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BNSF's busy Seligman Sub, in northwest Arizona, stretches east from the California city of Needles, to the quaint town of Winslow, Arizona, forever immortalized in the song "Take It Easy."  The Seligman Subdivision features scenery, ranging from the crossing of the mightly Colorado River at Topock, to typical sagebrush and cactus desert, to breathtaking pine-forested mountain scenery, as the sub reaches its high point, as it crosses the Arizona Divide, 10 miles or so west of Flagstaff.  On September 14, 2005, I had the opportunity to do a bit of railfanning west of Flagstaff, as we were spending the night in the town, and I found a couple of hours to railran west of town, in the vicinity of M.P. 419.87, between Flagstaff and Arizona Divide.

Left:  BNSF #5347 a leads westbound double-stack up the hill, west of Flagstaff, towards Arizona Divide.  Right:  BNSF's #4702 face is shaded, but she drifts east down the trade towards Flagstaff, leading an eastbound manifest.

After we'd settled into our motel, I headed west on Historic Route 66, which closely parallels BNSF's tracks.  After I went through the last stop light at the west end of town, where South Woodlands Village Blvd. crosses Route 66, the country opened up and I was in railfan heaven.  Shortly after leaving town, I noticed a dirt road that headed to the north, in the direction of the tracks, crossing a lush, green meadow.  I took it, and in about 1/4 of a mile, I found myself at M.P. 419.87.

Left: BNSF #1121 leads a westbound spline train, at M.P. 419.87.  Right:  Shaded, but awesome, BNSF #4520 leads an eastbound manifest down the grade toward Flagstaff.

I only had about an hour to railfan before the sun went down, but I managed to photograph five trains, and watch another three go by, as I was changing photo locations and unable to shoot a photo.  Not a bad count for an impromptu, "quickie" trip, on a family outing.

Left: The "sunnyside" of BNSF #4520, east.  Right:  BNSF #7760 leads another eastbound train into Flagstaff.

Flagstaff is a great place to railfan, as BNSF's Seligman Sub sees 80 or so trains a day, and you have beautiful, mountain scenery, and a steep hill climb over the pine-covered Arizona Divide.  If you're more interested in desert scenery, a few miles east or west will provide some of the most breath-taking scenery that you'll ever see, which is native to Arizona.

Left: BNSF #7760 leads a double-stack east and from the west, the light is good.  Right:  BNSF #5135 leads a double-stack container train westbound, into the late-afternoon sun.  No doubt the engineer hates the sun in his eyes, but I rejoice to see the face of the unit bathed in the mellow sunlight.

If you really want a treat, follow the tracks along Historic Route 66, and visit the town of Seligman, Arizona.  We did, and I did an article on the historic, Route 66-era town.  Click on this hyperlink to read the article that I published about our visit to Seligman, on September 15, 2005.