Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14, 2005. Trains passing Union Station in Little Rock. (Thought I'd brighten your day with this one-time-only burnt orange background!! Next time I'll use Aggie colors!!).  WARNING - There are 48 photos today, over 3 mb worth, so expect a rather long opening of this webpage unless you have broadband.  It took 18 seconds to view all the photos with my cable broadband. Lots of different locomotives and rolling stock today.

LOCOMOTIVES: *** FURX-3050 *** IC-6016 *** LTEX-9912, 7437 *** GECX-SP-8497 *** HLCX-6313 *** GSCX-7357 *** CSX-8880 *** CONRAIL-3046, 5430 *** CNW-8701-I believe one of the last pure CNW yellow/green units-great heritage color idea *** UP-582, 2431, 9520, 2201, 2858, 9416, 3802, 4530, 4674, 4264, 5082, 9519, 6364, 8357 (NEW SD-70ACE up close on the Amtrak siding!), 9471, 9482, 2830.

ROLLING STOCK: CNW yellow boxcar *** ICG orange Hi-Cube box *** Railcare Tank car *** ATW bright red new boxcars *** CSX patchy-colored Hi-Cube *** D&H hoppers (3 in a row in the classic colors) ***  flat loaded with I believe bridge supports? *** three Rock Island hoppers *** New UP reddish hopper *** D&H Gondolas *** A smiling UP engineer from the cab of his stopped train in front of Union Station.




UP 582, 12:29 p.m. August 13, 2005 passing Union Station southbound.


GATX 7357.


Bad-lit UP 2431, Aug 13 at 12:58 p.m. My finger slipped!!


HLCX 6313.


UP 9520, 1:02 p.m. Aug 13, kicking up some dust on the under-ballasted Number 2 Main.


August 14 now - UP 2201 southbound at 9:17 a.m.


See from the top of the spiral staircase, 2201 and 3381 passes a northbound. The nearest track is the Amtrak siding for the Texas Eagle (11:59 p.m. northbound, 4:30 a.m. southbound), then the Number 2 Main, Number 1 Main, and the fartherest track is the Little Rock & Western. The LRWN curves to the right, just behind the school, then goes on the old Rock Island Sunbelt line westward to Danville, Arkansas.


UP 2852 comes into view.


CNW yellow boxcar 155441.


ICG orange hi-cube boxcar.


UP 9416,  9:26 a.m. gets underwary.


Railcare tank car.


UP 3802, 9:35 a.m.


CSX 8880.


Bright red ATW boxcar, new.


A shiny new Lionel set!!


That 'weathered' look on a CSX boxcar.


UP 4530, 10:21 a.m. southbound.


UP 4674.


Delaware & Hudson hoppers with shield.


Three in a row....


Bridge supports?


UP 4264, 10:45 a.m. leading six other units on this southbound.


GECX-SP 8497.


CNW 8701 revving it up. This could almost be the upcoming UP heritage paint style.


Enough power? The train was long, but I've seen longer ones without so much power. Seven units.  Notice the dust being kicked up. Little Rock is over 8 inches below normal for August 14 in rainfall.




Rock Island blue hoppers.


Our group of railfans today, August 14.


UP 5082, 11:05 a.m.


LTEX 7437, former SP.


UP 9519, 11:19 a.m.


Conrail 3018.


UP 6364 with peeling varnish, at 11:31 a.m. Reminds me of when I put shiny varnish on my 1950s Lionel passenger cars to make them shiny. Years later they looked like this.


A friendly wave from the engineer or conductor of # 6364. He certainly didn't mind the peeling varnish.  The train was stopped for a red signal and I zoomed in to get the shot, standing on the Amtrak platform.


Conrail 5430.


A train is put on the Amtrak siding in order to go past the turnout that had been blocked by the train in the previous shot. The Amtrak siding switches onto the Number 2 Main (second track). The stopped intermodal (in the previous photo) had been on the turnout between the Number 2 and Number 1 Main so this northbound would have been blocked were it not for the Amtrak siding. It's slow going for any freight, especially chemical trains, when they need to use the Amtrak track, but it makes for 'up close and personal' viewing of trains from the Amtrak platform! The lead unit of this train was a brand new SD-70ACE.


'In your face' UP 8357, a new SD-70ACE unit., at 11:52 a.m.


UP 9471, 12:05 p.m.


New UP red hopper.




D&H gondolas.


UP 9482, 12:14 p.m.


IC 6016.


UP 2830, 12:30 p.m.


FURX 3060.


LTEX 9912,

That's all today...PHEWWWW!!!