OSOmaha

OSOmaha

Every two years, the Omaha operating group invites a whole big group from around the USA to gather and run their layouts.  Zoo and I went out a day early to chase trains.

I am a train repellent.  Zoo is a train magnet.  So, the hunting was good, VERY good.

First stop: Oreapolis, where the UP crosses the BNSF and two BNSF lines cross each other.

Then we moved to a place where BNSF crosses the Missouri River.  Amazingly, the road crosses the river on a toll bridge.  The lady toll-taker was full of "You can't go theres, if you do, I'll call the police".  I went there, but she didn't call the police.

(What you can't see is the 5th unit, a NS loco)

Then we went to Missouri Valley, IA, to see what we could find.  A coal train streaked by before we were on position.  Found a good spot, a stack train came into sight, and we were prepared for a fast pass-by.  Didn't happen, MO Valley can be a crew change point.  So we had plenty of time to shoot.  Love the UP and their distributed power.

All in the space of a few hours!

A Photographic Extravaganza

Who woulda' thunk, a round trip to Hot Springs, SoDak would yield so many photo opportunities?!

On the way out, I finally did the shot I had long been waiting for:

Ya gotta' love all that machinery behind a GP-30!

The line from the Powder River coal fields passes through Edgemont, SoDak.  All trains stop for a variety of reasons.  Here's what we found in the space of an hour:

(A shovel and a broom, the basic railroad snow-fighting equipment for 175 years.)

On the return trip home, we took a state highway instead of the Interstate.  That was a good idea:

(BIG sky, little train)

So many photons died to catch these events, but they died for a good cause!