Yes, the date is correct. 1 of the 3 remaining C40-8's on the roster leads UP Train MKCSJ 18 assisted by an Ex-WP GP40-2 as it passes under the CB&Q Searchlight Cantilever Signals at East Armour on the BNSF St. Joseph Sub. on a manifest from UP Neff Yard in KC to St. Joe.
Having grown up with these engines and shot virtually the entire Dash-8 roster by the time I was 17, I used to really dislike these, probably because when they displaced the C30-7's and C36-7's, which I really liked a lot as a kid.
With that said, for the past few years a working standard cab GE has been far from common on the UP, especially on the point, so a chance to shoot such a throwback consist wasn't an opportunity to be passed up. Top that off with shooting them under the last remaining Burlington Route Cantilever on the planet (at least to my knowledge) and it's a hard combination to beat. UP 9152 was built in 1-1988 with a builder number of 45601 and has gone basically its entire career relatively unchanged in appearance.
Compounded with the newer technology that's beginning to be required for leaders, other various restrictions and instructions, and the fact an engine stored for the majority of the past decade isn't the most reliable locomotive ever, quite honestly I'm still not sure I believe this actually happened. Well worth a chase. I hope you enjoyed a brief look back.
Locomotives: UP 9152, UP 9990
6-18-18
Armour, MO
