Page 21 - NMRA Roundhouse March-April 2018

white-tailed deer came out of the brush and jumped across the track, well ahead of the train! The train
then headed by my location with a wave from both the conductor and engineer, a horn blast and off it
went eastward. I jumped into the car and headed down Highway 61, just before Judson the track ascends a grade, so I got to the top of the hill, parked, and ran over to the trackside to photograph the train coming up the hill. Another wave to the crew and I was off down the road to the next location just outside an abandoned farm. I sat there and took a few more photos of the puffy white clouds and towards the abandoned farm. Not long afterwards the train appeared
on the horizon and I took a few more long-range shots, including the train passing the abandoned farm. Anoth- er wave to the crew as they headed east, and I was back into the car.
Getting closer to the Highway 36 intersection, I pulled over to photo- graph the distant wheat kings in the hamlet of Wrentham and also some long-range shots of the train with the puffy clouds in the background. A bit more driving took me into Wrentham and I set up location just on the NE corner of the Ogilvie Flour grain elevator (which I am involved with a group of like-minded individuals to preserve it). Soon enough the Forty Mile train came into sight and a flurry of photos followed. With another wave to the crew I was off to the next location at Conrad.
Nothing remains at Conrad except two former grain elevator agent hous- es, at one time two grain elevators were located here as well as a wood- en octagonal water tower. Those relics are long gone unfortunately, including a vintage wooden siding sign that I’d hope to include in a shot with the blue GP9 - oh well!
As I waited for the train, I noticed
to the SE an incoming spring thun- derstorm coming up from Montana, so I photographed the darkening clouds and how the Sweetgrass
Hills were being enveloped by the thunderstorm. After the train passed through Conrad, we both headed east towards Skiff. I stopped just before the curve on Highway 61 to photograph a farmer’s tractor and the darkening thunderstorm clouds in the
Deer crossing 85 pound rail in front of the grain train
JLCX #4004 – former Southern Pacific GP9
background. As well at this location, the remaining Skiff elevator and the private elevator of the Kuehn family was framed nicely in the distance with the dark clouds. Then I contin- ued to Skiff, as the train at this time was going behind some low hills. As I was setting up at Skiff on the 80 lb elevator siding track, I realized I had spent about 2.5 hours chasing this train, and figuring the distance left to cover that it would be another hour before it got to Foremost. With my previous commitment to Becky on a trip to the Crowsnest Pass, I decided that I would have to cut the chase short at Skiff and would head back to Lethbridge. Within time the head- lights of the blue locomotive were
in sight and I photographed it going
by the Skiff P&H grain elevator (now owned by a local farmer) and a final wave to the friendly train crew. It was nice to see the train heading east with the black thunderstorm clouds approaching Foremost.
A day or two later I finished editing the photos and send them off to the folks at Forty Mile Railway for their use. I am looking forward to the next chase on the former Stirling subdi- vision! I know a few out-of-towners will appreciate accompanying me on the next chase down a prairie branch line on Alberta’s second short line railway.
Jason Sailer
April 2018 - ROUNDHOUSE 21