Robert Swanson's photos

Taken during one of our visits to the Arizona desert. The Mr. Bibendum was standing over a pile of tires at the big RV get-together in Quartzsite. The two tires in the outer part of the triptych are part of the set we purchased at about the same time (attached to our car...) They were, of course, Michelin. Image constructed with GIMP.

Taken at the overlook of Canyon Lake. Beautiful desert scenery. (We were geo-caching near here.) Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the fair. While most people think of the animal barns, or the twirling fun rides, there is a "back yard" to the fairgrounds. I like the light and shadow of the big tree. I like it enough to supply this image to the Sunday Challenge "open" theme. Image processed with GIMP.

Fair-time again here in South Dakota. I spent some time wandering around on a quiet Monday morning. This very high fence blocks off the side entrance of the event showplace. I don't think anyone is going to sneak in that way! (The grandstand to the right has the ticket entrance around to the front.) Image processed with GIMP.

Part of the roadside life in the US are the convenience stores that have largely replaced gas stations. You get it all there now, including questionable "hot dogs". This heated roller seems to run 24/7. I am very unsure about buying an item from there. On the other hand, the sandwiches kept in the cooler have been trustworthy. Image taken with phone and processed with GIMP.

We just visited this area. This is a military memorial very near the capitol building for the state of South Dakota. It is still under construction. For the Sunday Challenge, the emotion is one of both memorial for the fallen, as well as the eternal flame and flow of water. Time goes on, we do not. Image taken with phone and processed with GIMP.

Taken near the rail yards at Belen, New Mexico. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe use this, primarily to fuel trains. The fences are there to keep us out of these busy yards. I took this photo near the Harvey House museum, which is just alongside the track. Some of the trains that stop here are 3 miles long. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken near the rail yards at Belen, New Mexico. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe use this, primarily to fuel trains. The public (us) is kept away from the active tracks by these fences. I took the photos from the Harvey House museum parking lot. Some of the trains that stop here are 3 miles long. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. Taken from their viewing tower ($$), in hopes that you can try to get a feel for the huge place. According to their visitor information: "The fueling and service center processes more than 9,000 locomotives each month" Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. Taken from their viewing tower ($$), in hopes that you can try to get a feel for the huge place. Many tracks in the foreground, but there are many more beyond them in the distance. PiP includes a link to a map of the yards. (Photo taken from tower located bottom center of the map) Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. Taken from the viewing tower ($$). You need to be high up, so you can get a feel for the huge place. Amazing views. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. They have an optional viewing tower ($$) so you can try to get a feel for the huge place. Amazing views. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. They have an optional viewing tower ($$) so you can try to get a feel for the huge place. Amazing views. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. They have an optional viewing tower ($$) so you can try to get a feel for the huge place. Amazing views. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the Bailey Yard, the largest railway freight-handling yard in the world. Located in North Platte, Nebraska. The visitors center is built to look like a railway station. It is the access to the optional viewing tower ($$) so you can try to get a feel for the huge place. Amazing views. Image processed with GIMP.

This is an attempt to show the vast size of the Bailey Yards in North Platte, Nebraska, the largest railway yards in the world. I took a number of photos from the viewing tower that is located at the center bottom of this map. The PiP point to some of the views taken. The statistics are awesome: covers 2,850 acres reaching a total length of eight miles Put end-to-end, Bailey Yard’s trackage totals 315 miles Every 24 hours, Bailey Yard handles 10,000 railroad cars. Of those, 3,000 are sorted daily in the yard Two hump yards allow four cars a minute to roll gently into any of 114 “bowl” tracks where they become part of trains headed for dozens of destinations. Together, these two yards have 17 receiving and 16 departure tracks. The fueling and service center processes more than 9,000 locomotives each month On-site Car Repair This facility annually replaces 10,000 pairs of wheels Image courtesy of MapCarta Screenshot and processing with GIMP

This Big Boy is displayed under cover at the museum, so is in excellent condition. The only problem we had was getting the entire locomotive in the camera frame. Image processed with GIMP (This is the only Big Boy to suffer an accident, and it was, sadly, fatal to the engineer and fireman.)

Well, we finally saw all of the Big Boy's that are displayed in static. (Of course, we have shared photos of the operating locomotive 4014). This unit is located on a hill in Omaha, Nebraska, overlooking the river and interstate. Quite a climb to get up to the viewing area. The day we visited is was raining on and off, but there was a bit of blue and clouds reflected in the cab window. Image processed with GIMP. swansongrp.com/P/p/rail_narrative/x4023_static