The Fuzzy World 3um

On Wednesday evening I was tipped off that there would be a WSOR plow extra running on the Prairie Du Chien Sub on Thursday. I had missed seeing the plow run on the Reedsburg sub on Wednesday because of school, but because of the cold the district called off school for Thursday. I decided that given it was such a rare opportunity, I was going to give chase despite the -15 air temp. A friend and I headed down towards Black Earth in the morning to trace back towards Madison in the hopes of finding the train. We didn't have to go far, as at Cross Plains we sighted the plow extra with the WSOX 9 and WSOR 4003. A quick about face was in order and the chase was on. My photos aren't perfect in that the train was nose dark or even completely back lit most of the way, but I still think they came out at least okay.

First shot in Cross Plains plowing through a drift:



Just west of Cross Plains:



A little further west, busting another small drift:





Just west of Black Earth. Horribly lit I know, but somehow I still like the shot:



On the east side of Mazomaine. The snow in the foreground is a frozen pond:



We arrived Mazomaine and suddenly found ourselves with a dilemma. Sitting on the west side of town was an eastbound WSOR train from Prairie Du Chien, led by the 4025. They would meet the plow train at Mazomaine before continuing on to Madison. Now we had to decide: follow the plow, which is a rare move but which would be back lit for quite a bit further down the line, or head back with the freight which would be in pretty good light most of the way. We elected to follow the freight, as one can only get so many back lit angles of a plow (as you've seen already). The 4025 is also one of my favorite WSOR units, paint scheme wise. First shot of the freight was on the west end of Mazo where the meet was made:





Back at the pond and park on the east side of Mazomainie (one of my favorite shots of the day):



Between Mazo and Black Earth, passing one of the many area barns:



Working up the hill towards Black Earth:



At the Black Earth depot (my second favorite shot of the day):



Back at Cross Plains in a different location:



And one last shot between Cross Plains and Middleton:



We thought about going back after the plow again, but they had a good 25 miles on us now so we decided to just call it a day and get back out of the cold. Even though some of the shots are back lit, the WSOR runs plow train so infrequently I think it was worth it. And the WSOR 4025 made for a nice little "bonus" chase as well.

Noah

Very cool! I'd like to see a plow in action some day, but perhaps now when it's this cold I'm glad to see you were product on your day off of school, unlike most kids

AWESOME shots!!

Awesome shots! I'd send some of those to the WSOR for website usage if I were you!

< >Yep, you're right, Noah. You should send those shots over to me for "proper disposal". And I'll bet there's no TWP potential in any of those shots, either.</ >

Seriously though, that is an awesome group of pictures! Not every day you get a couple of awesome trains to chase.

Well done! Outstanding!

I'm glad we can all live vicariously through such excellent photos!

Thanks for the compliments guys! It was a fun morning of chasing.

Noah

great pictures!! I miss the Wisconsin winters, yes, I am a little crazy like that


does a person ride in the plow? I have never seen one in action. It doesn't look like they would have very good visibility.

If the plow is being used there has to be at least one, and more likely 2-4 people in the plow itself. The blade on the front has to be raised and lowered at every grade crossing, switch, etc. If the wings are being used on the plow in drifts and such (which the WSOR rarely does), somebody has to take care of making sure they get pulled in around obstacles as well. You're right that it appears visibility isn't the greatest, though I've never been in a Jordan to know for sure. The operators are much more visible in a Russel plow, as they sit up in a little cupola and can be seen (and see in front of them) easier.

Noah

cool, thanks for the info. I figured someone had to be in there operating the stuff, but wanted to find out for sure. That must be an interesting ride.