Two Days at Lavic, Trains Galore

Over the Valentine’s Day weekend last February, Deb and I spent our time out on BNSF’s Needles Subdivision. Yes, Deb was up for it, mostly because it was also a new moon weekend which is ideal for her favorite endeavor of star gazing, but partly because she wants me to be happy! ;-)

We chose the BLM land near the railroad’s curve at Lavic, California as our campground.  We were blessed with great weather and little to no wind.  The trains were plentiful, as is typical along the “BNSF transcon.” Consequently, collectively we shot over 800 photos and 32 videos.

I have done the post processing of the better photos and some of the video footage has been edited as well.  I have added about 80 more photos to my portfolio.  For those of you not familiar with the Needles Sub, here is a sample of the scenery surrounding Lavic:

The rest of the photos from the Lavic trip and all my other photos can be viewed by clicking on my “portfolio” link in the menu bar at the top.  Once there you can view the photos in a slideshow format, rate the photos, and even purchase prints or downloads.  Here is what the portfolio page looks like:

My “Portfolio” page

Six videos have been created so far.  I created the “Trackside” series which can be viewed on Chasing Steel’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/chasingsteel.  I am pleased with how the videos are coming along so far.  Here is what my channel looks like on YouTube:

Chasing Steel’s YouTube Channel

As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts or comments. ;-)

A Union Pacific Living Legend Stretches Her Legs On an Eight State Tour

Union Pacific’s famed and historic steam locomotive, No. 844, will make an eight state, 28-day tour to south Texas in celebration of the Union Pacific Railroad’s heritage.  The entire trip will encompass more than 3,500 miles.  The tour is known as the “Valley Eagle Heritage Tour” and takes it name from a former Missouri Pacific Railroad passenger train that ran over a portion of the route from 1948 until 1962.  The Missouri Pacific Railroad merged with the UP in 1982. 

The No. 844 was the last steam engine built for the Union Pacific Railroad and was delivered in 1944.  During it’s 16-year tenure at UP the No. 844 pulled some very legendary passenger trains such as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger until the dieselization of the roster was complete.  She is a Northern class locomotive which means she has 4-8-4 classification.  Weighing nearly 1 million pounds, with a loaded weight of 907,980 pounds, she is massive.

The “Valley Eagle Heritage Tour” will begin from Cheyenne, Wyoming April 2, 2010 and conclude on April 29, 2010.  The locomotive will make overnight stops and be on display in the following cities before arriving back in Cheyenne April 29:

• North Platte, Nebraska
• Marysville, Parsons and Coffeyville, Kansas
• Kansas City, Missouri
• McAlester, Oklahoma
• Ft. Worth, Hearne, Houston, Bloomington, Raymondville, Harlingen, Palestine and Longview, Texas
• North Little Rock and Van Buren, Arkansas

 Here is a map of the planned route provided by the Union Pacific Railroad:

Map of the scheduled route compliments of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Programs such as UP’s Steam Program are not the norm for most railroads and are costly ventures.  I thank the Union Pacific for their commitment to their history and heritage by having a steam program at all.  I would also like to commend the UP on embracing technology embodied by their extensive use of technologies such as Twitter and Facebook.

One more example of their progressive approach to technology and appreciation of fans is this web page which allows you to follow the location of their steam locomotives as they travel across the UP system on their excursions.  A Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter was installed on one of the rail cars that will travel with No. 844. The GPS system has been integrated with a map on UP’s Web site as shown:

Click to track the UP’s steam locomotives.

Union Pacific also utilizes YouTube to connect with fans and communities alike.  Here is a neat video of the No. 844 provided by the Union Pacific Railroad.  It provides a good glimpse of what chasing steel (844 steel in this case) is like.  Enjoy. 

RSS feed of UP_Steam's tweets

Update on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 9:28AM by Joe Perry

Here is the latest schedule compliments of the Union Pacific Railroad: 

The Valley Eagle Schedule

Valley Eagle Heritage Tour 

All schedule days and times are subject to change. No. 844 can run ahead of schedule.

(Follow No. 844 on the map, and stay current with GPS updates.)

FRIDAY, APRIL 2
Depart	8:00 a.m. MT	Cheyenne, Wyo.
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m.  11:30 a.m. MDT	Lodgepole, Neb.	Service Locomotive Downtown -  just west of McBride St.
Arrive	4:00 p.m. CT	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. Between Chestnut and Poplar
SATURDAY, APRIL 3
Depart	8:00 a.m. CT	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. Between Chestnut and Poplar
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m.	Kearney, Neb.	Service Locomotive UP Office - 110 W. Railroad St.
Arrive	3:00 p.m.	Marysville, Kan.	UP Rail Yard Jenkins St. and 1st St.
SUNDAY, APRIL 4
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Marysville, Kan.	UP Rail Yard Jenkins St. and 1st St.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.	Topeka, Kan.	Service Locomotive The Great Overland Station 701 N. Kansas Ave.
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road
MONDAY, APRIL 5 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road
TUESDAY, APRIL 6
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m. 11:30 p.m.	Dunlay, Kan.	Service Locomotive at the W. 1600 St. crossing.
Arrive	2:00 p.m.	Parsons, Kan.	Union Pacific Office 2015 Crawford St.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Parsons, Kan.	Union Pacific Office 2015 Crawford St.
THURSDAY, APRIL 8
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Parsons, Kan.	Union Pacific Office 2015 Crawford St.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m.  Noon	Muskogee, Okla.	Service Locomotive Union Pacific Office 5 W. Martin Luther King St.
Arrive	2:00 p.m.	McAlester, Okla.	Union Pacific Office 1 East Krebs St.
FRIDAY, APRIL 9
Depart	8:00 a.m.	McAlester, Okla.	Union Pacific Office 1 East Krebs St.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.	Denison, Texas	Service Locomotive West end of UP Rail Yard Under Hwy. 75 Overpass and Ray Dr.
Arrive Depart	1:00 p.m.  1:30 p.m.	Denton, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive	4:00 p.m.	Ft. Worth, Texas	Mopac Rd. and Rogers Rd.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Ft. Worth, Texas	Mopac Rd. and Rogers Rd.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m.	Ennis, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m.  11:30 a.m.	Corsicana, Texas	Service Locomotive 201 East 7th St.
Arrive	1:30 p.m.	Hearne, Texas	3rd and Market Sts.
SUNDAY, APRIL 11
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Hearne, Texas	3rd and Market Sts.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m.	Navasota, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m. 11:15 a.m.	Magnolia, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	Noon 12:15 p.m.	Old Town Spring, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive	2:30 p.m.	Houston, Texas	Amtrak Station 902 Washington Ave.
MONDAY, APRIL 12 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Houston, Texas	Amtrak Station 902 Washington Ave.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Houston, Texas	Amtrak Station 902 Washington Ave.
Arrive Depart	11:30 a.m.  12:01 p.m.	Bay City, Texas	Service Locomotive 2620 Avenue G
Arrive	2:00 p.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St..
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.  10:30 a.m.	Kingsville, Texas	Service Locomotive 5th and W. Kleburg Sts.
Arrive	12:30 p.m.	Harlingen, Texas	UP Rail Yard 825 N. Commerce St. (Commerce and Fair Park)
THURSDAY, APRIL 15
Depart	9:45 a.m.	Harlingen, Texas	UP Rail Yard 825 N. Commerce St. (Commerce and Fair Park)
AFTERNOON LAYOVER AND DISPLAY HARLINGEN CENTENNIAL PARK
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.   3:00 p.m.	Harlingen Centennial Park	101 Southwest St. Between Jackson and Harrison Sts.
Arrive	3:30 p.m.	Olmito, Texas	UP Olmito Yard 6105 Old Alice Rd.
FRIDAY, APRIL 16
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Olmito, Texas	UP Olmito Yard 6105 Old Alice Rd.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m.	Kingsville, Texas	Service Locomotive 5th and W. Kleburg Sts.
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St.
SATURDAY, APRIL 17
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.	Bay City, Texas	Service Locomotive 2620 Avenue G
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Houston, Texas	No Public Access or Display on arrival.
SUNDAY, APRIL 18
No Public Access or Display.		Houston, Texas
MONDAY, APRIL 19
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Houston, Texas
Arrive Depart	8:45 a.m. 9:00 a.m.	Old Town Spring, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	Noon 12:30 p.m.	Hearne, Texas	Service Locomotive 3rd and Market Sts.
Arrive	3:00 p.m.	Palestine, Texas	111 South Magnolia St.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Palestine, Texas	111 South Magnolia St.
Arrive	11:30 a.m.	Longview, Texas
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Longview, Texas
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.  10:30 a.m.	Texarkana, Texas	Service Locomotive East of the Amtrak Station at E. Front and Wood Sts.
Arrive Depart	12:01 p.m. 12:15 p.m.	Gurdon, Ark.	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	2:00 p.m.  2:15 p.m.	Little Rock, Ark.	Whistlestop Amtrak Station
Arrive	4:30 p.m.	N. Little Rock, Ark.	1000 W. 4th St. Behind UP Office Building
THURSDAY, APRIL 22 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		N. Little Rock, Ark.	1000 W. 4th St. Behind UP Office Building
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
Depart	8:00 a.m.	N. Little Rock, Ark.	1000 W. 4th St. Behind UP Office Building
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m.  11:00 a.m.	Russellville, Ark.	Service Locomotive Old UP Depot on Denver St.
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Van Buren, Ark.	S. 2nd St. and Drennen Sts.
SATURDAY, APRIL 24
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Van Buren, Ark.	S. 2nd St. and Drennen Sts.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m.  11:00 a.m.	Wagoner, Okla.	Service Locomotive Old Depot – 302 S. Main St.
Arrive	1:30 p.m.	Coffeyville, Kansas	Atlantic St.
SUNDAY, APRIL 25
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Coffeyville, Kansas	Atlantic St.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.	Yates Center/Durand, Kansas	Service Locomotive UP Rail Yard –  1178 Otter Rd.
Arrive Depart	Noon 12:15 p.m.	Paola, Kansas	Whistlestop
Arrive	2:30 p.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Rd.
MONDAY, APRIL 26 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Rd.
TUESDAY, APRIL 27
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Rd.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.  10:30 a.m.	Topeka, Kansas	Service Locomotive The Great Overland Station 701 N. Kansas Ave.
Arrive	1:30 p.m.	Marysville, Kansas	UP Rail Yard Jenkins and 1st Sts.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Marysville, Kansas	UP Rail Yard Jenkins and 1st Sts.
Arrive Depart	10:45 a.m.  11:15 a.m.	Gibbon, Neb.	Service Locomotive
Arrive	2:30 p.m.	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. between Chestnut and Poplar
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
Depart	9:00 a.m. CT	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. between Chestnut and Poplar
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m. MT  11:00 a.m. MT	Sidney, Neb.	Service Locomotive UP Depot  – 9th and Grant Sts.
Arrive	2:30 p.m. MT	Cheyenne, Wyo.

National Train Day - Discover and Learn About Railroads and Trains

On May 8, 2010, in cities all across the land, there is going to be a celebration of America’s love for trains.  Amtrak is hosting, with participation from cities and organizations, the 3rd annual National Train Day to commemorate the 141st anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad completion on May 10, 1869.

The press release from Amtrak describes the event as:

“National Train Day celebrates the train‘s impact on our country and provides an opportunity for Americans to further understand the influence rail has on the future of transportation in America,” said Emmett H. Fremaux, vice president, marketing and product management, Amtrak. “With a greater national focus on energy efficiency in travel, trains are already a leading alternative with 20 percent more fuel efficiency than commercial airlines and 28 percent more efficiency than car travel per passenger mile.”

“Trains have always been an important part of this country‘s fabric and with the spotlight on green and increasing options for intercity and high-speed rail growth, it‘s clear that they will continue to drive innovation in transportation.”

In four of Amtrak’s gateway cities, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Chicago, Amtrak will host free events from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  These events will consist of live entertainment, interactive and educational exhibits, kid’s entertainment, food demonstrations, model train displays, and tours of private railroad cars, Amtrak equipment, freight and commuter trains.

In other cities, perhaps one near you, there will be similar activities and opportunities.  More are being added each day so check the National Train Day’s Other Cities web page as May approaches. 

This is a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with some nice pieces of railroad equipment and locomotives as well as a chance to meet with railroaders and railfans from your area.  I have been to the previous two events in Los Angeles, California, and, in both cases, you could climb into the cab of several locomotives.  Very cool to see.  Kids, like me, seem to really enjoy the displays.

A good time is sure to be had by all and you can learn more about railroads and their contributions to America’s past, present, and future.  Keep checking the National Train Day web site since events and cities will be added as May draws closer.

I’ll be at the Los Angeles and San Bernardino events.  See you there!

Andrew J. Russell’s famous Champange Photo taken at Promontory Summit May 10, 1869