Gallaher, New Mexico

A Few Stormy Ones

Fort Sumner Station

The station at Fort Sumner is not an easy catch, not if you want to stay off railroad property, this view is from the bottom of the road to the station. It is much like the station at Mountainair, both built in 1908.

Scholle

(MDRails) Scholle, New Mexico, a spot that consists of, as far as I can tell, an overpass, railroad tracks, and lots of desert, is a beautiful spot to watch the trains pass by. The tracks are part of BNSF's "Transcon," rolling across the Southwest. It is also near Abo Canyon, which used to be a huge bottleneck on the route. It has since been double-tracked, but that just means those hundred or so trains a day roll through at a faster clip.
If you get bored with the trains, head over to the nearby Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument for a nice change of pace. There is gas and food (and more railroad) in Mountainair.

BNSF Transcon along US 60

BNSF 9285

Hereford, TX

 

Both SD70ACe

Hereford, Texas

 

 

 

 

Railfanning Hereford is as easy as driving down U.S. Route 60, which parallel's the BNSF line through town. There is a city park, next to the old AT&SF station where one can watch the trains go by all day. The station is still active railroad property, so stay off of that. The park is very small and has no bathroom facilities, but there are plenty of places nearby for that. The trains are plentiful, the park comfortable, and the weather usually sunny.
These pictures were taken by my friend Kim (Canon 40D), who is very methodical. Notice how she photographed all the main elements of her last picture before combining them into one composition. She did all that in a very short time frame, as the locomotive in the last photograph is the trailing engine from the train in the first photograph. When you can jump out of a car, at a strange location, and do that kind of work in just a few minutes, you can rightfully call yourself a photographer. I, on the other hand, am not a photographer, not yet.

Clovis Yard Again

Mountainair

Clovis Railroad Station

The Clovis station was built in 1907 by the AT&SF, today it's the home of the Clovis Depot Model Train Museum, which operates a website here. The museum has an impressive array of displays and is open Wednesday through Sunday 12 - 5, except February and September and I don't know what goes on then. It sits right alongside Clovis Yard, which sees a lot of railroad traffic.

Night Crossing

Grade crossing, just outside of Belen Yard (2004).