Managed to catch the 3401 on SP train RVEUM just outside Eugene, Oregon. I got caught in traffic and didn't get to catch it again before the train entered the yard.
A couple days later a Friend tipped me off that TBX 3401 had been loaded at a facility just outside of Eugene and was scheduled to leave ASAP. The next day I headed to Eugene yard to see If it was around...... Nothing! So, I headed out toward Oakridge hoping I might be able to catch the train the 3401 got sent out on. Arrived at Hampton siding and saw a train sitting....... Ohh! I thought to myself. It's the EURVM a Eugene to Roseville, California train. It may be on this one.
Hiked down the line a bit... And luck would have it. The 3401 about 50 cars back. It was loaded with some neatly baled scrap metal.
I waited a while and heard on my scanner that the train had a green signal. Suddenly, The engineer starts taking the slack out of the train..... BAM,BAM,BAM,BAM! and then a dull crack and the sudden escape of air. The coupler broke on TBX 3401! Holy Cow!
Later, after lengthy discussions between the train crew,dispatcher and car department the decision was made to leave the last cut of twenty cars at Hampton. I wouldn't want to be the Conductor that had to roll this off the tracks!
Hmmm, maybe if it is coming back down to California, I'll see if I can locate it along the route this weekend... we're thinking about an adventure in the nice (hot) fall weather.
Headed down to the Eugene car shop today.....Caught the 3401 outside. Repaired! It was getting inspected and there was a loco waiting to move it back to a waiting train. Not sure why there is such a rush to move this car, But it could be one of it's previous loads......
Headed back to one of my favorite spots and snapped a shot of the TBX 3401 tacked on to the rear of SP train EUOAQ. A Eugene to Oakland train that bypasses Roseville. I hope someone can catch it headed through that area. I see the Taggers didn't waste any time leaving their mark!
TBX 3401 spotted in High Sierra It took a while to finally catch her, but early this morning, overlooking Donner Lake, I caught a small freight train, headed by 2 GP38s, one UP and one SP, and the second car in the consist was TBX 3401. Led by a UP box car, and followed by an SP box car! Looked like the load was simply a bunch of ties, but not sure why. I was able to catch a couple more pictures before it disappeared into the summit tunnel Here's a telephoto closeup Will have to see if I can locate her along the line again. There was something oddly familiar about seeing her this way, will have to see if any of the more experienced JACALAR docents can shed any light.
Found her - but in a very strange place We continued driving around the mountains, hoping to find TBX3401, but no luck. Of course, had to stop at my favorite little creek, with that wonderful old trestle crossing. It was there that we remembered where we had seen TBX 3401 before, in just the same type of configuration. Heading back down towards civilization, we returned to JACALAR headquarters, and started searching through some old photos of the trestle. Sure enough, in some early color photos of the trestle, there's the exact same consist, only this time pulled by a UP Heavy Mike. These are pretty old photos, and I had to scan them in. Unfortunately, they've faded and discolored some. But, this is very disturbing, how could TBX 3401 been on these tracks about 40 years ago? Could something be affecting it, such that it, at some point, traveled back in time??? Here are a couple of shots of her on the trestle, taken from the creek.
These photos didn't age quite so well. They were taken from an overlook of the trestle, about the same time as the prior two. Finding these old photos has the entire crew going through our files. We're certain there are other photos out there of TBX3401, but, and this is weird, we think they are even OLDER!
TBX 3401 - Almost 50 years ago! We kept going back through the photo archives, once we knew what we were looking for. And sure enough, back in the 50's there are a series of photos of TBX 3401 in the yard, with lots of passenger cars and locos present. Still has the load of ties in each shot. As you can see, some of these photos were in better shape than others. I used the scratch clearing filter, which did a pretty good job. This is a nice wide angle shot, from a ways up from the yard. There was no notation on who the joker on the truck is, but a nice shot of the shed, with the car parked in front. There is some comment on the back about "weird painting" on the side of the car
Here are a couple of shots where it is pulling through the yard. This first shot you can only see the top of the gon A little clearer shot
Here we can see it moving through the yard, in front of those passenger trains. There is even a WP Zephyrette in view!
Oldest(?) shots These last two shots of TBX-3401 are the real mystery. They are the oldest shots of the car in any of the JACALAR's albums, but they are annotated as "the last shots". We also see that the load has changed, to scrap metal, and we seem to be even earlier in the 20th century (only steam is seen). Curiouser and Curiouser (as Alice would say) There is no mention in the records of where this car came from, and whether this was an incoming or outgoing load. We're going to keep searching to see if we can find any further information!
Rick- Quite an adventure had going on with that car. Good thing an oldtimer had his camera handy, so long ago. Boxcab E50
I was quite surprised and pleased to see that they had these photos in the archives, but it certainly is a mystery. I keep wondering if that earlier load that Darren caught photos of has anything to do with it?
Expect men in black suits to show up at your door any second and flash a red light into your eyes. Great photos!!!
