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WhoozOn1st

WhoozOn1st

Engineer
Honored Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
4,281
Location
Southern California
We'll begin by heading off any topic title confusion: Razing Arizona is a take on the name of a fairly obscure - and pretty weird - Nick Cage flick called "Raising Arizona."

This little holiday season safari into the parched wastes of our 48th state occurred because Alice (former Executive Assistant of the Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009) had some business to transact in the Phoenix area and invited me along for the ride. By automobile. Ordinarily I woulda declined. I mean, who looks forward to a road trip when the driver is a maniac with a known penchant for making left turns from the right lane?

Still, the lure of a new and unridden (by me) light rail line at Phoenix got the better of me and I agreed to go. The Desultory Duo of RailRiot infamy was rapidly reconstituted as Team Whooz, and the acting MayhemMobile was pointed east.

We made a week of it, enjoying a number of rail-related and nonrail activities in addition to riding the Phoenix Valley Metro light rail.

Because it was an auto jaunt Razing Arizona is essentially a photo/video essay, leaving captions and clips to tell the tales. These initial links cover the early days of the trip. Later stuff will be posted as captioning is completed, including a UP track renewal train (personal tour of it by a UP employee), the Arizona & California Railroad at Parker, AZ, as well as the Pima Air & Space Museum outside Tucson and the adjacent, legendary military aircraft "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB.

A special shout out to AU member/pal chuljin (Chris), former SoCal denizen, ex-terror of Surfliners, and new Phoenix resident. He joined Team Whooz for a fine day of Valley Metro rides over the entire system, and other fun activities. Thanks, Chris!

To the links!!

Photos:

Phoenix Valley Metro Light Rail

Trains At Tucson

Video:

 
WhoozOn1st said:
We'll begin by heading off any topic title confusion: Razing Arizona is a take on the name of a fairly obscure - and pretty weird - Nick Cage flick called "Raising Arizona."
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Aloha

That's an obscure film. Ok.

It looks like it was worth riding in the "MayhemMobile". Mahalo for sharing with us nice work withe the cameras and tags.
 
WhoozOn1st said:
This little holiday season safari into the parched wastes of our 48th state occurred because Alice (former Executive Assistant of the Patrick & Alice RailRiot 2009) had some business to transact in the Phoenix area and invited me along for the ride. By automobile. Ordinarily I woulda declined. I mean, who looks forward to a road trip when the driver is a maniac with a known penchant for making left turns from the right lane?
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You mean that you wouldn't let Alice drive?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

And don't forget that AZ Senator John McCain wants everyone to know that Amtrak does not serve his state! :rolleyes:
 
What Whooz said. :)

I was delighted to see WhoozOn1st and Alice again! As he said, we had a nice day of riding the whole of Phoenix' nascent light rail system, pausing for a lunch of randomly-assigned soul food side dishes.

My own pictures from this day are here.

Special favorites:

I was trying to take a picture of the sunset through the squall-wetted cab window, and instead got this picture of south Phoenix being obliterated by a small nuke. (as mentioned in the caption of Whooz' picture here :p ).

Whooz and I noticed this on our way south on Central (officially east) and took a mental note to take a photo on the way back. Unfortunately, it was already dark, so the quality is not so good. Just about visible, the two sets of three circles each say F E Z. :)
 
WhoozOn1st said:
Shunning I-10 in favor of a scenic desert detour for the return to California, Team Whooz happened upon a shortline railroad we hadn't known was there: The Arizona & California. The line paralleled Route 72 most of the way to Parker, Arizona, where we found the ARZC's depot and yard.
Photos:

Arizona & California Railroad

Brief Wiki: Arizona & California Railroad
Click to expand...

I've actually taken a excursion day trip to/from Parker with some old Pullman cars... this was about 10 years ago :)

Dude! You were in my part of the country. I grew up just north of Parker, in Lake Havasu City. I know all of those back roads!

By total coincidence, AlanB's uncle was a long-time resident of LHC, but I had no idea until around the time I moved away for college.
 
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And if you had gone to Phoenix but one weekend earlier, you might have bumped into my mom as she was out in Phoenix visiting some friends for New Years.

She also made a quick visit to LHC also hoping to visit with her sister-in-law, since my uncle just passed away about three months ago. Only got to see a nephew and his family however, since sis-in-law ended up in the hospital right before the trip.
 
Anthony said:
Dude! You were in my part of the country. I grew up just north of Parker, in Lake Havasu City. I know all of those back roads!
By total coincidence, AlanB's uncle was a long-time resident of LHC, but I had no idea until around the time I moved away for college.
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Scary! :eek: I lived just up the road from there in Bullhead City during the 1990's, and passed thru LHC and Parker at least once or twice a month!
 
the_traveler said:
Anthony said:
Dude! You were in my part of the country. I grew up just north of Parker, in Lake Havasu City. I know all of those back roads!
By total coincidence, AlanB's uncle was a long-time resident of LHC, but I had no idea until around the time I moved away for college.
Click to expand...
Scary! :eek: I lived just up the road from there in Bullhead City during the 1990's, and passed thru LHC and Parker at least once or twice a month!
Click to expand...
LOL. You have got to be kidding. :lol:

What were you doing in Bullhead?
 
Anthony said:
Dude! You were in my part of the country. I grew up just north of Parker, in Lake Havasu City. I know all of those back roads!
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Just so happens that Team Whooz is headed back VERY soon, including an overnight at Parker, so any suggestions on stuff to see aside from LHC (London Bridge, IIRC) and the dam? Dragged out an old rinky-dink telescope to take along for some desert stargazing, hopefully sans light pollution. Also expect to get back to Tucson and catch the Old Pueblo Trolley in operation.

Condolences on the passing of your uncle, Alan.
 
Team Whooz greetings from the Valley of the Sun, where Razing Arizona, Phase II, is well underway.

It is said that Arizona has over 300 days of sunshine per year. Team Whooz has been here - so far - for 10 days out of the last 25, and has experienced a grand total of a single day of sunshine - and that one was a stretch.

This evening it's been raining more or less constantly, and at times very heavily, since about 6 p.m. (it's after midnight, local, as this is written). Two Union Pacific Railroad trucks, one a hi-railer and the other not, are parked here at the Team Whooz lodging. This is no doubt due to the track replacement work going on west of Maricopa, about a 30-minute drive from here.

In the course of Razing Arizona, Phase I, Team Whooz fortuitously encountered a UP employee who was happy to direct us to the track renewal train's location, then even give a little personal tour and rundown on all the machinery involved. He also cued us in on the work train's dates of operation. So since Alice had some further business in the area, and invited me along once again, we're hoping to see the thing in action renewing rails on the Sunset Route in the next couple days.

Pics of the work train were mentioned in the original post (see above). They haven't been posted because captioning has proved very difficult - wasn't taking notes, couldn't recall all the stuff the guy had told me about the operation of the renewal train - which equipment does what - and didn't wanna spout bunk info that I'd get called on by experts such as AU member George Harris. EDIT: Not that Team Whooz has any inherent aversion to spouting bunk info, you understand. Far from it! Rather, it's the prospect of being debunked by people who might actually know what they're talking about that strikes fear. :D

So hopefully by seeing the beast in operation - it's really several trains and large numbers of MOW gizmos and trackside equipment - I'll be able to relate a quasi-coherent account, both written and visual.

In other Phase II stuff, on the way here I got some shots of the windfarm in the desert east of L.A. Most wind generators are to one side of I-10, but the Sunset Limited's route runs through the middle of the installation, with views on both sides of the train.

Sunset Route Windfarm (4 pics)

Off topic, I happen to know of at least two AU folks who are very interested in the elaborate and complex old contraptions known as pipe organs. Before hitting I-10 en route to the Valley of the Rain, Team Whooz enjoyed Jerry Nagano on the mighty Wurlitzer at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. First part of the concert was comprised of selections heavily weighted with movie melodies from the first part of the 20th Century. Following intermission Buster Keaton's 1925 silent movie "Seven Chances" was shown, accompanied live by Nagano on the Wurlizter.

Pipe Organ Concert (7 pics)
 
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WhoozOn1st said:
Team Whooz greetings from the Valley of the Sun, where Razing Arizona, Phase II, is well underway.
It is said that Arizona has over 300 days of sunshine per year. Team Whooz has been here - so far - for 10 days out of the last 25, and has experienced a grand total of a single day of sunshine - and that one was a stretch.

This evening it's been raining more or less constantly, and at times very heavily, since about 6 p.m. (it's after midnight, local, as this is written). Two Union Pacific Railroad trucks, one a hi-railer and the other not, are parked here at the Team Whooz lodging. This is no doubt due to the track replacement work going on west of Maricopa, about a 30-minute drive from here.

In the course of Razing Arizona, Phase I, Team Whooz fortuitously encountered a UP employee who was happy to direct us to the track renewal train's location, then even give a little personal tour and rundown on all the machinery involved. He also cued us in on the work train's dates of operation. So since Alice had some further business in the area, and invited me along once again, we're hoping to see the thing in action renewing rails on the Sunset Route in the next couple days.

Pics of the work train were mentioned in the original post (see above). They haven't been posted because captioning has proved very difficult - wasn't taking notes, couldn't recall all the stuff the guy had told me about the operation of the renewal train - which equipment does what - and didn't wanna spout bunk info that I'd get called on by experts such as AU member George Harris.

So hopefully by seeing the beast in operation - it's really several trains and large numbers of MOW gizmos and trackside equipment - I'll be able to relate a quasi-coherent account, both written and visual.

In other Phase II stuff, on the way here I got some shots of the windfarm in the desert east of L.A. Most wind generators are to one side of I-10, but the Sunset Limited's route runs through the middle of the installation, with views on both sides of the train.

Sunset Route Windfarm (4 pics)

Off topic, I happen to know of at least two AU folks who are very interested in the elaborate and complex old contraptions known as pipe organs. Before hitting I-10 en route to the Valley of the Rain, Team Whooz enjoyed Jerry Nagano on the mighty Wurlitzer at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. First part of the concert was comprised of selections heavily weighted with movie melodies from the first part of the 20th Century. Following intermission Buster Keaton's 1925 silent movie "Seven Chances" was shown, accompanied live by Nagano on the Wurlizter.

Pipe Organ Concert (7 pics)
Click to expand...
While I can intellectually understand your complaint that your visit to Phoenix has been "marred" by clouds and rain, Phoenix is the only place I've lived where if you go outside and it's pouring, the appropriate response is: "What a beautiful day"! Nice report.
 
The Team Whooz branch office at Mesa, AZ, smells like a Mexican restaurant this evening. To take advantage of the rare feature of a kitchenette, fine ingredients and a set of cheap cookware were purchased. Cooked up a couple specialties for breakfast and dinner, then made enough beans and chorizo to eat burritos well into the foreseeable future.

Only one UP truck - a hi-railer - in the parking lot tonight. The venture out to the track renewal train west of Maricopa didn't go as well as hoped, but was still pretty cool. Four main sections were stretched out over about 12 miles of the Sunset Route. With a late start, and beginning at the section furthest from town - the ballast train - we worked eastward so slowly (getting pics, taking notes, etc.), that by the time the main machinery was reached the crews had mostly knocked off for the day except for mopping up. Work dates are known, so perhaps one more foray for another attempt; we'll see.

Some good photos were taken, and when coupled with those taken on New Year's Day (then finally posted) should provide a decent glimpse of the work in progress. Today's immediate product was a number of videos of freight traffic moving in the work zone, and here's one from 1-1-10:



And oh yeah: Bright, warm, sunny, beautiful day. Next storm supposed to kick in after midnight, with flash flood warnings taking effect at 6 a.m.

On to Tucson!!
 
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Everywhere else it rains cats and dogs. In Tucson it rains scorpions and kangaroo rats. That didn't stop the intrepid volunteer crews of the Old Pueblo Trolley on the night of 1-22-10, though, as they took Japanese tram 869 out on the soaked streets for its scheduled Friday evening runs.

Photos:

Old Pueblo Trolley: Night & Rain

Video:


________________

Before redeployment to Tucson (during a serious dust storm on I-10), Team Whooz made another run at the UP track renewal train(s) west of Maricopa. All it took was seeing the big machinery in action for everything to fall into place and make sense; captioning should be a breeze now. Some fine video in store as well.

Today off to see the Old Pueblo Trolley running in daylight; beautiful weather since the overnight storm cleared out.
 
Prior to further boring the bejeezus out of everybody with more pics and video of Tucson's Old Pueblo Trolley, here are some shots of stuff seen as Team Whooz returned to California following Razing Arizona, Phase II. The idle Yuma Valley Railway tourist train was happened upon when turning off the road across the Colorado River, and later - happily back in our Golden State and headed west on I-8 - a UP rail grinding train was spotted from the highway and tracked down.

Yuma Valley Railway

Rail Grinding Train

___________________

Captioning/explaining pics/video of the UP track renewal train west of Maricopa, AZ, continues, as does dealing with the pleasant surprise of Old Pueblo Trolley testing their Belgian Tram. Well, SORT of a surprise. The OPT's Training Manager, a cool guy named Alan, had given me a heads-up the day before. So while Team Whooz hadn't gone to Tucson expecting to see the Belgian tram in operation, we were informed in advance that it would be trotted out, and when.
 
Hope you enjoyed your trip here, though you picked the rainiest week in years to come by. I was actually out of town, riding the CZ and CS.

Re: the track work, UP finally installed the continuous welded rail in Phoenix this week. The new rails had been lying alongside the old track for months now.

On the other hand, I've heard that the double-tracking project on the Sunset line has been suspended until the economy picks up. You can see the new grading and culverts along most of the line between Phoenix and Tucson, but the ballast isn't there.
 
alanh said:
Hope you enjoyed your trip here, though you picked the rainiest week in years to come by. I was actually out of town, riding the CZ and CS.
Re: the track work, UP finally installed the continuous welded rail in Phoenix this week. The new rails had been lying alongside the old track for months now.

On the other hand, I've heard that the double-tracking project on the Sunset line has been suspended until the economy picks up. You can see the new grading and culverts along most of the line between Phoenix and Tucson, but the ballast isn't there.
Click to expand...
Read somewhere that the UP and Arizona were not exactly drinking buddies so the UP had pulled the plug on double tracking through the state even before the economic turn down. Not surprising since John McCain lives there...
 
Long Train Runnin said:
WhoozOn1st said:
A little fun - and a pressing question - on the return from Razing Arizona, Phase II:
Why Arizona

Google Maps: Why, AZ
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Wow what were you doing there? :lol:
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Team Whooz took a scenic detour to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the international border with Mexico on the return from Razing Arizona, Phase II. While around Tucson we also visited both sections - east and west - of Saguaro National Park. Who says the desert ain't beautiful? At the Mexican border I got hassled twice within five minutes for taking pictures - on United States public property - and Team Whooz was held up four times in one day by Border Patrol checkpoints. The Cold War is long over, but apparently Mexico is the new enemy, complete with a Yankee Iron Curtain that runs seemingly endlessly across the southern desert.

Here are some pics and video of the Union Pacific renewal train near Maricopa, Arizona. The photos were taken on 1-1-10, during Razing Arizona, Phase I. Let me emphasize that Team Whooz was NOT trespassing, a practice I neither condone nor engage in (and neither should anybody else). We were invited onto the property and given a close-up look, tour, and explanation of the work train(s).

The video was taken during Razing Arizona, Phase II - and from public property - when the renewal train was actually in operation. The weather was severe: cold, windy, raining. But hey, I was only taking pictures. The renewal crew was hard at work.

Photos:

Amtrak Maricopa & UP Sunset Route Renewal Train

Video:

(Replaced rail is loaded by moving the train forward as the old rail is lifted and fed onto the trailing rail rack cars. The rail itself is not going anywhere except onto the cars. Note newly laid, unballasted road over which the work train proceeds.)
 
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