Train spotting

Spike found while we waited for our first glimpse of the UP 4014 at Sallisaw, OK

Nice shot after he arrived at Ft. Gibson, OK 

Here is the man himself, Ed Dickens, at the helm (in the dark shirt and overalls).

Mr. Dickens writes "Big Boy" on the 4014 in chalk, just like that original guy did back when the first one was built in 1941.  When it comes off due to rain, or gets cleaned off, he climbs up and puts it back on.

Shiny....and enormous!

I liked the crossing signal in the shot.  Look how tiny everyone looks next to him!!

We had a  most excellent day to chase steam on Nov. 16, 2019, during the Southwestern tour of Union Pacific's newly restored engine, the 4014.

For information about the history of the locomotive, you can look it up under Union Pacific Big Boy.

We were lucky enough that he came into Oklahoma on a Saturday.  We left OKC Friday night, and got an Air BnB for the night, so that we could be there when he arrived.

Unfortunately, the crowd was so big at the depot that we couldn't even get close to watch him come in, so we went down the road a couple of miles, and found a siding where we could wait.

We heard him long before he ever got to the depot, and the first time I heard that whistle, I had full body chills, burst into tears, and literally jumped up and down a little for joy.

We sat in the car to stay warm, and waited for him to pull out of the depot.  A few other folks joined us in the spot we had selected, but it wasn't crowded or anything.

I wanted to be hands-free for that first glimpse, so I did not take any pictures or video of the approach.  I just let myself experience it as fully as possible.   Dave got a good video, though.

As soon as he passed, we ran back to the car, jumped in, and chased him!  I got a fun little bit of video of that, but there was too much traffic to keep up for long.

We arrived at the next town ahead of him, as planned, and stood in place to catch him coming in.  

The next town is Gore, OK, which is where we get our groceries when we go to our cabin camping trip at Thanksgiving.   It's also where my dad most likely got off of the train when he was arriving for army boot camp during World War 2.

Camp Gruber is just down the road, directly across from the tracks.

As we drove up to the next stop in advance of the Big Boy, I said a little wish for the part of my dad's spirit that is probably at Camp Gruber.... to look out at the tracks, and watch....  

We drove right past Greenleaf State Park, where we will be for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks, and went on to Ft. Gibson, our last stop before heading off in the opposite direction of the train, to go home

The crowd was HUGE at Ft. Gibson, so we parked a few blocks away, and walked over to the stop.

I got some great video of sounds and sights, and we stayed for the whole stop, and watched him leave.

It was such an amazing day!