The other day I stopped in at the Snake River Pub in downtown Cheyenne. This establishment is in the east end of the restored UP depot, and has a microbrewery in-house. There are three places to eat/drink- out back, near the entrace; inside, up close & personal to the brewing tanks; and in front, at trackside. UP changes crews in front of the depot, and the crew quarters are next door. I sat outside trackside, drinking a couple of Big Boy Ambers (good taste, and since I've been hooked on Shiner Bock, this stuff goes down nice), munching on a cheeseburger, and watching the parade pass by. Not far away from me, a man with his young son were sitting, and the kid got excited every time a train approached. All in all, a very civilized way to watch trains.....and the beer ain't bad, either!
How disgusting...True Raifans are supposed to SUFFER in their quest for trains and photos.....! I wish we had something like that around here...
For those of you who prefer to suffer a bit, I DID just get back from a scouting expedition of Sherman Hill. I made it down to the site of Harriman, WY, on the south track. Still two houses there, but both uninhabited. Water tank is still there, though. There's also been evidence of recent trackwork, as the rails in the switch at the west end are stamped 2005. Got back to Granite Canyon, and paced an autorack train back east (eastbounds must like the north track) down to Borie and into Cheyenne. As I left to get back to the motel, there were 3 eastbounds waiting to get in, with 2 westbounds crossing over to take to the south track (via Speer). Besides the ubiquitous SD70Ms, I also spotted AC60Cs, AC6044Cs, SD70MACes (what I call "Big Aces") and a real, live SD90- 6000 HP engine and all. In Cheyenne, two SD40-2s were sitting on the track that heads north to swap cars with BNSF (ex-C&S).
This is the view from across the tracks: Sherman Hill's grade begins just west of the depot, as evidenced in this shot:
Nice shots, Hemi! What's the grade westbound from the depot? BTW: I plan to take the pampered route again Friday evening (payday, ya know ). I wouldn't be bothered a bit to see any other Trainboarders out there as well, as even 90-degree weather here is quite bearable (sez this erstwhile Texas resident where the temp & humidity numbers are virtually the same) and the ever-changing scenery (trains, of course) makes for a good time of trainspotting.
My guess is less than .8%, since that's the ruling grade on #3 track, the southern track you spoke of that ran thru Harriman. It was built in the early 50's to reduce the power needed on trains. Challengers and Big Boys had to doublehead trains over the original #1 and 2 track, with its 1.5% grade. Eastbound trains take 1 & 2, and some heavily-powered trains take #1 and 2 westbound. Otherwise, most all heavy trains take #3.
The wife and I will be up there next Saturday (July 23rd) as we chase the Challenger into Cheyenne from Denver. I'll try to snap a few photos as we sample a couple of those Big Boy Ambers you are talking about.
Wow this sounds awesome. You got me thinking that perhaps the Denver Gentlemans Railroad Society needs to come up north and visit with the Greater Cheyenne brotherhood of Ferro-equinologists sometime this summer.
Just name a day and time. If I'm free at that time, I'll be there!!! Again, can bring a few others with me, if needed! Geeky, Sounds like the Denver chapter needs to schedule another get-together one of these days??
I'm up for it! Granted, my schedule is busy, but if we name a date, I should be able to attend. If we so desire, I can show a few places on Sherman Hill, or if we're not quite so adventurous, Archer Hill, east of town.
I'd love to join the "Denver Gentlemen’s Railroad Society" as well, and I'm always up for a road trip. Sundays are great for me.
Working every other weekend on graveyards, it can get a wee bit rough, but I can sacrifice sleep for the greater good (and a little railfanning.........)
