Midnight trains passing Union Station in Little Rock, Arkansas, Monday, August 24, 2009, including Amtrak Texas Eagle No. 22 and the Ringling Brothers-Barnum&Bailey circus train on its way to Illinois.  I've also included Youtube videos of these trains - I put the digital video camera on a tripod and starting recording as I took the still photos. Although dark, you can see enough detail of the trains as they passed the Amtrak platform lights. Lots of action between 10:30 pm on the 24th and 12:30 a.m. on the 25th. As usual when Amtrak is in the station, a UP special agent was present in his patrol car. All photos and videos by Ken Ziegenbein.
   Included tonight:
1) UP 3927, 3968 (Circus Train), 6602
2) BNSF 3202
3) NS-Unknown
4) Ringling Brothers-Barnum&Bailey Circus train
5) Amtk 115 on the Texas Eagle



Signals under the Cantrell Avenue overpass at 10:22 p.m.


BNSF 3202 with the BNSF local at 10:42 p.m. northbound. It was pitch black here and I used  a flash then lightened the photo, so the grain shows up nicely :-) I can't read the number of the second unit. Here's a Youtube video of this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okrrT-Tr9PI


Approaching train at 10:57 p.m. The train on the right is the BNSF local backing to the Pulaski siding on the Little Rock & Western.


UP 3927 northbound at 10:58 p.m. Here's a Youtube video of this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7B6gejEAMM


Handheld shot of the BNSF local backing to the Pulaski siding, 11:07 p.m.


Amtrak's Texas Eagle northbound No. 22 is arriving at 11:09 p.m. The light between the Amtrak crew is the BNSF local.


Union Station and Amtrak arriving. Typical night at the train station.


11:13 p.m. Here's a Youtube video of this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2UPxVkQlks


Crew change for the Eagle at 11:16 p.m.


Baggage cart.


Union Station from the east side.


11:27 p.m.


Leaving for Chicago at 11:31 p.m. Here's a Youtube video of this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoT9ft4_UeI


Handheld shot. Looks like a very LONG Superliner!!


Another northbound freight approaches at 11:50 p.m. Still not the circus train!


A NS-led freight, 11:50 p.m. Here's a Youtube video of this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xKYUYJQ2Do


The circus train finally arrives at 11:57 p.m.




UP 3968 leads the circus train at  11:58 p.m. Aug 24.  - Here's four Youtube videos of this scene. The train stopped 4 times in front of the station so I had to stop the video recording each time and resume it when the train started moving again. If you watch all 4 videos, you'll get every car.  Note that the video is darker, but you can see the cars as they hit the platform lighting.  
Video Part 1 -  Video Part 2 - Video Part 3 - Video Part 4






Using my flash got this result.






The train was stopped for this scene. It's now past midnight, but there were people on the train in the vestibules chatting.








Note the small floodlights on the cars to the right.


Material cars are beginning to show up.




Exposed circus vehicles, buses and trucks.










It's now 12:12 a.m. August 25.


The end is in sight.


Amtrak had left just 30 minutes earlier.


My final train of the night lead by UP 6602 leading a loaded coal train southbound. For a Youtube video, click on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhB6iK41-JE


It got real quiet here after this train left. I went inside the Amtrak office for a little while, then went home.

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