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Entries in Seligman (2)

Saturday

Aug272011

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

Joe Perry |

Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 8:30PM

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 12 - Seligman, Stackers, Sunset)

Day 7 - Part 1

The Road Less Traveled

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.

The track of our seventh day on the Seligman Sub. The black camera icons indicate the locations that I shot.Upon leaving Seligman proper we saw an eastbound train climbing the grade out of Audley. We had also passed a nice deck bridge still emblazoned with the old “Santa Fe” logo on it. Once I saw that the second unit in the stack train consist was a former Santa Fe warbonnet locomotive I made the decision to turn around and get in position for a shot of the train as it crossed the deck bridge.

Santa Fe Surprise at Seligman - Just west of Seligman, Arizona, an eastbound intermodal crosses a deck-girder bridge with the lovable “Santa Fe” logo. The second unit in the four-unit lash-up, consisting of BNSF 4736 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 934 (GE DASH 9-44CW), 4001 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and 4118 (GE DASH 9-44CW), is also sporting the same old logo.
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Once you pass Chino Point, the land opens up and before you is Aubrey Valley, with the Aubrey Cliffs along the northern edge of the valley. It is a really neat view and I always love to shoot in this area so we turned off of Route 66 and set-up to catch an eastbound we saw on the monitor at a location known as Audley, Arizona.

BNSF 5530 East - BNSF 5530 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 8721 (EMD), BNSF 8720 (EMD), BNSF 4836 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and another unidentified GE DASH 9-44CW bring this manifest train around a bend near Audley, Arizona, just west of Seligman, Arizona.
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

We repositioned ourselves so we could shoot the curve head-on. While I shot an eastbound, Deb took this shot of me “getting the shot:”

Getting the Shot
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Debra Parra, ChasingSteel.com.While I liked the shots that I took when I was photographed above, I really love Deb’s shot of the same train. Her shot accentuates the grade and is well composed, for a “rookie:” ;-)

BNSF 7917 East - BNSF 7917 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7664 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7647 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 4432 (GE DASH 9-44CW) provide the power for this eastbound stack train at Audley, Arizona, nearing the crew change point at Seligman, Arizona.
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Debra Parra, ChasingSteel.com.

We took a lull in the traffic as an opportunity to continue west some more. One of the more recognizable landmarks of the Seligman Subdivision are the water tanks located at Pica, Arizona. Monolithically they rise from the valley floor and can be seen for many miles from Route 66. We decided to stop there and catch some for a bit.

CP West Pica
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 7839 East 1 - BNSF 7839 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 6664 (GE ES44C4), BNSF 7617 (GE ES44DC), and an unidentified GE DASH 9-44CW hold the point on this eastbound stack train negotiating the s-curves west of CP West Pica at Pica, Arizona.
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 7839 East 2 - BNSF 7839 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 6664 (GE ES44C4), BNSF 7617 (GE ES44DC), and an unidentified GE DASH 9-44CW hold the point on this eastbound stack train approaching CP West Pica at Pica, Arizona.
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Meet at CP West Pica - B&W
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Meet at CP West Pica
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.UPS at Pica
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.CP West Pica 2 - B&W
[4/23/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com. After we spent sufficient time at Pica we headed west, once again, on Route 66 as we worked our way towards Peach Springs, Arizona. Our next photo stop would be at Yampai, Arizona, which begins our next post.

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

Joe Perry |

Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 2:00PM

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 11 - On the Cut-Off)

Day 6 - Part 2

Onward to Seligman

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.

Seligman/Route 66 KOA
801 E Highway 66, Seligman, AZ 86337

Despite the fact that our Lance camper is fully equipped, it is nice to get the opportunity to use a full-size shower and our experience has been that the KOA Campgrounds, typically, have great facilities such as showers, a laundromat, a convenience store, propane, a dump station, and full hook-ups — and friendly staff.

Our campground of choice in Seligman is the Seligman/Route 66 KOA. It is right next to tracks on Route 66. The campground only has a somewhat marginal view of the trains as they pass by with no real photographic appeal. Nonetheless, you can keep an eye on traffic and race out to photograph a train if you see something worthy go by.

The proximity of the tracks, and the frequency of train traffic, has given cause to the campground to adopt the phrase “The Night of a Thousand Trains.” It is not a terrific spot for those of you who are light sleepers. For us, we love it.

Once we secured a site we headed into “town,” and I use that term loosely, to replenish some groceries and fuel. As we made our way along Route 66 I looked for a spot to set-up to catch the setting sun. I didn’t find a “killer” spot so once our errands were complete I decided to go back east to hill that overlooks Seligman itself. It turns out that this was a great spot. We stayed there for a few hours until the sun had set.

Here are a few of the photos that I took atop the hill:

BNSF 7645 East 1 - BNSF 7645 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7896 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7667 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7796 (GE ES44DC) are up front of this eastbound intermodal climbing the grade through Railroad Canyon having just left the crew change point of Seligman, Arizona with a new crew.
[4/22/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

The Climb Out 2 - BNSF 7252 (GE ES44DC) is the “leader” on this eastbound intermodal train fighting the grade as it climbs out of Seligman, Arizona, with BNSF 6663 (GE ES44C4), BNSF 7303 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7672 (GE ES44DC) assisting in the effort.
[4/22/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

After the sun had set we headed back to the KOA and grabbed some dinner followed by a luxurious hot shower. It had been a fantastic day with BNSF’s Seligman Sub. Tomorrow would find us heading west along Route 66.

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