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ROAD TRIP
DAY 2

Day 2, Friday, 09/08/00

Wake up call 0530. Pulled out of the motel, stopped for coffee, and headed for Helper Yard. Not much going on. Sat behind the park and drank my coffee. At 0630 the BNSF "M" heading east came through the yard. Got word on the scanner that the "Z" was heading down from the top of Soldier Summit.

Decided to head for Price to get a good shot. Still no word on #6. Got set up and waited. After a while, here it came. The light was still real bad, but got one real bad shot. It is the only one I have of the wings, so will have to do.

Still no word on the #6 so head for the local greasy spoon in Wellington for more coffee and a B&G. Time to head for Grand Junction, Colorado. Stopped in Woodside to see if I could find any trace of the old RGW ROW. No luck this time. Head for Green River.

I get off of I70 at Green River so I could run on the old US6/50. No train action going on, but see quite a few antalope.

Have to get back on I70 a ways west of Brendel/Crescent Junction. Get off again there and head east on the old road. Caught a west bound BNSF "M" train, but too late for a picture. Too busy looking at the local residents, AKA antelope.

There is a story behind that train. I had been playing e-mail and phone tag with a long time friend of mine from the Grand Junction area. He is a BNSF, ex UP, exx SP, exxxDRGW Conductor. Has been running trains between Grand junction, Colorado and Helper, Utah for 28 years. The "M" train was his as I found out later. He finally ran me down Sunday morning.

Back to the story. Just after the "M" went by, the scanner went off. #6 was heading east out of Green River. Time to leave the locals alone and find a good spot for the #6.

Head on into Thompson and decide to take a side trip up to Sego. Get up to the private road sign and the area is crawling with tourist types. Fast "U" turn and head back to Thompson. There are still a couple of stone bridge abutments left in the area, but not much else.

Head east again and cross I70 at the Cisco turnoff. Make my normal run through Cisco to snoop around. Just the normal stray dog and the dirt containers on the siding. Head out of town, back on I70 till I get to Harley Dome. Get off and take the old road the rest of the way into Grand Junction.

I spotted a couple of sections of the old RGW ROW just east of the state line that I had not seen before. Starting about two miles north of Harley Dome, the old ROW runs along the north side the road except at the border. There it swings north and back south to climb the grade to the top of the hill about two miles east of the state line. The main thing I had not spotted before was the turning "Y" just east of the hill. If the light is not right, you just drive on past. Really it is hard to miss as it is right along the road.

When I got to Mack, where the D&RGW comes out of Ruby Canyon, I spotted an unusual site. DRGW 3109 (GP40-2) was running west long hood forward hauling container flats to Cisco. I later found out why. Seems there is no place to unless you go all the way to Wellington. The "Y" at Thompson is OOC and nothing at Brendel or Green River. No way to get a picture and no way to chase it. Some days you win, some days you lose.

Pulled into Grand Junction at 1200, got a bite to eat, checked into the motel, grabbed a nap and got ready for part one of my class reunion.

Last Update 01/28/01

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