Our Best Trip Ever - Part 7 - Chasing From Winslow to Flagstaff

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 6 - More Chasing at the La Posada Hotel)

Day 3

On The Road Again

It had been a glorious two days hanging out at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona but it was time to leave. In part because our reservations expired and, equally important, because we came to see BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision. The last two days were the perfect starter course for this vacation and we now felt calm and relaxed — ready to enjoy what laid ahead.

After sleeping in for a bit, Deb and I reluctantly packed our belongings and checked out of the hotel. She still wanted to take one last walk around and throughout the hotel so I left her there, to say her “goodbyes,” while I went and prepared the truck for departure. I loaded our gear and headed off to get gas and propane along with some munchies.

SONIC® Drive-In’s Footlong Quarter Pound Coney - MMMMmmm great!As I headed towards the Winslow “Flying J Travel Center” I saw a SONIC® Drive-In and I thought that sounded good so I stopped in. I ordered Deb her usual and I grabbed two of their Footlong Quarter Pound Coney chili dogs, one for now and one for later in the “woods.” Definitely not the healthiest of foods — but hey, we’re on vacation!

After an uneventful refueling of the truck and refilling of the propane tanks, which is always a good thing, I headed back to the La Posada Hotel to grab Deb and head out.

Upon my arrival she was taking some photos of the hotel so I woofed down the dog and then proceeded to set-up my radios and computer to track our quarry. Shortly thereafter, we were on the road again!

I knew this leg of our journey was going to end at Flagstaff by day’s end because I had secretly planned to make a side-trip for Deb’s sake in Flagstaff. Consequently, we set out on a leisurely pace heading west on Interstate 40. I kept an watchful eye on the computer display for any indication of nearby traffic. 

The track of our third day on the Seligman Sub. The black camera icons indicate the locations that I shot.

In Search of Sunshine

There was no train traffic to speak of as we headed west until we approached the area near Red Gap Ranch Road. Judging from what we could see from the freeway and on the computer, there were a few trains transiting the area. Ideally we would have raced to Canyon Diablo, the area’s preeminent photo location on the BNSF, and took shots there, but not this time. If you recall from a previous trip I took there, recounted in this post, the road to Canyon Diablo is much like the canyon itself — a devil. No way we were going to chance it on this trip and we certainly weren’t going to get there in time to catch these trains. So I looked for a potentially easier way in which to reach the rails. I found what looked like an ideal location off of the Meteor Crater Road exit.

Taking the exit, making a right turn, and not seeing any signs that indicated the area was private property, we found that the paved road gave way to a decent dirt road. So far, so good. The GPS indicated that the road we were on should take us up to the railroad’s right-of-way sans issue. What the GPS did not show, however, was the vast number of cattle that sauntered, lounged, and swarmed all over the range land. Deb and I, far from being classified as cattle-savvy people, quickly began to evaluate each near-miss or approaching cow/steer for trouble. I feared, perhaps unnecessarily, that a perturbed bovine might charge us or our truck. Over time I realized that the cattle appeared to be harmless and it became humorous and it certainly didn’t deter us from getting track side.

It turns out that our destination, unbeknown to us at the time, was a railroad location called, aptly, Sunshine, Arizona. Taking artistic license, I created the following piece, which portrays an imagined, old western flash card of a “moo cow” nailed to the side of a barn, from a photo Deb took of a steer watching a passing train, to commerate our experience getting in and out of Sunshine, Arizona:

Moo Cow
(moous cowus yumus)
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Debra Parra, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

It turned out that our timing was impeccable because we set-up in time to catch about six trains back-to-back in a span of about 30 minutes or so. In two cases, two trains met right near us as seen in the following works:

BNSF 5256 East - BNSF 5256 (GE DASH 9-44CW) and BNSF 1069 (GE DASH 9-44CW) are on the point of this eastbound manifest as she passes the siding at Sunshine, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.Manifest Meet at Sunshine - BNSF 5256 (GE DASH 9-44CW) and BNSF 1069 (GE DASH 9-44CW) hold the point of this eastbound manifest as she meets a westbound counterpart with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW) at Sunshine, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 752 West at Sunshine 2 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade at Sunshine, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

We were fortunate, at least in my eyes, to catch the preceeding mainifest train, struggling hard against the grade, with an ex-ATSF (Santa Fe) painted unit on the point. Another nice rarity feature about this train was the fact that on the rear of the freight consist was six former American Orient Express passenger cars heading to the Grand Canyon Railway (GCRX) in Williams, Arizona. I don’t know if the cars were sold to the GCRX or if they were going there to have some work done in the GCRX shops. Maybe one of you know and can let us all know:

[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

More good fortune for us came as we were leaving Sunshine and approaching the freeway. I turned to look back and saw a third train meet in the making. I jumped out and shot this scene. As it unfolded before me I found myself thinking about what this scene would have looked like back in the late 1800s as the trains streaked across the desert. As such, I crafted this piece:

Fast Freight for Shippers.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

We Didn’t Forget Winona

After bidding our farewells to the cattle and trains, we headed west once again on I-40 towards Flagstaff. In this area the tracks of BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision parallel the freeway, as the photo below shows. I could see that we would be passing a train shortly, and despite the high midday sun, I decided to take the Townsend Winona Road exit ahead of the train, once again, and shoot this train as well since the exit afforded an easy-off and easy-on access to the freeway.

Our luck continued as a previously unseen eastbound was also approaching West Darling at the same time our westbound train passed us. Another meet. Here’s part of the sequence I shot:

Meet at West Darling - Sequence
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 7355 East at Winona - After meeting a westbound stack train at the switch at West Darling, BNSF 7355 (GE ES44DC) leads an all GEVO set with BNSF 7418 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7913 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7882 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7367 (GE ES44DC), on the point of an eastbound stack train approaching the underpass at Townsend Winona Road.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Shapely Curves

When initially scouting possible locations for this trip using the planning maps I made and Google Maps, one of the locations I was intrigued by is an area known as Cosnino, Arizona. After studying the maps I got the sense that this spot might afford me an opportunity to shoot a nice shot on a curve with a mountain as the backdrop. This location was one my list of places to stop and it was next up.

While driving there, and as I thought about the shot, I remembered the Warbonnet train we shot at Sunshine. If I hurried we might be able to catch that train at Cosnino Road. I mashed the accelerator pedal and got my rig doing a pretty good clip.

Using the GPS as the guide, we reached Cosnino Road in short order and I turned right onto a dirt road that headed east along the south side of the tracks. Immediately thereafter we came upon a BNSF worker in a company pick-up truck. I pulled to the side of the road to give him clearance to get by. My hope was that he wasn’t going to give us grief — and fortunately we just exchanged waves and nods and continued on our separate ways.

I reached the curve and fortunately the area was wide enough for me to park the truck on the side of the road, which I did. I assembled my tripod and camera gear and waited. We had waited some twenty minutes or so before I heard the distinctive rhythmic sound of an approaching train. As the train came into view I was thrilled to see the Warbonnet on the point:

BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 1 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 2 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 3 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 4 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.co

Missed It By That Much

After the we caught the manifest train at Cosnino, Arizona, I began to worry about the time. I had planned something special for Deb and needed to get to Flagstaff soon. We packed up our gear and got back on our trusty road, I-40.

As we approached, and throughout the drive through, Flagstaff, Arizona, it was hard not to stop to take photos as I saw plenty of trains and cool spots but I was on a mission for Deb. The first order of business was to secure a campground so we didn’t have to worry about it later and we did just that at the Flagstaff KOA.

Once that task was complete we headed to our secret destination stopping to replenish goods from a local supermarket along the way. Every now and again we would pass a roadside sign pointing the way to our destination and I would glance over at Deb to see if she noticed the sign and figured out what was up. Fortunately she was taking in the whole view and didn’t notice the signs specifically. Whew, my cover was not blown.

I will reveal the details and the location of of my secret side trip that I had planned for Deb in my next post. Suffice it to say that it was well received and appreciated — though I was off by one day. Since we weren’t going to do what I had planned today, we headed down to the depot to soak up the local happenings and become one with the Flagstaff — so to speak.

Here are the results of our time at the depot: 

Flagstaff Depot - Desktop
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Flagstaff Depot in HDR
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Flagstaff Depot Framed
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Despite the fact that not a single train came by while we were at the depot, it was fun to chat with the Amtrak personnel that staffed the depot and take shots of the cool building itself. We would be doing our special event tomorrow evening so we headed back to the KOA campground to set-up the truck for the night, have some dinner, and check out the photos we took today on the Mac.

It had been a good chase.

Our Best Trip Ever - Part 6 - More Chasing at the La Posada Hotel

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 5 - Chasing at the La Posada Hotel)

Day 2

Track Side at the La Posada Hotel Again

After a nice and luxurious night’s rest at the La Posada Hotel, Deb and I awoke mid-morning to the unmistakeable sound of General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division prime movers of yesteryear. After getting cleaned up, we decided to grab breakfast in the camper before we started the day.

On the way to the camper we discovered the source of the diesel cacophony that was to provide an old-school ambience to our breakfast feast. Working the Winslow Yard, perhaps assembling its train, which I assume it to be the Winslow Local, was a pair of glorious old engines. On the point was the BNSF 120 (formerly ATSF 120), which is an EMD GP60M that was built in June, 1990, as part of the first production run of GP60Ms. The second, and final unit, was the BNSF 2333 (formerly BN 2333 and SLSF 478) which is an EMD GP38-2 that was built a mere 13 ½ years prior (in 12/76) to BNSF 120 and some 34 years ago!

After enjoying a fantastic breakfast burrito, I grabbed my gear and headed track side to catch these old units in action. In some weird way I felt obligated to capture the scene. It felt a little like chasing a steam locomotive except these units were commonplace for me because they ruled the rails back when I started out. It is not that rare of a sight to see on the BNSF today, but what I thought about, as I snapped photo after photo, was the fact that this scene, in particular, was all about predecessors. I suddenly began to feel old.

On September 21, 1995, the Burlington Northern Railroad merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. The individual roads operated autonomously until December 31, 1996 when the railroads officially joined operations. Then in January, 2005, the railroad’s name was officially changed to “BNSF Railway Company.”

So, here before me, some 15 years after the merger, was a representative unit from each parent railroad — but not just that. Each unit was an “old generation” unit in as complete pre-merger livery as you can get. It was the predecessors of the BNSF Railway and the predecessors of the today’s ubiquitous GE locomotives all rolled up into one. I began to wonder if the BNSF Railway had known I was at the La Posada Hotel and put these two units together for me…ever so briefly!

The EMD GP60M, represented by BNSF 120, was once the pride of the Santa Fe Railroad and held the point on most of the “hot” intermodal and/or piggyback trains of the day. After many years of use and technological advancements in locomotive engineering these units tend to be relagated to switching duties and local jobs these days.

I shot a whole bunch of images as these units continued their work on the east end of Winslow Yard and here is a sampling of that effort:

Predecessors
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry BNSF 120 East - Predecessors for both, the BNSF (Santa Fe & Burlington Northern) and modern locomotives, can be seen in this photo showing BNSF 120 (EMD GP60M) and BNSF 2333 (EMD GP38-2) seen here working at the Winslow Yard in April 2011.
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

Predecessors Postcard
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

During this period there seemed to a lull in mainline trains coming through Winslow. That didn’t last long though. As the local continued to perform switching moves, a massive unit train, which I presume to be carrying some quarry-based product, came in from the east on track 3 and began stopping for a crew change. Even before the brakes where set on the unit train, which had four units up front, 3 mid-train units and two more on the rear — with a ton of cars, I could see headlights on the horizon in both directions. We were back in business.

I continued to shoot from in front of the Winslow Amtrak station for bit as the traffic picked up. Here is a sequence of a hot intermodal (Z-train) coming in from the east. This train crossed over and came in on Track 2 and stopped ever so briefly and then it was gone again with a new crew.

BNSF 7677 West 1, 2, 3 - BNSF 7677 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 4494 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 6639 (GE ES44C4), and BNSF 7334 (GE ES44DC) hustle this westbound Z-train through a crossover at East Winslow, AZ as they pull along side a massive unit train and into the crew change point at Winslow, AZ
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

My PSA - The Lay of the Land at the La Posada Hotel

The grounds and area surrounding the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona are an ideal location from which to watch and/or photograph trains along one of the busiest trackage in the southwest. Guests of the hotel are treated to various spots on the hotel’s property where you can find shade, some seating, and a great vantage point. There are some guidelines that you must follow in order to have a hassle-free experience and not become a nuisance for the hotel, the railroad, or other fans.

Remember that the BNSF Railroad’s right-of-way and associated outbuildings, bridges, and signal houses are private property. The railroads take trespassing on their property very seriously and I would caution everyone against trespassing at any level. The BNSF’s crews are required to report all trespassers and, I suspect, the La Posada Hotel wants to keep a good relationship with the railroad, and, as such, has placed signs along the south end of their property to help remind guests that this is a very active mainline and that it is private property. The hotel’s proximity to the mainline is unparalleled and there is no need to trespass onto BNSF property to get a shot or watch the action. Heeding this advice makes it a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved — especially to keep railfans welcome at the hotel and track side.

For those interested, I created the following mash-up showing the locations of key points and photos showing the views of the east and west from the hotel’s grounds. As you can see, there is no reason to enter BNSF’s property:

The Lay of the Land at the La Posada Hotel - Click image for a larger view (4MB). Use the arrow keys to scroll the image in your browser.
© Copyright 2011, Joe Perry.

One potentially challenging aspect of the rail photography experience at the La Posada Hotel is the fact that the hotel is situated on the north side of the tracks. This can put the sun directly in front of you and backlight the scene. You can compensate for this with your camera’s settings or shoot multiple exposures. The best thing to do is to shoot when the sun is lower in the sky, like early morning and evening, and shoot activity in the opposing direction.

Lighting Challenges - While the hotel and depot complex offer an excellent railroad experience it does present a challenge for photographers because the sun is typically on the opposite side of the tracks and this will backlight the scene.
© Copyright 2011, Joe Perry.

Despite the sunlight challenges, there is some great railroad photographic opportunities to be had at the hotel — not to mention the landscape and architecture opportunities as well. Here are a few shots of traffic directly in front of the hotel’s viewing area:

BNSF 6858 - BNSF 6858 (EMD SD40-2 Snoot) is the rear unit in a consist on the point of an eastbound manifest train awaiting a crew change in front of the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona.
[7/6/2006 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com

Passing Intermodal
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Tank Cars on the Move
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

After a few more trains and a whole bunch of photos, I wanted a change of venue. I was looking for a less-cluttered scene and opted to walk east of the depot and hotel more towards the control point at East Winslow. After crossing a dry creek or wash I found my quarry that afforded a vantage point with less non-track elements in the scene just east of control point CP 2853 and west of East Winslow.

I could see several trains waiting east of this new location but they held their places for a bit as the sun began to beat down on me. I was getting hot and thirsty but I wanted to wait for at least one train to show up so I wouldn’t waste the effort. I held on long enough for one westbound to reach me before I opted to retreat to the hotel for some eats and treats — and shade!

BNSF 5133 West 1 - An apparently fire-damaged BNSF 5133 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 7588 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7671 (GE ES44DC) provide the tractive effort for this westbound intermodal train at CP 2853 just east of Winslow, Arizona.
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe PerryBNSF 5133 West 2 - An apparently fire-damaged BNSF 5133 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 7588 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7671 (GE ES44DC) provide the tractive effort for this westbound intermodal train at CP 2853 just east of Winslow, Arizona.
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

After a sufficient respite in the camper for some soda, shade, and a good long sit, I headed back to the tracks and continued to ply my trade. It was a great day and it kept getting better.

BNSF 5377 West - BNSF 5337 (GE DASH 9-44CW), NS 2771 (EMD SD70M-2) , and CSXT 4811 (EMD SD70MAC) bring their manifest consist into Winslow, AZ after just completing a run across BNSF’s Gallup subdivision.
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.comBNSF 7234 West into Winslow - BNSF 7234 (GE ES44DC) leads two other GE ES44DCs and one GE DASH 9-44CW into the crew change point at Winslow, Arizona, having just finished their run over the Gallup Subdivision on April 18, 2011.
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com

Parting Shot - BNSF 157 East - BNSF 157 (EMD GP60M), BNSF 1757 (EMD SD40-2), BNSF 6741 (EMD SD40-2), and an unidentified GE DASH 9-44CW are performing switching duties at the Winslow Yard late in the day in April 2011.
[4/18/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com

Radar Love and the Turquoise Room

I had a full day of chasing steel and photography and I felt I had some great shots so I decided it was time to wrap it up and meet up with Deb.

I put away my gear in the camper, cleaned the grit off of me and proceeded to walk towards the lobby. Just then I see Deb exited the hotel and I smiled. It seems we have always had that “radar love” that Golden Earring sings about, because she was coming out to see how I was doing at the exact same time.

After we greeted each other and shared our day’s events with one another we decided that it would be remiss of us not to partake of one of the La Posada Hotel’s gems, the Turquoise Room.

The Turquoise Room is one of, if not the best, restaurants in this region of the southwest. It is operated by renowned Chef John Sharpe. It is a fantastic dining experience.

Reservations are recommended but Deb and I neglected to make them earlier. Fortunately, it was still early enough in the evening that we were able to get a window seat that afforded us a view of the tracks - of course!

We went all out on the meal and, at our server’s recommendation, we started with the “Signature Soup” which is best described straight off of their menu (The soup is incredible! I am getting hungry and salivating at the thought it right now!):

Creamy sweet corn in the same bowl with smooth and spicy black bean topped with a signature of spicy chile cream.

In keeping with our railroading theme, Deb and I both had dishes from the “Fred Harvey Dishes” section on the menu. She had the prime rib and I had the filet mignon. Simply amazing. You definitely need to eat here if you are anywhere within 250 miles or so.

End of Day 2

After a terrific meal and dining experience, Deb and I took a brief walk around the hotel’s grounds and interior to soak up all that we could. We love this place and it was to be our last night here. While we were sad that it was coming to an end, we had a great time and we were looking forward to adventures unknown that were still to come as we began to chase the BNSF along the Seligman Subdivision for the next week.

We retired to our room and enjoyed our final night’s stay in the fabulous La Posada Hotel. We will be back soon — no doubt.

Tomorrow we would leave for our chase fully rested and relaxed with some fond memories.

Our Best Trip Ever - Part 5 - Chasing at the La Posada Hotel

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 4 - A Railfan Oasis, The La Posada Hotel)

Day 1 (Continued)

Track Side at La Posada

From a railfan’s perspective, the La Posada Hotel is blessed with a plethora of both, mainline trackage and plenty of traffic, that form the southern border of the property. Considering the hotel’s history, a place for weary travelers of the Santa Fe Railway Company to get some rest and good eats, this is by design. As such, the hotel’s grounds provide a welcome sign of sorts amidst the parch and arid landscape in this part of northern Arizona. Butted up against the platforms of the Winslow Amtrak station, a semi-circular brick plaza morphs into a walkway that leads directly to a portico and the lobby of the hotel. Today, as it was then, this area serves as fantastic train watching vantage point, complete with wood rocking chairs for the guests to rock their cares away as they watch the parade of trains, from all points east and all points west, go by.

From a photography standpoint, the track side location presents some challenges with respect to lighting. The orientation of train traffic is east-west but you will be shooting from the north side of the tracks which, given the latitude of Winslow, Arizona, puts you on the dark side of most shots. The early morning hours are great for eastbounds catching a clear indication out the Winslow yard while westbounds are best lit in late afternoon/evening. I favor the westbound shots as the sight distance is greater and often you can catch multiple headlights in one scene.

Winslow is the eastern terminus for the Seligman Subdivision which means trains coming west into Winslow are arriving off of the Gallup Subdivision which covers the territory from Belen Junction, New Mexico to East Winslow, Arizona.

Winslow is a crew change point for the BNSF. It marks the point at which a new crew takes over a train and runs it to the next crew change point down the line or the train’s final destination, whichever comes first. As such, the trackage consists of four main tracks and it is not uncommon to see four trains stopped waiting to be re-crewed and then get a clear indication (green signal to proceed) either west or east out of Winslow. Typically the re-crewing process can happen in minutes, but it can happen rather quickly too if the train’s priority warrants it and the new crew is ready to jump on board. All of this means that you will not, if ever, see a train blow by the La Posada Hotel at any measure of speed like you will out on the mainline but this affords you the opportunity to catch details that are hard to see at 70MPH.

“Well, I’m a standing on a corner — In Winslow, Arizona — And such a fine sight to see…”

After the day’s long drive, a short nap at the WalMart, and the shooting around Winona and Darling, I had resigned myself to take it easy at this point in the day and just enjoy what the hotel had to offer. Camera in hand, but no other gear, I headed track side to see what was going on.

It was late in the day and the sun had already begun it’s final plunge beneath the horizon. I took up position on one of those wooden rocking chairs and prepared to take the sunset in and just enjoy the moment. When I took a look towards the east to see if any headlights were on the horizon I was pleased to see that there was but I was also puzzled because the displacement of the lights were not those typically found on today’s motive power. I saw the “train” take the switch at East Winslow and begin to come down Track 1 — right in front of me.

Once the unit came closer I could discern that this was a “maintenance-of-way” consist and more precisely, a rail grinder. As the grinder slid by I could see that the train set was fully staffed — men at each station along the consist — which told me that this was not merely a move but rather a working job. It was great to see a rare consist but at the same time it was also a little disconcerting because it meant that some of the trackage would be out of service as the work was being performed and this could impact the traffic levels.

I was so inquisitive about the doings that I had completely forgot that I had camera in hand! Just as the head end passed me, it was moving in reverse, I remembered that fact and began shooting. The following few shots are of Loram’s (LMIX) RG402 working on the mainline in front of the La Posada Hotel:

Loram’s RG402 at Sunset - One of Loram’s new rail grinders, LMIX RG402, prepares to work on BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision right in front of the La Posada Hotel in April 2011.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

Loram’s RG402 at Sunset 2 - One of Loram’s new rail grinders, LMIX RG402, prepares to work on BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision right in front of the La Posada Hotel in April 2011.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

BNSF 5191 East at Winslow, AZ - BNSF 5191 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 4485 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and BNSF 7876 (GE ES44DC) hold the point duties on this eastbound manifest out of Winslow, AZ as one of Loram’s new rail grinders, LMIX RG402, prepares to work on BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision right in front of the La Posada Hotel in April 2011.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

As the sun receded, I began to think of how cool it would be to get a shot of the grinder in action at night throwing sparks. Despite the fact that I had resigned myself to chill that night, I hesitated only slightly before making a beeline off to my truck to retrieve my tripod. A tripod is critical in low-light situations such as these.

Upon my return I saw the grinder in the distance waiting for traffic to clear so that it could switch tracks and make another run. I used the time waiting to some more shots of passing trains and of the Winslow Amtrak station.

Winslow Sunset Silhouette - [4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

Track Side at the Amtrak Winslow Depot - [4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

BNSF 6073 East at Dusk - [4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

Amtrak Winslow, Arizona Postcard - [4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

During our visit the Amtrak depot is still in use twice a day. There are plans underway to convert the building, which is owned by the La Posada Hotel, into a museum. This would cause the stations functions of being an Amtrak facility to move to the La Posada Hotel proper. A new gate, fitting of such a role, is currently being hand-crafted and assembled to welcome passengers from the Amtrak service to the hotel. Based on what Allan and his team have done with the La Posada Hotel renovation and reopening, I am confident that the new museum will be fantastic and I hope to be there for it’s grand opening.

Southwest Chief Route Map - Click to view larger version.

Amtrak Service at Winslow, AZ - [4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

Eventually the Loram crew were given the rights they needed to occupy Track 4 and perform their work of grinding the rails. I set-up my tripod and prepared for their run. This was the moment I waited for. As she came by I snapped photo after photo.

When I left the tracks and got back to the room I uploaded the images onto my Mac. I was a tad bit disappointed. I had underestimated the speed the grinder would make as it went by and the result, see below, is blurrier than I had hoped for. However, it was fun to see firsthand and you can clearly see the shower of sparks produced by the train’s effort. (Sorry folks — I am still learning this thing they call photography…) ;-)

RailGrinding Train at the La Posada Hotel - [4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

In my next post I’ll cover Day 2 of our trip as I “chased” at the La Posada Hotel all day.

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Bonus Content - What is rail grinding all about?

As I began to write this post I wondered what the benefits of a rail grinder were so I did a little digging. Here are some of the key benefits of rail grinding as extolled on the Loram Maintenance of Way web site as well as a link to a rather progressive advertisement for their new RG400 series of rail grinders:

Loram’s “There’s a Better Way to Rail Grind” ad.

Extended rail life

Fuel savings

Reduced surfacing cycles

Extended track component life

Reduced wear on rolling stock

Increased axle loads

Increased train speeds

Improved ride quality and passenger comfort

The next best thing to being there and seeing this activity in person is watching a video of a rail grinder in action at night. Here is a good one from Shemanta’s YouTube Channel:

Great video of a rail grinding train at work at night. Shot at MP 116 on the Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line by Shermanta.