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Hi everyone,
OK, it's high time I made a proper endorsement of the Ponderosa Ranch at Crawford Hill, Nebraska. This is the right way to do Crawford Hill. I will confess that back in 2003 I didn't know what I know now, but after seeing some of Mark R. Lynn's photos of the area I wanted to give it a try on the way to Altamont 2003. I did manage to get to Breezy Point for a handful of pix, but it was awful hard to get there and I after all that hiking I was taken quite aback when I noticed a couple railfans working the spot like they owned the place. Now I understand. Book a night or two at the Ponderosa Ranch, and you pretty much do own the place. I did just that for the evening of May 30, 2010 and let's just say I plan to be back. Marias Pass is still my favorite BNSF spot, but this might just steal #2 from Kingman Canyon, and yes, I've done Cajon and Tehachapi more than once. Kim and Jeff Lund were great hosts, and if I had it to do over again, I would have taken them up on the breakfast. Given their usual time to serve it I thought I'd be missing out on some good early morning light angles, but the sun doesn't quite get good that soon. There was action and some adequately lit spots at that time, and I made out fine with my trail breakfast (a Bon Appetit Berries and Cheese danish and Tropicana Pure Premium no pulp) but next time I may reconsider. As was the case with yesterday's batch from May 30, I "made quota" on GE ES44AC's alone on May 31 as well. Plus, I pulled this off before noon, and all at Crawford Hill - no Alliance photos padding the numbers this time! Next time I plan to feature another locomotive model I happened to also make quota on before noon on May 31. You can probably guess which model. If you need a clue, I'll just say that if you have an appetite for the most modern power the BNSF has to offer, strongly consider booking a night or two at the Ponderosa Ranch. Wasn't I just talking up Robert C. Del Grosso new "BNSF Railway 2010 Locomotive Review" book? Well, it just came in handy for the data on today's 6306 and 6343 photos. That said, I've added the entire 6300-6399 series to my roster data. I still don't have a handle on how Bob arrived at 685 ES44AC's but at least I'm jumping from 551 to 651 which is a lot closer. Enjoy! |
