Disappointment
Well my memory isn't the greatest these days however the memory of this day is crystal clear. I was making a run from my home in Colorado Springs to Southern California to pick up my family after a stay with the grand parents. The weather forecasts were stellar so rather than head North then west, I opted to head west on 24 and pick up the ex Rio Grande Tennessee Pass line near Buena Vista. It was 7.3.97 and it was common knowledge that UP wasn't interested in keeping TP open for much longer. As days go in Colorado it was a beautiful one and the drive to Buena Vista was uneventful. Got lucky and saw and eastbound coal load as I followed the CM grade north. Around Princeton I caught up with the rear of a lengthy manifest. I was hopeful for Rio Grande power and as I slowly gained on the train the first locomotive I saw was was Grande 5365, however seconds later I realized I had a UP leader. I can honestly say man was I disappointed. Did I get some good shots, such as this one I am sharing, sure but all I could think of was if only the power had been reversed. Needless to say I still followed this guy west and banged off more shots than I should have. I am glad I have these shots but with time short on TP I never did see another Grande unit on Tennessee Pass.
Disappointment
Well my memory isn't the greatest these days however the memory of this day is crystal clear. I was making a run from my home in Colorado Springs to Southern California to pick up my family after a stay with the grand parents. The weather forecasts were stellar so rather than head North then west, I opted to head west on 24 and pick up the ex Rio Grande Tennessee Pass line near Buena Vista. It was 7.3.97 and it was common knowledge that UP wasn't interested in keeping TP open for much longer. As days go in Colorado it was a beautiful one and the drive to Buena Vista was uneventful. Got lucky and saw and eastbound coal load as I followed the CM grade north. Around Princeton I caught up with the rear of a lengthy manifest. I was hopeful for Rio Grande power and as I slowly gained on the train the first locomotive I saw was was Grande 5365, however seconds later I realized I had a UP leader. I can honestly say man was I disappointed. Did I get some good shots, such as this one I am sharing, sure but all I could think of was if only the power had been reversed. Needless to say I still followed this guy west and banged off more shots than I should have. I am glad I have these shots but with time short on TP I never did see another Grande unit on Tennessee Pass.