The last location given in a Tweet was at SALTER, TX. That place does not even exist any more but was once a small railroad town on the old MoPac line just the other side of the Brazos River from the family property. If they took that line out of Hearne, that means they were going towards Fort Worth via Waco. They have since taken down the tracking map so I am glad I captured that screen image. Here is an image my brother took years ago of that line a few miles south of Salter.
Im with Charlie on this one. Having run both steam and diesels, I know for a fact that no matter how much power is pushing from behind, or how much brake pipe reduction is made, if the engineer correctly bales the independant, (Or locomotive), brake off, there will be ZERO brake application made to the engines brakes. And therefore....ZERO flat spots on the wheels.
I think "correctly" may be the key word here. Who ever was in the engineer seat probably messed up on how he handled the "alleged" scrambled MU communication with the diesel. I guess they were not expecting, or even conceived of the type of malfunction that occurred. However, the damage was somehow done whether by mechanical failure, human failure or a combination of both. We may never know.
Put the blame game away and for what ever the cause. I say "HATS OFF" to the Steam Crew for getting her STOPPED, PERIOD There could have been a far WORSE outcome....
What a story. That's just too bad, although at least she is not damaged beyond repair. Hopefully this adds some changes to her outings though. Human or mechanical failure, I was surprised to learn someone wasn't in that helper at all times. Come on UP, 844 isn't just another locomotive.
Well now it looks like they did not turn north to Waco but kept going west from Valley Junction to Georgetown, Texas to the shops at the Georgetown Railroad. Someone at GRR pushed a gon into the 9336 support tool car. When it rains, it pours. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2990059
According to the UP schedule, the E9 #944 is taking the 150 express to from San Antonio Houston Sunday (April 22). Stops are in Luling, Schulenburg, and Eagle Lake. Should arrive in Houston at around 3pm. Is anyone following the train?
Ouch!! Well, I guess that's it. UP will NEVER ever come to Texas again. I might chase it a bit from Rosenburg to Houston. It all depends on family commitments. But since I'm about 3 miles west of the Amtrak station, I'll definately be out there in the afternoon to check on it. If anybody else is going to chase it, I'd hope that they can post it's progress here. I have no way to catch it except blind luck. I'll definately report in if I catch this train out on the road.
OK, here is another one from Tuesday when the E9s took over the 150th Anniversary Tour train in Hearne and backed across the diamond north of town to switch over to the line it just crossed and head west to Austin. Observe the unusual hump on the back of the HEP car right behind the diesels.
Nice pictures! Hope we can do that well. Still not sure of the route. Best I can tell it will follow Hwy 90 into Missouri City and up South Main. There's a turnout near Hiram Clark Rd that takes it north to the Eureka Yard and a curve east at Washington Ave. That should take it to the Amtrak station. We have been trying to find the best place to get some pictures and video. Any suggestions?
If it were me, I would just hang out trackside at Little Woodrow's on Bellair Blvd., order a cold one and wait for the train to go by. However there are probably better places to photograph the train. Here is another shot of the HEP car.
One of my favorite places is Memorial Park. Just southeast of Memorial Dr and the tracks is a place to park, and there's a path that follows the tracks south to Buffalo Bayou, a bit over a half mile. You can get good pictures with trees in the background along the whole distance. Mulberry Park just north of Bellaire Blvd is another good location, with good afternoon light, as you'll be on the west side of the tracks. If you're feeling a bit adventurous, there's a parking garage at 8100 Washington Ave where you can park on the second floor within feet of the trains.
Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, Little Woodrow's would be nice. Chased a lot of trains at that intersection; I like the idea of sipping and watching. Unfortunately, it's on the east side. Not a good idea to shoot into the sun. Maybe we will try the Washington Ave area. (I used to be "adventurous" in my youth -- those impulses have been tamed.) Hope that is the route they take. I shall report back tomorrow with either photos or a sad story.
Update on the story. It was to tool car that hit the gondola. Someone forgot to set the brakes and properly tie down the support cars when they were set out. They started to move and rolled down grade where the tool car impacted the first of some parked gondolas.