Brad and Jim's Excellent Adventures

As the title may allude to, "Paintdrummer" and I have made a few excursions over the years to see the busy Marysville line on the UP. In the past we've ventured up to the UP transcontinental main and the BNSF Powder River line as well, usually all in one very long summer day that covered hundreds of miles of Kansas and Nebraska. And no trip is complete without a visit to the Abilene and Smokey Valley Ry. where Jim is a volunteer.

These photos are samples from the last trip in June '07 when we stuck to the Marysville line and also ignore those I've already posted. We have visited this line several times before. In fact, the last time I was there, the yard below the new bridge was still under construction and this spot didn't exist. The line used to go right through downtown Marysville and we sat in the shade of the town park to watch the parade go by in front of us. We even ate at the diner that feeds the crews. This is a crew change point so the "paddy wagons" are in constant motion between the depot and the trains. That's all shifted a bit now. It's almost like they are lined up at a drag strip waiting for the lights to drop!
On this last trip we followed the Marysville line north toward Gibbon Jct. but ran out of light around Fairbury, NE. The trains are plentiful and the ratio of coal to freight is about what you see above. It's awe inspiring to see concrete ties, high speed universal crossovers and and wide roadbed separations on a two track, reverse signalled line. The shear volume of coal over this line (headed for Kansas City and points east/south) is mind numbing. Of course, it might be a tad dull to see the same old stuff all day too but the constant traffic is "wicked decent" compared to here where such things don't exist. It is a bit difficult to find a good "italian" sandwich though and you might have to settle for bierocks or Rocky Mountain oysters. Just remember, all this is just a slice of what's coming off the original mainline at Gibbon Jct. That main is even busier.

The shot at this link inspired me to finally post this addition to Jim's first post: PRB Coal Trains. After all, where does all that coal come from? We have gotten as far west on BNSF's PRB Line as Ravenna, NE which is the next crew change point east of Alliance, NE. It's also east of the well known Crawford Hill area. This line is beyond maxed out and new track is going in anywhere it can be done. The photo at the link is in the coal fields closer to the source, just a few more hours of driving beyond our limit. There was nothing near that part of Wyoming but dusty CB&Q or C&NW extensions when I was a high school railfan, though talk of new track and such was thick. No one guessed then what it would be like today!

I'll have to play more with old photos of those trips over the holidays. I end with the third photo from the tiny town of Steel City, NE. I think the biggest thing going on in town was the grade crossing upgrade we were taking advantage of for this eastbound. A few friendly folks stopped to see if we were broken down. Most wondered if a special train was coming when they found out what we were doing. We caught 3 trains here before just making Fairbury with enough light for dark photos of the CRI&P depot, now historical society.

TTFN

BC