# Ragin' Rails Raid 2011



## WhoozOn1st

Team Whooz (comprising Executive Director Whooz and Executive Assistant Alice) is in final preparation for imminent departure on the Ragin' Rails Raid, a cross-country (as in coast-to-coast) road trip via MayhemMobile with railroads at its core.

We hadn't been out slinging cameras since the Pacific Railroad Society's Jubilee excursion over the Tehachapis in early April, so were in dire need of some kinda warmup photo activity before heading out.

Fortunately, it was learned that the Fillmore & Western Railway - an easy 30-minute drive from La Casa de Whooz - was gonna be running a couple (that turned into 3) 1-hour steam passenger trains on the 4th of July. The "Home of the Movie Trains" was gonna trot out its recently restored 1913 Baldwin 2-8-0 locomotive No. 14! Team Whooz had seen and photographed this engine in December 2010 when it pulled a Christmas tree train to Santa Paula and back, but a mechanical failure had put an early end to its (and our) day. Independence Day would be a new opportunity to not only get up close and personal with this fine little locomotive, but get in our desired railfanning and photo practice as well.

To get the Ragin' Rails Raid off to a running start, trip report-wise, here are some samples from our pre-trip warmup:

Photos:

Steamin' SoCal 4th At Fillmore - comprehensively captioned.

The Fillmore & Western Railway's recently restored 1913 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive No. 14 was in action for three 1-hour Independence Day excursions, and Team Whooz was on hand to enjoy the holiday steaming (and the steamin' holiday weather) as well as get a little warmup photo and video practice before heading cross-country on the Ragin' Rails Raid.

Video:

Fillmore & Western July 4th Steam, First Run Outbound - Fillmore & Western Railway 2-8-0 steam locomotive No. 14 works its passenger train slowly uphill, then gains some speed over a Santa Clara river trestle on it first July 4, 2011 run.

Fillmore & Western July 4th Steam, First Run Inbound - Fillmore & Western Railway 2-8-0 steam locomotive No. 14 pushes its train over the Santa Clara river on its way back to the depot in downtown Fillmore to conclude the first July 4th run.







With the exception of a couple activities essentially carved in stone - Train Fest 2011 at Rock Island, Illinois, and a southbound ride on the Auto Train - the Ragin' Rails Raid is pretty freestyle. For starters, however, we expect to head up 99, roughly parallelling the route of the San Joaquins, then railfan Donner Pass on the way to visit the Nevada Northern Railway - more steam - at Ely, Nevada. I look forward to posting updates from the Ragin' Rails Radical Road as time permits.
​​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Natomas, a suburb of Sacramento.

After weeks, nay MONTHS, of suffering through subnormal spring temperatures on the SoCal coast, running northbound in the Team Whooz MayhemMobile through the summer heat of California's Central Valley was a welcome climatic improvement!

Much of the early part of the Ragin' Rails Raid's first day was spent tooling along highway 43, beside the BNSF rails used by Amtrak's San Joaquins. We caught serveral SJs and a couple freights along the way, while also stopping at Wasco and Hanford before changing over to highway 99 and catching San Joaquin crew changes at Merced.

While continuing north on 99 for our overnight layover here at Natomas we played a little leapfrog with a UP manifest freight also running north on that railroad's parallel route through the Valley, one that unlike BNSF's shadows 99 pretty closely.

Photos:

Ragin' Rails Raid, Day 1 - A few shots from the Triple R's race north through California's Central Valley.

Video:

San Joaquin 712 Races South - San Joaquin train 712 at speed next to highway 43, pushing south between Hanford and Corcoran in California's Central Valley.

San Joaquin 715 Departs Merced - Grade crossing horn fun as San Joaquin 715 departs Merced, pulling for Oakland, 7-6-11.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Fallon, Nevada, home of the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, aka Top Gun. They're big on the idea here: Top Gun Dry Cleaners, Top Gun Animal Hospital, Top Gun Slot Machine Repair, etc.

On Ragin' Rails Raid Day 2 we did an abbreviated railfan tour as we made our way over the Sierra Nevada mountains via Donner Pass, alternating between I-80 and still-driveable sections of the predecessor road, U.S. 40. A serious effort to railfan the pass would require days, but we didn't do too badly on the whole, given the time constraint. Today, Day 3, we'll set out across Nevada on U.S. 50 - "Loneliest Road in America" - to Ely, NV and the Nevada Northern Railway.

Photos:

Ragin' Rails Raid, Day 2 - A whirlwind railfanning day run over Donner Pass. It'd take days to do it right, but we got to several locations and saw some pretty cool stuff - plus trains!

Video:

California Zephyr 5 Arrives Truckee - The day's westbound California Zephyr was running about 5 hours behind when it finally showed up at Truckee, CA, and that was just fine with Team Whooz. Note how long the train takes to come to a full, brake-screeching stop!!

California Zephyr 5 Departs Truckee - California Zephyr train 5 resumes its tardy trudge westward to Emeryville with a climb out of Truckee, CA.


----------



## GG-1

WhoozOn1st said:


> Video:
> 
> California Zephyr 5 Arrives Truckee - The day's westbound California Zephyr was running about 5 hours behind


Aloha

Mahalo for Sharing with us. Sure helps those of us not on a trip get our rail fix. Anyone else laugh at the sun glare on the engine. It reminded me of Poppy and his pipe  . :help:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

GG-1 said:


> Anyone else laugh at the sun glare on the engine. It reminded me of Poppy and his pipe


Popeye? Took me a few minutes to puzzle that one out...

Greetings from Ely, Nevada, where the Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall (opened 1929) was the tallest building in the state for many years, and the first to be fireproof.

No photography at all during the drive on U.S. 50, mainly because desert photography just doesn't do its subject justice; you gotta be here.

Let me belatedly point out that the reason for the brevity of updates text is that by the time I'm done packing the maximum legal dose of descriptive prose into photo captions I'm just plumb tuckered out. Besides, why write essentially the same stuff over again? And unlike some, Team Whooz does not subscribe to the "Throw Everything At The Wall And See What Sticks" school of posting photos; no uncaptioned camera dumps of every damn thing we saw, with viewers left to fend for themselves.

On the contrary, Valued Reader: By the time Team Whooz photo links are posted, only the finest pictures that meet or exceed all government standards and regulations for trip report photography have been selected, edited, and comprehensively captioned to maximize YOUR viewing value!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings again from Ely, Nevada, where it has been learned that the name of the town rhymes with the company that makes Posturepedic mattresses - Sealy - and NOT with the first name of the guy who invented the cotton gin - Mr. Whitney.

This update is even more brief than usual because I really should wash the coal cinders outta my hair before we make an early start on the road to Ogden, Utah.

Valued Reader, if you're a steam railroading aficionado, and if you're ever way out west seeking someplace to quench a thirst for trains that would kill an iron horse, by all means make the trek to Ely and visit the Nevada Northern Railway. Mainline steam notwithstanding, this coal-burning ex-mining road combines steam and western mountain railroading in a fashion far and away superior to anything I've had the pleasure to previously experience. Awesome has become a hackneyed cliche of a description, but it is not too strong, and is entirely appropriate, in reference to the steam experience to be enjoyed here. WOW.

And talk about friendly! All the volunteer crew - that's everybody working on the railroad - were outgoing, helpful, and unfailingly pleasant. Team Whooz has enough good things to say about this operation to fill a small book, and enough photos and video to bore the bejeezus out of all but the most demented foaming ferroequinologist. But that's gonna be a lot of work to edit and otherwise prepare, and will have to wait.

Here are some samples though, before we hit the road on Ragin' Rails Raid, Day 5...

Video:

Nevada Northern Evening Departure - Nevada Northern Railway's Steptoe Valley Flyer departs Ely, NV, for Keystone early in the evening of 7-9-11. 1910 Baldwin 4-6-0 steam locomotive No. 40 works the train uphill from the Nevada Northern yard and over a grade crossing on its way out of town.

The Steptoe Valley Flyer returning from Keystone at dusk:













Whooz that hanging out in No. 40's cab, schmoozing with trainmen? Photo by Alice.
​


----------



## J-1 3235

Thanks for sharing your photos and videos with us, Patrick. I'm looking forward to seeing more, and to meeting up with you and Alice in Rock Island.

Have fun!

Mike


----------



## Bob Dylan

Living proff that they'll let Anyone into a Steamer cab!  :lol: Nice pics as usual Patrick, hope you and Alice have a Blast, looking forward to seeing yall again in Seattle in Oct. if not before along the Rails!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

In accordance with the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times," the Ragin' Rails Raid has taken a turn for the interesting since the last post.

First, on Day 5 I was bitten by a dog while trying to get a photo of a retired electric Kennecot Mining Corp. locomotive outside a county museum in Ely, Nevada; no serious damage from a domestic animal that charged me when its owners opened the front door of their mobile home next to the museum.

On Day 6 I suffered my first insect bite - on the left elbow - which caused the arm to swell up like a balloon and itch like hell. No pain, though, and I took out several mosquitoes in reprisal.

Oh yeah, and greetings from Rock Springs, Wyoming, where men are men and the cows are nervous. Tonight's hotel wi-fi is so bad - worst yet - that instead of current pic samples we must revert to Day 4 at Nevada Northern. Oh, the humanity! 






Alco RS-3 No. 109 and Baldwin 4-6-0 No. 40 by the Nevada Northern depot at East Ely, NV.
​


----------



## The Crazy Vacationer

I've been enjoying reading about your trip, but I musk as a question, based on what you wrote.



WhoozOn1st said:


> Oh yeah, and greetings from Rock Springs, Wyoming, where men are men and the cows are nervous.



Are you a "Prairie Home Companion" fan? I work a block away from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul and have been fortunate enough to attend one of the shows.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

The Crazy Vacationer said:


> I've been enjoying reading about your trip, but I musk as a question, based on what you wrote.
> 
> 
> 
> WhoozOn1st said:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh yeah, and greetings from Rock Springs, Wyoming, where men are men and the cows are nervous.
> 
> 
> 
> Are you a "Prairie Home Companion" fan? I work a block away from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul and have been fortunate enough to attend one of the shows.
Click to expand...

Let me begin by thanking all Valued Readers for vicariously joining Team Whooz on the Ragin' Rails Raid, and especially those who have offered comments as we make our way along.

Crazy, though I'm aware of Garrison Keillor's Prarie Home Companion radio show, and his tales of a place called (I think) Lake Woebegone, I've never actually heard any of the shows and don't think I could fairly be considered a fan. That thing about Rock Springs, men, and cows, was an old line thrown in when I couldn't think of anything at all to say about this small town on I-80.

Today - Day 7 - we continue eastbound through Wyoming, perhaps getting as far as Cheyenne, where we'll likely tarry a couple days.

Day 6 saw us depart Ogden on I-84 to I-80 East, tracking as closely as possible the Union Pacific portion of America's first transcontinental railroad. Beautiful country for the most part, through the Wasatch range and on across the praries and plains of Utah and Wyoming, with a number of stops for rail-intensive sights and activities. A highlight was Evanston, Wyoming, where the town is restoring a UP shop complex - including a large roundhouse with turntable. Again, the utter lameness of the hotel wi-fi here prevents any current visual sharing.

Time to get moving!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Fort Collins, Colorado, which has a streetcar that runs on weekends (we'll miss it this trip), and where the Team Whooz lodging features an excellent view of a BNSF line.

Day 7 ended at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and lodging check-in there was done during a ferocious thunderstorm. Interesting times befell me once again as I was pelted by rain, wind, and hail nearly the size of golf balls as I loaded in from the MayhemMobile to our room. Later the electrical power failed, this in a room that had been selected specifically for having a microwave oven and refrigerator.

Day 8 - we're trying to get current here - was dedicated to several rail-related activities around Cheyenne. Afterward, on the drive to Fort Collins, we took a frontage road to pass by the Terry Bison Ranch, where it was said that "TRX" trains run customers around to gawk and shoot at a private herd.

The trains appear to be homebuilt park-style trains of the internal combustion ilk, and except for one, the trains we could see were tarted up as cartoon steam. The exception was some sort of contraption that I'm pretty sure Amtrak Unlimited Valued Readers will find as thoroughly objectionable as I did. Here it is in all its ignominiousness, along with cartoon pals and other stuff from Ragin' Rails Raid Day 8:

























Bubba The Bison is unimpressed by the idiot tourist from the west coast. Photo by Alice.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Following two straight nights of rotten-to-nonexistent internet connections advantage has been taken of a fine one here at Fort Collins to whittle away at an uploading backlog. A couple more vids, and this ain't the half of it. 

Nevada Northern Between Tunnels - Nevada Northern Railway's recreation of the Steptoe Valley Flyer emerges from the old tunnel and runs beside U.S. 50 before disappearing into a new tunnel beneath the highway on its way to Keystone, 7-9-11.

Nevada Northern Diesel No. 109 Cranks Up - Nevada Northern Railway's Alco RS-3 No. 109 fires up and idles before heading the early afternoon train to McGill on 7-9-11. The old diesel belches a cloud of typical Alco smoke, then settles into the kind of loping idle I was familiar with as a kid. Diesels don't sound like that these days! Note the passenger boarding call.


----------



## GG-1

WhoozOn1st said:


> Bubba The Bison is unimpressed by the idiot tourist from the west coast. Photo by Alice.
> ​


Aloha

Are you sure the good looking on on the left is named " Bubba " :wub: :lol:  :giggle: :unsure: :help:


----------



## Bob Dylan

Nice Videos as Usual Patrick!  Did you and Alice actually ride any of these trains, I especially liked the one coming out of the tunnel, reminded of when I was a kid, and I agree with the Rattling Diesel, I remember the switchers sounding like that in the yards!

The Thomas the Engine fake Trains werent so exciting, looked like a Low Budget Disneyland, guess things get kind of slow out there in nowhere land!(the version I heard is the cowboys got paid and the sheep are nervous! :lol: ) Bet you passed on these! Look forward to the rest of the Journey, hope Alice is keeping you under semi-control! ^_^ Jim


----------



## WhoozOn1st

jimhudson said:


> Did you and Alice actually ride any of these trains


Team Whooz rode behind Nevada Northern's 1910 Baldwin 4-6-0 No. 40 on the morning train. The route, called Keystone, runs on a hillside behind Ely, then through canyons alongside U.S. 50 out to the Ruth mining district. There the entire train is turned on a wye for the mostly downhill run back to Ely. Some video was taken of that run, and will be foisted on Valued Readers at some point.

We wouldn't be caught dead riding those tourist buffalo farm mechanical mutants. The photos were taken from the overflow parking lot at high zoom, and that's as close as we got to the whole operation.

Here's a shot on the run back to Ely, from the open car behind No. 40. Aside from some minor throttle applications on the mostly downhill return, the locomotive does little work on this portion of the trip; the outbound uphill leg is the main attraction for steam aficionados (like Team Whooz!).

EDIT: Oh yeah, greetings from Ogallala, Nebraska, where complaints about the hideous food quality of a Denny's meal got 50% knocked off the bill, to more accurately reflect its actual worth. Tomorrow on to North Platte and the U.P.'s Bailey Yard.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Cozad, Nebraska. Yeah, I know: "WHERE!?" We're about 50 miles east of North Platte - U.P.'s Bailey Yard (which was very cool) - and something under 200 miles west of Omaha. One whiff of the air around here tells you you're in farming country, and that's not necessarily a good thing, olfactory-wise.

Running on U.S. 30, mostly right beside U.P.'s transcon main line, has been a lot of fun so far, and we'll stick with this route on into Omaha. The trains are many, the towns are small and few, and since Team Whooz is not pressed for time we stop whenever we see something interesting.

Video:

Fast Freight Frightens Fauna - On a sleepy July afternoon at Pine Bluffs, Wyoming - where oddly enough there are actual bluffs covered with pine trees - a small flock of birds is startled by the horn of an approaching Union Pacific intermodal freight, causing it to take wing and fly in front of the train. Birds are far more successful than humans when it comes to crossing in front of trains. Not the clearest video, but improves. The autofocus locked on the wrong thing, and no retakes.

And now, because I'm not much of an engine guy, and because I'm clutching at straws for content while slowly getting current on the audio-visual front, it's time to play that new game sensation that's sweeping America - the Amtrak Unlimited Valued Reader part of it anyway - "Name That Diesel!!"

Our intial offering hails from Kimball, Nebraska, and appears to be a first generation model. Likely an EMD product, High Plains Co-Op No. 7516 sports the distinctive nigh nose that was a common feature of early non-covered wagon types. No. 7516 likes small town values, hanging out at grain elevators, switching covered hoppers, and harvest time:
















Name That Diesel!!
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

WhoozOn1st said:


> Greetings from Cozad, Nebraska. Yeah, I know: "WHERE!?" We're about 50 miles east of North Platte - U.P.'s Bailey Yard (which was very cool) - and something under 200 miles west of Omaha.


Valued Reader(s), I was wrong (a first!). Cozad is on the 100th Meridian. That was kind of a big deal during construction of the first transcontinental railroad, and remains one today for meteorological reasons. My mistake was saying we were less than 200 miles from Omaha - we were OVER 200 miles from where Team Whooz is now (greetings from Omaha). The revelation of error came as we departed Cozad and resumed our run on U.S. 30, parallel to the U.P. main:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

It's been so hot as we crossed Nebraska that even the locals have been remarking and complaining. While visiting a small rail museum at Fremont yesterday I was told that due to Missouri River flooding, when the town gets an east wind it receives clouds of mosquitoes. Glad we missed THAT!

Nobody has been able to Name That Diesel!! yet?? C'mon... Another round is in the offing, as many trackside grain elevators have their own local locomotives, and we've been stopping when we spot 'em and it's feasible.

Before heading out and about, and maybe catching a minor league ballgame (Omaha Storm Chasers), here are some results (finally) of advancement on the audio-visual front, and a decent wi-fi connection (also finally) to take advantage...

Video:

Ragin' Day 10: U.P. Power At Speed - Tracking fast-running freight locomotives while overtaking the train they're pulling beside U.S. 30 on the plains in Nebraska.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 4: Nevada Northern Morning Run - A late morning ride aboard the Nevada Northern Railway on 7-9-11, starring 1910 Baldwin 4-6-0 steam locomotive No. 40. Team Whooz was on hand early to catch some yard action, then boarded an open flatcar directly behind the engine for the ride out to the Ruth mining district and back. Comprehensively captioned, which is the really time-consuming part of trying to catch up on the multimedia stuff.

Naturally, progress calls for foisting another vanity shot on y'all. Whooz that in front of No. 40? Photo by Alice.


----------



## J-1 3235

HPC 7516 is an EMD GP9, built for the Pennsylvania RR in October, 1955.

Mike


----------



## WhoozOn1st

I see we have our first winner in Name That Diesel!! Good going, Mike, and thanks for the ID on that locomotive. Because Team Whooz expects to see Mike - J-1 3235 - later this week at the Rail Fest 2011 in Rock Island, Illinois, I can say that his prize for being the first Name That Diesel!! winner will be a cool, refreshing beverage of his choice. Bottoms up, Mike!

Speaking of Rail Fests, On Track On Line's - OTOL's - summer Rail Fest is currently underway, aboard Amtrak's Crescent headed for New Orleans as this is posted. Let me take this opportunity to wish them all a safe, excellent and fun Fest!

Here at Ragin' Rails Raid Regional Office Omaha we'll remain in the vicinity another day, then visit the Union Pacific museum across the Missouri River at Council Bluff's, Iowa, before heading across that state and on to Rock Island.

Video:

Through The Old Tunnel Aboard Nevada Northern - You can see the coal cinders flying as we enter the old tunnel behind Nevada Northern 4-6-0 No. 40. Listen to the smokestack talk as the locomotive works uphill through the tunnel on our way to the Ruth mining district outside Ely, Nevada.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 5: White Pine County Museum - Before leaving Ely, Nevada, and the Nevada Northern Railway, we paid a visit to the White Pine County Museum at Ely. In addition to local artifacts and mining memorabilia in the main building, the museum has an interesting little collection of railroad, mining, and other machinery on outdoor display, starting with an electric locomotive in a locale - desert mountains - where I least expected to find one.






Kennecott Copper Corp. No. 80. I could hardly believe my eyes when I first spotted this electric locomotive from the passing MayhemMobile. As it turned out, Kennecott had a rotary dumping operation at its mill/concentrator in nearby McGill. The engine, and another electric that's kept in the Nevada Northern engine house, served the rotary dumper under about a mile of catenary.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Goodbye to Omaha after our restful 3-night layover. On Sunday we did get out to that Triple-A minor league ballgame: Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals) 7, New Orleans Zephyrs (Florida Marlins) 4. A fine game at Werner Park, a brand new facility with excellent sight lines enjoying its inaugural season. A shout out to whoever that gentleman was in the red pickup that rolled up beside Team Whooz and produced a free ticket that resulted in a twofer!

This morning, Day 14, we'll take in the U.P. museum across the river at Council Bluffs, then head out across Iowa to see what we can see on the penultimate leg of our journey to Rail Fest 2011 at Rock Island, Illinois.

Video:

Local Grain & High Railer At Chappell, NE - Stopping off for shots of a local locomotive at a grain elevator - a number of these across the plains - earlier in our eastbound trek, we also caught this local U.P. freight action, with the bonus of a high rail truck arriving at the grade crossing to be taken off the line.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 13: Rails West & BNSF - A light day of Ragin' at the Rails West railroad museum at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and the old Burlington Route depot - adjacent to the current Amtrak station, at Omaha, Nebraska.






Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 814, a locomotive of the same class and model as the operating No. 844, shot through a chain link fence at Rails West railroad museum.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa, where Team Whooz is preparing for the final interstate speed run to Rail Fest 2011, which begins tomorrow. Looking at weather.com this morning I see that the whole region is in the grip of a heat wave - no news to us - and that it seems to be moving eastward along with the Ragin' Rails Raid.

Yesterday we encountered several effects of recent and current flooding around the Missouri River. First, a number of exhibits at the U.P. museum's upper level are not viewable because archival material has been moved there from the basement for safe storage as a flooding precaution.

Later, along the rails beside U.S. 30 on the drive to Des Moines, many square miles of flooded farmland could be seen on the north side of the highway, with water very close to the U.P main line in places, track crews working in some areas, and lines of trains, one after another as a traffic jam, moving very slowly or not at all as they waited and passed over the afflicted sections.

Video:

Nevada Northern Evening Grade Crossing - 1910 Baldwin 4-6-0 No. 40 leads over a grade crossing on the evening run to the Ruth mining district near Ely, Nevada, 7-9-11. That's the Nevada Northern Railway's executive director in the cab and at the throttle, and the guy whooz in the shot when it pans with the locomotive is the same guy who had invited me up to tour the cab that morning, and had also fired the engine on the morning run. He's a volunteer from Laguna Beach, California, whooz idea of fun is driving to Ely to work on the railroad.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 14: Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad - Following several hours perusing the interesting collections and displays of the U.P. museum at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Team Whooz drove eastbound to Des Moines, once again sticking close to the rails by using U.S. 30 most of the way. At Boone, Iowa, we stopped in at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad to see what we could see. The day's diesel train had been run hours earlier, and the place was deserted in the searing heat, so there was nobody around to discourage or deter us from wandering around the property for some pictures.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Walcott, Iowa, which is just across the Mississippi River from Train Festival 2011 at Rock Island, Illinois. Walcott is also the destination of the twice daily excursions that will be run throughout the event, which begins today. Team Whooz rolled into Rock Island early yesterday afternoon to get the lay of the land and try to scope out some railfanning spots. We also knew that Nickel Plate 2-8-4 steam locomotive No. 765 would be arriving at the Festival, running a final leg from Peoria, Illinois. When we arrived at the Festival grounds we found that 765 wasn't there yet, so tried to locate the line it would be coming in on by using an inadequate map and a lot of guesswork. We guessed right, and at Geneseo, Illinois, railfans were found setting up for an inbound pass by 765.

Later, on return to Rock Island, we were in time to catch 765 again as it tiptoed next to city streets and through the yards of Iowa Interstate Railroad - whooz rails it had used on the inbound run - to the festival grounds.

Video:

Nickel Plate 765 At Geneseo, Illinois - 1944 Lima Locomotive Works 2-8-4 steam locomotive No. 765 making good speed with a short train at Geneseo, Illinois, on its way to Train Festival 2011 at Rock Island.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 15: Train Festival 2011 Minus One - A few shots of trains that arrived early to take part in Train Festival 2011 at Rock Island, Illinois.






Depite a heat-imposed speed cap of 35 mph, Nickel Plate 2-8-4 No. 765 looks fast as it runs by with a 6-car train. Photo By Alice.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings again from Walcott, Iowa, home of the "World's Largest Truckstop" (As seen on TV!!), and where this morning it's just a-lightnin' and a-thunderin' and a-rainin' to beat the band.

We'll see how Day Two of Train Festival 2011 goes, but Day One was a blast. Of steam. Arriving before opening time, Team Whooz got to watch some final preparations as various steam and diesel locomotives were pushed, pulled, and run to display locations on the grounds. Once inside there was the opportunity for a few pictures before throngs arrived to clutter shots. It was kinda like getting to your favorite rides at Disneyland before lines form.

After making the rounds of the grounds we did a little preliminary chasing, then were occupied most of the late afternoon and early evening with figuring out first where the excursion rail lines are around here, and second where the most advantageous photo positions might be. Time, and results, will tell how successful we were.

Many pics and vids taken on day one, which will take time to properly edit, assemble, and caption. For now a quick look at the "Big Steam" and other power on hand, as well as an excursion pass through Davenport, Iowa...

Video:

Afternoon Steam Excursion To Walcott, Iowa - Cosmetically "Americanized" Iowa Interstate Railroad Chinese-built 2-10-2 No. 6988 leads Train Festival 2011's second excursion outbound. As the camera pans with its pass, note Nickel Plate 2-8-4 No. 765 sitting off to the side on a branch line. After being turned around on the Iowa side of the Mississippi it was waiting for the excursion to clear the line before returning across the river to festival grounds.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 16: Intro To Train Festival 2011 - A brief look at the steam - and some of the diesel - power on hand for the Train Festival at Rock Island, Illinois.






Boarding continues for the first excursion of the festival, as in foreground 765's crew discuss the run.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings once again from Middling America, where last night's thunderstorm knocked out power to the "World's Largest Truckstop," which is adjacent to the Team Whooz Ragin' Rails Raid 2011 Regional Office at Walcott, Iowa.

More of the same this morning as another electrical squall moves through the area, threatening to make today's train chasing a somewhat soggy pursuit.

In addition to the twice daily excursions from Rock Island to Walcott, today there's an all day "Steam Adventure" to Iowa City, about 40 miles further west. That train will be riding the same Iowa Interstate Railroad rails as the local excursions, which means that this morning we can let the train come to us, then leapfrog it westbound by jumping on I-80.

Yesterday's cornfield catches...

Video:

Steamin' & Smokin' Through Cornfield Curve - Video by Alice. You can almost smell - and taste - the coal smoke from IAIS 2-10-2 No. 6988 as it charges through a curve, leading the outbound leg of Friday afternoon's Train Festival excursion to Walcott, Iowa. And if you watch closely, you can see the exact moment the camera lens gets hit with small cinders carried in the locomotive's exhaust.

Steamin' Outbound In The Afternoon - Iowa Interstate Railroad 2-10-2 No. 6988 in charge of Train Festival 2011's afternoon excursion to Walcott, Iowa. Here the train passes a grade crossing as it nears the village of Walcott, close to the end of the outbound run. An Iowa Interstate diesel on the end will lead the return leg to Rock Island, Illinois, and the festival grounds.

Equal Time For Diesel - Iowa Interstate diesel No. 701 gets the afternoon Walcott excursion underway on the return run to Train Festival headquarters at Rock Island, Illinois. IAIS steam locomotive No. 6988 brings up the tail end, rolling in reverse.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 17: Chasing Steam To Walcott - After catching the morning Walcott excursion running through Davenport, Iowa, and after crossing the Mississippi from Train Festival grounds at Rock Island, Illinois, Team Whooz headed out to the corn fields around Walcott for a look at the train's return run. The Walcott excursions are pull/pull affairs, with steam in charge pulling outbound, then Iowa Interstate diesel power taking over tpull the returns. Following a quick trip to the festival grounds we again drove out to Walcott to cath the afternoon excursion as well.







Iowa Interstate Railroad diesel No. 701 on home rails, leading the return of Train Festival 2011's Friday morning excursion to Walcott through the Iowa corn fields.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

WhoozOn1st said:


> More of the same this morning as another electrical squall moves through the area, threatening to make today's train chasing a somewhat soggy pursuit.


Ditto for today, and yesterday's chase of the steam/Amtrak-powered excursion to Iowa City, Iowa was indeed a somewhat soggy pursuit - two serious squalls endured. Lots of fun, though, with the exception of a lone irate local at Downey, Iowa. Stopping his pickup across the tracks of a grade crossing where a number of railfans had set up shop for photography, he angrily berated us - using language he probably didn't learn from his mother - for blocking HIS roads "just to watch a stupid f------ train." Yeah, pal. This happens how often? And you live in what country?

It's perhaps worth noting that for the Ragin' Rails Raid to date, the rant of that misguided miscreant was the closest we've come to being hassled for photography.

After catching the train outbound from Rock Island at a grade crossing on the edge of Walcott, then the return run speeding through Downey, we met the excursion again at West Liberty, Iowa, for the time-honored ritual of the photo run-by. AU member rtabern (Rob) was aboard the train and spotted Team Whooz trackside at West Liberty. Haven't seen J-1 3235 (Mike, winner of the opening round of Name That Diesel!!) yet, but then we haven't spent much time at the festival grounds since the first day.

Today more chasing, this time the Burlington Nebraska Zephyr articulated diesel trainset on an all-day excursion to Bureau, Illinois.

Man, this is a blast!

Video:

Steam & Amtrak Pound The Iowa Plains - Steam and Amtrak locomotives lead the outbound charge through the corn fields of Walcott, Iowa, as Train Festival 2011's Saturday excursion to Iowa City, Iowa, makes good time over Iowa Interstate Railroad rails. Really nice consist for this run, including Hiawatha, full dome, and other other vintage rolling stock.

Steam & Diesel At Downey - Train Festival 2011's Saturday excursion to Iowa City passes the village of Downey, Iowa, at speed during the return to Rock Island, Illinois, The train would stop a few miles down the line at West Liberty for the time-honored run-by ritual.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 18: Steam & Amtrak To Iowa City - Several views of Train Festival 2011's Saturday excursion to Iowa City, Iowa, which featured steam and Amtrak locomotives leading the way - along with vintage Hiawatha rolling stock in the consist.






The excursion train is completing post run-by passenger reboarding at West Liberty, Iowa, and is almost ready to get underway again for the remainder of the return run to Train Festival grounds at Rock Island, Illinois.
​


----------



## Bob Dylan

:hi: As usual good stuff Patrick and Alice! Loved the Loooooooong train heading for Iowa City, especially the Domes and the Lounge Car on the end! Noticed that there were two Amtrak engines on the Train, is this usuall, Ive never seen Specials with more than one engine but I live in Texas, trains only run with one engine down here seems like!! :lol:

Also are yall planning on visiting "The Field of Dreams" Ball Park in the Corn, IIRC its close to where yall are?? And that "Friendly" Gentlemen that yelled at the railfans, did yall yell back to get his damn pickup off the tracks before he got an early trip to where he belongs! (rhymes with spell and feels like hell!) :lol:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

jimhudson said:


> As usual good stuff Patrick and Alice! Loved the Loooooooong train heading for Iowa City, especially the Domes and the Lounge Car on the end! Noticed that there were two Amtrak engines on the Train, is this usuall, Ive never seen Specials with more than one engine but I live in Texas, trains only run with one engine down here seems like!!
> Also are yall planning on visiting "The Field of Dreams" Ball Park in the Corn, IIRC its close to where yall are?? And that "Friendly" Gentlemen that yelled at the railfans, did yall yell back to get his damn pickup off the tracks before he got an early trip to where he belongs! (rhymes with spell and feels like hell!)


Thanks, Jim. I don't know what the deal is for Amtrak engines on specials (charters, excursions, what have you...), but perhaps there's a Valued Reader out there who does... Note that the P42s, which also headed the Sunday excursion downriver to Muscatine, Iowa, are two of the 40th Anniversary paintjob units: 156 (Phase I), and 66 (Phase I'm not sure). I'll have still photos of the engines in a later installment that will include some goings on at the Train Festival grounds on the final day of the event.

Speaking of final, for the last time:

Greetings from Walcott, Iowa. With Train Festival 2011 now complete, Team Whooz will no longer spend its days running back and forth between notches on the farm belt, chasing after trains, selecting likely photo positions, getting yelled at by locals, being aced out by rude railfans - and endangered on the roads by similar, fanatical, railfans - or soaking in midwestern summer monsoons while waiting for trains to show up. EDIT: In other words the fun's over.

Now it's time for a rapid run to Lorton, Virginia, to catch the southbound Auto Train. There will be no nonense (okay, maybe a LITTLE nonsense) on this determined trek eastward, which we have two days to complete. So no "Field of Dreams" kinda stuff, but funny Jim should mention dreams: Last night I dreamt that SoCal's Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751 had made it to the Train Festival anyway (BNSF put the kibosh on it months ago), and all was right with the world. 

Before setting out, here are some tidbits from yesterday...

Video:

Nexbraska Zephyr At Tiskilwa - One - Team Whooz Executive Assistant Alice set up at a grade crossing on a tangent near the west edge of the village of Tiskilwa, Illinois, for this Nebraska Zephyr Pass. Note different pitches of the doppler-shifted single-chime horn.

Nebraska Zephyr At Tiskilwa - Two - Further east, in Tiskilwa proper and just east of the village's old Rock Island Lines depot, the Nebraska Zephyr runs past a grade crossing in a wide curve before disappearing into the trees on its run to Bureau Junction.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 19: Nebraska Zephyr At Bureau Junction - Burlington's Nebraska Zephyr articulated diesel trainset ran a Train Festival 2011 Sunday excursion from the grounds at Rock Island to Bureau Junction and return. It was a gray day, with intermittent downpours along the route, but nothing could dampen the festivities at Bureau Junction, where excursion passengers, townfolk, and railfans milled and mingled during the Zephyr's layover.






A view toward the old depot, and some of the Nebraska Zephyr's photo-inclined admirers, during the Sunday excursion layover at Bureau Junction, Illinois.
​


----------



## J-1 3235

WhoozOn1st said:


> After catching the train outbound from Rock Island at a grade crossing on the edge of Walcott, then the return run speeding through Downey, we met the excursion again at West Liberty, Iowa, for the time-honored ritual of the photo run-by. AU member rtabern (Rob) was aboard the train and spotted Team Whooz trackside at West Liberty. Haven't seen J-1 3235 (Mike, winner of the opening round of Name That Diesel!!) yet, but then we haven't spent much time at the festival grounds since the first day.


Actually, Rob T was on the ground at West Liberty, near the station, and I said hello to you and Alice from the dutch door of the coach in front of the Super Dome. At least I think it was you, Patrick, you were hiding behind your camera! Sorry we missed out on an in-person meet, hopefully another time....

And thanks for all the photos and videos!

Mike


----------



## MikefromCrete

Great coverage of the Train Festival, Whooz and Alice. I was planning on attending, but couldn't because my wife is recovering from surgery. So this was a great replacement.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

J-1 3235 said:


> Actually, Rob T was on the ground at West Liberty, near the station, and I said hello to you and Alice from the dutch door of the coach in front of the Super Dome. At least I think it was you, Patrick, you were hiding behind your camera! Sorry we missed out on an in-person meet, hopefully another time....


I stand corrected: by J-1 3235, and by Executive Assistant Alice, who will be docked a day's pay for initially providing misinformation on this issue of crucial importance to National Security. Mike, I was indeed hiding behind my camera, but it was for naught. Clips at West Liberty - run-by, post run-by backing, departure - were all so badly focused for some reason that they're just so much garbage. And yeah, see you another time (Rob too).

Due to connection issues Team Whooz didn't get to issue greetings from Columbus, Ohio this morning. The entire hotel was down, including their front desk, making check-in a hassle and check-out problematic; cell phone connections were next to useless as well. However...

Greetings from Lorton, Virginia, where tomorrow we'll be boarding Amtrak's Auto Train to Sanford, Florida. A Team Whooz first for each of us, and we're looking forward to the initial - and likely only - Amtrak ride of the Ragin' Rails Raid.

MikefromCrete: Happy to be of service, and best wishes to the wife for a rapid and full recovery. 

Because no photos or video of any kind were shot during the two-day interstate rapid ragin' across the eastern third of the U.S., we'll just have to take a roll down Train Festival 2011's Memory Lane...

Video:

Nickel Plate 765 Starts Back To Festival - After leading the morning train to Walcott, Iowa, on the first day of Train Festival 2011, NKP 2-8-4 steam locomotive No. 765 was mysteriously absent on the train's return to festival grounds at Rock Island, Illinois, led by Iowa Interstate diesel No. 701. When Team Whooz ventured across the Mississippi to Davenport, Iowa, to watch Chinese-built 2-10-2 No. 6988 lead the afternoon Walcott excursion through Davenport, Iowa, NKP 765 was found sitting just off the IAIS Main line, turned around from its morning run and ready to return back over the river. After the outbound excursion train charged through - and some additional waiting for track warrants to be issued - NKP 765 returned to the main line, paused, then began pounding through Davenport on its way back to Rock Island. We have yet to learn why the locomotive didn't return with the morning train.






Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 is ready to lead the Thursday morning excursion to Wallcott - Train Festival 2011's first - from behind. The first step off the grounds and out of the yard is a backing move led by Iowa Interstate diesel No. 701. 765 will take over and lead the train over the Mississippi and out across eastern Iowa corn fields to Walcott.
​


----------



## KayBee

I will wave as you pass by RVR :giggle:

Thanks for the continued reportage. Your pictures help to ease the pain of not being able to attend the Festival.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

KayBee said:


> Your pictures help to ease the pain of not being able to attend the Festival.


The REAL pain is in dealing with lousy hotel connections in attempting to upload Train Festival material, of which there remains plenty; stay tuned!

Greetings from Jacksonville, Florida, geographically the largest city in the U.S. The Auto Train was a utilitarian and - overabundance of howling children aside - fairly enjoyable ride. It certainly beat driving from Virginia to Florida, but as a standalone train for the sake of riding trains is somewhat lacking. I doubt Team Whooz will have occasion to use it again, nor would we go out of our way for it; nothing special.

After making only about a hundred miles since Sanford, Florida, today we begin putting on a little more serious distance, making our way north and sampling rail attractions here and there along the way.

Video:

Nickel Plate 765 Finishes Working - Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 kinda creaks back into the Train Festival 2011 yard at Rock Island, Illinois, after completing its festival work. A single blast of the whistle - "stopped" - announces that for 765, and soon for all, the Train Festival has come to the end of the line.






Locomotives 831 & 832 arriving light to lead the southbound Auto Train from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL. Is this captive power? Unusual to see Amtrak engines in numerical sequence, so I wonder if this route is all they do...
​


----------



## Ryan

While not strictly captive power (they do rotate occasionally), the Auto Train is one of the few routes that the refurbished P40's seem to run.

If you guys are going to spend any time in the DC area, the first beer is on me!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Ryan said:


> If you guys are going to spend any time in the DC area, the first beer is on me!


A generous offer, and I was seized by a powerful thirst upon reading it. The original Ragin' Rails Raid plan was indeed to spend some time at D.C. and points north along the eastern seaboard. Unfortunately, commitments back in Cal that I couldn't get out of forced a shortening of the adventure (before it even started) and a reworking of the return route to a more southwesterly course from the east. Thanks, though!

Greetings from Columbia, South Carolina, the state capital. Not a whole lot of rail-related action since coming off the Auto Train. Rolling northbound parallel to the CSX main line in Georgia and S. Carolina has largely been a waste of time, as the rail line is heavily obscured by thick, piney forests and mostly cannot be seen even when in close proximity. You can't tell that from looking at a map. We stopped at the Folkston "Funnel" train viewing area in Georgia, and have happened across some nicely restored old depots, but that's about it on the train front. We hope to change that today by riding the LYNX light rail at Charlotte, North Carolina.

Video:

CSX At Folkston Funnel - A southbound CSX intermodal stack train lays on the horn for a couple grade crossings in quick succession as it passes the train viewing platform at Folkston, Georgia.






Nicely restored Southern Railway depot and museum at Branchville, South Carolina.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Durham, North Carolina, where I'm taking a day off just to be a vegetable (rutabaga, to be exact) before attending a minor league baseball game pitting the Durham Bulls against the Charlotte Knights.

Yesterday's ragin' included the drive from Columbia, South Carolina, to Charlotte, North Carolina, home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which we skipped. This is the region where stock car racing had its roots in backwoods bootlegging, and place names on the map are familiar to racing fans.

Along the way north we drove by the South Carolina Railroad Museum for a few photos, then stopped at Charlotte, North Carolina, to taste some southern fried light rail aboard that city's LYNX Blue Line.

Video:

LYNX Departs Charlotte Transit Center - Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) LYNX Blue Line light rail train departs the Charlotte (N. Carolina) Transit Center station in downtown Charlotte, heading to the last stop and northern terminus at 7th street. The train will return in a few minutes to retrieve Team Whooz and run out to the other end of the line at I-485/South Blvd.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 25: South Carolina Railroad Museum, Charlotte LYNX Light Rail - The South Carolina Railroad Museum had originally been nixed as a Ragin' Rails Raid activity, but a change in plans and route put it along the way after all. Though there wasn't time for a train ride or even much of a look around, we drove by for a few photos. The Charlotte, N. Carolina, LYNX Blue Line light rail was always in the plans, and Team Whooz did a quick out-and-back round trip of the 9.5 mile, single line system.






LYNX elevated southern terminus at I-485/South Blvd. station, viewed from top deck of adjacent park & ride structure.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Renewed greetings from Durham, NC, where on Ragin' Rails Raid Day 26 there was no rail to speak of, but I'll speak of it anyway. From the hotel I saw what I believe to be the northbound Amtrak Carolinian as it passed on the line just across the road. And in the early evening, from the ballpark, the southbound Carolinian was seen, as well as a couple freights. I believe the Amtrak trains were Carolinians because consulting the System Timetable shows that nothing else apparently runs around here at anything close to those times. Also, no Viewliner sleepers on the trains.

Team Whooz is staring some major motor action in the face today, as we make a run for geared steam at the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in West Virginia. Because the day likely holds little or no rail in store, fair warning: Another round of that international game sensation, Name That Diesel!! is just around the corner.

In the meantime, Sunday's vegetational state actually resulted in something somewhat worthwhile:

Video:

LYNX Light Rail Cab View Run - Look over the motorman's shoulder on this southbound run from New Bern to Scaleybark aboard Charlotte (North Carolina) Area Transit System's (CATS) LYNX Blue Line light rail on 7-30-11.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 19: Train Festival Last Day - Selected views taken on the final afternoon of Train Festival 2011 at Rock Island, Illinois.






Iowa Interstate Chinese QJ 2-10-2 No. 7081, leading the return of the final Walcott excursion, meets Amtrak 40th Anniversary engines 156 and 66, which headed the Muscatine Flyer Train/Riverboat excursion. Tete-a-tete technologies of different eras, but the locomotives are not too far removed in age: 7081 was built in 1986.
​


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Lima, Ohio, former home of Lima Locomotive Works, builders of Shay geared engines and other notable steam power. Several days were spent offline due to the second hotel on this trip that was suffering total phone and internet outages. Somewhere in those lost days we rode up to Bald Knob at Cass Scenic Railroad Park behind the last Shay locomotive built, one which is also the largest Shay still operating. We also had the curious experience of listening to local obituaries - lengthy ones - on an Elkins, W. Virginia, radio station during morning drive time.

The 4.5 hour run to Bald Knob was a real highlight for the Ragin' Rails Raid - right up there with Nevada Northern - and I think would be for anyone of the railfan persuasion; unless, like that vile SoCal and AU hooligan Chuljin, they're not "into" steam. There's a heap of photo/video material from Cass, but it'll take some time to organize and upload in the wake of the outage situation (good uploading connection here at Lima). While that's in progress we can look back a bit at the run to Cass...

Video:

CSX Sneaks Up At Iron Gate -Team Whooz had located a nice little park off state route 92 at Iron Gate, West Virginia. A perfect place for a picnic lunch on the way to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, and right next to a rail line. As we were unloading supplies I thought I heard a diesel engine. Looking around carefully, I spotted this CSX unit coal train trying to sneak up on us through the bushes, peeking out now and then before finally showing itself in the open while continuing to creep past. EDIT: Note the coal gondolas behind the locomotives. This train had at least a score of these virtually spotless, right-off-the-production-line, cars. The axle ends were still bright blue, the dump clamshells had nothing more than light smatterings of road dirt, and they were almost eerily quiet as they rolled past when the train accelerated, especially compared with the creaking racket from the rest of the consist.

First Look At Cass Scenic - Team Whooz arrived at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, West Virginia, late in the afternoon of 8-1-11, just in time to see the day's last train arrive back at the depot after its run. No. 4 is a 3-truck Lima Shay geared steam locomotive. Unlike typical horizontal rod steam locomotves, the Shay's vertical pistons and connecting rods turn a crankshaft which in turn powers six wheels on three trucks through a system of linkages and bevel gears. No. 4 isn't really working as it pulls the train into the station, but its drive motion is clearly visible.

No, Valued Readers, I haven't forgotten. It's time once again to join in and play the home (or work) version of that global game sensation, Name That Diesel!!

Our second locomotive is a high-nose EMD product who works at FEC. Not Florida East Coast, but rather Farmers Elevator Company, Chappell, Nebraska, where the motto for its toils is "Pulling For Nebraska Farmers." FEC No. 7558 likes world peace, fast moving UP freights, high export grain prices, and a good joke. Now, Valued Readers everywhere, it's time to put on your thinking caps and use these tidbits of information to Name That Diesel!!


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from the hotel ghetto, around the block from the retail gulch, at Merrillville, Indiana. We're just south of Gary, preparing for today's run AROUND Chicagoland and into Wisconsin. Chicago's a great town, it's just not on the Ragin' Rails Raid itinerary (such as it is).

On Tuesday, 8-2-11, Team Whooz was out and about earlier than usual for the hour+ drive on 2-lane routes U.S. 219 and state 66 from Elkins to Cass, West Virginia, to ride behind geared steam at the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.

The stifling heat of the first weeks of the trip had broken a couple days earlier, and it was a fine day for our fourth ride of the Raid (after Nevada Northern, Auto Train, Charlotte light rail). The normal Cass Scenic schedule is three daily 1.5 hour trains partway up the hill to Whittaker, and one daily (except Mondays) 4.5 hour run all the way to the summit and Bald Knob. We went for Bald Knob, and it was an excellent choice. I'd tell you all about it, but the Executive Assistant is harrassing me about getting breakfast. Here are some visual aids, though...

Video:

Cass Shay No. 6 Works A Mountain Grade - This is the best video view I got of the Shay locomotive drivetrain in action. Cass Scenic No. 6 works the Team Whooz train up a steep logging road grade toward the summit and Bald Knob. Shays are not fast, but there's plenty of power in all that high speed machinery. Cass Scenic's route includes grades up to ELEVEN PERCENT; try that with a rod engine! The type was (and is) also well known for it's ability to operate over the light, quickly/poorly laid track common to logging operations, which pulled up and relaid rails as needed to move on to the next stand of trees as cutting progressed through a forest.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 28: Cass Scenic Shay Steam To Bald Knob - A few shots from our ride up the mountain and back, featuring Cass Scenic Railroad 3-truck Lima Shay No. 6.






An overall drive view of the business side of the Shay locomotive, showing the three vertical pistons and rods that power crankshaft and in turn driveshaft to transmit power to the wheels using gears. This arrangement is not duplicated on the other side of the locomotive:
​


----------



## jb64

I love riding the train at Cass. It is one of my favorite things. Unfortunately, it has been foggy at the top on every trip we have made. I hope you had clear weather and a fine view from the top.


----------



## J-1 3235

Patrick,

I'm going to assume the fine print rules for "Name that Diesel" specify only one winning answer every thirty days, so I'll refrain from answering this challenging query.

Thanks again for sharing your Ragin' Rails Raid with us!

Mike


----------



## WhoozOn1st

jb64 said:


> I love riding the train at Cass. It is one of my favorite things. Unfortunately, it has been foggy at the top on every trip we have made. I hope you had clear weather and a fine view from the top.


Not the clearest of days, with noticeable haze, at Bald Knob when we went up on 8-2-11, but far from foggy. The Cass Scenic website warns that the top can be 15 degrees cooler than at the depot, so I had a sweatshirt along in a backpack, but it proved unnecessary. Here are a couple Bald Knob shots that show our train with a backdrop of clouds - it's the 3rd highest point in West Virginia at 4,872 feet above sea level; a mere hill by California standards, but impressive nonetheless - and a max zoom view of the big dish at the radio observatory far below on the other side of the mountain from the Cass depot.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

J-1 3235 said:


> I'm going to assume the fine print rules for "Name that Diesel" specify only one winning answer every thirty days, so I'll refrain from answering this challenging query


My game, my rules, and I say multiple wins are fine. So fork up the info and Name That Diesel!! 

Greetings from Kenosha, Wisconsin, a small city on the shores of Lake Michigan south of Milwaukee that has its own small streetcar operation - a PCC on a loop of a mile or so, running between the Metra station, a beach on the lake, and a transit center. We hope to ride today before resuming our northwest trek and hitting a couple museums.

On the Day 30 drive from Lima, Ohio, to Merrillville, Indiana, we paused at TrainTown outside Ft. Wayne, Indiana. It's home to the Ft. Wayne Railroad Historical Society and Nickel Plate Railroad 2-8-4 No. 265, which we'd seen in operation earlier in the Ragin' Rails Raid for Train Festival 2011 at and around Rock Island, Illinois. The museum was closed on 8-4-11, but one of 765's engineers was luckily onsite. He was friendly and gracious about allowing a few pictures of the locomotive in its carbarn, inviting me up into the cab, and sharing a wealth of information as well as a number of entertaining stories about 765.

Further along and later in the day we stopped at Michigan City, Indiana, for a rush hour look at South Shore Line street running. Now I've been aboard a few South Shore trains as they crawled through the Michigan City streets, but had never seen this cool rarity from the ground. So Team Whooz set up shop at a couple locations, both in and at the edge of town, for some prime railfanning with "America's Last Interurban."

Video:

South Shore Begins Street Running - A southbound weekday afternoon South Shore Line (NICTD - Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District) rush hour train from Chicago comes off private right of way and starts its run through the streets of Michigan City, Indiana, on 8-4-11.

A look at Nickel Plate 765 under cover at home in Ft. Wayne, and a northbound South Shore train coming over a rise as it runs on the streets of Michigan City:


----------



## J-1 3235

OK!

FEC 7558 is also an EMD GP-9, also of Pennsylvania RR heritage (#7038), built in November of 1955.

Mike


----------



## WhoozOn1st

J-1 3235 said:


> FEC 7558 is also an EMD GP-9, also of Pennsylvania RR heritage (#7038), built in November of 1955.


Thanks, Mike. Obviously the level of difficulty needs to be jacked up for any third round of Name That Diesel!! I think I can do that.

Greetings from La Crosse, Wisconsin, where the Ragin' Rails Raid has stumbled into the midst of some sort of Harley-Davidson mass migration.

Yesterday - Day 32 - we saw, but did not ride, a PCC streetcar at Kenosha. It was a different car from the one seen the previous afternoon, which was cool. After that we stopped briefly at the East Troy Electric Railroad, then caught 0-4-0T steam locomotive Flagg Coal Co. No. 75 running out of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum at North Freedom.. This little tank engine not named Thomas had been seen under steam at Train Festival 2011, and it was great to see it working a train through the Wisconsin countryside. It'll remain there running excursion trains through August 14th, and is well worth a trip to see in action: Steam Days With Flagg Coal #75.

Because Team Whooz used the connection here to plot next moves instead of upload stuff, yesterday's material remains on hold. Let's look back at Day 29, though, and a weird (but cool) front yard decoration. On U.S. 81, just east of Lima Ohio, somebody has decided that a medieval knight in battle dress and on horseback is the perfect complement to a lawn caboose:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from St. Cloud, Minnesota, where we really begin our westbound leg by running roughly parallel to the Empire Builder's route.

On the way to getting caught up on the photo front, here are some shots and video from the little streetcar system at Kenosha, plus Flagg Coal Co. No. 75 and other steam at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum at North Freedom, both in Wisconsin.

Video:

Passenger Boards Kenosha Streetcar - One of Kenosha, Wisconsin's, PCC streetcars takes a curve between the Metra station and the Police department on the small city's loop, stopping to board a passenger before continuing to a lakeside parkway and transit center.

Flagg Coal No. 75 At Country Grade Crossing - Flagg Coal Co. 0-4-0T No. 75 pulls an excursion train at Mid-Continent Railway Museum, near North Freedom, Wisconsin. The little switcher is almost dwarfed by its consist, and gets some help with the heavy steel cars from a diesel switcher briging up the tail end.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 32: Steam At Mid-Continent Railway Museum - After chasing Flagg Coal Co. 0-4--0T No. 75 on its outbound run at Mid-Continent Railway Museum (North Freedom, Wisconsin), Team Whooz returned to the museum itself and looked around the grounds while awaiting No.75's return with its consist of vintage Delaware Lackawanna & Western passenger cars and a diesel switcher assistant. An interesting array of rolling stock, albeit with some pieces in pretty sad shape. The museum suffered some equipment losses to major flooding three years ago, and the inundation couldn't have been good news for rest of the collection either. No. 75's 9-day stint at North Freedom is the first operational steam at Mid-Continent in a number of years.

Two PCC streetcars at Kenosha, and Flagg Coal tank engine (not named Thomas) at a rural Wisconsin grade crossing:


----------



## AmtrakBlue

J-1 3235 said:


> OK!
> 
> FEC 7558 is also an EMD GP-9, also of Pennsylvania RR heritage (#7038), built in November of 1955.
> 
> Mike


That OLD, uh? (I was born in Nov '55) Hope it's running better than I am. :giggle:


----------



## Bob Dylan

:hi: More good stuff from The Rolling Thunder Review !(California Edition!)Thanks Patrick and Alice!

Isnt it amazing how lots of cities are rediscovering Streets cars, Trolleys, Light and Commuter Rail after doing away with it years ago when worshiping @ the Altar of the Automobile? 

Here in Austin we used to have psuedo Trolleys (Diesel powered) called the Armadillo Express that were free for Tourists and residents to ride downtown, they were then made to cost 50c and the Routes cut way back, by the geniuses at CapMetro and ridership plummeted, go figure!  They were then sold to other cities for peanuts! (think San Antonio bought them)

Now that Austin has Traffic Gridlock, the powers that be at CapMetro and City Hall are discussing Street Cars to run to the Airport, other parts of town and Cap Metro has the Red Line in Operation (finally thanks to a private Company hired to get it done after Veolia was run out of town!!)There is also talk about starting a downtown shuttle similar to the late Armadillo Trolleys! Who'd a guessed?? :wacko:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the Team Whooz run alongside the Empire Builder's route has come to a slippery end.

Due to the freelance nature of this portion of the Ragin' Rails Raid, lodging plans and arrangements are being made on short notice, based on daily progress. In plotting for today's westbound run it was learned that there's no lodging to be had ANYWHERE within a reasonable radius of we could expect to finish for the day. I mean there was NOTHING, east or west, north or south. What gives?? A more polite form of this question was asked of someone answering an independent hotel phone number. As it happens, there's an oil boom out west, right in the area Team Whooz had planned to traverse. Petroleum industry workers have cornered the market on lodging for the time being.

Because half of Team Whooz (me) is staunchly opposed to sleeping overnight in a parked vehicle, or camping, the lack of lodging to the west forces a change of route and plans. Today we'll be backtracking to Fargo, then on south to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, before turning west again. RATS!!

This turn of events doesn't mean no more Ragin' Rails, just no more Empire Builder stuff, at least for the time being. What's that you say? There hasn't been any Empire Builder stuff? Well maybe not for YOU, Valued Reader, but we've been on it, more or less, for days. Proof:

Video:

Empire Builder, Train 8, At Lake City, MN - Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder, running a mere 3 hours late on 8-7-11, rolls past Lake City, Minnesota, on a wide curve through an industrial area of this Mississippi River town.

BNSF Westbound At Fargo, ND - A westbound BNSF manifest freight passes a grade crossing at the old Northern Pacific depot at downtown Fargo, North Dakota. The crossing is a quiet zone - no horn, just double gates and bells. The station, visible at left after panning with the locomotives, is now used by the Fargo Parks Dept., a small museum, and a senior center.

Photos:

Empire Builder Stations Most Passengers Miss - Some views of stations at the Empire Builder's wee hours stops in Minnesota and North Dakota, along with a couple of cool non-Amtrak stations along the way.

An eastbound BNSF intermodal stack train crawling through a grade crossing at Wadena, Minnesota (not a Builder stop), another BNSF stack train passes the Amtrak station a Detroit Lakes, Minnesota (Builder stop), and BNSF's Dilworth Terminal, Dilworth, MN, just east of Moorhead, MN, which in turn is just across the Red River (EDIT: this is corrected from Mississippi River, a massive geographic error that nobody called me on and I just realized/spotted) from Fargo, ND, and the offices of BNSF's Twin Cities Division:


----------



## Ispolkom

WhoozOn1st said:


> Because half of Team Whooz (me) is staunchly opposed to sleeping overnight in a parked vehicle, or camping, the lack of lodging to the west forces a change of route and plans. Today we'll be backtracking to Fargo, then on south to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, before turning west again. RATS!!


You will probably not want to plan to stop in western South Dakota, as well. The Sturgis rally is this week (that's where all the bikers were going), and I'd imagine it'll be hard to find lodging anywhere around there.

One other bit of advice. I'd be sure to visit Devil's Tower.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Ispolkom said:


> WhoozOn1st said:
> 
> 
> 
> Because half of Team Whooz (me) is staunchly opposed to sleeping overnight in a parked vehicle, or camping, the lack of lodging to the west forces a change of route and plans. Today we'll be backtracking to Fargo, then on south to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, before turning west again. RATS!!
> 
> 
> 
> You will probably not want to plan to stop in western South Dakota, as well. The Sturgis rally is this week (that's where all the bikers were going), and I'd imagine it'll be hard to find lodging anywhere around there.
> 
> One other bit of advice. I'd be sure to visit Devil's Tower.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Ispolkom, we also heard about the Sturgis thing at a visitor center when crossing into S. Dakota, and that's when it also dawned on us that that's where the La Crosse pack was headed, as well as all the (too) many other Harley-Davidsons seen swarming the highways recently; way more than expected. BTW, we saw the Excelsior and Como-Harriet streetcars while passing through your neck of the woods the other day, and will post about them in a future update.

Greetings from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where Team Whooz is in the process of changing trains. Yes, we know there's not an Amtrak station within 150 miles (the website said so!). What we're doing, see, is going from running along the Empire Builder's route to running along the Southwest Chief's route on our way back west. Can't go north cuz there's an oil boom. Can't go central cuz there's bikers in the way. So south is the answer, and we'll pick up the SWC's route at Kansas City, Missouri. This also puts the kibosh on the original plan to hit rail stuff as we headed down the west coast, not to mention the Devil's Tower suggestion, but oh well.

Photos:

Alongside BNSF - Freight trains from the road, freight trains sitting, freight trains slow, freight trains fast, a BNSF maintenance facility (with map), a Northern Pacific steam engine, and BNSF division offices along the Ragin' Rails Raid route through Minnesota and North Dakota.

Today, Day 35, was the second time a freight train has tried to sneak up on Team Whooz at lunch. The first time was at Iron Gate, West Virginia, and the culprit was a CSX unit coal train. Today it was a BNSF grain train on a branch line at Watertown, South Dakota. Enjoying a tailgate lunch of cottage cheese and sandwiches and minding our own business beside Lake Pelican, I noticed a low rumble and turned to find several locomotives and a string of covered hoppers peering at us from behind some tall reeds on the lakeshore. By some clever countermoves I was able to flush the invader out into the open on an approach to a short bridge:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings again from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, today's starting point for the ongoing train changing operation.

During Sunday Ragin' from La Crosse, WI, to St. Cloud, MN, Team Whooz paused at Minneapolis to see the historic streetcars operated by the Minnesota Streecar Museum running at their respective locations near Lake Minnetonka and between lakes Harriet and Calhoun...

Video:

Twin Cities Streetcar Eastbound At Excelsior - Twin Cities Rapid Transit car #1239 - built in 1907 - rolls eastbound from Water Street to Excelsior Blvd. near Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior, a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. Pausing at an intersection, you can hear 1239's air compressor laboring, the conductor and motorman exchanging fare and signal rings, then the growl of the motors as the streetcar gets underway once again.

Duluth Streetcar Departs Linden Hills - Duluth Street Railways streetcar #265 - built 1915 - departs the Linden Hills station on the west side of Lake Harriet in southwest Minneapolis on 8-7-11. Note PCC streetcar in background at beginning, Twin Cities Rapid Transit #322 - built 1946.

Twin Cities Rapid Transit streetcar #1239 emerges westrbound from a route 7 underpass in Excelsior; Duluth Street Railways # 265 (L) and Twin Cities Rapid Transit PCC #322 at Linden Hills station on the west bank of Lake Harriet:


----------



## The Crazy Vacationer

The Como-Harriet streetcar is a fun afternoon activity for my family during the summer. Since it runs right by a cemetery, they do "Haunted" rides in October. Of note, the streetcar station in Como Park has been renovated and is now used by the city as an activity space. (My 10 year old will be going there for a Theater camp next week.) The Excelsion and Linden Hills streetcars are run by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum (http://www.trolleyride.org)

Another fun activity is the Minnesota Transportation Museum (www.mtmuseum.org). They have classic buses, an old depot, an excursion rail, and an old roundhouse that has been converted to a museum. Very fun places to visit while in the twin cities.

Also in the area is the Model Railroad club (www.tcmrm.org) which is located in Bandanna Square. These buildings used to be the shops for repairing the rail cars; you can still see the tracks in the floor.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

The Crazy Vacationer said:


> The Como-Harriet streetcar is a fun afternoon activity for my family during the summer. Since it runs right by a cemetery, they do "Haunted" rides in October. Of note, the streetcar station in Como Park has been renovated and is now used by the city as an activity space. (My 10 year old will be going there for a Theater camp next week.) The Excelsion and Linden Hills streetcars are run by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum (http://www.trolleyride.org)
> Another fun activity is the Minnesota Transportation Museum (www.mtmuseum.org). They have classic buses, an old depot, an excursion rail, and an old roundhouse that has been converted to a museum. Very fun places to visit while in the twin cities.
> 
> Also in the area is the Model Railroad club (www.tcmrm.org) which is located in Bandanna Square. These buildings used to be the shops for repairing the rail cars; you can still see the tracks in the floor.


Thanks, C.V., for the comments and additional info. Team Whooz really enjoyed the all-too-brief time at Minneapolis, and was impressed with the large number of folks out and about, taking advantage of the glorious weather on a summer Sunday afternoon by going to parks, riding streetcars (mostly Como-Harriet), and attending a street fair near lakes Calhoun and Harriet. Driving around the latter was fairly congested, but that gave more time to appreciate the attractive neighborhoods in the area.

Greetings from Kansas City, Missouri, where Team Whooz is enjoying its first hardwired hotel connection of the trip. Naturally I can't take full advantage cuz there was virtually nothing left to upload and few photos were taken on Day 36. Figures.

It's Always Something Dept: The whole purpose of running south and changing trains to follow the Southwest Chief's route was to avoid the obstacles of A) no lodging to the west in N. Dakota due to oil boom, and B) Likely no or exhorbitantly priced lodging in western S. Dakota due to swarming bikers. What we encountered instead was C) Extensive road closures, especially large stretches of I-29, due to lingering and still-high flood waters along the Missouri River. The resultant detours were interesting and scenic, but did exact a travel time penalty.

An audio/visual roundup...

Video:

Nevada Northern Evening Train Nears Wye - Nevada Northern runs its Steptoe Flyer only about once a month. This evening train covers both ends of the line, running first to the Ruth mining district and back, then out toward McGill in the opposite direction. In this video the train makes a long, slow, chuffing approach to the wye at Ruth, with the early summer evening Nevada sky joining the mountains to provide a magnificent backdrop for mountain steam railroading, and holding the promise of a stunning sunset later on; a promise that was fulfilled during the outbound leg to McGill.

South Shore Street Running Intersection -After boarding passengers on the street at Michigan City, Indiana, this northbound South Shore Line train deals with stoplights and traffic as it runs on the town's main drag toward private right of way and Chicago on Team Whooz Ragin' Rails Raid Day 29 (8-4-11); the train's motorman gives a wave as he passes.

Flagg Coal No. 75 Returns To Mid-Continent Museum - Completing its work on the last train of its first day (of 9) of operations at Mid-Continent Railway Museum, Flagg Coal Co. 0-4-0T No. 75 brings it home to North Freedom, Wisconsin, while getting some diesel assistance with the heavy steel passenger coach consist. Pretty muched dwarfed by its helper and charges, is No. 75 out of breath and wheezing as it whistles for the grade crossing on approach to Mid-Continent's depot? Hmmmm.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 32: East Troy Electric Railroad - During the day's run from Kenosha to La Crosse, Wisconsin, Team Whooz visited two museums, beginning with the East Troy Electric Railroad at East Troy, Wisconsin. There wasn't time to ride, but it was good to stroll around the small town mid-America setting for awhile on a hot summer afternoon (8-6-11) and kinda relive a bygone era of electric transportation.

Sheboygan Light Power & Railway Co. wooden interurban No. 26 at East Troy, Wisconsin; Burlington 4-8-4 Hudson locomotive in park on east bank of Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wisconsin; Missouri River flooding seen from a rest area just south of the S. Dakota/Missouri border:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Liberal, Kansas, which is not very.

Yesterday saw the resumption of westbound progress as the MayhemMobile slogged across Kansas, and today that progress will continue as we leave Central Time behind, hopefully for some Southwest Chief Ragin' at Raton, New Mexico. Thursday's run along the Chief's route was mostly trainless except while departing Kansas City, a couple early BNSF freights along the way, and a UP stack train seen at Hutchinson, Kansas. We know that BNSF no longer uses Raton Pass as part of its Los Angeles-Chicago transcon, but how far east does the SWC run along the Raton line before rejoining the current BNSF main? And where? Or does it? We've been driving in stick track land for a fairly long while.

Here's a clip that harks back to earlier in the Ragin' Rails Raid, along with BNSF steam and diesel seen during Thursday's run...

Video:

Steam In The Streets At Davenport, Iowa - Iowa Interstate Railroad's Chinese QJ 2-10-2 No. 6988 heads the Train Festival 2011 morning excursion to Iowa on 7-22-11. Having departed festival grounds at Rock Island, Illinois, and crossed the Mississippi River, the train comes off the downtown flyover to run southbound at grade through outer Davenport, Iowa, before turning east and speeding out to Walcott.

Santa Fe 4-6-2 No. 3424 next to U.S. 50 at Kinsley, Kansas; AT&SF 2-6-2 No. 1139 near the Amtrak station at Dodge City, Kansas; BNSF ethanol switching at Dodge City; etc.:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Trinidad, Colorado, where Amtrak has a platform and virtually nothing else while the immediate area is torn up for some kinda construction.

Brief note this morning as we try to get moving to catch the westbound Southwest Chief, train 3, working up the grade to Raton Pass. (EDIT: A Team Whooz Executive Assistant check of Amtrak train status shows train 3 running over an hour late, meaning plenty of time; nothing to add here, though, as I'm too lazy!) Got the eastbound yesterday...

Video:

Southwest Chief Train 4 Descends Raton Pass - Amtrak Train 4, the eastbound Southwest Chief, tries to sneak quietly into Trinidad, Colorado, on 8-12-11. Drifting downhill out of Raton Pass about 90 minutes behind schedule, the noisiest thing about this train is the groaning, creaking, and clacking of the Superliner passenger cars. A major difference from the diesel racket of the train working uphill into the pass.

Santa Fe 2-6-2 locomotives Nos. 1819 and 1024 on display at Lamar and La Junta, Colorado, respectively; Eastbound BNSF unit coal train crew change at La Junta:


----------



## TraneMan

WhoozOn1st said:


> Video:
> 
> Empire Builder, Train 8, At Lake City, MN - Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder, running a mere 3 hours late on 8-7-11, rolls past Lake City, Minnesota, on a wide curve through an industrial area of this Mississippi River town.


This is my hometown. 

Go over that track, and go down 5 blocks is where I lived.. Loved hearing the horn blowing at night when it went northbound. Me and a friend would hang out in this spot and watch the Empire Builder go past us! (FYI, this intersection never existed!)


----------



## WhoozOn1st

TraneMan said:


> WhoozOn1st said:
> 
> 
> 
> Video:Empire Builder, Train 8, At Lake City, MN - Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder, running a mere 3 hours late on 8-7-11, rolls past Lake City, Minnesota, on a wide curve through an industrial area of this Mississippi River town.
> 
> 
> 
> This is my hometown.
Click to expand...

Nice coincidence! The original intent had been to catch the Builder at its La Crosse, Wisconsin, stop. When Amtrak train status showed it to be running really late we decided to head north as planned, checking station progress from time to time until it seemed a good idea to stop and scope out a viewing spot before the train passed. Lake City was the handiest place, and it only took a few minutes of looking around town to select that grade crossing.

Greetings from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yesterday's run from Trinidad, Colorado, was filled with trackside fun. First we caught the Southwest Chief train 3 at a couple locations along its way over Raton Pass, then again at its Raton, New Mexico, stop. After that we somehow beat the train to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where we also saw Southwest Chief train 4 for good measure. A fine day of railfanning over widely varied geography and shifting weather conditions. Today Raton Pass results, tomorrow hopefully Raton stop and Las Vegas stuff...

Video:

Southwest Chief Starts Raton Climb From Trinidad - Westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief train 3 begins its climb out of Trinidad, Colorado, and up into Raton Pass on 8-13-11. Note the increasingly rare sound of a train on jointed rail as the train passes this grade crossing at Starkville, just outside Trinidad. The focus is initially poor, as apparently the camera locked on something close by; the train comes into better focus as it nears.

Southwest Chief Stops On Raton Grade - After catching the train at a grade crossing outside Trinidad, Team Whooz raced ahead on I-25 to a turnout spotted during scouting the previous afternoon. I clambered down a hillside and waited above the rail line for the Chief to appear. It was moving very slowly as it came around the curve, then surprised me by coming to a full stop there, about a mile short of the Raton Pass summit. It remained sitting for some while - the engineer even hitting the ground to stretch his legs for a few minutes - before getting underway again. The wait provided an unexpected excellent opportunity to take still photos!

Southwest Chief Resumes Raton Climb - Following a mysterious stop of about 15 minutes a mile or so short of the summit, Southwest Chief train 3 slowly gets underway to continue its arduous climb up through Raton Pass, 8-13-11.

Train 3 climbs into Raton Pass at Starkville, just outside Trinidad, Colorado (note old glass insulators on telephone/power poles); Southwest Chief runs alongside the highway on its way up Raton Pass - photo taken from Team Whooz MayhemMobile driving on I-25; The Chief gets underway again after a mysterious stop about mile short of the summit:


----------



## gswager

Excellent photos! Will we be bumping each other tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday while in Albuquerque & Santa Fe? I'll be riding RailRunner Tuesday.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

gswager said:


> Excellent photos! Will we be bumping each other tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday while in Albuquerque & Santa Fe? I'll be riding RailRunner Tuesday.


Thanks, Greg. Sorry to say, Dude, we were only in New Mexico for the one night, blowing through town on the home stretch of the Ragin' Rails Raid. Closest we got to the RailRunner was seeing the line that runs down the median of I-25 at Santa Fe. Gotta get around to riding it before that new governor of yours kills it off.

Greetings from Flagstaff, Arizona, where the latest in a pathetic procession of poor hotel connections has once again put the upload process in the hole. A little bit got done, but not enough.

Yesterday, between Albuquerque and here, we did some BNSF transcon trackside running over remaining segments of the old Route 66. A very busy line at times, with trains in both directions seeming to appear and be gone in packs, leaving the tracks empty for long periods in the interim. We also left the rails long enough to visit the Petrified Forest National Park. Catching the Flagstaff arrival of the day's train 3 - during a thunderstorm - was another activity, and it's that material, along with remaining Chief stuff from Las Vegas, that didn't make it into cyberspace.

Video:

Southwest Chief Las Vegas Arrival - Southwest Chief train 3 arrives at Las Vegas, New Mexico, on a windy 8-13-11. Running roughly 90 minutes behind, the pause at LSV was very brief. Following train 3's departure Team Whooz settled in for a trackside lunch while waiting for the eastbound Chief to arrive.

Southwest Chief train 3 at Raton, New Mexico, on 8-13-11; Train 3 departs Raton; Off topic, cross section of a fossilized tree at Petrified Forest National Park:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from Barstow, California, where if all the hotels on the Ragin' Rails Raid were as good as this one we might not have gone anywhere or seen any trains. Instead of heading down to the station last night to watch the Southwest Chief train 4 make its appearance we sat out by the pool drinking beer and Irish coffee while enjoying the balmy desert evening.

As mentioned above, a couple days back we did some driving on old Route 66 between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. Here are some looks at trains there and beside I-40 along the way...

Video:

BNSF Westbound At Grants, New Mexico - This westbound BNSF stack train almost surprised me while taking photos of a freight in the hole at Grants, New Mexico. Nothing there on first look, so began taking pictures from a hardware store parking lot. Then the bells kicked in and I had to run like hell to get in position for a shot.

BNSF mixed manifest freight at Grants - the one I was shooting when the stack train in the video snuck up; BNSF lead power running alongside I-40 east of Gallup, New Mexico (from MayhemMobile); Distributed power on the tail end passes the Amtrak station at Gallup:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Greetings from the land of incessantly barking neighbor dogs, subnormal summer temperatures, and oppressively thick marine layers. Yes, Valued Reader, the Team Whooz Ragin' Rails Raid 2011 concluded just over two weeks ago, on Day 42, after six generally glorious weeks. So I suppose it's time to haul myself out of post-party depression to wrap up some loose ends, fork up some final thoughts, and host at least one more round of Name That Diesel!! Of course we can't do all that stuff in one measly post, so consider yourself warned.

Another thing I hope to do going forward is devote some overdue attention to that long-neglected photo thread that kinda went by the wayside during the trip; there just wasn't the time! But there's time now, and a full library of audiovisual stuff to discuss in terms of technique, tips and advice, including material from others that was taken at some of the same locations as the Raid's.

One thing is certain: No more road trips for awhile, and especially none of such length. TOO MUCH WORK, plain and simple. For our next major adventure Team Whooz will be relaxing on the rails to, from, and at the Amtrak Unlimited Fifth Annual Gathering, at Seattle and Portland.

Video:

Southwest Chief Arrives At Las Vegas - Amtrak train 4 arrives from western blue skies and appears headed for stormy weather to the east as it groans to a halt on arrival at Las Vegas, New Mexico, on 8-13-11. The couple seen at right boarded, and soon the train got underway once again - but that's another clip!

Nevada Northern Evening Train Crosses U.S. 50 - Hear that lonesome whistle blow. And blow. And blow some more. Nevada Northern's late run on 7-9-11 - the Steptoe Flyer - crawls toward, then through, a U.S. 50 grade crossing at Ely, Nevada, during the outbound leg of the evening run to McGill. It was later learned (while catching the inbound leg at the same location) that the reason for the tentative approach and crossing was that due to electrical problems with the crossing safety devices the lights, bells, and gates were being operated manually from a trackside box. A close viewing of the clip will reveal - at lower left corner - the guy working the box as he moves about; it went unnoticed at the time.

Photos:

Ragin' Day 22: Leaving Lorton - Check-in, vehicle loading, and other preparations at the Lorton, Virginia, northern terminal of Amtrak's Auto Train before Team Whooz boarded for the overnight run to Sanford, Florida.

Ragin' Day 4: Nevada Northern Evening Run - After riding behind Nevada Northern 4-6-0 No. 40 on the morning run out to the Ruth mining district (7-9-11), Team Whooz scoped out the route by MayhemMobile, then railfanned the evening train - the Steptoe Flyer - as it headed first to Ruth, then back to Ely and out in the other direction toward the old Kennecott concentrator mill at McGill. An amazing evening of steam action, mountain railroading, great weather, outstanding scenery, and a drop-dead gorgeous sunset, capped off with a little night shooting back at the depot. It doesn't get much better!

Below:

1) This is the switcher that hauls the auto racks around at Lorton, coupling them before departures and uncoupling them after arrivals. I blew a chance at a cool engine start video here - the guy on the catwalk was messing around inside the open panel behind him, and I didn't realize he was about to crank up the diesel. Rats! 792 is a 1952 EMD SW1000R.

2) Look closely! Baldwin 4-6-0 and train are dwarfed by mountains, sky, and distance as they approach a curve that will bring them toward the camera over the left track. After passing under the bridge/camera the Flyer will back through the switch and onto the wye at right to turn around for the run back to Ely before heading out in the other direction toward McGill.


----------



## WhoozOn1st

Okay, it's been awhile. So where were we? Ah yes: Over there, in a box.

As mentioned several times during the Ragin' Rails Raid proper, in both trip report posts and PM replies, the original open-ended plan had to be cut short due to prior commitments I couldn't get out of. Well, Valued Reader, after those prior commitments got taken care of, this half of Team Whooz got antsy just sitting around suffering the SoCal coast's second dank, dreary, dismal nonsummer in a row. So I proposed to the other half of Team Whooz that we set out to do a bunch of the stuff we'd planned to do in the first place as we made our way south and home along the west coast, but didn't get to. Not EVERYTHING we missed, mind you, but a few things here in California.

Executive Assistant Alice was fortunately agreeable, as she usually is, so after some quick plotting away we went! The result was not only more Ragin' Rails and Radical Roads in general, but also more actual train riding - including points runs under Amtrak's fall promo - than during the entire first/main section of the adventure.

Departing once again from La Casa de Whooz, the first goal was riding Metrolink to and from the Los Angeles County Fair. It woulda been easy to park ourselves at some hotel close to Metrolink's San Bernardino Line for short $7 roundtrips to Fairplex at Pomona, but where's the fun in that? Okay there's SOME fun in that, but not enough for Team Whooz. Nosiree! To jack up the fun factor, and use Metrolink's recently instituted $10 weekend passes, we began by securing lodging in Anaheim, right across the city border from Fullerton and the Amtrak/Metrolink station there.

Arriving in the vicinity on Friday afternoon, 9-9-11, before hotel check-in time, and before the Metrolink weekend passes became available (at 7 p.m.), we decided to check out afternoon rush hour at FUL. With heavy Amtrak, Metrolink, and BNSF freight action Fullerton is a railfan favorite. West Coast Rail Forums even has a section devoted to "Friday Services" at Fullerton, and we were ready to go see for ouselves what all the excitement is about. We were not disappointed. And following fun Fullerton Friday Follies we rode Metrolink the next day from FUL to LAX, changed trains and continued to... Oops, that's for another day!

Video:

Pacific Surfliner 582 Departs Fullerton - An unusual - for a Pacific Surfliner - single level consist of Horizons, Amfleets, and a cabbage cranks up, moves out, and gathers speed, rumbling and humming southbound on 9-9-11 over the mindless yappings and hootings of trackside morons - including one particularly noisy bearded idiot in a wheelchair - who likely fancy themselves railfans but are in fact merely nitwits. Team Whooz Executive Assistant Alice, who also uses a wheelchair, had some thoughts about the wheelchair jerk, but agreed that disability is no excuse.

Southwest Chief 4 Departs Fullerton - Already 20 minutes down at its first stop, the 9-9-11 Chief gets underway at Fullerton, headed for the junction where it'll head east and on to Chicago.

Photos:

Ragin' Restart: Fullerton Friday Follies - Team Whooz restarts the Ragin' Rails Raid by railfanning the heart of rush hour at Fullerton on 9-9-11. Amtrak and Metrolink passenger trains, plus BNSF freight action, make the platforms at FUL railfan favorites.

Metrolink Orange County Line train 686 to Irvine disgorges passengers likely glad to be done with another workweek; Pacific Surfliner 785 is running about 12 minutes behind as it arrives on its run to Goleta; Shooting into the sun is not ALWAYS a bad thing! Metrolink 91 Line train 707 from Riverside to Los Angeles poses for a sundown and silhouette shot:


----------



## WhoozOn1st

On the morning after Friday Follies, $10 Metrolink weekend passes in hand, we returned to Fullerton station to board Metrolink Orange County Line train 653 - first northbound run of the day - to Los Angeles Union Station, where we'd hang out for about an hour prior to boarding Metrolink San Bernardino Line train 358 to the Fairplex (county fairgrounds) at Pomona. Though our Metrolink train was tardy we didn't mind so much for two reasons: A) We got to watch Southwest Chief train 3 make its final stop before L.A., running over two hours late, and B) There's so much padding in the Metrolink schedule between FUL and LAX that even after getting outta there almost 30 minutes late we arrived at Union Station more or less on time.

With plenty of time before our train to Pomona we strolled down through the tunnel to the main station to avail ourselves of the facilities before heading back topside to sightsee any possible Gold Line/Amtrak/Metrolink action that might be going on. However, just as we were about to exit, who should appear but long lost missing AU member and reinstated L.A. resident Chuljin, aka Chris 3. After some time enjoyed in general palavering and catching up - always fun to be pleasantly surprised by AU pals - we all ventured up to the platforms. Chris had a friend in the crew of the departing Coast Starlight that he wanted to meet, Alice wanted some shots of the Gold Line, and I saw a chance to arrange for temporary replacement of Amtrak's dome car with a local substitute while Amtrak swiped mine for fall running on the Adirondack and Cardinal (see photo below).

We got together with Chris again briefly before boarding our Fair train, and as he'd never been aboard one of the new Rotem cab cars that have been coming online with Metrolink I showed him the one we'd be riding. I hadn't really meant for us to ride in it, but the Metrolink conductor showed up and set up the bridge plate for Alice to come aboard, so that was that. The Bombardier cars are really better overall, especially for Alice's wheelchair, and we'll make a point of avoiding the Rotem rolling stock as long as possible in the future.

Good ride out to Pomona, though I shoulda taken video of outrunning cars as our San Bernardino Line train sped down the median of I-10; cars driving full speed on a clear freeway.

The Metrolink stop at Fairplex is only used during the Fair, and consists of no more than a low platform and portable concrete wheelchair ramp. Yes, portable contrete ramp. It's not very big, and has slats on the bottom for placement by a heavy forklift. It seemed to kinda give the lie to railroad whining about the huge expense of retrofitting platforms for accessibility.

Once off the platform and through a gate to the parking lot, we boarded a dedicated Metrolink shuttle, complete with wheelchair ramp and space, which carried us nonstop through the huge and virtually empty automotive expanse to the Yellow Gate for admission to the Fair. Team Whooz had a fine day at the Fair, then successfully, if wearily, retraced the shuttle and two trains procedure in reverse for the return to Fullerton that evening.

Video:

Metrolink 706 Departs For Riverside - Metrolink 91 Line train 706 to Downtown Riverside departs Fullerton on the afternoon of 9-9-11. Audible well before it's visible, the train is accelerating nicely by the time it comes into view from the left.

Southwest Chief Train 4 Rolls Into Fullerton - Video by Alice. Amtrak Southwest Chief train 4 hums to a halt at Fullerton on 9-9-11, already running 20 minutes late at it first stop after departing L.A. for Chicago.

Photos:

Ragin' Restart: Alice's Fullerton Follies - Fullerton Friday Follies Fun Fotos from the lower-level lens of Team Whooz Executive Assistant Alice.

Ragin' Rails At L.A. County Fair - Freight, Amtrak, private varnish, steam on display, garden railroading, and lumberjacks. Lumberjacks!? All part of the fun as Team Whooz rode Metrolink from Fullerton to the Los Angeles County Fair at Pomona on Saturday, 9-10-11.

Ragin' Day 4: Alice's Nevada Northern - Selected, uncaptioned photos taken by Team Whooz Executive Assistant Alice during the Ragin' Rails Raid, Day 4.

Spotting the Silver Splendor at Union Station was a stroke of luck, and I immediately made arrangements for it to stand in as my temporary private car while Amtrak's full dome 10031 gets swiped for its annual fall foray running back east on the Adirondack; Santa Fe 4-6-4 No. 3450 was built by Baldwin in 1927 as a coal burner and retired an oil burner in 1953. Designed for fast passenger service, 3450 had a top speed of 110 mph. Note smokestack extension; Long view of the Fairplex Garden Railroad, which occupies an acre and includes 3 miles of track comprising several scenarios and topographies representative of southern California:


----------

