A bit of explaining is needed here.
This entry is being done for two reasons. The first is that an entry is long
overdue. The second is because I need to
get information on my scouting today to a friend who will be joining me in the
morning. It’s too much information to
send in a text and he needs to see the pictures of the locations to help plan
tomorrow. So..
Here I go.
It’s Tuesday, August 24th and I am on
vacation. Too many things have changed
what I planned to do but, so far, the biggest thing I want to do is still
on. What is that? Chasing a steam engine. Specifically, Union Pacific 4014. Big Boy!
The pandemic is hitting this area hard so I have altered
plans a bit. I had planned on catching
it in Fort Worth and then chasing it to Houston. New Orleans wasn’t a stop I had seriously
considered but hadn’t been ruled out until infection rates started jumping back
up. Now?
It’s in Shreveport, LA right now and will be coming through Northeast
Texas in the morning with stops in Jefferson and Atlanta. I’m hoping to get some good pictures from a
bit farther out than my previous train chasing outings. I’m not getting in a crowd like before. I’m not one of these people who are terrified
of the prospect of getting sick but I do believe in behaving sensibly and not diving
into a crowd and getting sick.
I viewed the 4014 when it was on display in Marshall, TX and
took pictures and video when stopped in Atlanta in 2019. This is a new opportunity for me because, since
I became aware of UP’s steam program, none of the engines have stopped in
Jefferson so I went to went there to scout the best place to shoot pictures
this afternoon. I was not impressed.
Don’t get me wrong. I
love Jefferson. It’s a great little
town. Plenty of antique stores. Great places to eat. Some good saloons (at least I’ve been told,
but I don’t drink). Jefferson has a rich history with the railroad but does it
have a good place for the biggest operating steam engine in the world to
stop? Nope! I’ve included pictures to show what I found.
Big Boy will come into Jefferson from the south. The first place the engine can be seen is the
crossing on W. Broadway (State Hwy 49) which is a block west of Walcott St.
(U.S. Hwy 59). There is a McDonalds on
S. Walcott that also has a drive that goes out to Broadway. This drive borders the East side of the
railroad property. If you are standing
on the West side of the drive the train will pass within about thirty feet of you. The biggest problem there is that vegetation
on the East side of the tracks blocks being able to see the train until it is
less than a block from the property.
There is a parking lot for a strip shopping center on the
North side of Broadway that would give a much better view but I can see a
problem if the owners of the property object to anyone parking and waiting
there. The business aren’t the type
where you would be going shopping to justify waiting there. I would imagine there wouldn’t be much problem
on the McDonalds property so long as you buy something every now and then so
you aren’t “loitering.” As many people are there are likely to be I doubt they
would appreciate you parking there and going across the road for a while.
I had thought there would be a good spot to wait at the
intersection of Tuttle and Watson streets but that isn’t a good location. There is a curve in the tracks just South of
the intersection and the weeds are high enough to block the view of the tracks
for more than about a hundred feet.
There is, however, a crossing on Watson a half block from the intersection and
there is a clear area East of it where pictures are possible but they will be
close up rather than ones where you can see the train approaching. A freight train I observed at the crossing
today was only going about 25 or 30 MPH and I imagine the 4014 will be moving
much slower since it will be stopping just a few blocks away.
There isn’t a lot of parking area around this that is not railroad property and given UP’s policies for anyone getting on their property I’m wondering how close we are going to be able to get to the engine. The area outside of the UP right of way is not really the friendliest for people to be tramping around. Granted, this is a quick stop. There’s no time for display where we would be able to go through the museum car or walk all around the train taking pictures or just generally looking at it from whatever angle we want.
These pictures show the approach to the crossing from the North. There are several pieces of equipment for working on the tracks scattered around. I wonder if they'll be moved before morning.
One of type of pictures of steam engines most people like
the most are then ones where the engine is taking off and producing clouds of
steam. I don’t see a good location to
get ahead of the train to take pictures of this. There is no spot past Alley St. where you can
see the train. There are no more
crossings in Jefferson and the tracks turn into an area that can’t be seen from
the roadway after this. Yes, there are
surely roads the tracks cross between Jefferson and Atlanta but by the time the
4014 gets to them it will most likely be moving at full steam and will be past
you in about twenty seconds or so.
Am I going to let this stop me? No.
I’m going to make the best of the opportunity and get the best pictures
I can.
ps. Please forgive the quality of the pictures. I had planned on texting them to my friend and wasn't worried about a dirty windshield and such. The editing was also done in a hurry with a cheap editor.
