From: Bones (mrbones@ixks.com)
Date: Mon Jul 26 2004 - 17:36:27 PDT
I live about 150 ft from the UP (Union Pacific for you outlanders) mainline
here, can watch from my porch as they roll by...everytime somebody is hit at
the crossing the local paper cites that there are trains by here at an
average of once every 6 minutes. After the 90-91 Gulf War, and the current
situation(s) abroad I have determined the following: seems that westbound is
coming home, eastbound is going to theatre.
They are fairly frequent going east still, see far less coming home. YMMV.
After returning from the Gulf War, there were numerous times I had to climb
over these trains stopped dead for hours whilst returning home from a few
pints at the the local pub on foot. They were full of tanks we (NMCB24)
stayed behind and helped load up on the Merchant Marine vessels bound for
CONUS, largely M60 variants of the USMC and various smoked / irradiated
Iraqi armor. The majority of the trains are and were full of modern US
STBHMVs (Soon-to-be-historical-MVs) :-)
Best,
T. Bones Morris
Yup..returning home...at last....
and now another unit is getting ready to head out..Some of my buddies are
going over....with a "shopping list"..!!!!
Gene
> Howdy list,
>
> I have to relate a fantastic experience I had on
> Saturday here in lovely (though lately rainy) Boulder
> CO. The convoy train passed through town, and I
> finally had the good fortune to catch it this time!
> I've been told by friends of instances of a train
> loaded up with railcar after railcar of MV's passing
> through town (always with a "You would have loved it"
> tacked on), and I finally caught it.
>
> I sped past it in my Grand Cherokee, and then,
> realizing there was a crossing a few miles up, took a
> left off the highway onto a road crossing the tracks,
> straight up to the blinking arms of a crossing just as
> the train started to go by.
>
> We're talking 100 or so HMMWV's of all configurations
> (alot of ambulance bodies), followed by a few deuces,
> then some more hummers, some dozers, a few of the
> newer deuces with a CTIS system (and it looked to be
> the newer style axles, based on pumpkin style, these
> must be the A3's? ), some CUCV's, a newer IFS chevy
> "CUCV" that looked like a lost Forest Service truck
> among the big daddies, some of the Mog lookalikes
> (Portal axled things), some refueler dueces, some
> bowed-back deuces towing trailers, and to top it off,
> a few 8x8's on the back-most flatcars (some with what
> looked to be powered trailers!).
>
> In all, I saw about 200 milvehs all at once, most of
> which looked to be more "supply train" or
> support-oriented. It was total overload for a truck
> lover such as myself. The capper is that there was a
> HEMTT driving up and down route 119 between Boulder
> and Longmont. drool. There's something about those
> 16r20 Michelin XL's (I have a set of 5 for my project
> truck, I just gotta mill down my mystery donor detroit
> locker a little to fit in the front axle carrier and
> then I can mount em up!). :)
>
> Anyone know what this train is all about? Pantano, are
> these guys heading to the Springs?
>
> Cheers
> Bob Ternes
> 1968 M35a2, Cat 3208 on the way
>
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