FOLLOWING THE KCS PITTSBURG SUB
BY CARL GRAVES/PHOTOS AS NOTED
“KCS CONSOLE ONE KANSAS CITY… That’s a good track bulletin… Upon the arrival of the BNSF 5658 North, KCS 4054 has permission to leave Airline Junction and enter CTC at KCS Junction.” The dispatcher’s words on my scanner excited me; I knew a southbound Kansas City Southern freight was heading my way with a beautiful “Retro Belle” diesel on the point! I estimated that within an
hour or two, this train would roll past my location south of Kansas City at Grandview, Mo., milepost 23.5 on the Pittsburg Subdivision. After years of painting its diesel fleet
in subdued shades of gray and white, in 2007 Kansas City Southern debuted a bright, new paint scheme reminiscent of the colors once used on the railroad’s famous Southern Belle passenger
train. This nod to the past was warmly welcomed by trackside observers who follow the 120-mile long route between Kansas City, Mo., and Pittsburg, Kan. The rewards come from encountering
one to five Retro Belle-led freights and grain trains per day in usable light running through big city, small town, and rural settings, with the ability to chase some of them and get multiple shots.
OPPOSITE: Retro Belles rule the KCS Pittsburg Sub! Train QKCNL rolls under the Highway 58 overpass on October 21, 2014, just south of Grand- view, Mo. In the distance you can see the signals at the north switch of the IFG siding, as well as intermodal cars that this train will pick up behind its rear DP unit. CARL GRAVES ABOVE: Kansas City’s skyline dominates the background with SD70ACes 4031 and 4114 heading geographically northeast at milepost 2 just west of KCS’s Knoche Yard. In tow is the daily cut of Schneider double stacks that will head south on the next freight out of Knoche. The pair were shined up for a photo shoot for National Geographic photographers on July 26, 2008, which also happened to be CTC Board’s anual “Day in North America” photography event that year. KEVIN EUDALY
31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76