THIS WEEKEND! (Memorial Day Weekend 2007, May 25-26) Guys, I know most of you are out of range of this, but if you are able to make it I wanted to remind everyone within the 6-10 state area that might be interested. (Or, if you are hard core and want to fly in! No hotel required! :teeth: ) I caught the tail end of this event last year and it was a great success. Lots of trains (BNSF, UP, Amtrak) and some great programs and activities. Doug ****************************************** "24 Hours @ Saginaw" 2007 Saginaw Heritage Center (the depot) 301 S. Saginaw Blvd. Saginaw, Texas 76179 www.saginawtxchamber.org Friday, May 25th and Saturday, May 26th, 2007 7:00 pm - 7:00 pm Schedule of Events: Friday, May 25th 7:00 pm - Event Begins Activities - Train watching begins - Sign in and log your time - Railroad videos - Safety rules displayed - Railroad Theme games available for play Programs: 7:30 pm - "Operation Lifesaver" presentation by Mrs. Cheri Reverie 8:00 pm - John Winfield - Artist - "Inside stories about his paintings" 9:00 pm - Patrick Phelan - "13 States" Digital presentation w/music 10:00 pm - Dan Sisson - "Rare and Unique Locomotives" 11:00 pm - Ken Fitzgerald - "Photos that make you say Ahhhh!!!" 12:00 am - Wes Carr's "Midnight Special" - Digital & Slide Show Saturday, May 26th - Train watching continues - More Railroad videos 1:00 am - Skip Waters - SP 745 "It's Carnival Time" - Video 2:00 am - "Great Locomotive Race" Trivia Game - Skip Waters 3:00 am - "Crash at Crush" 1896 Texas Train Wreck - DVD 4:00 am - SP's "Daylight" - DVD 6:00 am - TBA 8:00 am - "Six Flags Railroad" - Video 10:00 am - Dan Pagel - "Hollywood Rails" - clips of movie trains 12:00 pm - Lunch - BBQ is available across the street 1:00 pm - Bradley Linda - "Texas State Railroad & Bush 4141" 3:00 pm - "Great Locomotive Race" Trivia Game - Skip Waters 5:00 pm - Steve Allen Goen - Encore Performance - "MKT Railroad, Our state's original Trans Texas Corridor" from the Denton Library series. 7:00 pm - Event Ends More programs will be announced at the event. We welcome anyone who would like to show off their stuff. Also, there may be a "Horn Demonstration" during the event featuring, Nathan M5, P5, K5LA, Leslie S5T and Hancock Air Whistle to be blown respectfully and responsibly during daylight hours on Saturday by Troy Minnick and Ken Fitzgerald. Everyone is welcome to attend, even if it's just for a few hours. We look forward to having you drop by and share some train watching fellowship with some Rail-Fun, Rail-Friendly, Rail-Fans. Y'All come now, Ya-hear! Skip Waters Vice President, Trips and Events North Texas Chapter, NRHS ________________________________________________ Original post.... ANNOUNCEMENT! ! It's that time again!! Plan on attending... "24 Hours @ Saginaw" 2007 Come watch trains and have a good time with members of the North Texas Chapter, NRHS. Last year, we had up to 100 railfans attend. At least 5 stayed the full 24 hours. We recorded 75 trains. Let's break the record! Our Objective: Watch and record trains for a 24 hour period. Our Goal: Spend 24 hours at the Saginaw Heritage Center (the depot) at 301 S. Saginaw Blvd. in Saginaw, TX. Date and Time: Friday, May 25th & Saturday, May 26th, 2007 7:00pm to 7:00pm, for 24 hours! Come watch, talk, listen and photograph trains safely while sharing fellowship and education with like minded railfans and families. Also, help us promote the City of Saginaw as a nationally known hot spot to watch and record trains safely. It is reported up to 80 trains pass the Saginaw depot per day! Plenty to fill your train watching appetite! Activities Include: - Operation Lifesaver Rules on "How to watch trains safely". - A safe area to watch trains. - 24 hours of Railroad videos and slide programs. - Railroad theme games and trivia to help pass the time. - Railroad Scanner broadcast of approaching trains. - Masterboard to record the running total of trains. - Door prizes and merit awards for hours logged watching. - Food, Fun and More... Admission is FREE, Donations are accepted. Sponsors: The North Texas Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and Saginaw Chamber of Commerce www.saginawtxchamber.org Check out Wes Carr's "Railfan Primer" about Saginaw http://www.trainweb .org/southwestsh orts/saginaw. html And on Sunday, May 27th... Don't forget the 27th Annual Lone Star Railfair - Railroad Collectible and Train Show in the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall - Will Rogers Memorial Center - Ft. Worth, TX. It's the premier railroad collectible / artifact show in Texas! So, if you are not already committed to another event Memorial Day Weekend or planned on attending the Lone Star Railfair train show, please plan to join us Friday night for a pick up slide show or a few hours on Saturday and have fun watching Trains, Trains, Trains... Bring your friends, make a full railfan weekend out of it! Skip Waters VP - Trips and Events North Texas Chapter National Railway Historical Society
I'll probably be out there for some of it and will most surely be taking photos. Maybe if I can find a WiFi connection out there somewhere I'll do some live updates.
I sure would enjoy going, but I would have to have one of those 'scooters' to get around now! RATZ! Have fun guys, and do take some photos to post for us old folks!
I'm a little ways away from Saginaw these day (850 miles away), so I'll be looking for pics at the usual places (Railspot, Trainboard, etc.) Oh well, at least I have Cordele for heavy rail traffic this morning.....
I was out there from about 2:30a until about 3:00p. I think the train count was in the 50's when I left. It rained unmercifully for most of that time, but the attendees made the most of it and there were many good presentations made inside the Chamber of Commerce station/office building. I took about a thousand photos (but many culls, I'm sure, especially the night photos which I was just "winging it") so I'll try to pick a few to post later.
OK, well I've put together a few pics from the "dark hours". I hope they will tell the story if nothing else. I don't pretend to be an accomplished night photographer. (or daytime photographer, for that matter) First is, well, you know what it is. The story it tells is the grainy part in front of the headlights. That would be rain. Rain, rain, and more rain. We got lots of it. All night, and all day again. BTW, I don't know what those green aliens are doing. They're probably working for the DS. This next one I was just having a little fun... "BNSF 9838, you are cleared for warp speed to quadrant four of the gamma sector. Our laser turrets will assist to blast obstacles out of the way."
Reflecto-rama Next slide we have a series of BNSF logos bouncing my flash bulb back at me. From two 5161 hoppers and an unidentified locomotive.
Next are just some more "dead-of-night" photos. These are really just the only ones that looked decent from what I had left. This one is a TGNX coal drag passing in front of part of the large Con-Agra grain facility that provides a backdrop for most activities at the Saginaw interlocker. Here is a southbound BNSF Roadrailer whose destination is less than a mile away at the ex-ATSF Saginaw Yard. My favorite shot of the night, the backlit Con-Agra elevator during a lull in the train procession.
Waking up Here is a BNSF transfer waiting for permission to cross the diamonds and head into Saginaw Yard. A sight for tired eyes, an old school BN unit graced our presence but stopping short of the diamonds heading into the ex-BN North (Fort Worth) Yard. This was the last image I saw before the backs of my eyelids for a couple of hours.
Brought to you courtesy of Starbucks... OK, Starbucks didn't really pay me to do this. But if not for a trip down the street for some stout java, I might STILL be sleeping in my truck. The first train post coffee...this one blasted past in a heavy rain. Note the newly formed lake between the depot and the tracks. We dubbed this body of water "Lake SagiLock". (get it, Saginaw Interlocker? OK well it sounded good to us) Here is an assortment of train horns that were brought in for a "demo". An air compressor was set up around the corner of the building and we were allowed to "test out" the various horns (and even a whistle!) from various makers. The REALLY cool part about this is that the station is basically triangulated between three enormous grain elevators. So the ECHO is second to none! Next up is a general freight with a couple of military tank loads on the front. I think I violated the terms of my BNSF railfan card taking this one! Now I REALLY violated it. A closeup of one of the DODX flats and Abrams (?) tank.
Past the halfway point! Next up is one of my favorite locomotives...the BNSF H1 Dash 9's. It was leading a manifest back north. This was about the time my good friend Jeff (aka Rossford Yard) showed up. So we decided to head for some grub. After lunch, we made the short detour by the Trinity plant, where they are knee deep in tank cars right now. Here is one of the "undecs" awaiting a trip to the paint shop. We passed to the north of the northenrmost elevator to see what MUST be an Intermountain marketing ploy. Just LOOK at all those 5161's taunting us.
Any shots of ATK 821/822, the Heartland Flyer? And were those Rescar CF7s hiding out of view? I'll take a rainy day over a smoky day any time- those swamp fires are getting to me. Between you and the folks on Railspot, I'm getting some good reports. Thanks for braving the elements to catch the (soggy) action.
Starbucks, Part Two After checking out the Trinity plant, we decided more coffee was in order. As we whipped into the Starbucks Drive Thru a coal drag made up of mostly FPPX cars grumbled past. "No problem" I told Jeff..."no way he makes it clean through the interlocker, we'll beat him for sure." So, here we have about 10 car lengths back from the lead locomotive as we pull into the parking lot. ;-) I am pushing for Athearn to do the FPPX cars, so if you too are interested let them know. They have photos. Here is the DPU on that train. The southermost of the three big elevators is in the background. Here is a BNSF hirailer following the coal drag. Anybody know what kind of trailer that is in the background? I need to go check it out sometime.
Another coal train, this one with the latest power and the latest rolling stock. An SD70ACe leads the way past the depot as hordes of railfans drool all over themselves. Fortunately the rain covered up the loss of bodily function. Here is one of the TGNX cars that are becoming extremely common as they haul record amounts of coal to the Houston area. Finally a DPU setup that is WAY overkill for an empty coal train!
And now something for the Santa Fe fans, an impressive 12-axle pair just daring some whimpy little Dash 9's to talk trash. My favorite freight car of the day award goes to this BN Beauty. Too bad about the grafitti, but a nice car nonetheless. And alas, the end of the journey for me. A fitting photo depicting the end of the train, and illustrating the absolutely dasterdly weather that was upon us at them time.
Bob, I missed the Flyer all around. I've seen it many times before, and I think we must have been at lunch when it blew through. I haven't seen the final count/report but I figure that the evening run was kinda the last hurrah for the guys that stuck it out.
A few miles north of Saginaw, is the wrecked car repair shops. On the west side of the highway. Turn left onto the gravel road and go up to the second building to the offices to get permission to visit the shop. Nice folks to deal with too. The rolled four tank car ends for me a few years ago, on special order.
Hey Watash - maybe you can get one of those scooters, put an air compressor on it, and mount a set of those air horns on it! And maybe a Mars light... :teeth:
