Today's Train of Thought- Lone Star Classics, May 24th 2013.

Today's Train of Thought takes us to Texas for some vintage LaGrange-built horsepower [I'm not referring to ZZ Top's 'LaGrange', either- NANESB!].

While the SD45-2 never caught on as much as the slightly smaller SD40-2, there are surprisingly some examples of these 40+ year old 3600 HP behemoths still in service on a number of Class 1s and regionals. This would include carriers such as the BNSF, Norfolk Southern and Montana Rail Link [the Norfolk Southern units trace their lineage to the Erie Lackawana- NANESB!].

Here, railpictures.net contributor Brian P Bennett caught BNSF SD45-2 #6488 leading 87-car unit limestone train U-BWWPEA1 through Sealy, TX in January 2008. A pair of blue and yellow SD45-2s bracket are seen bracketing a repainted BNSF SD40-2 on each end. The Houston-area limestone trains regularly featured older power. If the Sealy name sounds somewhat familiar, that's because the Sealy Mattress Company was founded in the very same town in the late 19th century.

As of September 2012, the 6488 had undergone rebuilding at Progress Rail in Tacoma, WA along with another dozen or so SD45-2s. The rebuilds will reportedly include replacing the air conditioning, new anticlimbers, and most likely repainting into BNSF orange and black.

Today's Train of Thought- Dr Livingston, I Presume? Jan 4th, 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to Big Sky country and features some oldies but goodies as well.

Sometimes known as 'The Main Street of Southern Montana', the regional railway Montana Rail Link boasts a fairly eclectic mix of motive power to this day. Started in the late 1980s, the Montana Rail Link started operations with the lease of nearly 900 miles of former Northern Pacific mainline between Sand Point, ID and Billings, MT from Burlington Northern. While the MRL handles forestry products, grain and gas, a good deal of the MRL's traffic base is simply overhead from BNSF between the midwest and ports and markets in the Pacific Northwest.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Mike Mautner caught a fairly odd and colorful assortment of motive power on Bozeman Pass to the west of Livingston, MT in early October 2005. Closest to the photographer is Montana Rail Link SD45-2 #306, followed by a high hood former Guilford (nee Norfolk & Western) SD45 still sporting charcoal grey and orange, followed by a MRL SD45, a rebuilt former Southern Pacific SD45R still in scarlet and grey and a MRL F45. This motley lashup is actually heading away from the photographer, shoving hard on the rear of BNSF symbol freight HKCKPAS [Kansas City, MO to Pasco, WA- also known as 'The Boeing train' since it often carries 737 fuselages between Boeing facilities in Wichita, KS and Renton, WA- NANESB!]. Waiting in the siding for the BNSF freight and MRL helpers to clear are a pair of MRL GP35s with local freight #841, bound for Livingston.

2005 marked the year that Montana Rail Link broke with tradition and purchased 16 brand-new SD70ACE's from EMD [most regional and shortline railroads typically take advantage of a fairly robust market in secondhand motive power- NANESB!]. The new EMDs would've been on the property for only a few weeks before the above picture was taken. Although a number of older SD40s and SD45s soldier on in service on today's MRL, the #306 was scrapped in 2011 while the #680 was cut up in 2008.

Today's Train of Thought- Joint (Line) Endeavor, February 18

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the foot of the Rockies on Colorado's Joint Line. Construction on the Rio Grande line south of Denver started in 1870- the line was origianlly supposed to go as far south at El Paso, TX where it would link up with a sister railroad in Mexico and on to the Pacific coast from there. While towns such as Pueblo and Colorado Springs sprung up along the Rio Grande line south of Denver, they reached a huge imapsse at Raton Pass near the New Mexico-Colorado state line.

However, the topography wasn't what proved to be so costly for Rio Grande. By 1878, the Rio Grande and archrival Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe became embroiled in what was known as the Railroad Wars over the both the southern route and construction of newer routes to tap the mineral-rich boomtowns of the Rockies. In February 1878, the Santa Fe hired a number of local gunfighters and the financially strapped Rio Grande was forced to cede Raton Pass and points south without even firing a shot.

The following year, a silver strike up in Leadville, CO sparked the renewal of the Railroad Wars between Santa Fe and Rio Grande. This time, the silver veins in Leadville were the prize and Santa Fe hired infamous Old West gunslingers like Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday to try and secure the pivotal route through the Royal Gorge. However, Rio Grande had secured the support of local sheriffs and an injuction from the fourth judicial circuit court and the Royal Gorge route went to Rio Grande by 1880.

The history of the Joint Line between Pueblo and Denver was far less acrimonious and provided both the Santa Fe an outlet to Denver from it's transcontinental route while giving the Rio Grande access to other class 1 railroads such as Missouri Pacific, Rock Island, Colorado & Southern.

Besides being a pivotal bridge route, the line gained increasing importance with increased mining of low-sulphur coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and unit coal trains to power plants throughout Texas and the Midwest.

Since the 1990s mergers that put Rio Grande under Union Pacific control and saw Burlington Northern combine with the Santa Fe, BNSF still handles the local freight on most parts of the Joint Line.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Joe Blackwell caught rebuilt BNSF SD40-2R #1572 leading the southbound Pike's Peak local at Larkspur, CO. The lead unti actually started out life as a Santa Fe SD45-2, but was recently rebuilt, renumbered and repainted by BNSF. The new paint scheme stands out in stark contrast to the crisp white landscape and blue skies on this sunny February 2012 day.

Today's Train of Thought- It's a Gas Gas Gas, Aug 24, 2011

Today's train of thought shows us what can be best described as a pipeline on wheels out in Big Sky Country.

Once upon a time, Conoco Philip's [NYSE: COP] Yellowstone pipeline carried gasoline all the way from Billings, MT to Spokanne, WA. However, after a 3000 barrel spill in 1993 on the Flathead Indian Reservation, the tribal council there revoked the pipeline easement. This left a 56-mile gap through the reservation and there was no talk of relocating that portion

Into the breech stepped Montana Rail Link, offering to have the gas offloaded from the pipeline in Missoula into tank cars for a 129-mile trek into Thompson Falls, MT where it is placed back into the western end of the Yellowstone pipeline to complete its westward journey to Spokane. At Thompson Falls, the locomotives, empty tank cars and spacer car on each end are turned around for the return trip. The outbound train is usually referred to as 'The Gas Local' while the returning cars are sometimes referred to as 'Gas Cans'.

Railpictures.net contributor Amy Miller caught an outbound Gas Local in August 2010 with SD45-2 #332 leading SD70ACE #4308 at Arlee, MT. The two locomotives represent two dramatically different epochs in EMD's manufacturing- the #332 started out life as an SDP45 for the Erie Lackawana nearly 40 years ago before the E-L became a part of Conrail. At some point in its career, #332 got into a wreck and her rear hood was rebuilt before being pressed into service as a leaser with Motive Power International and sold to the Montana Rail Link [Occasionally even older locomotives will hitch a ride with the Gas Local, as MRL's GP9s shuttle between their Paradise, MT assignment and Missoula- NANESB!].

By contrast, the #4308 was built new for the MRL in 2005 by EMD and has been in service since then in a variety of duties ever since.