A Short Seasonal Sojourn to Siberia

Despite being on vacation for nearly two weeks during the Christmas holiday, I had yet to venture trackside at any capacity. My time was filled shopping for Christmas gifts, preparing the house for the holidays and entertaining our guests. Eventually Christmas came and went, followed closely by New Years, and, at last, my time had come. It was time to chase some steel before I had to return to work and I began to consider possible destinations…

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Holiday Leftovers from LAUPT

As the lack of recents posts atest to, I have been crazy busy lately. Not only have I been working a ton to finish a large project by year’s end at the office, but the holidays are upon us and we are entertaining out-of-state guests for a few weeks. As if that wasn’t enough, I have also spent all of my spare time learning a unique subject that has always interested me. Soon I will prepare a post on the topic and the byproduct of all my research and learning…

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UP 844, a Mountain, a Mob, and Me

As I described in in my previous post, “”UP” for a Chase? 844 Comes to California,” Union Pacific’s famous steam engine, the UP No. 844, is in California and garnering quite the attention in the process. On Saturday, November 19, 2011, the UP 844 lead the Centennial Tour train eastbound from West Colton, California to Yermo, California. The route the train was scheduled to take was over BNSF rails up and over the scenic and challenging Cajon Pass. It was the making of a perfect photo opportunity and I headed out early Saturday morning, almost dutifully, to get in position…

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"UP" for a Chase? 844 Comes to California

Today marks the beginning of the “return-trip” for Union Pacific’s “Living Legend,” No. 844, after participating in what Union Pacific dubbed the Centennial Tour to help New Mexico and Arizona celebrate their one-hundred years of statehood. Union Pacific’s No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific, delivered in 1944, and will travel more than 2,900 miles from its base in Cheyenne, Wyoming during the 32-day, nine-state tour that will honor the rich railroad heritage of the scenic Southwest…

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PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT: John Benner

Along the same vein as Travis Dewitz, John Benner captures truly compelling and inspiring photographs of modern railroads in action, complete with a sense of drama which “puts you there.” Here is John’s description of his passion from his web site at JohnBenner.com…

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BNSF Unveils a New Site for "Friends"

A few days ago BNSF unveiled a new web offering called “Friends of BNSF.” According to John Ambler, BNSF vice president, Corporate Relations, “Friends of BNSF will allow us to keep the community informed about issues that are important to freight rail transportation and its role in the U.S. economy. Rail fans, freight rail advocates, members of communities in which BNSF operates, and of course our employees and retirees are all welcome at Friends of BNSF.”

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Our Best Trip Ever - Part 14 - Heading Home

After leaving Pica we headed towards Yampai. In an eastbound context, Yampai marks the end of the Yampai Canyon and from here BNSF’s trackage descend towards Pica and into Aubrey Valley for the run to Seligman. Yampai is rather remote yet offers some compelling opportunities, depending on local road and lighting conditions, so I wanted to try my luck there…

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Our Best Trip Ever - Part 13 - West Out of Seligman

After a nice and chilled evening at the Seligman/Route 66 KOA, we packed up the next morning and “prepared the cabin for departure.” After dumping our waste water and filling our propane tanks we headed out westbound on Route 66 through Seligman, Arizona. At this point we didn’t have any particular destination in mind. Rather, we knew the route we wanted to travel though. We wanted to stay on Route 66, which follows the BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision, as it meanders through some of the most beautiful scenery in northern Arizona. Interstate 40 takes a more direct and southernly route from Seligman directly to Kingman, Arizona. We were taking the road less traveled…

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Our Best Trip Ever - Part 12 - Seligman, Stackers, Sunset

Having had a great time exploring the “back country” of BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision, and truthfully a little dogged out from the rough roads, I was content to head towards Selgiman for the night. We had spent some time there on previous trips but we only used Seligman as a base for operations and we never really spent time photographing the area. I knew there were some nice spots with a lot of potential so we left Crookton and drove the few miles west to Seligman to get a spot for the night…

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Our Best Trip Ever - Part 11 - On the Cut-Off

Despite my fears of a big cat looking for dinner, we slept well, deep in the heart of Kaibab National Forest. After I awoke and as I made a quick walk around the area where we camped, surveying for animal tracks as much as looking for a good shot, I thought of the today’s plan. We are now fairly far removed from all the trappings of a modern society. “No billboards, no buildings, no graffiti, no power lines — nothing to spoil a scene,” I pondered…

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