The daily grind. SOP was to get to Bellville before 9AM to get a head start on the mid-morning cloud explosion; shoot what was in the roundhouse tracks, then catch whatever was leaving on the sou... (more)

The hordes of Smithers Lake coal trains usually had mostly BN power, so to catch one with all ATSF was a catch indeed. What you see: nice train coming out of a curve. What you DON'T see: that gr... (more)

Summertime in south Texas finds the normal slight haze in the air meeting one of the hordes of Smithers Lake (HL&P) coal trains that kept the Santa Fe alive. This stretch is on a slight downhill ... (more)

Smithers Lake (Houston Lighting & Power) coal trains normally ran with the usual BN U30C/C30-7/SD40-2 combos with like SD40-2/C30-7s of the Santa Fe mixed in. So when SD60Ms ventured this far, it... (more)