SP 3873
This was Southern Pacific's 7:59 Lackland Yard job crossing Adie Road in Maryland Heights, MO. I'm glad I shot this, but man is some of my old stuff composed quite boneheadedly. Rather than shooting more of the train with the context of its surroundings, I often focused more on the power. And while SP's Yard jobs in and out of Lackland were like shooting fish in a barrel, I did not focus on them as much as I did some of the more mainline action around town. The times I did catch them were nevertheless well spent. You won't see any SP GP9Es crossing this street anymore. Even the trackage here has been changed around a bit. This is now operated by Missouri Eastern Railroad and their gaggle of GP15s. At this time SP ran three Lackland jobs, a 7:59 am and 3:59 pm to switch local industries, and 11:59 pm job that functioned as a transfer to SP’s main yard in East Saint Louis. They also handled a twice weekly local to Union, MO and a once a week unit coal train to and from Union Electric at Labadie, MO. These were fun times indeed, but the end was near, and about two to three years later came the era of ETTS for railfanning in general. Once the SP and ATSF were gone, there was not much point anymore.
3/25/1993
Adie Road
Maryland Heights, MO
SP 3873
This was Southern Pacific's 7:59 Lackland Yard job crossing Adie Road in Maryland Heights, MO. I'm glad I shot this, but man is some of my old stuff composed quite boneheadedly. Rather than shooting more of the train with the context of its surroundings, I often focused more on the power. And while SP's Yard jobs in and out of Lackland were like shooting fish in a barrel, I did not focus on them as much as I did some of the more mainline action around town. The times I did catch them were nevertheless well spent. You won't see any SP GP9Es crossing this street anymore. Even the trackage here has been changed around a bit. This is now operated by Missouri Eastern Railroad and their gaggle of GP15s. At this time SP ran three Lackland jobs, a 7:59 am and 3:59 pm to switch local industries, and 11:59 pm job that functioned as a transfer to SP’s main yard in East Saint Louis. They also handled a twice weekly local to Union, MO and a once a week unit coal train to and from Union Electric at Labadie, MO. These were fun times indeed, but the end was near, and about two to three years later came the era of ETTS for railfanning in general. Once the SP and ATSF were gone, there was not much point anymore.
3/25/1993
Adie Road
Maryland Heights, MO