Railfanning in New Orleans

[nolatron]

Today at lunch I decided to take another trip out to the UP yard. Got some nice pics.

Here's BNSF waiting for the clear to continue it's trip over the Mississippi River on the Huey P Long Bridge.

A CSX sits outside the UP Engine house.

A lonely engine sits near the UP Office parking lot:

And talk about timing... That BNSF I saw waiting was just about to hit the river span as I passed by. This is probably a view you won't see to often. And taking the pic wasn't easy either! I was doing probably 45mph on the Huey P with it's SKINNY SKINNY lanes. Last time i try that, lol. But a great pic I think.

All the pics can be found here:http://gallery.ortolano.org/rrfan-022505

http://gallery.mytrains.org/022205

 

[nolatron]

Caught the 1:45 58 City of New Orleans as it heads out and makes it way to Chicago.

And wandered over to a long line of grain cars sitting on a siding that I've yet to go check out. From the looks of the rust on the wheels and track, these things must have been sitting here for quite a while.

http://gallery.mytrains.org/022805

 

[Bywaterrailroad]

tran chasing in Dixie

Today I went with two of my neighbors and we took a ride out early this moring to see the break-in run of the newly restored 745 2-8-2 steam loco. The three of us, arrived at the KCS yard just west of the city limits just before 9 am. The old engine was off in the distance backing into a "Y" and with an enormous blow of smoke and steam the engine pulled forward out of the "Y". The yard track was next to the street and we stood 15' from the track with our backs to the traffic in the street. A large recycling truck dieseled behind us in the street and the concrete road heaved beneath our feet. Then the 745 came up on us, getting bigger and bigger, and closer and closer. The engine grew nearer to the sound of its pistons rhythmically hissing steam, smoke belching from the stack, steam swirling around the wheels, its bell ringing and whistle screaming its arrival. This time the concrete beneath our feet began to viberate right up thru our bones. The gound did not heave, but trembled and transmitted the meeting of rail and wheel as the engine passed us going at yard speed of about 10 mph. Yet the huge mechanical behemoth, in the mist of all this, purred like the well oiled machine it is. Forty-eight years after it was placed on display in New Orleans' Audubon Park – and 20 years after it was removed from the park – former Southern Pacific Mk-5 class 2-8-2 745 returned to the main line. First in mid-December 2004 the 745 underwent some break-in runs on the Kansas City Southern, and again this weekend. We leaped frog the 745 along Highway 61 catching it at grade crossings a few more times. I took vids as it passed, another took digital photos and our British friend put pennies on the track. After getting back home I dropped the video camera and the tape looks to be no more. Hopefully, my neighbor will send me the still photos as all I have now to remember the fun day is a paper thin penny. Thank you Mr. Chatterton.

 

[nolatron]

Awesome. I remember that 2-8-2 in Audubon Park too. Used to always see it as you left Riverbend park from behind the Zoo.

Can't wait to see the pics (start a new thread if you don't mind), to bad the video got shot

Was this the KCS yard on Airline Drive? I know they do passenger car refurbs back there.

 

[Bywaterrailroad]

photos, kind of

posted the photos under "the real thing USA" The dude who took the digitals has real high photo size set so I have had to reduce the size to up load

 

[Sir_Prize]

nolatron- Boy! I envy you fella's that got rail Lines you can fan at lunch. Down my way you need the lunch hour AND half another to GET to working Rail. Then it doesn't go by that much anyways. Oh well...
That's why I cruise here at work. (shhhhhh! don't tell)

Oh yeah! Nice shots! :thumb:

 

[nolatron]

Look what I found hiding out on the line, 3 BNSF locos with no crew just chilling.

Of course, the crew showed up 5 minutes after I show up. doh!

The line it's sitting on cuts through Jefferson Hwy, then along the river at river rd, towards riverbend and the Port of Orleans. The engines were attached to rolling stock at first when I was there. The crew showed up and pulled the engines off the cars and pulled up off the siding to the signal where it then sat waiting for a green. I had to leave before it got the all clear.

First we had a B40-8W:

Then the lovely Dash 9:

And an old green/white BNSF that I have no idea of the engine model:

http://gallery.mytrains.org/030905

http://gallery.ortolano.org/rrfan-030905

 

[nolatron]

Was out near river road today, and noticed this coming as I went over a crossing. pulled over and snapped a few pics:

then on my way back to work, this was chugging along the river. Had to catch up to it and snap some pics while driving before I hit traffic at the crossing it was about to hit:

http://gallery.mytrains.org/030905

 

[LIRR]

You know a few years ago seeing a blue-bonnet and a UP unit MU'd together would be a rare thing, now it barely made me look twice.

Power sharing has taken the fun out of railfanning.

 

[nolatron]

Went and took a few more pics of that old Amtrak I found.

Locomotive looks like it's missing the engine from the inside:

http://gallery.mytrains.org/031105

 

[Chessie6459]

It's a shame to see the first generation diesels like that. They should have been sent to a museum for display instead of leaving them sit outside to rust away to nothing.

Once Again nolatron Great Photo's :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[nolatron]

Hopefully it'll get restored one day. Just a bit head on the tracks a spur leads into a LA Steam Trains assc. restoration yard. Lot's of old passenger cars and UP Steam Loco that just got running again. Haven't made a trip down there for pics yets.

Here's their website: http://www.lasta.org/

 

[nolatron]

Went and snapped a few pics of this today at lunch:

http://gallery.mytrains.org/031405

 

[sumpter250]

That strange looking thing on the track next to the 745 looks like a Porter compressed air locomotive!
Pete