Going to Wyoming to railfan-any tips?

[WildBill]

I'm going with a friend of mine to eastern Wyoming in April or May. We plan to railfan from Laramie-Cheyenne and around the coal mines near Gillette and Bill. Have any of you been there? Are there any places in particular places that you would consider must see spots? Any help is appreciated.

[MOPMAN]

I was up there once to visit my daughter in Gillette. My son-in-law was an engineer for BN at the time. We had a chance to do a little railfanning one day when he was off. My favorite (if you can catch a train) was Donkey Creek Jct. just east of Gillette. I saw quite a bit of power in Bill. You will find that there are roads that lead to the mines between Bill & Gillette so you might catch some trains loading or waiting to load. Good luck! It was a fun trip.

[Adam Woods]

The Donkey Creek/Rozet area is good. Take Hyway 51 east of Gillette about 10-15 miles. Donkey Creek is know a fair size BNSF Staging yard, always something going on. Some the mines aroung Gillette use to give tours, I don't know if they still do. Eagle Butte mine north of Gillette on hyway 14/16 has an overlook of the mine just off the hyway.
I hope this helps.
Adam

[Alaska GP49]

Glad to hear you are coming to Wyoming. If coming through Cheyenne I can give you a few tips. I grew up there and my dad works for the UP. Hopefully Hemi will chime in too. West of Cheyenne has plenty of opportunity. There is a great place along 3 track a few miles East of Dale Junction. Easy to get to, but 4-whell drive is recommended. When you know of a positive date let me know. I will call the guys at the Steam Shop and see if they will be around. If so chances are really good that you can have a tour.

A few years ago one of the train magazines had maps and a tour guide for the Powder River. It was very helpful. I will try to find it. I would also suggest if you have the time to ver East and spend some time on Crawford Hill. Rarely a dull moment!

Feel free to pm me if you want further help of info.

[HemiAdda2d]

Cheyenne is always busy--60-80 trains per day, plus 3-4 BNSF trains as well. http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=78528
Check the thread I linked, it has more info! :)

[doofus]

Guernsey and Wendover Wyoming are two very good places to check out. Follow the highway(US 26) west out of Guernsey and watch for the signs to Wendover. Wendover is a wye where trains from Casper Wyoming can either go to Guernsey, or go to the C&S line to Cheyenne and vice versa. Wendover Canyon is a great place to watch trains. The trains skirt the winding North Platte River as it weaves its' way to Guernsey Resevior. Besides all of the coal traffic, there is a bit of freight traffic that comes out of Casper Wyoming and either heads into Guernsey, or heads south towards Cheyenne on the old C&S via Wendover.

There is an historical overlook just off of the highway(US 26) near the east end of the Guernsey Yard. The Guernsey Yard for the most part is visible from above just off the shoulder of the higway. There is a spectacular bridge over the North Platte River just west of Guernsey Yard. It would be advisable to have four wheel drive if you want to get up close to the bridge. There is one tunnel remaining inside Guernsey State Park and is easily accessible in the park. You can also view the bridge and the west end of the yard from above the east portal.

Iron ore used to be mined in the area of Sunrise Wyoming near Guernsey. The mine was owned by CF&I Steel and was shipped to Colorado for processing. I don't know how much of the mine is still visible or accessable to the public. Sunrise is to the north of Guernsey on State Highway 270 to Hartville, then east on State Highway 318

There is an active rock quarry next to the Guernsey Yard.

[digisnaps01]

I did Crawford across to Gillette (and a day trip or two just slightly west of there) in 2002.
Crawford was quite busy, mainly coal. I didn't see much that took my fancy between there and Gillette other than passing the Coking Plant (?) at Osage.
Early am off the roadbridge at Walker Creek, just west of Douglas was always rewarding with trains on a constant 20 min headway. Snap one, see the headlights of the next one leaving Bill!
Logan Hill, just outside Bill is a good place to see non-stop action. sometimes all 3 tracks occupied at once.
Attached are a few snaps of locations I liked.
I think I still have my trip records so if you want any specific info on the locations, motels etc let me know.
Batch 2 next.

[digisnaps01]

Last batch of pics around Gillette, Logan Hill etc.
Hope that helps.