The late winter blahs make for drab photos. The sky is often cloudy. The trees and bushes are bare. The grasses are dead and brown. So I don't take many photos. I'd rather wait for the fresh green of spring. But a number of list members have asked for something so here goes.
5600s Make Headlines Sheridan has a population of about 16,000. Only in a small town would a non-derailed train going about the everyday operation of a railroad make front page news. Because Sheridan has such a large railroad and coal mining community the railroad is the subject of the Press several times a year. The Sheridan Press doesn't realize that they captured the only 3 C44ACs on the BNSF's 5000 unit locomotive roster, numbers 5600-5602. Actually it wasn't the unique locos nor even the train that got them on the front page. It was the snow plastered on the nose. Snow is certainly not unusual for March in northern Wyoming. This reinforces the stereotype of nothing exciting to discuss in Hicksville but the weather. And normal weather at that.
Jeff is, how shall I say it? A little different. His last name, Dach, is pronounced "Day" and his nickname is "Trash". Need I say more?
Night Helpers I took this picture last fall. It is a night shot of the Sheridan loco service area (roundhouse in the local vernacular). It is one of the few times when 3 of the 4 helper sets are in town. The truss type turntable is in the foreground and two BN cabooses, kept around for work trains, are in the background. The photo was a bit fuzzy so I was not going to use it. I was going to wait and get a better shot. But then they changed the helpers from SD40-2s to SD60Ms so this picture of SD40-2s is no longer possible. To make matters worse the pure SD60M consists lasted only a few weeks and most sets are now a combination of an SD40-2 and an SD60M. So I offer this, fuzzy or not.
Waiting behind a Z We are stopped outside of Laurel Yard waiting to get into the yard. We are third out. Ahead of us is the Z-CHCLAU (Chicago-Laurel) and ahead of it is an M-DILLAU (Dilworth-Laurel). I was on the M-DENBIL "local". The Z train lost its "Z" status after it set out the UPS cars and U.S. Mail cars 10 miles back at Billings. Although it is not re-symboled it is essentially just another P train the last 13 miles into Laurel so it is no longer Z hot. An eastbound P train has just departed Laurel and is passing on the eastward main of the MRL's ABS double track.
Wyoming Coal
Train of Visitors
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Updated 02-22-2002
