Siskiyou Winter

I don't like running a photo of the same locomotive or subject twice in a row, but the recent excursions by SP 4449 in Oregon brought forth the above photo.

The date is a very crisp December 15th 1988. The place, Roseburg, Oregon. The 4449 is in the midst of pulling a shippers special for Phillip Anschutz, owner of the new Southern Paciic-Rio Grande system. The unusual part of this outing for 4449 is that it was the first time the big Daylight would traverse Southern Pacific's Siskiyou Line. The special Departed from Portland, Oregon on December 14th, running  the short distance to Eugene. Then on the 15th, it was Eugene to Roseburg, where the power was cut off from the train for the night.

Amazingly, the Winter weather in the Pacific Northwest had been glorious, and 4449's passage through the Oregon countryside yielded an impressive number of bright sunlit photos. Though tomorrow will start out with a freezing fog, the day will turn out to be crisp and clear for the run south through the Siskiyous.

But tonight it's the hour for those equipped with tripods, cable releases, long-johns, heavy coats and the wherewithall to capture the World's most beautiful locomotive on film with after dark.