BNSF 1458
Go back to Kansas!
Just like any other day, I woke up and immediately checked for trains. To my surprise, there were actually FIVE, two of which were UP trains and I figured they'd be EMD SD70Ms, based upon their numbers
"Today is going to be a great day," I thought. "Maybe I'll even give one of them a chase."
Whenever you think something like that about railfanning, you've already sealed your fate. Because being too optimistic means that something, if not everything, will surely go wrong. That was just the case for today.
Starting out, northbound manifest H-LAWSUP, a rather obscure ID that I've never heard in my life came off the Staples with some GEVO leading, I didn't really pay too much attention to the number but it was a 59xx. Then a little later, southbound taconite load U-KEEMAD comes off the wye at Boylston and they prepare to meet at Nickerson.
Nickerson is a manually-thrown siding, and in the winter (especially after fresh snow) it seems that they often have troubles getting the dang thing flipped, despite having switch heaters, and that was exactly the case today. So after LAWSUP took a whopping 1.5 hours lining the siding switch, finally they got out of the way for the KEEMAD. By this point there was also a northbound bare table with a dash 9, a southbound MITDM with a SD70M (5182) which was
sitting in Foxboro, waiting for LAWSUP, and northbound UP 4608, (which now I see was actually KCS 4608...). I was really getting excited now.
About 15 minutes later, I was preparing to go out catch the U-KEEMAD but lost track of time while looking for my ski mask because it was -2 out at the time and I'm not particularly fond of having a frozen face. Once I found it and headed out the door, the train went by right before my eyes, and I hadn't made it to the crossing.
"Oh well, I still have two 70Ms and a bare table to catch," I thought. "Who cares if I miss the GEVO."
I walked back in the house and heard that B-LPCPHL was tying down at Grasston. I was a little disappointed, but who cares, "I still have two 70Ms on the way."
After the northbound H-LAWSUP passed the MITDM in Foxboro but no warrant south was given even after 45 minutes, I assumed they wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. I was quite disappointed, "But at least I still have 4608 to catch."
Finally the northbound MCBIT came out of Hinckley siding and I heard a K5LA blowing way out in the distance. This made my stomach drop (yes, I'm that much a foamer).
It was at that moment that I knew, it wasn't any SD70M. I assumed NS but then I saw it was a KCS once it got closer and, man, I was so underwhelmed.
So yeah, the day went from me thinking I was going to catch 4 trains (2 of them SD70M leaders), to catching only this boring KCS GE with one ditch light out in some frankly garbage lighting.
MCBIT01-27M | 3/2/23
KCS 4608 (GE AC4400CW)
UP 5690 (GE C45ACCTE)
Go back to Kansas!
Just like any other day, I woke up and immediately checked for trains. To my surprise, there were actually FIVE, two of which were UP trains and I figured they'd be EMD SD70Ms, based upon their numbers
"Today is going to be a great day," I thought. "Maybe I'll even give one of them a chase."
Whenever you think something like that about railfanning, you've already sealed your fate. Because being too optimistic means that something, if not everything, will surely go wrong. That was just the case for today.
Starting out, northbound manifest H-LAWSUP, a rather obscure ID that I've never heard in my life came off the Staples with some GEVO leading, I didn't really pay too much attention to the number but it was a 59xx. Then a little later, southbound taconite load U-KEEMAD comes off the wye at Boylston and they prepare to meet at Nickerson.
Nickerson is a manually-thrown siding, and in the winter (especially after fresh snow) it seems that they often have troubles getting the dang thing flipped, despite having switch heaters, and that was exactly the case today. So after LAWSUP took a whopping 1.5 hours lining the siding switch, finally they got out of the way for the KEEMAD. By this point there was also a northbound bare table with a dash 9, a southbound MITDM with a SD70M (5182) which was
sitting in Foxboro, waiting for LAWSUP, and northbound UP 4608, (which now I see was actually KCS 4608...). I was really getting excited now.
About 15 minutes later, I was preparing to go out catch the U-KEEMAD but lost track of time while looking for my ski mask because it was -2 out at the time and I'm not particularly fond of having a frozen face. Once I found it and headed out the door, the train went by right before my eyes, and I hadn't made it to the crossing.
"Oh well, I still have two 70Ms and a bare table to catch," I thought. "Who cares if I miss the GEVO."
I walked back in the house and heard that B-LPCPHL was tying down at Grasston. I was a little disappointed, but who cares, "I still have two 70Ms on the way."
After the northbound H-LAWSUP passed the MITDM in Foxboro but no warrant south was given even after 45 minutes, I assumed they wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. I was quite disappointed, "But at least I still have 4608 to catch."
Finally the northbound MCBIT came out of Hinckley siding and I heard a K5LA blowing way out in the distance. This made my stomach drop (yes, I'm that much a foamer).
It was at that moment that I knew, it wasn't any SD70M. I assumed NS but then I saw it was a KCS once it got closer and, man, I was so underwhelmed.
So yeah, the day went from me thinking I was going to catch 4 trains (2 of them SD70M leaders), to catching only this boring KCS GE with one ditch light out in some frankly garbage lighting.
MCBIT01-27M | 3/2/23
KCS 4608 (GE AC4400CW)
UP 5690 (GE C45ACCTE)