Every now and then I grab a lunch to go, and head over to the Fitness Formula parking lot overlooking Atkinson Yard, Madisonville. Tuesday, Feb 22, I was greeted by P&L’s U of L jeep with a green sister. The units were shoving a cut of interchange traffic into one of the yard tracks. - Photo by Bill Thomas
From Railpictures.net - Hot Rail After a freak snow storm the day before, the bolts of a joint bar seen on the left have broken due to rail contraction from the cold weather. The next day, an alert track maintainer has found the broken bolts and goes about fixing the break by heating up the rail thus allowing it to expand back into place so that new bolts can then be installed. After a quick fix, this CSX mainline is open for track speed again. Submitted by Chris Dees.
This is Indiana Railroad's 25Th anniversary SD-90 which was released by the Paducah Shops late last week. It was in Fulton on Wednesday (24Th) awaiting shipment north via CN. According to The Trains magazine news article, the unit features the standard red cab with silver and metallic gray carbody and a large logo to denote the 25Th anniversary of the line. From the side you can see the Santa Fe warbonnet styling. According to the story, this pays homage to the ex SF CF-7s with which the railroad started. And, speaking of SD-90s, two ex UP SD-90s were seen coming through Mayfield on their way to Progress Rail. Hopefully, Progress Rail can make them the units that EMD originally envisioned. - submitted by Jim Futrell

Saturday November 6 –  Is this a great day for a train ride or what??  We are about a half dozen or so miles out of Antonito Colorado on our way up to Toltec Gorge and the top of Cumbres Pass.  #488 is really working hard and the “stack music” is being enjoyed by all, through mostly raised windows and open-air cars.  No one seemed to mind a few cinders.

It was about this far out of town when the hostess in our parlor car brought around fresh fruit servings for us. They do know how to pamper the tourists.

Soon the terrain will change from open sage to rocky aspen and evergreen covered mountains.  There is no let-up in the grade from town to the top, about 50 miles.   We’ll stop for water in Sublette, about 20 miles.  This was home for the section gangs, the men who maintained the right-of-way, ties, ballast and rails.   Our train met the downhill train at Osier, and we all enjoyed dinner choices.  I chose turkey, with all the dressings.       Gary O. Ostlund (submitted by Jim Futrell)