Three engines in three paint schemes is always a nice treat! This is BNSF train S-OMASCO1-23A, which originated in Omaha NE and is heading to Long Beach CA, behind ET44C4 3815 (built in April 2016), Dash 9-44CW 789 (in "Superfleet" colors, built in September 1997) and Dash 9-44CW 961 (wearing the "Heritage I" scheme, and constructed in July 1996) – so the engines span twenty years from oldest to newest, and the oldest (BNSF 961) is 25-years-old. Many of the containers in this double-stack train contain soybeans for export to China. (Omaha and Fremont, NE are special use intermodal facilities; Fremont also loads frozen pork. These trains are heavy and are usually 55 MPH trains due to the tons-per-operative brake, based upon the average weight per car.)
A friend of mine was the engineer on this train when he boarded it in Wellington, Kansas. When he climbed aboard, the consist was a little different: BNSF 3815-BNSF 789-BNSF 4042. Somewhere between Amarillo TX and here, at Basta (where this westbound is holding Track 2 for the afternoon passenger rush on Tracks 1 and 3), the third unit got swapped. (Fullerton, California – July 30, 2021)
