Last Tuesday i was driving next to some rr tracks, and i realized that there were 4 ATSF covered hoppers, sorry it wasn't a locomotive, but there still is ATSF stuff around. There also was an ugly looking BN (re-marked BNSF) covered hopper, tank car & cylindrical hopper there today.
Josh, I have also seen a couple of AT&SF cars here going through Ft.Worth, Texas. One thing I have wondered about: Topeka is in Kansas, and Santa Fe is in New Mexico, but where is Atchison?
Atchison is in Kansas also. Don't know why seeing Santa Fe cars is so unusual. There are 1,000s of them still out there. It will take forever to repaint them all. Of course by then there will be another merger!
I got an idea C.A. Maybe you and I could buy one of the 2-10-4's and repaint some cars and run the AT&SF again on excursions? There is an abandoned caboose just a few blocks from my house... maybe? If we run between the scheduled trains, it would be fun, and we wouldn't bother their scheduled traffic that way. Just think, we could blow all the crossings in high style, and soot up all the laundry in town, all in one fell swoop! With a full head of steam that whistle is a lot louder than the diesel horns are today! We could probably haul some revenue coal for the Norfolk Southern, they aren't doing much right now anyway. I just know that old throttle will still fit my knarledy knuckledy old hand some more, how about you? You could run her out, and I could run her back. What say? It would be duck soup! Besides, I sure would enjoy seeing the look on some dope's face that tried to run the crossing when we give him a nice loud full steam toot on the old tooter! He would have a heart attact right then and there! HA! [ 05 July 2001: Message edited by: watash ]
jbaakko and all, If you want to see a whole yard full of ATSF cars,go to Fontana Cal. and drive along San Bernardino Ave. on the South side of the CSI (former Kaiser Steel) mill. At any given time time you'll see LOTS of ATSF flat cars (steel slab cars) and ATSF gondolas (scrap cars). There's always a lot of ATSF cars there. It's a lot like going back in time when you drive by there. The ATSF is alive and well. At least I care to think so. Happy railfanning!
George Keep your eyes open for these new BNSF slab cars. They definetely aren't flats. http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=5&i=1131&t=1131
