I made the 2-hour drive to St. Anne, Illinois, and waited for UP 4014 to appear. I estimate that there were 20-40 cars parked in various areas along the tracks in St. Anne. I had been listening to the UP dispatcher on AAR 20 so I was aware that northbound CSX trains were being stopped while 4014 passed and also aware of the 20-minute stop 4014 made in Momence.
Getting out of St. Anne after 4014 passed was a problem. Small town (which is getting new sewers!) and more traffic than normal during the evening "rush hour". There was a parade of railfans heading south on Illinois 1 towards Watseka which was a planned 30-minute stop. I had planned to leap-frog Watseka because I figured it would be a zoo. So, I made my way over to US 52/IL 49 and headed south.
Made a "whistle stop" in Crescent City. Switched over to listening to AAR 65. Same dispatcher, different channel south of Woodland Jct. Continued south to IL 9 thinking the underpass would be interesting. There were cars everywhere, so I kept going. There were lots of cars at the IL 49 overpass, but plenty of room to get off of the road. I shoulda stopped there, but kept going. Ended up at the intersection of CR 2800 N and CR 2800 E north of Royal with room to pull of the road and wait.
After 4014 passed, I started heading south. I should have gotten on I-74 and headed home, but got a case of the stupids and continued on to Villa Grove. Big mistake. Cars and people everywhere. IL 49 and IL 130 were bumper to bumper heading into town. After witnessing the madness, I bailed out and headed home.
Frankly, seeing UP 4014 was a bit underwhelming in spite of it being an immense mechanical marvel. The locomotive was just kinda coasting both times I saw it, so not a lot of exhaust smoke or stack talk. The whistle has a lower pitch than the horns on modern diesels; you could tell there was power behind it, but it didn't knock your socks off. With roller bearings on the axles and welded rail, the whole train just seemed to glide along.
Lesson learned: I need to get out more and get more experience taking photos of trains. Thankfully, digital photography allows us to send our mistakes to the bit bucket.
UP 4014 crossing the KBSR in St. Anne:
