So once again, as is our tradition, we packed up on the day after Christmas and headed down to Brenham for a couple of days. The trip down was uneventful for the most part. Between Cameron and Milano we met a northbound BNSF empty coal train going the opposite direction. It didn’t make for the best ever shooting situation, it ended up making for some interesting motion shots.
This biggest surprise, however, once we got to Brenham. After making a quick stop in town, we headed south on Business 36 only to be stopped by a rare sighting — a train on the east-west branchline through town. I’ve only seen one other train on this line.
Another cool aspect of the train was the engines making up the consist. I’m not sure why this train of four cars needed three engines, but it included a green old Burlington Northern engine and a blue and yellow old Santa Fe engine, with the words “Santa Fe” still painted on the sides.
Unfortunately, because we were in our car, I wasn’t able to get the best photos of the consist rolling by, but I did managed one really good shot as we drove over the tracks afterwards. The sun, which had been hidden by clouds all day, peeked out for just a moment, giving the shot below a perfect hint of color.
Unfortunately, that would be the highlight of our trip. We didn’t get many chances to get out and railfan. My brother and I snuck out on Monday for an hour to try and see what we could, but we ended up with only basic shots of a small bridge north of town that used to be an old wooden bridge before a few years ago.
So that was it. The trip had a nice beginning, but nothing more in terms of trains. I’m hoping to get out once or twice in January before I head back to Austin for my final semester at Texas.
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