Wednesday, June 13, 2007
TPW/TZPR/UP/BNSF trip, May 26, 2007, part 2
As I went up to Edelstein, the last remnants of the storm moved east, and their dark clouds made a good backdrop for the aging signals at the namesake crossovers.
To allow for better operational flexibility, the UP has built a connection between its own Peoria sub and the BNSF main where they cross at West Edelstein. Going forward, the UP will be adding more sidings and CTC between there and Nelsons, but at the time, only an island of CTC exists on the connection. Here, we see the new connection signal from the north, looking down the UP right-of-way.
Most of the way around the northwest-quadrant connection, the track forces have made the division of ownership very apparent.
As I was waiting by the BNSF switch, a southbound UP DPU coal train destined for one of the Peoria-area power generating facilities passed at 18:47.
Not too long after, at 18:54, an eastbound manifest destined for CSX interchange passed on the BNSF.
With 138 miles in front of me on the way home, I waited another 20 minutes before departing, with nothing else in the pattern on either railroad. Passing through Mendota, I saw the westbound Amtrak 'Illinois Zephyr,' featuring bookend GEs, and a trainset of coal loads, including a pair of BNSF SD70MACs, was staged on the main just east of there.
As the last light faded, at a location I call "Culvert," I closed the day of photography by taking a time-exposure of the MR2, with the twinkling lights of the wind farm at Paw Paw in the background.
To allow for better operational flexibility, the UP has built a connection between its own Peoria sub and the BNSF main where they cross at West Edelstein. Going forward, the UP will be adding more sidings and CTC between there and Nelsons, but at the time, only an island of CTC exists on the connection. Here, we see the new connection signal from the north, looking down the UP right-of-way.
Most of the way around the northwest-quadrant connection, the track forces have made the division of ownership very apparent.
As I was waiting by the BNSF switch, a southbound UP DPU coal train destined for one of the Peoria-area power generating facilities passed at 18:47.
Not too long after, at 18:54, an eastbound manifest destined for CSX interchange passed on the BNSF.
With 138 miles in front of me on the way home, I waited another 20 minutes before departing, with nothing else in the pattern on either railroad. Passing through Mendota, I saw the westbound Amtrak 'Illinois Zephyr,' featuring bookend GEs, and a trainset of coal loads, including a pair of BNSF SD70MACs, was staged on the main just east of there.
As the last light faded, at a location I call "Culvert," I closed the day of photography by taking a time-exposure of the MR2, with the twinkling lights of the wind farm at Paw Paw in the background.
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