Shot of the day: BNSF 7531 heads west through Prescott, Wisconsin

July 30, 2007 Prescott, Wisconsin? I had the same question and reaction when I first heard a fellow railfan discussing that "city." Now I have many relatives over in "cheese land" so I don’t plan on bashing any aspect of Wisconsin (I’ll try to contain myself).

Taking a quick drive in my new truck to Prescott Wisconsin seemed like a boring idea at first. I had no idea what was so special about that small Wisconsin town; sure I had seen pictures from that area before but I had no idea how interesting railfanning could be. There is definite potential for some very good shots from that small town.

It wasn't long at all from the time we crossed the border until we saw our first train. Rounding the curve and heading west into the sun was BNSF 1098. (I'm a fan of the BNSF Dash 9s in Heritage 1 paint.) The first thing that hits you as you stand and admire the train as it proceeds on by you is the noise. Not the engine noise, the sound of the cars going around the curve can literally make your ears hurt!

As the three of us were inspecting the famous lift bridge and discussing the best time of day to get the best shots we heard another train coming towards us. This time it was an eastbound. As it crossed the bridge we realized that the best shots in this location would come from the morning hours.

Not long after that as we were discussing the bridge tower I happened to look to my left and see the crossing gates going down near the housing development. I took off running like a horse and it didn't take me long to soon realize that it had been a LONG time since I had run that hard. It was worth it though as it yielded the shot you see at the right. (BNSF 7531).

The heat was starting to get to me. Temperatures were in the mid-to-upper 90s and the humidity and dewpoint made it feel down right tropical. (The thermometer in my truck read 95 degrees.) I'm sure the heat index was at least 100 degrees. I then pushed for us to move on to a different location. Primarily because I saw that the sun angle wasn't the greatest for our needs and the idea of riding in some cool air conditioning seemed like a very thrilling idea.

A consensus was reached that taking a quick spin over to Hastings was a good idea. I wasn’t familiar at all with this area either and it was all a new experience for me. Seeing the former Milwaukee Road lift bridge with markings still in place was a real treat. I snagged a photo of it for nostalgia—it would have been a real treat to see a train go across it and snag a photo. That is definitely on my list of railfan goals.

Not seeing any visual action, and the radio communication fairly quiet, we decided to go check out the lock and dam. When we arrived we could hear an EMD powered tugboat preparing to fully enter the lock. We didn't stay in this spot long and were eager to get rolling to other points of interest. Next spot would be Newport.

As many of you know, Newport has some great spots for getting excellent photos, even video if you so desire. Along with his Canon Rebel, Chris had his video camera with as well. When we pulled in along an old access road there were a few gentlemen from the Newport model railroad club setup to watch trains. It was soon after we were introduced to them that more railfans soon pulled in. All and all there were close to a dozen of us there. Cars and trucks would honk as they went by. As trains went by, friendly crews would give a wave and a smile. As it started to get dark we decided to head to one of my recent favorite "hot spots" — Pig's Eye Yard.

Andy K., Chris, and myself pulled in and got setup for pictures and video. It wasn't long at all and we had all sorts of traffic moving around us. The UP was doing some yard work behind us, the CP was working in front of us, and the BNSF sent a train through from time to time as well. New to the metro area and living just over 3 miles away, this is a spot that I spend a lot of time at and will continue to do so for obvious reasons: rail traffic! For those of you that frequent that location, feel free to come over and say hello. I'm always open to meeting new railfans.

As I drove Chris back to Roseville so he could get some rest in his motel, we decided that it wouldn’t be long and we would meet up and do an outing like this again. I can't wait for my friend from up north to come down and join me again to share in the joys of railfanning.