Hello- Well, after not picking up a camera since November 1st (and not really posting anything online since late August / early September), I FINALLY got out yesterday and have some pictures to show for it. For the past six weeks I've been working through a separation and (now) inevitable divorce with my wife. What can you say other than life (and other stuff) happens! The bigger problem though (as it relates to photography and trains) is something I was diagnosed with about four weeks ago: Meniere's Disease. This is a non-life-threatening disease of the inner ear. It's three symptoms are hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ear), and vertigo. The last, for me, being the most annoying! Multiple times during the day, I will suddenly get very dizzy and unable to stand, so the thought of hopping in the car and driving dozens of miles away from home has been a bit scary! However, I'm finally starting to adapt to the condition and decided yesterday was a good day to get out and take some shots. Anyway, enough of the boring stuff in my life...on to the pictures! UP 1989 (the Rio Grande Heritage Unit) has been assigned to UP's "Snow Bus" for the past couple of weeks. Meaning that, for the most part, it has sat around at North Yard waiting for some eventual call that finally came yesterday. The train was called at 11:16am and left north yard right around 1:00pm. I got the kids bundled up and loaded into the Jeep and we headed out for Leyden (UP Moffat Tunnel Sub) to start the chase west. From there, the chase was on. I wasn't sure how many places I was going to be able to catch the train as roads were icy and snow packed! Catching it again at Blue Mountain was no problem, but from there, I wasn't sure. We made pretty good time to Cliff and managed to get there ahead of the train. I really wanted to try to setup for a shot of the train heading west through the west switch at Cliff. However, I pushed my luck a bit too much and had to settle for a going away shot from that spot. ============================= 1. UP 1989 leads the Snow Bus through the east switch of Leyden, about 9 miles west of North Yard in Denver. 2. The Snow Bus climbs through the curves at Blue Mountain and up the hill toward Tunnel 1. 3. The going away shot from the west switch of Cliff. The river to the right is South Boulder Creek.
I figured that would be the last shot for sure as CO-72 was getting worse. However, luck was on my side! The west switch of Rollins was out of correspondence (DS-82 couldn't get the switch to line up). So, the conductor on UP 1989 had to take a pick and clean out the snow and ice from the switch points (the switch heater was not working). That also caused DS-82 to change her plans a bit. The Snow Bus was going to meet a coal train at Tolland, but while the conductor was working on the switch, DS-82 let the coal load come down to Rollins to meet the Bus there. That gave me ample time to head west and make it to East Portal ahead of the train. The Snow Bus stopped on the siding and was informed that they'd be meeting at least one (and possibly two) eastbound before they could get their turn to go through the Moffat Tunnel. The temperature at East Portal was a brisk 2°... ============================= 4. UP 1989 and train stopped on the main at the west switch of Rollins. 5. The not-so-glamorous side of railroading, as the conductor works to clear the switch points of snow and ice. 6. Finally, the Snow Bus waits in the siding at East Portal for an eastbound manifest and the eastbound California Zephyr. ============================= As always, are a few more shots on my website. Thanks for looking!
Thanks all! It was a good day to be out... Great question! The Blizzard Bus (or Snow Bus, depending on who you talk to) is really just a crew shuttle. When conditions get bad up in the Rockies and relief crews cannot reach their train via the roads, this train is dispatched to get the crews to their trains (and "dead" crews off their trains) by rail. Hence the reason for the caboose (for the crews) and the power on either end so the train can easily move in either direction (and have a plow for the snow).
That looks like an SD90MAC. I've been seeing them around here, too. I thought they had been sold off?
They sold off the 6000-hp SD90MACs, but they still have 4300-hp 710-engined "SD9043MACs". The 4300-hp units have a square roofline, not a tapered one like the "true" SD90s and the SD70ACe, as evident in your picture 3.
Haven't seen a SD43/90Mac in a while I also thought U.P. sold all they're 90Mac's off or retired them, apparently not.
