Photo 29
Heading out on Saturday morning, we were running a little late. As a result, by the time we got to Rock Island, they'd already pulled the train forward for boarding.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 30
Right on time, the triple-header pulls towards the main Rock Island yard and the connection with the IAIS mainline.
400x600 640x960
1000x1500 2336x3504
|
|
Photo 31
Fortunately for most of us chasing, the train is taking it fairly easy. We had no problem beating him to the area behind John Deere Commons in Moline. Unfortunately, at the last second, the guy in the car pulled in and screwed up the shot.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 32
A wider view shortly after the previous shot. Too bad that No Parking sign was in pretty much ever shot I could set up...
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 33
Moline's 41st Street crossing.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 34
Nearing Silvis, the crew's put on a little more speed, though not much. It was still a pretty easy chase to get ahead of it here. I'm thinking this is the 13th Street crossing in East Moline.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 35
A slightly different view of the location in Photo 34 from my dad (DJH Photo)
400x600 640x960
1000x1500 2048x3072
|
Photo 36
6988 blows through the crossing (well, okay, so it actually wasn't moving that fast...)
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 37
Coming up through the curve at Colona, crossing the county road and headed up towards the interlocking with BNSF. There was plenty of time to get set up here, since the train made a stop to pick up passengers in Silvis near NRE.
400x600 640x960
1000x1500 2336x3504
|
Photo 38
Splitting the signals on the west side of the Colona crossing (DJH Photo)
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3072x2048
|
Photo 39
As with any steam excursion, there are people everywhere. While certainly I saw plenty of idiot fans, the general public wasn't much better in some cases. Here we are at Geneseo, and yes, the train really is moving towards us. (DJH Photo)
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3072x2048
|
Photo 40
Arriving at the second stop - Geneseo. The crowds did finally part from the tracks.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 41
After a small delay for pickups and dropoffs in Geneseo, the train was underway again. Here it is by the Comet Feeds elevator on the east edge of Geneseo. I understand I should thank Tim for the nice, weed-free shot...
400x600 640x960
1000x1500 2336x3504
|
Photo 42
A little wider view of the same shot (DJH Photo)
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3072x2048
|
Photo 43
After another short stop in Atkinson to let folks off for the engine and tractor show, as well as pick up a few more, the triple header was on its way out of town to Bureau.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 44
Passing through Sheffield, with the old, boarded-up depot behind the train.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 2160x1440
|
Photo 45
To avoid some of the chasing horde and get some time on the train, we took to the backroads east of Sheffield, coming out at Tiskilwa. Unfortunately, we weren't quite far enough ahead of the train, as my dad had to grab this shot out the top of the car (ah, the advantages of chasing in a convertible... DJH Photo)
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3072x2048
|
Photo 46
The punishment for taking the wrong road out of Tiskilwa? Not exactly beating the train to Bureau... At least we got there (and found a place to park) in time to get it coming past the famous signal bridge.
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3504x2336
|
Photo 47
And down the wye they go, towards Peoria... Of course they're only going far enough to turn the train on the other leg and then take on water near the Bureau depot. Downtown Bureau is a zoo, though, so my dad and I decided to head back towards Tiskilwa to get set up. (DJH Photo)
600x400 960x640
1500x1000 3072x2048
|
This work is copyright 2006 by Nathan D. Holmes
(maverick@drgw.net) and Danny J. Holmes, but licensed under a
Creative Commons License. This allows and encourages others to copy, modify, use, and distribute my work for *non-commercial purposes*, without the hassle of asking me for explicit permission or fear of copyright violation.
I encourage others to consider CC or other Open Content-style licensing of their original works.
