Outside of Fort Carson Yesterday:
More research to do. Might go down and get better pics next week.
2 Likes
Cool picture, even plenty of references for model building - the M1083 + trailer for example, (I know, maybe not the correct number, but you know which I’m talking about). I haven’t been to Ft Carson since about 2003 or 4? but, was in Colorado Springs a few times in 2017/18/19. That bridge looks like a good place for getting interesting pics - thanks for posting
Nick 
@Uncle-Heavy - wow! a 160 km daily trip? that is brutal. I’m riding just over 160 km a week! (100 - 120 miles) and it’s not easy - so to do so in a day!, and every day wow - reminds me of the old story:
“oh yeah? when I was a boy I walked up hill in the snow to school, both ways!!” 
@Dioramartin hahahhahahha! I’m not shooting for tour d’anything lol - more like “yes, force myself to get up, get the bike ready and head out” vs “get up, proclaim it’s too windy/cold etc, so I’ll ride another day”
And now, back to the railroad things seen whilst pushing along on the trusty bike, first up: BRACE YOURSELVES:
Tim and Robin, maybe cabooses or their equivalent are commonly seen in your respective communities, but they are not commonly seen here, and last week - this crossed. This pair is also shown in the post above on another day.
Funny enough, this particular segment of my ride is often awful, pushing into a strong and steady headwind, so I’m hardly going fast enough to consider this an interruption, more like some relief! And, a couple from today:
Yes! the UP local moving some cars around the yard, and coincidentally, the same train stalled my progress for a while earlier in the morning, as it was crossing the road I was on. And, also coincidentally, another cyclist out making his way through the big, desolate industrial landscape - and finally:
Some BNSF power at the yard waiting for whatever they are waiting for - nice picture anyway.
Cheers
Nick
2 Likes
I don’t think we ever had cabooses, we did have wagons equipped with a small brake operators cabin either built into one end of a freight car or with a small (tiny) cabin added to one end of the car. These disappeared, sold or rebuilt, when we introduced air brakes in the 1920’ies.
Brake wagons got air brakes, wagons without brakes (no hardware by the wheels) were equipped with plumbing for air to transfer air through the train to the brake wagons.
A few variants on the G3 car can be seen here, one wagon appears twice, before and after rebuild.
…and from your Australian (AI) correspondent:
“Australia’s historical equivalent of the American caboose is the Guard’s Van or Brake Van. Placed at the rear of freight and mixed-traffic trains, they served as a mobile office for the conductor (guard) and a space for crew to rest. While largely phased out in regular freight service, you can still encounter these historical and modern variations on Australian railways.”
A nice mix - always a bit challengng while driving:
From what I’ve read, it is possible for locomotives on this route to make it to California.
2 Likes
@18bravo wow! you caught a war bonnet! It’s cool to see those running around - and well, be prepared for more BNSF below. And @KoSprueone, Bob, I thought about you seeing some of the other sights along this ride.
Last week I went out for my longest ride - a whopping 36 miles, which I am sure for some of you road riders is nothing - for me, a victory! On the way up, in the Richmond yard, saw these switching oil cars (yes, it’s a lot easier to get good photos when you’re on a bike - just stop and shoot) and then, about two miles up the road, something unexpected:
wow - out in the middle of a pretty forgotten area - a parade of low riders!
These look really good - but, I’m not kidding, along a wall in a heavily industrial area in the middle of nowhere, along, maybe a five mile stretch of really poorly maintained trail. Pretty cool, and then, to arrive at Point Pinole regional park further up the road - with maybe a mile or two of gravel trail in the dense woods. The ride in the park is nice, to get there you cross a long wetland, and then into the hills along the Bay:
That’s Mt Tamalpais in the distance, in Marin County (I’m guessing about 30 miles away) which is essentially the birth place of mountain biking as we know it today - and my wagon - part mountain bike, part touring. Yes, the big tires are appreciated crossing rocks, tracks, crappy and smooth roads, glass, debris, and so on. It’s also has the gearing to keep a moderately fit guy moving - which I did - and headed back, just over 17 miles home. Then at the Richmond yard:
This is almost the same spot as the two up first, the same train, but moving car racks, and then down the road, in Point Richmond:
More surprising than seeing the train moving more auto racks - two other bikes! The nearest guy is set up for touring, lots of bags - and the guy in front, cheating - an E-bike. Then, about five miles down the line, near Point Molate (home of the Red Oak Victory ship btw)
yes - a lone engine pushing a rack.
I like this ride, as it has a good mix of everything, shoreline, industry, good chance to see some trains, on and off road, parks, - and, a good way to eat up some miles.
OK, on we go -
Cheers
Nick
4 Likes
Great pics, looked like a perfect riding day. For the benefit of a fellow MAMIL (Middle Aged Man in Lycra) – or in my case more of an OMIL – is that 36 miles round trip? Jeez I hope so, longest I ever did was approx. 750 miles around Normandy/Brittany…but over three weeks…and when I was less than half my current age, probably half yours too! Did I ever tell you how my co-rider & I found the equivalent of over US$2,000 in brand new French franc large denom. notes fluttering across a field one fine day out in the bocage? I wish you similar good fortune, you’re earning it.
1 Like
What did you do with them?
D.B. Coopereaux?
2 Likes
Hey Nick,
Great ride journal. Thanks for sharing those lowrider car mural photos. I wonder how far the touring rider is going. Did you check out his bike? What’s he riding?
This was 1983. We couldn’t be certain the notes were real, or just Monopoly money. So we rode on to the next village – we hadn’t seen a bank for 2 days from the direction we’d come from, so assumed that if it was a heist it was from where we were headed to. It was a big village but all was peaceful. Alas we just couldn’t find a Gendamarie so debated our moral/ethical standards over a couple of bottles of plonk. We rode on another 30 miles, picked the most expensive restaurant, leant the bikes right outside unchained for fast getaway, sat near the door, had a 5 course blow-out, and placed one 10K (or was it 100K?) FF bill on the plate with the check. Garcon disappeared to the far back counter. It was a quiet evening so we allowed only 60 seconds for him to return with the 95% change (incl generous tip, we were half-cut by then) - otherwise we’d make a break for it, although in our condition I doubt we’d have got very far.
Around 50 seconds later he returned with the change. Yep we had an awesome vacation from then on (keeping away from main roads/big towns) and still took over half of it home to convert back to sterling. Never did find out the story.
3 Likes
@Dioramartin the fortunes you have found are greater than those I’ve found! maybe some fitness, some interesting landscapes…and opportunities to take pictures of trains! I think the fitness part is probably best - lol - cutting up styrene, yeah…not the best exercise, or I should say, I haven’t lost that many calories cutting down evergreen forests!
@KoSprueone, hi KSO, as for the guy on the bike, it was an old Diamondback set up for touring. But, as soon as the gate lifted, he was off and moving, and I only ID the frame because he made a right turn, and as I went by noticed - and, he was moving! Maybe late to lunch?
As we’re talking hobbies, and things a guy might see when riding around and building models - well, I came across this display of athleticism and bravery:
I’ve mentioned the relative misery associated with riding around the Bay, coming in the form of steady wind - and in case you doubt my lament, well, here we have the not-quite Sky King. I’m pleased to admit that yes, I have thrown my bike into the ditch and broken the fall with my face a few times…oh what a treat. But, 99+% of the time, that is not the case, with or without wind.
Whereas, this guy was not enjoying similar results, as demonstrated in the action packed sequence above. Not a happy sight. I’ll give him some points for dedication, but man - this does not look like a fun sport. While you get the idea of what’s happening by these pics, you cannot really see the clear impact of strong, erratic wind, and gravity, on this guy - the sequence above happened in a matter of seconds, and it did not look like it was easy on the body. At least when you dump it on a bike, well, you hit, tumble and eventually stop! here, you do all of that, but, it keeps going, as long as the wind is blowing!
OK, enough fun and games - on to see some trains and other industrial stuff:
Caught these three heading west, then crossed the bridge to see these heading east:
Pretty nice day for a ride and trains. A few days later back to the Port of Oakland:
I’m pretty sure I burned more calories in the 1/4 mile leading to this spot than I did the rest of the day ! I really hustled as this pair was the tail of an east bound train on it’s way out of the yard, and well, I wanted a pic!
And for the AMTRAK fans, this pair. I rode up another five or six miles, then back, and wait - could it be? Some more power?
From this view I assumed a typical two loco-led local, but, and brace yourselves - this:
How about that? A GP60 in the consist? ok - this is a bit ridiculous! at least the Sky King was trying to fly! I’m marveling at a combination of engines!
Can the action get any better??? It’s evidently, not the ‘Summer of George’ at the Port, but is the 'Summer of cranes!" (to those of you not familiar with US TV in the 90’s, the ‘summer of George’ was an episode on the show, Seinfeld - where, the guy effectively squandered his summer! despite big plans ) The two on the right are those shown earlier in this thread, and they are currently building a third. This gives a pretty good idea of how tall these are - they are tall.
Meanwhile, about 15 miles up the shoreline, our local - and, yes! above, you can just see the caboose behind the switcher - and below, a caged in switcher.
And, back to the south, a pair of GP 60s moving some tanks:
Today, back to the spot I hustled to above - a train waiting to leave the yard - up front:
and over a mile down the line, bringing up the rear:
And for some variety:
I must say, I like this picture! It looks even better as a bigger picture. It just worked out right. And, for something completely different:
I thought this looked pretty cool. Set in a pretty nice park/plaza, there is a ferry boat landing directly in front of the bow of the black ship, and if you look carefully you can see people lined up. In the foreground, kids were playing catch on the grass, with the tall cranes in the distant background - and the palm trees - lol.
Nothing to report other than a steady headwind on the ride home -
Take it easy -
Nick
4 Likes
Hello model building train enthusiasts,
Time for another summer update. As illustrated at the beginning of the last post, it is indeed still nice here, which naturally means, it’s windy - not horrible, but predictable 10-12 mph, with gusts generally 16-20 mph. This is a bummer because while the days are nice, the wind makes riding a lot of work. Whereas, the rest of the year, foggy, cloudy, rainy, less warm, but less wind!
Griping behind us, some phots of regulars, and at the end, a pretty strange and cool sight to see:
A Richmond Pacific switcher - and notice the graffiti. It was pretty good, but the train was moving fast enough that I couldn’t get a decent pic.
The sign is worth paying attention to if you’re on a bike. The tracks are set deeply into a concrete street section (see first pic). It would be a bad time if you if you dropped in -
And, up the road, at the Richmond BNSF yard:
This is part of a long ride, that is tough for me, windy or not, but there is a good chance to see plenty of trains, like above, and then, down the road:
The short line with the caboose again. Yes, if I’m riding along and have the chance to talk with anyone from the line, I’ll ask about this. Then, on the way home, out at Port Potrero:
I see this train pretty often, so now am guessing it serves as a switcher full time in this yard, which is used for auto racks.
A few days later, out at the Port of Oakland:
I only ride through the Port on the weekend, so seeing trains is a more hit and miss.
And, then, heading up the shoreline a few days later, in west Berkeley:
Another good photo for somebody trying to learn how to draw up a single point perspective. It’s a bummer this shot is toward the sun.
And now…back to the Port of Oakland:
The front of the train on the right, the back on the lower left, and mid way, upper left. I noticed how tall the stacked of cargo containers in the back. If you haven’t seen these before, they are stacked ridiculously high - wow -
And now…back to the Port of Richmond:
This is the WWII ship, Red Oak Victory. Just cool to see, and as I understand, gradually being restored? or at least maintained. And yes, a great day, nicer blue sky, buy man - the wind…
Despite my bike looking like a svelte, light weight, racing bike , gliding along on narrow racing slicks, it’s not. So, when the wind picks up, the tires get pushed around, and in strong enough wind, you can hear my front disc brake whistle! via matching some sort of harmonic frequency. When I can hear that, I don’t need to know the wind speed to know it’s windy! Adding to this, I’m not svelte either! A human sail rolling through (uh, usually against!) wind on a heavy chromoly touring machine
OK, enough bike chat, and on to today’s special surprise! check this out:
What in the fox creek is this??? four engines, three cars, and a caboose! Still patched as an ATSF, in red and gold! I couldn’t believe it. And some relatively closer pics:
Unhappily, as you could tell from the first pic, I was on the other side of a wide freeway from the train, so some distant pics. Then, a few miles up the trail, the train caught up with me, and I was able to ‘capture’ the lower two images…yeah…perfect!! As I was curious about this, I did some research and found out this caboose is stored in the Richmond yard and used as a “shoving platform” which apparently means to “protect reverse service moves” and to move crew members around - ok then. I hope to see it again -
Cheers
Nick
2 Likes