowa, Chicago & Eastern engine at East Savanna, Illinois on August 8, 2012.
	In Clinton, Iowa I got this ex Soo Line GP38-2 that has just been repainted into CPR colours. August 8, 2012.
	It had been a really long time since I'd seen a Soo Line engine in its as delivered red and white paint. Clinton, Iowa - August 8, 2012.
	A small display by the Mississippi River - Clinton, Iowa - August 8, 2012.
	No trains at this time so I shot a few photos of the river traffic. Clinton, Iowa - August 8, 2012.
	The operator of this barge knew what he was doing getting it through the UP swingbridge. Clinton, Iowa - August 8, 2012.
	Back to the trains....here is a set of Soo Line SD60's with a really long train of mixed freight. Clinton, Iowa - August 8, 2012.
	A nice clean Saskatchewan Grain car. Clinton, Iowa - August 8, 2012.
	Next day we went to the yard at Nahant, Iowa and got some photos of the power there. Here is a CPR GP38-2 that had just come out of the roundhouse. August 9, 2012.
	A set of ICE GP40-2's being lined up for return to their owner. Nahant, Iowa - August 9, 2012.
	These units are ex Southern Pacific. Nahant, Iowa - August 9, 2012.
	NEW! This engine is now the Copper Basin Ry 304. Nahant, Iowa - August 9, 2012.
	Then it was time for more Iowa Interstate photos. Here is an eastbound train near Durant, Iowa on August 9, 2012.
	Same train at Walcott, Iowa - August 9, 2012.
	Looks like they are tearing down a perfectly good house in Walcott! August 9, 2012.
	Here is a small eastbound train at the West Liberty, Iowa station - August 9, 2012.
	The Iowa City yards...not much here anymore with the new facility out by Homestead. August 9, 2012.
	An eastbound heading out from Iowa City on August 9, 2012.
	Next morning we caught this train coming off a branch line at Yocum Connection. August 10, 2012.
	Later that afternoon we spent a couple of hours by the BNSF main just west of York, Nebraska. Lots and lots of trains running. August 10, 2012.
	The train on the right was stopped waiting for a fleet of eastbounds to clear. August 10, 2012.
	The train on the left is heading away from me and the other train is stopped, again waiting for eastbounds to clear. August 10, 2012.
	A freshly painted set of WAMX (Kansas & Oklahoma) power at Larned, Kansas. August 11, 2012.
	Wright, Kansas has these old engines at a grain elevator. August 11, 2012.
	A bunch of power at Satanta, Kansas on the Cimarron Valley Railroad. August 12, 2012.
	Then it was up to Garden City, Kansas to see what was there, and here is another grain elevator engine. August 12, 2012.
	The BNSF had this set of units in Garden City, Kansas on August 12, 2012. They were shut down.
	Next morning I got this ex DRGW GP30 3024 westbound on the Manter branch with 3 carbon black cars. Satanta, Kansas - August 13, 2012.
	Then it was time to chase the "Satanta Cannonball" / "Dodge City Flyer" or the "Sublette Ballast Scorcher" (as you prefer) as it headed east from the Satanta yard. August 13, 2012.
	Six minutes later the train is finally here....top speed is 10 mph account track conditions. Satanta, Kansas - August 13, 2012.
	It was easy enough to get ahead of him and get a few more photos at the next crossing. Sure is flat around there! Satanta, Kansas - August 13, 2012.
	Near Sublette, Kansas - August 13, 2012. These are the only GP26's ever built. Done by the ICG from wrecked GM&O GP30's.
	Switching in Sublette, Kansas - they are picking up a car of animal feed supplement. August 13, 2012.
	And the "Cannonball/Flyer/Scorcher" blasts off out of Sublette on its way to Dodge City. August 13, 2012.
	Here is another ex DRGW GP30 with 3 loads and 2 empties near Hugoton, Kansas on August 13, 2012.
	That afternoon we spent several hours here waiting for a lot of trains, but this was the only one we saw in sunshine. Logan, New Mexico - August 13, 2012.
	Of course a westbound didn't show up until just after sunset. I shot this photo at ISO 2000 with a shutter speed of 1/500 at F 4.0. Logan, New Mexico - August 13, 2012.
	And to end the trip I got a couple of Apache Railway photos at the BNSF yard in Holbrook, Arizona. August 14, 2012.
	This was as far as they got towards me while switching. Holbrook, Arizona - August 13, 2012. It was a great trip - lots of fun and I got to see and photograph several railroads I had not seen before.

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