The Furnace Creek Inn closed May 10th. After spending a few days in Missouri with family I headed back to the South Rim of Grand Canyon for the summer. I expect to return to Death Valley for the next winter season. There will be plenty of railfanning to do next season. More time at Tehachapi; visiting Cajon when it is not raining; exploring more of the T&T and Death Valley's narrow gauge (if I can make friends with an owner of a 4x4). Maybe a visit to the Neveda State Railroad Museum in Carson City?
Railfan experiences are a little closer to hand and more accessible at Grand Canyon. Railroad business may have declined with the rest of the economy, but it isn't noticeable on the BNSF mainline. And I am seeking out new photo locations. One of my friends reported a potential for finding trains along the Naval Observatory Road west of Flagstaff. He was right!
I call the location "Mile Post 350" because of small trestle designated 350.1 It is easily accessible via a dirt road off of the Observatory Road. It is near the crest of the first hill coming out of Flagstaff as the tracks climb over the Arizona Divide. The same friend also reported a road east of Flagstaff which parallels the BNSF line with a scenic backdrop of Ponderosa pines.
Today, after having some service work on my Tarus I went looking for this new location to the east. It seems I over-shot the exit on I-40 by two, but I found an interesting photo spot all the same. It is the Cosnino Road exit and the spot is within sight of the Interstate. There is a nice curved cut just to the east of rail crossing with Cosnino Road. Only two trains passed while I was there, one in each direction. Because of the relative location of the sun I could not get a decent shot of the eastbound train. That was a shame because the locomotive consist included a freshly painted BNSF unit and one from Kansas City Southern. The westbound had only three locomotives leading the freight and they were working hard as they came around the curve and entering the cut. The cut was made in the crest of the hill to reduce the grade, but there is still a pretty hefty workout for westbound trains. As the train passed it because evident why all of the growling. There were a number of coil steel cars and even a flat with a few sheets of thick steel plate.
Sadly, there is no steam running on the Grand Canyon Railroad this season. And I have yet to see the old Alcolocomotives pulling into the station in the Park, just retired and repainted Amtrak F40's. Tickets for the Polar Express went on sale this week. Maybe they will bring out the Alcos for those Polar Express trains. The tickets for the Polar Express went on sale a few days ago and the trains will be running from early November into late January. Christmas lasts a long time on the Grand Canyon Railroad.
