"UP" for a Chase? 844 Comes to California

A Living Legend 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.

UP No. 844 - Photo courtesy of Union Pacific Railroad.

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.

Weighing in at nearly 1,000,000 pounds, the ground literally shakes as she rumbles by at track speed. It is a rare opportunity that shouldn’t be missed—and those folks that reside near the return route from Yuma, Arizona through California, Nevada, Utah, and western Wyoming, should take advantage of this opportunity to see one of America’s great steam engines plowing the rails. The following map shows a high-level view of the route:

Thursday, November 17, 2011

No. 844’s excursion into California begins a mere hour or so from now (7:00 AM PST) as she leaves Yuma, Arizona after a day of rest while on display at the border town. As the following schedule for the day indicates, she is enroute to Bloomington, California—a.k.a. West Colton, where she will be serviced and then tied-up for the evening. She will also receive servicing at Niland, California on her way to Colton and this is a good opportunity to get an extended view of the locomotive standing still. If a steam engine at speed is more your thing then grab a wide spot in the road track side and wait for her to come blowing by:

Friday, November 18, 2011

Residents of Southern California will get the same opportunity to view No. 844 up close and personal as the folks in Yuma, Arizona did because on Friday, November 18, 2011 the No. 844 is slated to be on public display at 10359 Alder Avenue, Bloomington, CA 92316, from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM:

View Larger Map

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Saturday presents a rare opportunity to watch a steam engine struggle against the grades and curves of the much vaunted Cajon Pass as No. 844 leaves Colton and heads to Yermo, California on BNSF rails over the pass. Traditionally, with events such as a steam train traversing the pass, expect a lot of traffic and sightseers all along the route on Saturday. Cajon Pass is one of the favorite locations for local railfans and the smoke from the engine can be seen for some distance in the pass which will garner the attention of travelers on Interstate 15 as well, which dances with the BNSF and Union Pacific rails throughout the southern section of the pass. (I plan on making this part of the trip—see you out there chasing steel!):

Sunday, November 20, 2011

For me, Sunday offers the crème de’ le’ crème portion of the trip through California—the run north out of Yermo towards Las Vegas, Nevada. This portion of the trip traverses some of the most spectacular scenery of the tour in California. Two areas rich in scenery are Afton Canyon and the Mojave National Preserve surrounding Kelso and Cima: 

NOTE: Afton Canyon is extremely remote and should only be attempted by serious four-wheelers, but the Kelso and Cima areas are easily accessible—just remember they are a long way from services such as food, water, and gas—so make sure to top off everything before you leave Yermo.

UP Cima Subdivision Chase Map and UP Tools

Since most folks rarely get into this remote area of California, I thought that I should provide my “Chase Map” for Union Pacific’s Cima Subdivision to assist you in planning your chase. Simply click on each image below to downlaod:

Union Pacific also offers two methods of tracking the locomotive during excursions such as this one. The first one is the internet-based tracking applet on the UP Steam web site. The other one is the newly released iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad app called UP Steam:

UP Steam app - available for both the iPhone and iPad

UP Steam Locomotive Tracking Map

Be Safe and Enjoy the Experience (My PSA)

Before you head out to enjoy the experience at the location of your choosing be sure to read my post called “The New Rules of Railfanning: Don’t Trespass, Be Alert, Report Issues” as it details some of the challenges and risks of being trackside.

Also, remember that any track is a live track and don’t assume that you can hear a train coming. Many times folks lose their focus when a steam train approaches and they mistaken assume that the railroad knows they are there and have closed other tracks for this steam train. This is not so! Since the railroad is private property the expectation is that you are NOT there. Also remember it takes a good deal of distance to stop a train so just stay off of the tracks—all tracks. A safe trip is a FUN trip!

Don’t Do This!

How NOT to behave around railroad tracks!

Union Pacific Leads the Way

So Much For Having a Plan

Last night I settled in to my usual haunt, the easy chair in the front room, and perched upon my lap was my trusty Apple MacBook Pro. I had plans to research and craft a blog post that was long overdue. You see, the Union Pacific Railroad is embarking on a grand tour of the Southwest with one of their treasured and glorious steam engines replete with appropriate carriages of old in tow. The purpose of the event is best left described by a few passages from their press release:

Omaha, Neb., October 10, 2011 – Union Pacific Railroad’s iconic steam locomotive, No. 844, will travel through the Southwestern United States to kick off state centennial celebrations in New Mexico and Arizona, respectively. No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific and will travel more than 2,900 miles from its base in Wyoming on a 32-day, nine-state tour that will honor the rich railroad heritage of the scenic Southwest.

“Union Pacific long has been a part of the Western United States landscape,” said Scott Moore, vice president of public affairs for Union Pacific’s western region. “It is fitting that No. 844 will be the flag bearer for these centennial celebrations.”

The “New Mexico/Arizona Centennial Tour” begins October 29 when No. 844 departs Cheyenne, Wyo. The train’s consist, which will include passenger cars from Union Pacific’s renowned Heritage Fleet, will stop in each of the following cities before arriving back in Cheyenne November 29…

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

UP No. 844 - Photo courtesy of Union Pacific Railroad.

Obviously this is a big event with a lot of visibility that, over the course of a month, will bring joy and stir the hearts and imagination of many throughout the Southwest. Sure, the UP runs trips like this now and again, but there is something about seeing a steam locomotive, and particularly a large locomotive such as UP Np.844 roaring by at track speed that makes these events special each and every time. Hence, I felt the need to help spread the word about the event and to enlighten the uniformed of the opportunity to chase this train as it makes it way on a circular route through Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and finally returning to Wyoming.

The most appropriate place to start, for me, was crafting a colorful map detailing the route and stop-overs. Also, I wanted to mark the locations that I am familiar with that might present some amazing photographic opportunties and help identify good, safe locations for non-fans to see the train up close. I turned to the Union Pacific’s web site to gather details.

While I was reading UP’s material on the subject, and “hitting the links,” I came across a page that, excuse me, gave me the cause to exclaim aloud, “Holy Shit!”  The page is titled “Union Pacific Railroad’s Steam Locomotives Join the App World.”

Now i have praised the Union Pacific in the past, not only for their steam program, but for their prolific use of current technology to inform and entice the general public to become part of the event. It is clearly an excellent marketing strategy that I, as a die-hard railfan, am thankful for. Here is the complete press release from the Union Pacific Railroad:

Union Pacific Railroad’s Steam Locomotives Join the App World

Free UP Steam App Now Available

Omaha, Neb., October 28, 2011 – In the golden age of steam locomotives, trains were tracked using a timetable and a pocket watch. Converging old and new technology, Union Pacific’s legendary steam locomotives now can be tracked with the touch of a screen. The free UP Steam app is available at Apple’s App Store in iTunes for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users.

Combining new technology and Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotives, the UP Steam app offers users the chance to keep up with the locomotives on their latest excursions.

App features include:

• Real-time GPS location of Union Pacific’s steam locomotives.
• Up-to-the-minute schedules of the latest Union Pacific steam excursion.
• Notification if Union Pacific steam is scheduled to be within 50 miles of the user’s current location.
• Photos, videos, descriptions and history of Union Pacific steam locomotives No. 844 and No. 3985.
• The ability to submit photos taken with an iOS device for inclusion in the Union Pacific Facebook photo album.
• Real-time Tweets tied to twitter.com/up_steam.
• The ability to “check in” with the Union Pacific’s steam locomotives using Foursquare.

In addition, the app includes an “About Union Pacific” section describing the company’s operations, shipping information and an overview of the products Union Pacific routinely ships.

As you can glean from the release, it is a rather comprehensive application — offering some great features. Based solely on the description it seems like the application was conceived purposefully to present the technologies that most folks would care about. Now, I say “based solely on…” because I haven’t actually had a thorough oppotunity to test the application. I intend on doing a complete review sometime soon.

So, rather than putting together a traditional blog post about the excursion event, I cracked open a new program for me and used it to craft an homage to the Union Pacific’s effort and desire to put out the app. Hopefully it will serve to inspire and encourage you to try out the app and follow the excursion on your iOS device, along with me. My thought is that application could, and should, serve to enlighten and inform, fans and the general populus alike, about the doings of Union Pacific’s Steam Program.

Chasing Steel’s Homage to Union Pacific’s Steam Program iOS App

Thank you Union Pacific.

Living, Barely - Cima Sub Shots - Part 5 of 5

(Continued from: Living Lucky - Cima Sub Shots - Part 4)

After the day’s events and considering I was content with the shots I had taken already, I decided to head home. As I left the Ivanpah, California grade crossing, I knew of two trains on the normally sparsely populated Cima Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad. One was the eastbound vehicle train that kept me company while we both waited for the westbound manifest train at Ivanpah. The vehicle train was now well on its way to Nipton, California and east towards Las Vegas, Nevada. The manifest train was out in front of me somewhere between Ivanpah and Kelso, California by now.

I had no intention of stopping, except perhaps to get gas, before I reached home. However, as I approached Cima I noticed the distinctive and highly illuminating glare of a locomotive’s headlights in my side mirror. I must have caught and past the manifest train. I slowed down to confirm my sighting and gauge the apparent speed of the train. I realized that the train was moving too quick for me to get in position at Cima so I kept an eye out for a potential photo location as I continued towards Kelso ahead of the train.

I found my quarry at the grade crossing at Cedar Canyon Road. This is the road that is noted for being part of the original route of the Mojave Road and a key route through the New York Mountains. In fact, I did drive over the crossing to evaluate the road’s condition on the other side in hopes of possibly reaching the Mid-Hills campground. My hopes were quickly dashed when I saw the road warning sign which read “Flooded.” I drove back across the crossing and parked. (I always try to park on the side of a crossing that I will be leaving from or the side that I will be shooting photos from as I never want to have a train between me and my vehicle.)

I had ample time to set-up my tripod and take a bunch of test shots to figure out what settings would work best. The moon had risen by this time and I was able to leverage the light it afforded me. After taking a series of shots I could see that the moon began to resemble a sun in the longer exposed photos. As such, it gave the scene a surreal daytime/nighttime look. I chose those settings for a few shots and I really like they way they came out.

Here is one shot of the crossing sans train. This shot has three sources of light for the effect. The first is the moon which provides most of the lighting for the scene. The second is some partial lighting from the approaching train, and lastly, I lightly “painted” the light on the cross bucks and telephone poles with my MagLite® flashlight to get them to expose properly because they were in the “shadow” of the moon.

“Coyote Crossing” - Part of the famed “Mojave Road,” the Cedar Canyon Road grade crossing is framed by the moon and the lights of an approaching train. I had become very casual about my surroundings as I was taking this shot and soon after it was taken I found myself the subject of a pack of coyotes’ nightly hunt.
[2/20/2011 - Cima Subdivision] Copyright © 2011 Joe Perry. All rights reserved.I took shot after shot and tweaking the settings in hopes of enhancing my knowledge of night photography and my camera’s (Nikon D50, in this case) capabilities. I loved shooting this crossing because it was barren and desolate. It did not have any distracting crossing gates or lights. I don’t mind the telephone poles too much but I think it might have been a better shot without them.

About 15 minutes after taking the shot above the train finally arrived at the crossing. I left my tripod in the same location, in the middle of the road, since I hadn’t seen another vehicle for hours. It was just me, the moon, and the train. Oh, and the cold. Did I mention that it was about 29F degrees? Yeah, it was and as I held the remote to my camera in the hand, poised to press the shutter release button, I realized that I had lost sensitivity in my fingers by now. Oh well, here comes the train.   

I fired off successive shots and altered the settings a bit and then fired some more. I kept this up until the trains length had cleared the crossing. I wasn’t sure what settings would create a cool effect so I tried a bunch of them. Here is one of the better shots of the train blowing through the crossing. I wish I could say that I planned to take exactly this shot and I used these settings to capture the… But the truth is, I am just not there yet. I did know enough to try everything and use my flashlight to help paint the scene though. ;-)

“Coyote Crossing” Train - The Cedar Canyon Road grade crossing with the Union Pacific’s Cima Subdivision is framed by the moon and the lights of an passing train in this time-lapsed photo. I had become very casual about my surroundings as I was taking this shot and soon after it was taken I found myself the subject of a pack of coyotes’ nightly hunt.
[2/20/2011 - Cima Subdivision] Copyright © 2011 Joe Perry. All rights reserved.

Once the train blew by my location I briefly considered what other shots I could take there. I was having fun and learning a lot. By this time I was at the crossing for nearly an hour or so and despite the lack of feeling in my exposed parts, I felt like I could keep shooting. 

I took up a position behind by tripod and looked through the viewfinder to possibly frame another subject when I was shaken from the moment of having fun by a disturbing sound. At first, the sound didn’t register in my mind. It seemed out of place. It was foreign to my world of shutter clicks and squealing wheels on steel rails mixed with the low drumming sound of massive diesel engines.

Then I heard it again.

This time, it sent shivers down my spine. I suddenly felt like an explorer in a far away land. The hairs on my arm stood up. Uh oh. Instinctively I knew this was potentially a bad thing. Then it got worse.

This time when the I heard the coyote’s howl I realized it was coming from directly ahead of me on the road, in the dark. I was in the dark. He was in the dark. He could see. I couldn’t. Just then I heard another howl, and then another, and another. In rapid succession, there was the main coyote call followed by three others in a semi-circle around me. And they all were close - within 75 yards or so. Oh shit!

I had become so caught up in my photography that I forgot I was in a preserve in the middle of nowhere. There is wildlife all around me. In this case, the wildlife could case me grief. Naturally my mind told me that the calls were the gang ensuring that everyone was in position before they moved in for the kill. Wait, I am in the middle of this. Oh shit, I am the kill!

I grabbed my tripod and hustled to my truck like a the next victim of some horror movie. I even did the “fumbling keys” bit as well. I eventually reached the safety of Fort Ford and, as I closed and locked (really?) the doors behind me, I took a moment to make sure that I didn’t leave any equipment behind. “Nope, should be good. Let’s go home.” I told myself.

I didn’t survive the black abyss and being stuck in muck and mud only to be consumed by a pack coyotes - or werewolves! By my calculations, I have seven lives left.

In keeping with my tradition, Cedar Canyon Road will be forever known as “Coyote Crossing.” ;-)

The end.