Part Ten

"Westward, Ho!!”

So said the pioneers when declaring their way west to explore and eventually settle in areas that we have passed thru today.

Day 10 began very ominously with heavy overcast….and fog. Very rarely have I seen fog in these parts but today was one of those days.

I left Gordon, Nebraska at about 8am MDT and headed south on what I think is one very boring and lonely stretch of Nebraska highway: state route 27. It begins at the Nebraska/South Dakota border as South Dakota State Route 391. At least up before Gordon, the cornfields are aplenty with pine trees and I know I’ll be in Gordon in less than 20 minutes. But the other half is quite a bit of fun to drive, and this morning was no exception. Add to that areas where visibility was down to quarter of a mile. But as I arrived in Ellsworth about an hour later and turned east onto Nebraska State Route 2, things were a bit better. The cloud ceiling seemed somewhat lower but at least the fog was gone:

It was a few miles before I got back to what I came out here for: train chasing. And I was greeted by BNSF 6231 West with an empty coal heading back to the Powder River Basin in Wyoming:

But then I go a few miles down the road and I come across this:

Back on October 2, a BNSF loaded coal train derailed sending 29 cars and coal all over the place. And as you can see, the damage was quite destructive. BNSF had a contractor in there scooping up and loading trailer type dump rigs to carry the coal away. 

After a refueling stop in Thedford, I am on my way south towards North Platte. Again, the clouds were still there and the ceiling didn’t change much but still no fog. I counted at least a dozen wide load big rigs moving these very large tanks up north. The tanks seemed to be also 14 feet wide/high and about 40 feet long. Not too sure what these were for but there was a bunch of them. 

Just before 1pm CDT/12 noon MDT, I arrive in North Platte and it’s a quick bite before I head west onto the Lincoln Highway and the second half of my very long 450 mile journey.

As I approach one of my hotspots, O’Fallon’s, just west of Hershey, Nebraska, I see a double stack westbound with lots of red K-Line containers:

And this one is going at a good clip at around 55MPH. Since the posted speed limit on U.S. Route 30 is 65 MPH, I soon catch up with the train known as UP 8521 West:

We pretty much raced each other for a good twenty miles until a work crew near Ogallala got the train to move from track 1 to track 2 to loop around the crew.

I continued on and soon I come to the point on the railroad where the distance between rail and road becomes along 2 miles across. In order to get back along the rails, it’s a hard left off of U.S. Route 30 onto U.S. Route 138 which goes for about 2 miles and then turns right at a grade crossing for the UP. Soon we are heading down U.S. Route 138 and then enter our next state:

 

Seems the state fathers fixed this sign considering its condition the last time I saw it 2 years ago. Soon we are in Julesburg:

 And I arrive at this little park and I have this nice view outside my mobile office:

I am not even there 5 minutes when I hear a horn. And here comes my tag mate, UP 8521 West:

Back on route 138, it is soon a right onto U.S. Route 385 and the chase begins once again and we cross back into:

As UP 8521 West approaches Chappell, Nebraska, there is another changeover now going from track 2 to track 1. And I get a few minutes ahead and I am now in Lodgepole, Nebraska, which has a lovely gazebo from which to watch the trains:

But I get up near the pine tree line and get UP 8521 West looking just fine against a gorgeous fall afternoon. With 121 well cars, 2 lead units and the DPU helper, UP 8521 West rounds out at about 7900 feet in length:

Just before Sidney comes this jut of land:

It is known as Point of Rocks. And both the railroad and highway jog their way around it.

And then there is the point where I-80, U.S. Route 30 and the UP mainline are within a stone’s throw from each other:

And as I go to enter into our next state, Wyoming, I’m looking for the Welcome sign on the state line...and it ain’t there. So may this slightly blurred picture be my indication of entering Wyoming:

Thanks.

Soon we are up on I-80 West on the last leg of this journey. And as you can see:

Track speed 60. Road speed: 75.

And 40 miles later at 4:20pm MDT, I arrive at the LaQuinta Inn in Cheyenne. A very long day but we made it!!

Tomorrow we head up into the mountains and go west to Laramie and points northwest as we explore some new territory. And they are talking about snow in the forecast for midweek. How much remains to be seen. So stay tuned!!

I am Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Cheyenne, Wyoming.