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California Coal Drag
Emphasis on the "drag" part.
Took nearly two days to catch this bad boy, I was hoping for a late afternoon chase around the east side of Cima Hill. Instead I got this in rather non-shootable mid morning lighting, pacing it was really the best option given the time of day.
Here's how it all fell apart, in rather non spectacular fashion as always. Union Pacific's Loaded Coal from West Elk, Colorado to Long Beach, California (Pier G) hit a rather unexpected snag in transit on the Caliente Subdivision, after its rear DPU (UP 8454) died while the train was dropping out of the Meadow Valley Wash. While this wasn't world ending going downhill and into the short uphill stretch Farrier, it did cause some problems when the train hit the one percent grade at Moapa and promptly stalled it. Now here's where it got ugly fast, there was only one train that had a donatable unit to give to the coal train. An eastbound Ogden had to setout a unit at Milford the two trains had actually met at Islen on Thursday the 24th. That required a Milford, Utah to Moapa, Nevada engine move that took just about a whole calendar day with positioning crews, fuel checks, etc. to accomplish the end goal (getting this thing moving again).
That all started on Thursday around seven in the morning, it's now Saturday just before nine o'clock. As Union Pacific 2602 and 8035 are pulling hard across the Ivanpah Valley on their way to the bottom of Cima Hill. There the train will slug it out over the mountain grade on it's way to Yermo, where more it will be held for booster unit to get over the Santa Fe. It wouldn't make it into Long Beach until Sunday just after twelve in the afternoon....
Moapa, Nevada to Long Beach, California total distance: three hundred ninety-six miles with seventy-eight hours to get there, average speed was five miles an hour.
Sighhh wish it wasn't like this.....
California Coal Drag
Emphasis on the "drag" part.
Took nearly two days to catch this bad boy, I was hoping for a late afternoon chase around the east side of Cima Hill. Instead I got this in rather non-shootable mid morning lighting, pacing it was really the best option given the time of day.
Here's how it all fell apart, in rather non spectacular fashion as always. Union Pacific's Loaded Coal from West Elk, Colorado to Long Beach, California (Pier G) hit a rather unexpected snag in transit on the Caliente Subdivision, after its rear DPU (UP 8454) died while the train was dropping out of the Meadow Valley Wash. While this wasn't world ending going downhill and into the short uphill stretch Farrier, it did cause some problems when the train hit the one percent grade at Moapa and promptly stalled it. Now here's where it got ugly fast, there was only one train that had a donatable unit to give to the coal train. An eastbound Ogden had to setout a unit at Milford the two trains had actually met at Islen on Thursday the 24th. That required a Milford, Utah to Moapa, Nevada engine move that took just about a whole calendar day with positioning crews, fuel checks, etc. to accomplish the end goal (getting this thing moving again).
That all started on Thursday around seven in the morning, it's now Saturday just before nine o'clock. As Union Pacific 2602 and 8035 are pulling hard across the Ivanpah Valley on their way to the bottom of Cima Hill. There the train will slug it out over the mountain grade on it's way to Yermo, where more it will be held for booster unit to get over the Santa Fe. It wouldn't make it into Long Beach until Sunday just after twelve in the afternoon....
Moapa, Nevada to Long Beach, California total distance: three hundred ninety-six miles with seventy-eight hours to get there, average speed was five miles an hour.
Sighhh wish it wasn't like this.....