While in Utah last weekend I captured a few photos. A few shots of the mill tailings train sitting in Crescent Junction. Ben
I was lucky enough to see the Potash Train passing through Crescent Junction as well. Someday I hope to chase it all the way from Crescent Junction to Potash, UT. Ben
Cool tour, Ben. Were those hoppers from or to the big Powder River coal digs in the midwest? :tb-confused:
Ah the old Pettibone.....used to operate an Australian version,lots of fun.........NOT! Great pictures Ben, luv to see that country side.Really adds to the "scope" of things.
My mistake, I saw that leading hopper but looking more carefully I see that was the mill tailings train. :tb-sad:
No worries. They have a hopper on each end of the train between the locos and the mill tailings cars. I do not know why. Maybe for some extra space to keep the crew and the locos away from the radioactive dirt?? Ben
So last Saturday I was towing my camper through Moab, UT and noticed some steam engines sitting next to a hotel. Since I was connected to the trailer I didn't dare try to find a spot to pull off to railfan. I have since kicked myself for that decision and have been searching the internet as to any answers as to what was going on. Tonight I was pleased to find out that the equipment is being used in the production of the new Lone Ranger movie. Here is a link to the site where I found the information and some photos. http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33606 Ben
Definitely a goofy business! I hope that the equipment will stick around long enough for me to drive back over there so I can shoot a few photos of it. Ben
Ben, those are movie mockups, not real locos. Saw some stuff on another rail board. One has a very oversized "builders plate" on it.
Thanks Jim! If i decide to go back over there it will only be a stop on my way back up to my camper. It would be hard to spend the money on gas to take a few photos of mock ups. Ben
Ballard & Thompson Railroad I made it back to Moab this weekend and the movie props were gone. Not a huge loss, so I continued on to explore Sego Canyon north of Thompson Springs, UT. After a coal vein was discovered in the canyon a mine shortly followed. The Ballard & Thompson Railroad was later formed to haul the coal to the D&RGW line in Thompson Springs. Not much is left of the railroad but I did capture a few photos to share here on the TrainBoard. After leaving Moab I snapped a few shots of the equipment being used in Crescent Junction for the relocation of Moab's mill tailings pile. Here is the first small trestle that I came across from the Ballard & Thompson Railroad. The railroad crossed the drainage 13 times and was prone to wash outs during flash floods. Ben
Ballard & Thompson Railroad A view of some remaining concrete abutments. As we worked our way along the old road bed we noticed that it turned east toward a cut. Prior to the cut we found this trestle. Here is the cut that we drove through. This is the only cut on the Ballard & Thompson grade located at the confluence of Sego and Thompson Canyons. Ben
Ballard & Thompson Railroad A couple more trestle shots from the ghost town site. Heading back home we caught this west bound BNSF at Thompson Springs, UT. Ben
Here is a story on the units. Previously I had read that they were ex-Army units, but this shows that the DOE has had them all along. http://utahrails.net/mining/moab-tailings.php#locomotives Ben