Yesterday was special….. Especially if you like trains, old or new. Union Pacific’s ‘Steam Engine No. 844‘ came rolling up from Yuma though the lower desert hills on a Centennial Tour. To view her as she roared on by was an amazing sight that sent an emotional charge straight right through me and kept me in an ‘upper’ mood all day. To see that engine belching a huge plume of gray-white steam above the train and the sound of a deep and piercing whistle as she slowed to a stop for maintenance was simply amazing. There were lots and lots of cars stopped along the highway and groups of people standing out on the road to watch all along Highway 111 from Coachella north up to Palm Springs. I caught a few photographs during the maintenance stop in Indio but the large crowds that had gathered for a look made it impossible to get a clear shot. After 30 minutes of maintenance she took off again going north towards Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was able to get ahead a few miles and take a shot from the road as she barreled towards me…. an amazing site to see, what a beauty! Steam Engine 844, a proud reminder of this great country’s nineteenth century industrial history and know how.
Up From Yuma….
Crowds Gather Around To Admire
Maintenance For The Road
Ready To Pull Out
On The Way North to Cheyenne, Wyoming
THE NEXT BEST PHOTO 
I love your black and white action shot, the movement wheels of the train, clouds in the sky, furrows of past movements in the sand w/ the seemingly static locomotive engineers hanging out the window.
🙂
Nessa