Rick, I'm enjoying this very much. I've never been over this route, so it's a pleasure to join you, at least vicariously. Thanks. Your view of the corn fields reminded me of going through corn fields on the Golden State 70+/- years ago. I was fascinated as a 10 year old to see the dark spaces between corn rows as we sped by mile after mile. I must have become hypnotized because my memory is so vivid.
Day 2 - Southwestern Nebraska and points West After getting a VERY GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP (very important, and for whatever reason, I really slept well both nights on the Zephyr), I woke to find that we had made it all the way to McCook, Nebraska. Still following US Highway 34. The stops that I had missed were Osceola, IA (Des Moines); Creston, IA; Omaha, NE; Lincoln, NE; Hastings, NE (Grand Island); and, Holdrege, NE. As the sun was coming up, I got out the camera just as we were pulling out of the McCook station. This is an example of what happens to a photo when the train lurches right as you press the shutter (there are also the photos with unexpected trees, poles, etc). Even with the blurred vision, you can see just how bustling a town McCook is at sunrise Here are a couple of clearer shots, as we got west of "downtown" I am not even sure if anyone got on or off the train here.
We cleaned up, got dressed and went to breakfast. During that time, we continued through this portion of Nebraska, and at some point, all the corn fields turned into "not corn". The transition was so fast, at one point basically flat land with corn as far as you could see, and then, ranch land, with more roll to the terrain.
At some point between those photos, we had crossed from Nebraska into Colorado. We approached a little town, not a stop, called Otis, CO. We were still basically paralleling US 34. These buildings in Otis reminded me so much of the western building kits so many of us have on our layouts The truck with trailer is on US 34
We then approached Yuma, CO (also not a stop). These grain silos were at the east end of town The yards and houses in Yuma looked very nice and well kept (unlike some of the towns right along the tracks) This is the Yuma, CO depot - but not an Amtrak stop
This is Brush CO. Supposedly, the Desky Hotel is a historic building We then pulled into Ft Morgan, CO. Our last stop before Denver Big town, actually
It takes a while to travel the 80 miles from Ft Morgan to Denver (they schedule 2 hours), but it is basically 60 miles in 1 hour, 20 miles the second. About the end of the first hour, we finally saw the Rockies. It was very hazy, and I actually had to adjust these photos to make them stand out (we could only just tell they were out there) Look just around the white water tower And here was our first real sight of the Denver Metro area, with the mountains really taking form To be continued....
You are a sound sleeper! Interesting how the street crossing photos seem to show similarities in how towns appear. The views of Otis are really sad. How small town America is being lost is truly devastating.
By the second and third night aboard a train, you can get used to it and sleep real well. I always have trouble on the first night. But I do enjoy laying there and listening for the Doppler shift as the road crossing bells go by. The shafts of light through the blinds from the passing lights as you go through a town add to the experience. Its all good. The photos of Nebraska look a lot like I remember Kansas from my recent trip on the Southwest Chief. Yeah, those buildings remind me of the DPM kits.
A building that must be seen, for those who travel on Amtrak #s 5& 6 (CZ), is the former C.B.&Q. depot in Creston IA. It is now used as a municipal building. It is an imposing but lovely architectural building. If you have a copy of "The Trains We Rode" by Beebe & Clegg, you can find an old photo of it in there. Charlie
The CZ schedule has the westbound (#5) train arriving in Creston at 8:41pm. Unfortunately, we were already 2+ hours behind by this point, so even if I had been awake, it was dark. The eastbound (#6) train arrives per schedule at 7am, so that depot should be easily seen for travelers heading to Chicago I found this google image photo of the building
It is sad so many of these sites must have a fence out front. (Yes. I know why.) Those make taking a decent photo of their trackside facade a chore, if not impossible.
Yes, the WB time is so/so but in mid-summer there should still be enough light to see it although if in a bedroom, you might have to step into the aisle. When we took # 5 in 1999, my employer was kind enough to put a coal train on the ground there. Amtrak re-routed us over the UP(former C & NW) to Omaha.but we were significantly delayed. We wound up eating our dinner(in the diner) while sitting on an unused main on the near north side of Chicago where there are multiple main tracks. While not all that scenic of a dinner outlook, the food was delicious and served with class. We wound up running about 8 hrs late into Emeryville(sp?) on that trip. One bonus of that delay is that we saw some scenery that is normally traversed during the dark, the Humboldt desert. Absolutely fascinating! Unfortunately this meant we arrived in SFO in the wee hours but SanFrancisco is a charming place no matter what time of day you get there. Charlie
Continuing our approach into Denver's Union Station, just as the train slowed down, I saw this little trestle on a parallel track to ours. Wasn't anything specific, just a small creek, but liked the photo. Have no idea what we were on, possibly a matching trestle.
A short way beyond, we came to these huge stock yards. I love the "Heifer Mart" sign, something someone with yards might consider for their Model RR And then this neo-classical building, at the west end of the yards- The Denver Union Stock Yard Company
Just after the yards, we finally came to the large BNSF yard, where we crawled through. Some true "rail fanning" photos from here SD40-2s #1732 and #1892 working the yard In the old BN green, SD40-2s #1680 and #1966
