This morning, I checked the Amtrak status map and noticed that the Southwest Chief was running quite late and would be in Topeka around 8:40.
Based on that, I decided to try and catch the train before I went in to work (I currently work in Topeka)
I made it to a good spot along the Shunga Trail and waited. At 8:35, I noticed that the ETA was now getting closer to 8:50. I gave my coworkers a heads up to say I’d be a few minutes late (ETA no later than 9:15)
At 8:53, a train arrived
OK, a freight engine will sometimes lead an Amtrak train if one of their engines breaks down. After seeing a second freight engine, I knew this wasn’t the train I was looking for. What I got was an eastbound grain train running ahead of the Amtrak.
It did have some grain cars that piqued my interest enough to grab pictures.
When the back end of the train passed, it was 8:58 – I wasn’t going to wait any longer for Amtrak and I proceeded to head to work.
All pictures were taken June 10, 2022.