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Hi everyone,
For those of you who read these messages, you may recall that I was vacationing in New Zealand (also Australia) and planned to spend a little time in the LA area on my way back. So I spent a couple days in Santa Barbara visiting a relative, and got trackside too late on Saturday the 19th to accomplish much, but did OK on the 20th. Here are five roster shots, got a little action too. Had to wait on trains with UP, CSX, and NS on the BNSF tracks before finally seeing a train with BNSF on the lead! After deciding on Cajon Pass over Tehachapi, I also decided I wanted to check out Hobart Yard where supposedly four BNSF MK1200G units are assigned. I did not see any of them, but did see one "green goat" in what appeared to be Railpower demonstrator paint, not BNSF. Perhaps I'll post the photo I took, not my best roster shot but at least the light is decent. The other thing I hoped to see in the LA area was lots of GEVO's, and I did see several. I only saw two on the lead of trains, both heading up Cajon Pass. I chased down ES44DC #7708, but opted not to run back to the summit for a third time to get the second one since it wasn't in the new "wedgie" logo paint. Figured I'd rather take my chances on the MK1200G's. On a side note, I may have mentioned yellow reflective striping before, but if I have not, it is quickly becoming quite commonplace on both locomotives and freight cars. I thought that the federal law prompting its use allowed both yellow and white, but perhaps only yellow is acceptable since units that have white reflectors are also getting yellow. I would expect units with red reflectors to get yellow as is the case with C44-9W #721 but the other three C44-9W's also have them, even C44-9W #5509 which is barely a year old now! Oddly, the newest GEVO unit is the only one without yellow reflective striping on the frame sill! If you are a serious model railroader, this yellow reflective striping is a BIG DEAL! Much like roofwalks on boxcars went away in the 70's and cabooses disappeared in the 80's, we now have a new spotting feature that will soon distinguish modern era locomotives and rolling stock. If you are not into painting or decalling and model modern BNSF, it's time to sell off pretty much your entire collection and wait for new models to come out that feature yellow reflective striping. Enjoy! |
