A couple of days of train watching at Union Station in Little Rock, AR, March 12 and 13, 2014, including the arrival of Amtrak's Texas Eagle Number 22, northbound, shortly before midnight on the 13th. There were locomotive roadnames from 6 different owners today: UP, BNSF, GMTX, CSXT, NS and Amtrak. I saw several old freight cars as usual, including Missouri Pacific with the large MoPac black buzzsaw on a hopper, two long green CNW gondolas, and my favorite green MKT short hopper, plus other trains.

Locomotives: UP 7695, 9598, 4071, 2003-ex SSW, 1974, 6443, 5900, 7103, 9830, 5657, 7066, 6838, 4522, 6652, 1679, 7367, 8805, 4884, 1634, 599, 7254, 7234, 8507, 5988, 7784, 8019, 4557, 9226, 9233, 3769, 647, 5512, 7971, 4160, 3974, 8661 *** BNSF 8773, 7482, 6118, 5953 *** GMTX 2157, 2151 *** CSXT 7909, 5215, 130, 501 *** NS 7655 *** Amtrak 155


Oil train headed by UP 7695, 10:03 a.m. March 12. OSJTC-10 (Ore-St. James, LA-Kansas City)


UP 7695, BNSF 8773.


BNSF 7482.


BNSF 6118, the dpu, 10:10 a.m.


UP 9598, 4071, 10:20 a.m. AEGAS-11


MP 718340 hopper with old M.P. buzzsaw.


UP 2003, former Cotton Belt, GMTX 2157 and UP 1974, 10:59 a.m. March 12. This colorful consist is almost a daily affair on this local. YNL69-11


UP 1974 and GMTX 2157.


CNW 745043 long green gondola.


Another CNW green gondola 745025.


UP 6443 and 5900, 11:18 a.m. still March 12. GSHPSK-11 (Grain-Galena Park, TX-Salina, KS)


UP 7103.


UP 9830, 11:57 a.m. APAMER-10 (Auto-Port Allen, LA-Memphis-Reposition)


My first daffodil on March 12. Spring must be close.


My first trains on Thursday, March 13, 2014, 1:10 p.m. Two trains were stopped, northbound.


NOKL 570299 former Big Blue boxcar.




UP 5657 and 7066, 1:24 p.m. CWBBT9-1


UP 6838,  dpu of the coal train, 1:30 p.m.


UP 4522 and MOW truck, 1:40 p.m. The truck was on the LRWN tracks.


UP 4522. ZMXDT-11


Autoracks plus stacks.


UP 6652, 2:08 p.m. southbound. ENLPBM-13


CSXT 7909.


CSXT 5215, UP 1679.


NS 7665.


NS 7665 plus 5 others on light engine move.


UP 7367, 3:02 p.m. ILXMNX-09


I don't know who these people were, but it was the boy's first train and he and the engineer waved at each other and there was a short blast of the horn when they passed.


Waving at the train.


UP 8805, the dpu, at 3:05 p.m.


UP 4884, 3:16 p.m. QSHNL-13 This is one of the engines that helped move the Big Boy!


UP 1634.


UP 599.


GMTX 2151.


NMDX 14077 new tankcar.


CR 523717 NS coil car.


A southbound on the right passes the northbound at 3:20 p.m. Southbound is headed by UP 7254.


UP 7254, 3:21 p.m. SHGLR-09 (Special-Harlingen, TX-Little Rock) No clue why a ballast train would have a Special symbol!?!


UP 5988 and 8507.


UP 7784.


SI 919218 and many more green hoppers, built 6-72.


Caution sign on the hoppers.



UP 8019, 4:32 p.m. Since the tracks run east-west in front of the station, lighting gets marginal late afternoon this time of year. MSANL-12 I thought that SD40-2 3769 might be heading to NLR for rebuilding but it departed on the QNLNP-14. I wonder how many SD40-2's are still out running with their original numbers?


UP 4557.


UP 9226, one of the old C40-8's. I've heard that UP is using more of these again.


UP 9233.


UP 3769, an SD40-2.


UP 647.


MP 724341 hopper with Eagle trademark.


SSW 70386, former Golden West Service hopper. Appears to have been recently painted.


RGCX 36200 hopper.


MKT 517 hopper. I'd like to collect a whole set of these in N-scale someday. I'm sure they once ran on the Smithville Sub in Texas on the Katy, where I spent my younger days.


UP 5512, 5:14 p.m.


UP 5512. QSPNL12


BNSF 5953.


UP 7971, 5:23 p.m. ZLAME-11


CSXT 130.


UP 4160.


CSXT 501.


5:26 p.m.


First tree blooms at Markham & Victory Streets, the address of Union Station.


Now it's 10:56 p.m. on March 13 and this was where I was taking pictures 5 hours ago. I'm waiting for Amtrak's Texas Eagle northbound to St Louis and Chicago.




UP 3974, 11:01 p.m. power from the RHAHA-12 (Rock-Hope-Hope) This is an ex-SP SD70m


Amtrak Texas Eagle Train No. 22, headed by Amtrak 115, arrived 11:09 p.m., 22 minutes early. Scheduled arrival is 11:31 p.m.


UP 8661 passes the stopped Eagle at 11:11 p.m. UP 8661 MPBEW-14




Changing crew. Little Rock is an Amtrak crew base.


Passengers lined up to board. This is also a smoke stop, and since the Eagle was 22 minutes early and won't leave until scheduled time of 11:39 p.m., it will stay here for 30 minutes waiting on time. UP has been running this train on time IF it leaves Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas on time. Recent delays have been mostly caused by engine failures, since there's only one locomotive on the Eagle.


One day last week when there were delays in Texas, the engineer tonight told me he had passed 35 freights between Marshall, Texas and Little Rock, the most he'd seen.


I walked to the rear of the train, 11:29 p.m.


The Amtrak waiting room in Little Rock, now empty because all the passengers had boarded. The station is only open at night from 10:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. except Mondays, when it stays open all day.


The Arkansas State Capitol as seen from Union Station.

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