Recent Digital Photos
by Mike Condren

The Great Circle Tour of the Mid-South continues with these views of the Fort Smith Trolley Museum. The dedicated members of the museum over an 11 year span rebuilt this original Ft. Smith Light and Traction Company Birney Safety car #224. This car saw its last service in Ft. Smith in 1933. In then became a diner in SW Arkansas. It was discovered and restored. The motorman, on the left, is Joe Irwin and the motorman in training is David McDonald. The bottom photo shows my daughter, Virginia Reason, her son Shawn on his first trolley ride, and my son Matt, May 22, 2007.

Two Ft. Smith Railroad GP20s were sitting at there terminal, May 22,2007.

A&M #54 is seen here working the former Frisco South Yard in Ft. Smith, 5/22/07.

In Springdale, AR, I discovered two Arkansas and Missouri C420s on the heavy repair track on May 23, 2007. In 1988, I had observed the same #60 undergoing its first rebuild at the A&M before becoming the first name A&M locomotive

On the north bound leg of the trip, I saught out the overpass of the BNSF "Transcon" mainline. In the distance I spotted an intermodal on the overpass as it came into sight. After parking near the overpass, in less than 10 minutes I heard the distant horn of another eastbound train, seen here, led by "Swoosh" schemed #7530, red-warbonnet #723, H2 #4813, red-warbonnet #718, and bringing up the rear was "Swoosh #7531, the next number in the series after the lead unit, a pure GE consist.

I caught a unit coal train headed by this new SD70ACe #9337 at Mendota, IL on the former CB&Q mainline to Galesburg.

The first BNSF train at the Railroad Park in Rochelle caught me off guard, so this different shot, May 24, 2007.

UP #4989 leads a baretable train.

CSX #7748 leads a BNSF intermodal aided by a pair of former BN units.

This west bound local is powered by an ex-C&NW SD40-2 #3087.

We see this train just west of the diamonds.

This UP giant snow blower sits across from the station.

This east bound freight is seen passing the former C&NW station with quite a mixture of power.

I caught this empty coal train at the east end of town on my way to lunch.

Our scene now shifts to the west end of Global III and the new overpass over 4 tracks. The first train into the scene is an east bound stack train that is entering Global III on one of the leads. The corn is coming up, adding some green to the color pallet. Next we get TWO westbound trains, the one coming out of Global III blocks our view of the power of the westbound general merchandize train. Finally a gap between containers gives us a view of the cab of the lead unit of the freight. Remember that 4th track, now we have an east bound freight on it. Four tracks, four trains, three of them moving!

The BNSF Rochelle switcher is an ex-Frisco GP15-1. Here we view it making a delivery to the Del Monte canning plant. Note that model railroad sharp curve in the track right in front of the engine.

This east bound stack train is a transfer from Global III to a yard in Chicago and is powered by a pair of ex-C&NW SD40-2s. The third unit was "DIT (dead-in-tow)".

This is the first of three eastbound stack trains on the BNSF meeting one westbound using the double track through Rochelle.

The UP interrupted the flow of eastbound stack trains between the second and third train with a westbound stack track going into Global III and an eastbound loaded unit coal train with C&NW 5-bay hoppers.

The third BNSF eastbound stack train finally show up with new "Swoosh" units on both ends.

The switcher finishes at Del Monte and returns to the connection and awaits a signal to enter the mainline.

The power from an eastbound stack trainis heading east, light, after leaving its train in Global III. Here we see it first passing the BNSF switcher before hitting the BNSF crossing.