“TAG!!”
If ever there was a day to chase trains, have beautiful
weather, and incredible scenery…this was the day. And along the way, the
childhood game Tag got into the mix. You’ll see how that happened as we go
along.
In past visits to Cheyenne, the one thing than impressed me
was the sound of a freight beginning its westward journey after a crew change
at the downtown stop. As the trains came past my hotel location, they are
running at full blast. Throttles wide open and trying to gain as much momentum as
possible before the first incline gets to them.
A little bit of railroad. As anyone who has driven a car, climbing
a grade on a highway is pretty much no match for any type of car. Big rigs are
another story. But on a railroad, grades are a big deal; especially up here in
the Midwest. A grade is measured as a percentage. For example, if the grade of
the roadbed is 1%, that means for every 100 feet you have traveled, you have climbed
up 1 foot. A 2% grade is 2 feet climbed in 100 feet and so on. Railroads try to
keep a ruling grade at or under 1%. And in some places they must go a bit higher.
Now again, an automobile or a big rig has no issue. But make it a 100 car
freight train with 2 locomotives on the head end and those locomotives will
feel the effect and you will slow down. You’ll be able to maintain a certain
climbing speed, but not like what you had if you were on level ground.
As you can tell, it has a bit of a grade and a few sweeping
curves. I traveled up the road this morning to see if any activity was
there. In years past, this was just a gravel road but has since been oiled and
sanded into pavement. As I was about to go onto I-80 West, here comes a double
stack train that just cleared Cheyenne. Say hello to UP 8743 West.
I followed the train up the road, which goes for about 12 miles, and watched as the mile long train made it up the grade. When the chase began, 8743 was doing a good 50MPH. Halfway up the grade: 45 MPH. By the time 8743 had its train going along the curve where the road turns away, it was down to 35 MPH. Still, with about 16,000 horsepower on the head end, this train was making a good effort.
And remember the winds of the past few days?? Up here on the
high plains, wind is another “crop” and is harvested by these huge windmill
farms and electricity is produced. There are a number of wind farms spread around
the greater Cheyenne area and south into Colorado. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one
of those in your backyard and being off the Grid??
And oh yes, the wind was playing havoc on I-80 today. Big
rigs were OK to be out there but anyone towing a large camping trailer was
forewarned.
Soon I reach the high grade of I-80 at 8640 feet and it is a
long but controlled descent into the Laramie Valley and the City of Laramie,
home to the University of Wyoming. Off
the northern end of Grand Street is a pedestrian bridge that goes across the
large UP Laramie Yard. I did all I could to keep my hat on and I was not up
there too long.
I then head north on westbound U.S. Route 30 and something
catches my eye. I look thru the buildings on the northern edge of the city and
I see a northbound double stack. Once clear of the city limits, road speed is
now posted at 70. I start to catch up with this double stack:
And next thing I
know, it is UP 8743 West and by now, there is nothing to slow it down. Once you
have cleared Laramie, you do have some grades to deal with. But the UP is practically
level.
And 8743 is doing it at track speed. From Laramie thru the towns of Wyoming, Bosler, Rock River, and then Medicine Bow, it is me and 8743. I had already planned this route for today. Having the train along made it more enjoyable. And the scenery is again breathtaking. In some areas, it looks like a lunar landscape. Lots of small scrubby bush and natural grasslands. And the way the railroad was constructed was done quite well, with very little change in grade.
At Medicine Bow, my call to the bathroom must be answered
and I bid UP 8743 West a safe trip. I find the local eatery/gas station and
take care of business and my hunger.
After lunch I head west to my last stop of Hanna and along
the way I find this huge wind farm:
But on a windy day like today, none of the windmills are
turning. All of their props have been feathered into the wind. What a strange
thing.
After turning at Hanna, I head back south and the scanner
comes to life. Seems a northbound freight is stopped at the crossovers near
Medicine Bow due to a work crew and a southbound train is approaching on the
in-service track. I park at a high rise on U.S. Route 30 and around the bend come
a double stack: UP 6953 East.
Thru the curves it comes and then crosses over to
the other track past UP 6617 West, an empty grain train going for more corn.
After this, I head back to Laramie to make a pit stop and
along the way, I see UP 6953 East entering Laramie. After making my top, I head
to a small town on U.S. Route 287 called Tie Siding, which has these two large places
to buy fireworks. I find County Route 222 up to the village of Hermosa. Nearby
is Hermosa Tunnel. And up here, at about 8000 feet is this lowly grade crossing.
And who beats me there but UP 6953 East. Seems my game of tag is done for the
day.
Despite that, the view spread out to the south, west and
north is spectacular.
I get back to the hotel just after 4pm MDT and I am keeping
an eye on the weather. Seems the southeastern corner of Wyoming, including
Cheyenne, is under a Winter Storm Watch in effect from Wednesday night thru
Thursday afternoon. Not too sure how much this will affect my travels, but at
least being in Denver will put me south of the snow. How to start heading back
east to Omaha is yet to be determined. I had snow to deal with in 2002 and
2008. We just might be adding 2012…maybe.
Wednesday we head to the mile high city of Denver, Colorado.
We’ll meet up with my oldest niece Ali; one of my ham radio elmers/cohorts
Nate, WY0X; and we’ll see what else happens. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment