Longview,TX is the last smoke stop before Dallas and features a UP yard and administrative hub. By this point in the journey my train was running about 2-3 hours late, but that would ensure that I got lunch on board as normally it is served between Dallas and Fort Worth. Apart from meals I was positioned in Superliner I coach #34039, which can be easily identified as a "I" due to the German-built trucks.
Waiting to depart the west end of the yard was a train with UP AC4400 #5889 and SD70ACe #8452.
A few miles outside of Longview we hit a bit of a traffic jam with a UP mixed freight led by SD70M #5039 and SD70ACe #8815 tucked into the Greggton siding along with a local powered by GMTX GP38-2 #2653, UP GP38-2 #520 and Up GP40N #1437.
Another Up freight headed by SD70M #4895, ES44AC #7876 and a second SD70M was waiting in the Gladewater siding.
I decided to break for lunch just past the former Southern Pacific diamond at Big Sandy.
I returned in time to pass by the town of Wills Point which features a brick paved main drag.
In the Will Point siding was another mixed freight led by UP SD70M #3893 and CSX C40-10W #5384. UP was doing a pretty good job of getting the freight movements out of the way, but we were delayed in a siding for another 30-45 minutes while I was at lunch.
Passing a Loram rail machine in the Terrell siding.
Passing a short local freight on an industrial siding at the Terrell city limits, pulled by beefy UP GP60 #1042.
Another mixed freight with a lot of hopper cars on the Lawrence siding was powered by UP SD70ACe #8725, ES44AH #8161 and ES44AC #7406.
Overtaking UP EH44AC #8122 in the Marith siding.
Last freight of the trip was this short job in the Parkdale siding just outside of Dallas featuring SD70M #4772 in the leading role. The milepost indicates this is 207 miles from Taxarkana which took about 7 hours to traverse.
Ultimately my train was 4 hours late by the time it got to Dallas,, having been scheduled to arrive at 11am and rolling in a bit after 3pm. Here we see Amtrak P42DC #171 at Dallas Union Station.
Dallas Union Station sees frequent DART service on the Red and Blue lines.
Amtrak Train 21 was held briefly to wait for an eastbound Trinity Rail Express train to clear the single track TRE connector track. Until just a few years ago Amtrak used the UP Dallas Sub to get between Dallas and Fort Worth, often incurring delays of between 45 minutes and an hour to navigate the busy line and a backup movement at Fort Worth's Tower 55. After some capacity improvements, Amtrak now uses the faster TRE route. The TRE train is led by Bomber coffin car #1009 and propelled by F59PH #125.
Here we see Amtrak Train 21 departing Dallas Union Station through JFK JCT interlocking. The Union Station approaches are hand operated and JFK JCT displays a Restricting indication for trains bound for TRE territory, however there is also a Diverging Clear signal displayed for an upcoming westbound freight movement on track 1.
However before that freight could arrive, an eastbound train of autoracks hauled by single UP ES44AC, #7892, rounded the bend leading from the Trinity River bridge.
Before the autoracks were finished passing, that freight from the Marith siding appeared along with UP ES44AH #8122 and SD70AC3 #8690.
TRE runs a pretty robust operation and no sooner had the Texas Eagle departed than a second TRE trainset with F59PHI #570 and cab car #1003 followed in its footsteps.
Well that's the end of the long trip out to Dallas. Next time tune in for a shorter bit that covers the downtown Union Station and Reunion convention centre complex.
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