I was able to enjoy sleeping in late for me, that being 7:30 AM, showered and went to make breakfast in the lobby. With the La Plata Spring Railfan Event now over all I had to do was relax until my train tonight. Back in the Pullman Suite I decided to show you the changes made by the Depot Inn & Suites.
The new wide screen television has hundreds of channels for you to watch.
The old wide screen television was still over the fireplace and can be used either to watch DVDs or the Lookout Point channel so I watched a few concerts during my stay. After that I got the golf cart keys and drove out to the Chris Guenzler Million Mile Lookout Point, my favourite place to just think and clear my head of things. I checked e-mail and the Internet then heard a horn from the east so went out to the deck to wait for the train to arrive and found it very windy.
BNSF 7839 West was the first train through La Plata this morning.
BNSF 8340 West came through next.
BNSF 4139 East was the first eastbound train of the morning in La Plata. A hotel guest from Chicago walked out from the hotel to the Chris Guenzler Million Mile Lookout Point to photograph trains and I read my April NRHS Newsletter as I waited for the next train.
BNSF 4641 West with Citirail 1209 came through during a light rain shower.
BNSF 7176 East was the next train through La Plata.
Union Pacific 8059 East with UP DPUs 7613 and 7944 was the next train this morning.
That was followed by BNSF 8081 East.
BNSF 6864 East came after a brief lack of trains on a wonderful windy day. I finished the newsletter in the peace and quiet then a thunderstorm came from the west movingnortheast but I was nice and dry inside the Lookout Point.
BNSF 7568 East came through during the storm.
BNSF 7199 West came through after the storm.
BNSF 7512 East came through town next.
BNSF 6607 West.
BNSF 7420 East went through here next.
BNSF 4559 West with BNSF DPU 7472.
Union Pacific 8750 West with CSX 4720 its consist as it ran through town. It looked as though my last set of train pictures in Missouri would be a late Southwest Chief due in at 12:54 PM, 2 hours and 54 minutes late today. I hoped my train home was more on time than my eastbound trip here.
Amtrak's Southwest Chief coming in and leaving La Plata on this day. Fifteen trains, not a bad morning spent at the Chris Guenzler Million Mile Lookout Point. I returned to the hotel and wrote this travelogue as I watched Asia "Fantasia Live in Tokyo" DVD. At 3:00 PM, Tom Anderson and I went to Colton's Steakhouse in Kirksville for the last time on this trip then returned to the hotel and watched Jethro Tull Ian Anderson "Thick as a Brick 1 & 2 Live in Iceland" concert. I freshened up then waited to be taken down to the station by Tom to end my visit.
Southwest Chief Train 3 4/9/2015At the station, caretaker Bob Cox and I chatted then the train arrived and the conductor scanned my ticket at the sleeping car's door. We departed La Plata as I entered Room 5 in the 330 Car which was "Texas". This train had a consist of Engines 112 and 81, baggage 1750, transition 39041, sleepers 32109 "South Dakota" and 32111 "Texas", diner 38046, lounge 33026 and coaches 34097, 34085 and 31011 with private cars "Pacific Sands", "Silver Splendor" and "Tioga Pass", which were added in Kansas City. I listened to Ian Anderson's "Homo Erraticus" as the train proceeded west then made up my room and called it a night.
4/10/2015 I bounced across Kansas during the night then at 6:40 AM arose and went to the dining car for a breakfast of French Toast and sausage. We had to stop to switch conductors because they had died on the hours of service law. I went back to bed and woke up about ten minutes from La Junta, changed clothes then checked a text message informing me that the LA Kings had lost to the Calgary Flames and are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for this season. The train stopped at La Junta and I went outside for pictures and car numbers so a walk of the train was in order this morning.
The front of my train at La Junta.
The LA Rail private cars here. I spoke to two of the three owners of those private cars then we departed fifty minutes late and I watched "Police Story" with Jackie Chan as we made our way to Trinidad and beyond. That movie took me through the Raton Tunnel and I relaxed until the fresh air stop of Raton where I detrained for a few minutes. My next movie of this collection was "Police Story 2" which I watched near Las Vegas. The next DVD was "Dragon Fist" and while that was playing, Southwest Chief Train 3 went into the siding at Fox for the eastbound Southwest Chief Train 4.
After Glorieta Pass I put on the last movie of this set, "The Protector", which lasted through Apache Canyon to Lamy and almost to Albuquerque. The movie finished and we stopped for nineteen minutes for a New Mexico Railrunner train at Bernalillo. I put on John Cougar Mellencamp's Freedom Road to get me to Albuquerque and a fresh air stop here this late afternoon. Randy Jackson came down and visited with me during the layover then we departed at at 5:55 PM {4:45 PM} and were westbound as I went to the dining car for dinner, being seated with a couple going to Salinas from Chicago and a lady going home from Santa Fe. I had the steak with chocolate bundt cake for dessert, after which I watched "Honeymoon Suite" as we rolled west. Next it was John Mellencamp's "Farm Aid 2014" which took me west past Gallup and into Arizona. My "ABBA Live" DVD took me to Winslow and on to Flagstaff, where I detrained to see Danny of Proamtrak fame on Trainorders.com. After that I made up room for my last night on the train.
4/11/2015 I arose at Cajon Junction and the room was made up by Devore, ate my cinnamon roll which I had purchased yesterday from the lounge car. I watched "ABBA The Ultimate Collection" after taking a fresh air break at San Bernardino then the train stopped in Riverside and Fullerton before making the final sprint to Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, arriving there at 9:27 AM {8:15 AM}. That ended a much better trip home on the Southwest Chief than that five-hour late eastbound trip I made to La Plata.
Pacific Surfliner 768 4/11/2015I boarded Pacific Business Class and listened to a CD as we departed on time and made the fast journey back to Fullerton, then Anaheim and a few minutes later, I was at Santa Ana, ending the excellent La Plata Spring Railfan Event 2015 trip.
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