Phoenix Sightings

I was in Phoenix, Arizona back in mid April, for work. I was staying downtown and I didn't have a rental car. On two evenings I took a walk to the nearby Union Pacific yard to try to get some shots with my old Fuji digital camera.

There are very few good locations to shoot the yard. Everywhere you look, you see these signs.

Of course, I respected the signs and did not go past them.

Here are a few shots I did manage to get. You can shoot the east end of the yard from an overpass, but if you shoot in the evening like I did, the sun is in your eyes.

That's the downtown in the background, with Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to the left.

This is a view of the west end of the yard, on an overpass next to Chase Field.

In the background to the right, you can see a long line of stored locomotives. I estimated there were over 30 stored there.

That night, I wandered around a bit, and on my return I was surprised to see a westbound train leaving the yard. I grabbed this quick shot through the fence on the overpass.

UP 1527 and ex-Cotton Belt unit UP 7275 headed up the train.

I hope you enjoyed my brief glimpse of the Union Pacific yard in Phoenix, Arizona. Maybe next time I'm down there, I'll get a chance to take a few more photos!