Time to hit the road to the Transcon, a place I hadn’t been in a while. In fact, I hadn’t been to Marceline since working my way from there to LaPlata in October 2013 while touring with Rails Around Missouri.

First up, a ballast train @ Bucklin around 8am;

Next, the first of many stack trains on the day passes thru the signal bridge @ milepost 342 west of Bucklin. The signals are still in service, with no ‘Vader’ hood signals anywhere around.

After that, it’s on to Marceline to catch Amtrak #4 speeding thru around 930am. I missed a westbound manifest freight while relocating here, so the score is 2-1 caught/missed.

Next, 3 intermodals from the overpass west of the station. A welding crew is working just below on the switch from Main 2 into the Marceline yard, plus a ballast/tamping crew is occupying Main 2 between Bucklin and West Ethel, so BNSF is fleeting trains in 1 direction at a time.

 

On to West Marceline, and I missed a westbound UP stack train while getting lunch, so the score is 6-2 caught/missed. First up, an eastbound that was waiting for the welding crew to clear gets a yellow. It could cross over at East Marceline to Main 1.

A westbound grain train comes through West Marceline just after the eastbound clears.

Next, an eastbound UP stack train passes thru West Marceline

Next I moved on to the signal bridge east of Marceline, just west of the US36 overpass. Nothing snuck by, so the score is 10-2 with the passing of this eastbound grain train. It crossed over at East Marceline to Main 1 to get around the MOW activity east of Bucklin.

Moving back to Bucklin, MP 342, I missed an eastbound UP stack train, so 3 missed on the day there. BNSF is still fleeting eastbounds around the MOW, and a satck train passes thru the signal bridge. The camera went nuts on me, and no amount of Photoshop cleaned it up.

With the length of the stacker, I had time to move to the sunny side of the signal bridge in time for the DPUs to pass.

Next, an eastbound manifest rolls thru MP 342.

 

The former BN Brookfield sub also passes thru Bucklin, and upon hearing an eastbound,  I moved to the Main St overpass to catch it, led by an SD70MAC. BNSF seems to have banned all EMD power from the Transcon, so you have to go elsewhere to find them.

 

After a bit of a lull, the MOW equipment started to clear, heading back to the yard at Marceline. These guys wanted the same attention the trains get, it seemed, with lots of horn blowing and waiving as they went by, almost wanting to be on camera.

 

Next, the same ballast train as before heads back to Marceline.

Then a fleet of westbounds, beginning with 6706 oassing thru the bridge @ MP 342.

Then another….

Then a parade of westbound MOW pieces on Main 2, tho I only took pictures of this one.

Then a westbound UP vehicle train.

UP trains on the BNSF Transcon always run at the back of the pack, so this signaled there would be a good lull before the next batch. With the knowledge of when a KCS train would make an appearance in Mexico, it was time to move on. After missing a westbound NS train as I arrived in Centralia, I set up on the KCS just in time for the eastbound grain train.

This isn’t the Transcon where trains run in batches. This is the KCS’ former GM&O line from Roodhouse, IL to KC. Speed was slow enough to catch it again in Mexico, below.

After a crew change in Mexico, I caught the train as it departed, passing over US54.

 

As an added bonus, here is the former Columbia Star dinner train, awaiting pick-up in Centralia for delivery to its new owner in Wisconsin.