August 15, 1999 railfanning
| I spent the weekend in the Bozeman area with a friend. Unfortunately, she had other commitments Sunday afternoon and I was forced to find my own entertainment. Life could be worse, I guess. |
 |
Honestly, both of these C44-9Ws are in
Heritage II paint and the second one is even newer than the lead unit!
I caught this eastbound P-train just a few miles below West End. On the rear of this train are 4 MRL helpers. |
| I love days like this in Montana.
Even though shooting towards the west is difficult, every once in
a while you get lucky.
Following an eastbound up Bozeman Pass is easy with wide shoulders on I-90 and the frontage road exit here at West End. |
 |
 |
Smoke rolls out of the tunnel portal as
the train starts downhill towards Livingston. Unlike Mullan Pass,
Bozeman Pass has sidings on both sides of the tunnel. Here on the
east side is Muir.
The road cut above the tunnel is where I-90 crosses the pass and also the frontage road to the south. |
| I told you there were helpers on the rear of this train - a matched set of four, beautiful blue MRL units. With all of the train now pointed downhill, heat begins to dissipate from the dynamic braking grids as the train moseys through Muir. |
 |
 |
The east side of Bozeman Pass contrasts
quite a bit with the dense, evergreen forests of the west side. The
valley is quite a bit wider on this side also.
With two units on the point and four on the rear there was plenty of dynamic braking for this train. |
| After cutting off the helpers, the EB
P-train rolls by the restored Northern Pacific Livingston Depot.
The Depot now houses a really nice museum along with a restaurant and a
gift shop. I've heard there is a good model railroad downstairs too.
Be sure to stop by if you are in Livingston, it is worth the visit. |
 |
 |
FInally, a full view of the helper set
pulling into the yard at Livingston.
Notice the first unit is the only one not repainted with the Washington Corp. 'W'. |
| This is the west side of Livingston
Rebuild Center. The ex-BN C30-7 in the foreground is now owned
by and lettered for AGTX. There were a number of these units on the
property.
This is the largest number of LRCX units I have ever seen at Livingston. Of course, I don't get there as often as I would like. |
 |
 |
I think this is one of the most interesting
things about LRC, their transfer table. I don't know when the locomotive
cab was added as a control station but it sure gives the table some personality.
Are the controls similar to a real locomotive?
Since it was a Sunday, none of the doors were open and the only power showing was the ex-Guilford six motor unit with the high, short hood in the background. |
| Here are all three paint schemes that I know of for LRCX. The first is yellow and dark green, the second - bronze/green, and the third - blue and yellow, which is most prevalent in the fleet. You can also see at least six tracks worth of dead units. |
 |
 |
A nice, wide shot of the west side of
LRC. Yes, that is a CP unit to the right. Here is a better
overall shot though.
I hope you enjoyed the afternoon of railfanning. |
|
|
|
|
|