Our Best Trip Ever - Part 7 - Chasing From Winslow to Flagstaff

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 6 - More Chasing at the La Posada Hotel)

Day 3

On The Road Again

It had been a glorious two days hanging out at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona but it was time to leave. In part because our reservations expired and, equally important, because we came to see BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision. The last two days were the perfect starter course for this vacation and we now felt calm and relaxed — ready to enjoy what laid ahead.

After sleeping in for a bit, Deb and I reluctantly packed our belongings and checked out of the hotel. She still wanted to take one last walk around and throughout the hotel so I left her there, to say her “goodbyes,” while I went and prepared the truck for departure. I loaded our gear and headed off to get gas and propane along with some munchies.

SONIC® Drive-In’s Footlong Quarter Pound Coney - MMMMmmm great!As I headed towards the Winslow “Flying J Travel Center” I saw a SONIC® Drive-In and I thought that sounded good so I stopped in. I ordered Deb her usual and I grabbed two of their Footlong Quarter Pound Coney chili dogs, one for now and one for later in the “woods.” Definitely not the healthiest of foods — but hey, we’re on vacation!

After an uneventful refueling of the truck and refilling of the propane tanks, which is always a good thing, I headed back to the La Posada Hotel to grab Deb and head out.

Upon my arrival she was taking some photos of the hotel so I woofed down the dog and then proceeded to set-up my radios and computer to track our quarry. Shortly thereafter, we were on the road again!

I knew this leg of our journey was going to end at Flagstaff by day’s end because I had secretly planned to make a side-trip for Deb’s sake in Flagstaff. Consequently, we set out on a leisurely pace heading west on Interstate 40. I kept an watchful eye on the computer display for any indication of nearby traffic. 

The track of our third day on the Seligman Sub. The black camera icons indicate the locations that I shot.

In Search of Sunshine

There was no train traffic to speak of as we headed west until we approached the area near Red Gap Ranch Road. Judging from what we could see from the freeway and on the computer, there were a few trains transiting the area. Ideally we would have raced to Canyon Diablo, the area’s preeminent photo location on the BNSF, and took shots there, but not this time. If you recall from a previous trip I took there, recounted in this post, the road to Canyon Diablo is much like the canyon itself — a devil. No way we were going to chance it on this trip and we certainly weren’t going to get there in time to catch these trains. So I looked for a potentially easier way in which to reach the rails. I found what looked like an ideal location off of the Meteor Crater Road exit.

Taking the exit, making a right turn, and not seeing any signs that indicated the area was private property, we found that the paved road gave way to a decent dirt road. So far, so good. The GPS indicated that the road we were on should take us up to the railroad’s right-of-way sans issue. What the GPS did not show, however, was the vast number of cattle that sauntered, lounged, and swarmed all over the range land. Deb and I, far from being classified as cattle-savvy people, quickly began to evaluate each near-miss or approaching cow/steer for trouble. I feared, perhaps unnecessarily, that a perturbed bovine might charge us or our truck. Over time I realized that the cattle appeared to be harmless and it became humorous and it certainly didn’t deter us from getting track side.

It turns out that our destination, unbeknown to us at the time, was a railroad location called, aptly, Sunshine, Arizona. Taking artistic license, I created the following piece, which portrays an imagined, old western flash card of a “moo cow” nailed to the side of a barn, from a photo Deb took of a steer watching a passing train, to commerate our experience getting in and out of Sunshine, Arizona:

Moo Cow
(moous cowus yumus)
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Debra Parra, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

It turned out that our timing was impeccable because we set-up in time to catch about six trains back-to-back in a span of about 30 minutes or so. In two cases, two trains met right near us as seen in the following works:

BNSF 5256 East - BNSF 5256 (GE DASH 9-44CW) and BNSF 1069 (GE DASH 9-44CW) are on the point of this eastbound manifest as she passes the siding at Sunshine, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.Manifest Meet at Sunshine - BNSF 5256 (GE DASH 9-44CW) and BNSF 1069 (GE DASH 9-44CW) hold the point of this eastbound manifest as she meets a westbound counterpart with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW) at Sunshine, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 752 West at Sunshine 2 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade at Sunshine, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

We were fortunate, at least in my eyes, to catch the preceeding mainifest train, struggling hard against the grade, with an ex-ATSF (Santa Fe) painted unit on the point. Another nice rarity feature about this train was the fact that on the rear of the freight consist was six former American Orient Express passenger cars heading to the Grand Canyon Railway (GCRX) in Williams, Arizona. I don’t know if the cars were sold to the GCRX or if they were going there to have some work done in the GCRX shops. Maybe one of you know and can let us all know:

[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

More good fortune for us came as we were leaving Sunshine and approaching the freeway. I turned to look back and saw a third train meet in the making. I jumped out and shot this scene. As it unfolded before me I found myself thinking about what this scene would have looked like back in the late 1800s as the trains streaked across the desert. As such, I crafted this piece:

Fast Freight for Shippers.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

We Didn’t Forget Winona

After bidding our farewells to the cattle and trains, we headed west once again on I-40 towards Flagstaff. In this area the tracks of BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision parallel the freeway, as the photo below shows. I could see that we would be passing a train shortly, and despite the high midday sun, I decided to take the Townsend Winona Road exit ahead of the train, once again, and shoot this train as well since the exit afforded an easy-off and easy-on access to the freeway.

Our luck continued as a previously unseen eastbound was also approaching West Darling at the same time our westbound train passed us. Another meet. Here’s part of the sequence I shot:

Meet at West Darling - Sequence
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 7355 East at Winona - After meeting a westbound stack train at the switch at West Darling, BNSF 7355 (GE ES44DC) leads an all GEVO set with BNSF 7418 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7913 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7882 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7367 (GE ES44DC), on the point of an eastbound stack train approaching the underpass at Townsend Winona Road.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Shapely Curves

When initially scouting possible locations for this trip using the planning maps I made and Google Maps, one of the locations I was intrigued by is an area known as Cosnino, Arizona. After studying the maps I got the sense that this spot might afford me an opportunity to shoot a nice shot on a curve with a mountain as the backdrop. This location was one my list of places to stop and it was next up.

While driving there, and as I thought about the shot, I remembered the Warbonnet train we shot at Sunshine. If I hurried we might be able to catch that train at Cosnino Road. I mashed the accelerator pedal and got my rig doing a pretty good clip.

Using the GPS as the guide, we reached Cosnino Road in short order and I turned right onto a dirt road that headed east along the south side of the tracks. Immediately thereafter we came upon a BNSF worker in a company pick-up truck. I pulled to the side of the road to give him clearance to get by. My hope was that he wasn’t going to give us grief — and fortunately we just exchanged waves and nods and continued on our separate ways.

I reached the curve and fortunately the area was wide enough for me to park the truck on the side of the road, which I did. I assembled my tripod and camera gear and waited. We had waited some twenty minutes or so before I heard the distinctive rhythmic sound of an approaching train. As the train came into view I was thrilled to see the Warbonnet on the point:

BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 1 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 2 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 3 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.BNSF 752 West at North Cosnino Road 4 - A westbound manifest train, with Warbonnet-schemed BNSF 752 (GE DASH 9-44CW) leading BNSF 5731 (GE ES44AC), BNSF 4884 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and NS 9588 (GE DASH 9-40CW), strains against the grade and curvature near Cosnino, Arizona.
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.co

Missed It By That Much

After the we caught the manifest train at Cosnino, Arizona, I began to worry about the time. I had planned something special for Deb and needed to get to Flagstaff soon. We packed up our gear and got back on our trusty road, I-40.

As we approached, and throughout the drive through, Flagstaff, Arizona, it was hard not to stop to take photos as I saw plenty of trains and cool spots but I was on a mission for Deb. The first order of business was to secure a campground so we didn’t have to worry about it later and we did just that at the Flagstaff KOA.

Once that task was complete we headed to our secret destination stopping to replenish goods from a local supermarket along the way. Every now and again we would pass a roadside sign pointing the way to our destination and I would glance over at Deb to see if she noticed the sign and figured out what was up. Fortunately she was taking in the whole view and didn’t notice the signs specifically. Whew, my cover was not blown.

I will reveal the details and the location of of my secret side trip that I had planned for Deb in my next post. Suffice it to say that it was well received and appreciated — though I was off by one day. Since we weren’t going to do what I had planned today, we headed down to the depot to soak up the local happenings and become one with the Flagstaff — so to speak.

Here are the results of our time at the depot: 

Flagstaff Depot - Desktop
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Flagstaff Depot in HDR
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Flagstaff Depot Framed
[4/19/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry, ChasingSteel.com.

Despite the fact that not a single train came by while we were at the depot, it was fun to chat with the Amtrak personnel that staffed the depot and take shots of the cool building itself. We would be doing our special event tomorrow evening so we headed back to the KOA campground to set-up the truck for the night, have some dinner, and check out the photos we took today on the Mac.

It had been a good chase.

Our Best Trip Ever - Part 3 - The Run East Continues

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 2 - The Run East)

Day 1 (Continued)

The Townsend Winona Road overpass provides a nice vantage point to take in the action of BNSF trains as they transit the area near Winona, Arizona. Looking west, most of the elements that comprise an interesting composition, at least for me, can be found from the overpass — sweeping curves, a discernible grade, a distant view, and a nice, mountainous backdrop. The view from the eastern side of the overpass is less spectacular but similar.

My first stop at this location was in July of 2006, and, as the following graphic reveals, little has changed since then. Originally we had happened upon this location not by design by but happenstance. We were following the signal indications while paralleling the Seligman Subdivision from Interstate 40 when the signals indicated that an eastbound would soon be coming by our location. I took the next exit, which happened to be the Townsend Winona Road exit. I was a tad bit disappointed to see that the train was a “baretable train” (empty flatcars and well cars). The photo on the left is the train from July 2006.

Five Years Apart - Winona, Arizona from the overpass. The left photo is from July 2006 and the right is April 2011.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

On this latest trip, in April 2011, I had planned specifically to shoot from this location again. This time, I hoped to spend more time there and, hopefully, catch a few trains. In turns out that luck was on my side as the lineup of trains coincided with our arrival. As we have since learned from this trip, the traffic patterns would suggest that the BNSF (dispatcher) likes to run trains in bunches, either east or west, or sometimes, both.

BNSF 4713 East 1 - BNSF 4713 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 1039 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and two more unidentified DASH 9’s have the head end power duties for this eastbound stack train rounding a curve at Winona, Arizona as a westbound “Z” Train blows by on track one.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

BNSF 4713 East 2 - BNSF 4713 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 1039 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and two more unidentified DASH 9’s have the head end power duties for this eastbound stack train rounding a curve at Winona, Arizona as a westbound “Z” Train blows by on track one.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

After I had shot several trains at the overpass I realized that we still had some time before were due at the La Posada Hotel for check-in. Looking at the map, I was intrigued by the presence of a large curve that the tracks made nearby. I wondered about the photographic possibilities at the location so off we went to see if we could get close enough to it to get some photos.

We spotted the curve from the road but the scene appeared too cluttered for my liking. We drove further down the road a bit and then turned around. I had seen a dirt road just prior to the curve that might offer a better opportunity. After seeing no signage indicating that the road was private we used it to access a cool spot much closer to the curve that had an amazing angle and the sun at our backs. Perfect.

As Deb took a hike in the surrounding area, on “snake patrol,” I watched and photographed several trains go through the curve. All of them were westbound, heading away from me, which wasn’t ideal. We hung out some more.

Eventually I could see the head end of an approaching eastbound. I shot the following sequence of shots as it hustled by: 

BNSF 7521 East 1 - BNSF 7521 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 4017 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 7856 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7698 (GE ES44DC) ease this eastbound stack train around the dogleg curve at milepost 331.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

BNSF 7521 East 2 - BNSF 7521 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 4017 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 7856 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7698 (GE ES44DC) ease this eastbound stack train around the dogleg curve at milepost 331.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe PerryBNSF 7521 East 3 - BNSF 7521 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 4017 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 7856 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7698 (GE ES44DC) ease this eastbound stack train around the dogleg curve at milepost 331.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

At this point it was time to move on. I was tired from the night’s travels and the little rest I was able to attain. We were going to spend two days chilling out at the La Posada so as I packed up the gear, I looked forward to a relative short drive to Winslow and the comfort of a freshly made king size bed…

In the next post I’ll cover our time at the amazing La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona.

Our Best Trip Ever - Part 2 - The Run East

(Continued from: Our Best Trip Ever - Part 1 - The Planning)

D-Day

On Saturday morning, with great anticipation and eagerness, I loaded the final pieces of gear into the truck and the perishables into the camper’s fridge. I have learned over the years that it seems something always comes up at the last minute as we prepare to depart, especially when it involves more that a weekend road trip, so I packed some flex-time into the first day of our trip. Good thing too because we needed it.

After I finished the loading and set the destination into our GPS I sought out Deb. I found her in the kitchen making the final few touches on the meals that we would take on our trip. Our intent was to eat well this trip so Deb prepared chicken enchiladas, spaghetti, and our favorite, Japanese curry over rice, to take with us.

She needed more time so I settled down to rest a bit. Perhaps it was due to the anticipation of the pending trip or all of the work I put into preparing the truck and camper the week before, but I found myself unable to sleep Friday night and I was tired. I drifted to sleep.

After a short respite, eventually we were ready to depart. Our reservations at the La Posada Hotel weren’t until Sunday evening so we had the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday to get there. Originally I had planned to shoot targets of opportunity along the Needles Sub as we headed east out of California but, due to our late departure, I opted just to drive straight through to Flagstaff. We did just that.

Having heard that Walmart allows overnight parking for RVer’s sometimes, and considering I was in need of some rest, we headed to a Walmart in Flagstaff. Upon our arrival at 11:30 PM, we were surprised to find that the store was open. This was apparently one of those “new-fangled” 24-hour stores. We went inside to garner permission to park overnight.

As I headed out to the truck for a nap, Deb, having slept some of the way to Flagstaff in the passenger seat, proceeded to shop in the nearly empty Super Walmart for hours, and hours, and hours. I suspect that she must have felt as if she was in heaven - not unlike my ventures to Fry’s Electronics. As soon as I had drifted off to sleep I was awoken by a parking lot monster - the overnight truck vacuum! As the truck made it’s rounds vacuuming up the discarded flotasm that littered the parking lot it became clear that my efforts were in vane. I headed inside to join Deb on her shopping spree.

The track of our first “official” day on the Seligman Sub. The black camera icons indicate the locations that I shot.

Day 1

LightTrac App from Rivolu Pte. Ltd, showing the Winona, AZ sunrise opportunities.Enough fooling around, it was time to shoot. I looked for an appropriate location in hopes of catching some sunrise shots between Flagstaff and Winslow. Using a very cool iPhone application from Rivolu Pte. Ltd, called LightTrac, for sunrise data, I picked the area near Winona, Arizona for my quarry.

“LightTrac helps photographers plan their outdoor photo shoots ahead of time by helping them find the perfect light conditions, time and location to photograph their subjects anywhere in the world.”

We headed east out of Flagstaff on Interstate 40 bound for Winona all the while racing the pending sunrise. Eventually we reached the road that led towards the rails, an area known as Darling, Arizona, and I looked at the surrounding terrain for a decent location to set-up. I can only do so much planning with maps and cool apps because it is difficult, if not impossible, to glean true sight angles and scene composition data without actually being there. No map is going to show you the locations of trees, fences, billboards, power lines and the like. Nonetheless, it gets me in the ballpark.

Eventually I settled on a spot in the road which had a slight rise due to the fact that the tracks were higher than the road here. Apparently the tracks were laid on a small fill to level the grade. I do have the benefit of going to the roof of the camper to take shots which affords me an additional 11’ of elevation. I did just that.

Upon my rooftop perch, I surveyed the surrounding scene and took a moment to appreciate the fact that I was doing something I love immensely, with someone I love immensely. It was clearly going to be a beautiful day. The sun was clawing towards the horizon and there was a slight chill to the air.

I set-up the tripod and took note of the distant signals which indicated no train in the immediate area. I decided to fire off a few test shots. Once I did, we waited. Eventually the sun rose enough to cast a beautiful glow about the horizon.

A Darling Dawn - A beautiful start to the day is underway at Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

A Darling Dawn 2 - A beautiful start to the day is underway at Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

As in the case on all parts of BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision, one does not have to wait long for traffic. Eventually the distant signals indicated an approaching train and soon thereafter the headlight appeared flickering on the horizon. This is the shot of our first train on the trip:

Dawn Doublestacker at Darling - As dawn gives way to sunrise, our first train of the day dashes through Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

Judging from that photo it is a good thing I opted to set-up on the roof or else the train would have been behind those bushes. Another westbound train appeared in the distance and the sun had risen enough to fully light my location so I decided to shoot a panorama shot:

Panorama shot of Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe PerryAfter Deb prepared, and I subsequently eagerly comsumed, one of her breakfast offerings I took a walkabout and positioned myself in various locations in the area for some different shots. At one point I had passed underneath the tracks at an underpass which was a little too small for my camper to pass through and shot, what turns out to be, one of my favorite shots of the day. I caught an eastbound stack train with the sun glinting off of the train. While post-processing the photo I couldn’t decide between which version, either color or sepia, that I prefered so I kept both:

Sunrise and Stacker on the Seligman Sub - As the sun glints off of its train, BNSF 7667 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7896 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7736 (GE ES44DC) lead an eastbound doublestack train towards the rising sun along the ranch lands of Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry Sunrise and Stacker on the Seligman Sub in Sepia - As the sun glints off of its train, BNSF 7667 (GE ES44DC), BNSF 7896 (GE ES44DC), and BNSF 7736 (GE ES44DC) lead an eastbound doublestack train towards the rising sun along the ranch lands of Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe PerryAfter I had my fill of the Darling location I decided to head to the often photographed location where the BNSF tracks pass under Townsend Winona Road in Winona proper. As we headed that way I took a few shots along the way.

BNSF Eastbound Stack Train with San Francisco Peaks - An eastbound BNSF intermodal train greets the morning sun with the dramatic San Francisco and Elden Mountains providing the backdrop near Darling, Arizona.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

BNSF 5169 West - BNSF 5169 (GE DASH 9-44CW) and BNSF 4196 (GE DASH 9-44CW) lean into a superelevated curve as they approach Winona, Arizona with their intermodal charge in tow.
[4/17/2011 - Seligman Subdivision] © Copyright 2011, Joe Perry

In the next post I’ll cover our photos from Winona, Arizona.