Derailed Union Pacific Grain (corn) train, Bosler Wyoming. August 22, 2020.
Showing posts with label Railhead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Railhead. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Railhead: Derailed Union Pacific Grain (corn) train, Bosler, Wyoming. August 22, 2020
Railhead: Derailed Union Pacific Grain (corn) train, Bosler ...:
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Trains, Planes and Automobiles. . . and the Coronavirus Pandemic
Unless you have a special interest in them, you probably haven't been thinking much about means of transportation lately.
Indeed, you probably haven't been going anywhere much, for that matter.
But because we have a special interest in the topic, and have dedicated blogs on two of the three title items here, we've been thinking about them a little, and we're seeing some interesting things going on.
Let's take the oldest topic first, trains. We have a companion blog that's just dedicated to that topic. Have the railroad been impacted by the COVID 19 Pandemic? We'll, here's a recent industry magazine headline on what's going on.
So indeed, it would appear so.
Regionally, at least one of the railroads has been furloughing employees. Coal is collapsing, there isn't really anywhere near as much oil shipped by rail as there once was and oil is down anyway, and we're entering what appears to be a pretty deep recession.
Not a cheery scenario for the railroads right now at all.
So what about air then?
Indeed, you probably haven't been going anywhere much, for that matter.
But because we have a special interest in the topic, and have dedicated blogs on two of the three title items here, we've been thinking about them a little, and we're seeing some interesting things going on.
US rail traffic falls off a cliff
So indeed, it would appear so.
Regionally, at least one of the railroads has been furloughing employees. Coal is collapsing, there isn't really anywhere near as much oil shipped by rail as there once was and oil is down anyway, and we're entering what appears to be a pretty deep recession.
Not a cheery scenario for the railroads right now at all.
So what about air then?
Not looking super either.
Air travel has decreased 96% due to COVID 19. That's a whopping huge decrease to say the least.
96%.
Flights locally have been reduced 50%. No need for all of the old ones, and it's not like they were flying out of here every few minutes as it was. Cheyenne cancelled a run to Dallas it had (until they cancelled it, I didn't know that they even had one).
As a minor plus, Cody's airport is going to receive $18,000,000 in the form of a grant, which was a surprise to them, but that is fairly minor in comparison to what's otherwise going on.
Well, all this shouldn't impact automobiles, that old standby, right?
Well there'd certainly be good reason to suspect it wouldn't. Oil is below $20bbl and now at an all time historic low. Prices at the pump have been dropping. Should be great for cars, right?
Nope. Sales of automobiles have crashed. People just aren't going out and buying, and in a lot of places, of course, they can't. And they likely don't want to either.
Hired automobile rides, such as Uber, are also down, not surprisingly.
Interesting times.
Monday, February 17, 2020
Railhead: Former Chicago & Northwester Depot, Lander Wyoming...
Railhead: Former Chicago & Northwester Depot, Lander Wyoming...:
Up until now, I've somehow managed to miss putting up a photograph of this former Chicago & Northwestern Depot in Lander, Wyoming, which now serves as the Lander Chamber of Commerce building. That may be because, as these photos suggest, downtown Lander, in spite of Lander being a small town, is pretty crowded in some ways and I missed the depot early on, and had a hard time catching it in a photographic state later.
Indeed, I never really did catch it in an ideal state to be photographed.
Lander was the western most stop on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. The line sometimes called itself the "Cowboy Line" and this lent itself to the slogan "where the rails end, the trails begin". In 1973 the railroad abandoned the stretch of the line between Riverton and Lander, and since then of course it's ceased operation entirely. The railroad, which like many railroads, was the product of mergers and acquisitions and was doing that right up to the late 1960s when its fortunes began to change.
In Wyoming its line ran astride the Burlington Northern's in many locations but it alone ran on to Lander. Starting in the early 70s, it began to contract in Wyoming and then pulled out altogether. The Union Pacific purchased its assets at some point, although its now the case that all of its old rail has been pulled. Indeed, unless you know that the CNW had once run to Lander, you wouldn't know that Lander had once had rail service at all, let alone that it had it as far back as 1906.
Former Chicago & Northwester Depot, Lander Wyoming.
Up until now, I've somehow managed to miss putting up a photograph of this former Chicago & Northwestern Depot in Lander, Wyoming, which now serves as the Lander Chamber of Commerce building. That may be because, as these photos suggest, downtown Lander, in spite of Lander being a small town, is pretty crowded in some ways and I missed the depot early on, and had a hard time catching it in a photographic state later.
Indeed, I never really did catch it in an ideal state to be photographed.
Lander was the western most stop on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. The line sometimes called itself the "Cowboy Line" and this lent itself to the slogan "where the rails end, the trails begin". In 1973 the railroad abandoned the stretch of the line between Riverton and Lander, and since then of course it's ceased operation entirely. The railroad, which like many railroads, was the product of mergers and acquisitions and was doing that right up to the late 1960s when its fortunes began to change.
In Wyoming its line ran astride the Burlington Northern's in many locations but it alone ran on to Lander. Starting in the early 70s, it began to contract in Wyoming and then pulled out altogether. The Union Pacific purchased its assets at some point, although its now the case that all of its old rail has been pulled. Indeed, unless you know that the CNW had once run to Lander, you wouldn't know that Lander had once had rail service at all, let alone that it had it as far back as 1906.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Railhead: Union Pacific No. 535, Laramie Wyoming.
Railhead: Union Pacific No. 535, Laramie Wyoming.:
Union Pacific No. 535, Laramie Wyoming.
Union Pacific No. 535 is a 1903 vintage Baldwin steam engine that's on display in Laramie, next to the Union Pacific's Laramie depot. People who have long associations with Laramie or who lived in the city prior to February 2011 will recall the engine being in LaBonte Park, where it was part of a nicely maintained display.
In 2011 this engine was moved to its current location at Railroad Heritage Park, the park that surrounds the Union Pacific depot. At some point following my residence in Laramie during most of the 1980s, this engine fell into a fairly poor looking state and its been vandalized with graffiti.
535 is a small steam engine that was built as a coal burning engine and then converted in its later years to oil, as many steam engines were. In its current location its mocked up with a retired Union Pacific wedge snowplow.
Oddly the railroad yard facing side of 535 is in much poorer appearance than the street side. Hopefully the condition of this display is addressed at some point in the near future.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Railhead: Union Pacific 4014 "Big Boy" and 844, Laramie Wyoming
Railhead: Union Pacific 4014 "Big Boy" and 844, Laramie Wyom...:
The Union Pacific 4014 is one of the twenty five legendary "Big Boy" locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company for the Union Pacific between 1941 and 1944. They were the largest steam engines ever built. 4014 is one of 4884-1 class engines, that being the first class, the second being the 4884-2 class. Only eight of the twenty five Big Boys remain and only this one, 4014, built in 1941, is in running condition.
It wasn't always. Up until this year, none of the Big Boys, retired in 1959, were operational. 4014 in fact had been donated by the Union Pacific to a museum upon its retirement. But the UP reacquired the giant engine a few years ago and rebuilt it, and has returned it to excursion service. Its first run in that role took place last week on a trip to Utah, and we photographed here in the Union Pacific rail yard in Laramie where it was on a day off before its anticipated return to its home in Cheyenne which will take place today, May 19, 2019.
The massive articulated train is truly a legend.
The 4014 was built as a coal fired train, with the difficult hilly terrain of the Union Pacific in Wyoming in mind. The conversion, however, restores to steam service, but as a fuel oil burning engine. Indeed, that type of conversion was common for steam engines in their later years.
The 4014 is a four cylinder engine that was designed to have a stable speed of up to 80 mph, although it was most efficient at 35 mph. It was designed for freight service.
The Big Boy was traveling with two other engines in its train, one being the Union Pacific 844, and the other being a diesel engine. I'm not certain why the 844 was part of the train, but the diesel engine was likely in it in case something broke down. Nothing did, and the maiden run of the restored locomotive was a success.
The 844 is a Northern type engine built in 1944. The FEF-3 class engine was one of ten that were built by the American Locomotive Company. While used for everything, the FEF series were designed for high speed passenger operations and were designed to run as fast as 120 mph.
The 844 was in service all the way until 1960. During its final years it was a fast freight locomotive. 844 never left service and after being rebuilt in 1960 it went into excursion service for the Union Pacific.
On its maiden run, the UP had a variety of class late rail cars pulled by the train, each of which is named.
Union Pacific 4014 "Big Boy" and 844, Laramie Wyoming, May 17, 2019
The Union Pacific 4014 is one of the twenty five legendary "Big Boy" locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company for the Union Pacific between 1941 and 1944. They were the largest steam engines ever built. 4014 is one of 4884-1 class engines, that being the first class, the second being the 4884-2 class. Only eight of the twenty five Big Boys remain and only this one, 4014, built in 1941, is in running condition.
It wasn't always. Up until this year, none of the Big Boys, retired in 1959, were operational. 4014 in fact had been donated by the Union Pacific to a museum upon its retirement. But the UP reacquired the giant engine a few years ago and rebuilt it, and has returned it to excursion service. Its first run in that role took place last week on a trip to Utah, and we photographed here in the Union Pacific rail yard in Laramie where it was on a day off before its anticipated return to its home in Cheyenne which will take place today, May 19, 2019.
The massive articulated train is truly a legend.
The 4014 was built as a coal fired train, with the difficult hilly terrain of the Union Pacific in Wyoming in mind. The conversion, however, restores to steam service, but as a fuel oil burning engine. Indeed, that type of conversion was common for steam engines in their later years.
The 4014 is a four cylinder engine that was designed to have a stable speed of up to 80 mph, although it was most efficient at 35 mph. It was designed for freight service.
The Big Boy was traveling with two other engines in its train, one being the Union Pacific 844, and the other being a diesel engine. I'm not certain why the 844 was part of the train, but the diesel engine was likely in it in case something broke down. Nothing did, and the maiden run of the restored locomotive was a success.
The 844 is a Northern type engine built in 1944. The FEF-3 class engine was one of ten that were built by the American Locomotive Company. While used for everything, the FEF series were designed for high speed passenger operations and were designed to run as fast as 120 mph.
The 844 was in service all the way until 1960. During its final years it was a fast freight locomotive. 844 never left service and after being rebuilt in 1960 it went into excursion service for the Union Pacific.
On its maiden run, the UP had a variety of class late rail cars pulled by the train, each of which is named.
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