Western Railroad Discussion > MHNPX, Searchlights, Phoenix Sub (Arizona)

While documenting train actions around MPXTU in an earlier report, I overheard DS 242 talk to a MHNPX that was on the Lordsburg Sub east of Tucson Yard.

MHNPX = Herrington, KS to Phoenix manifest train.

I missed the MHNPX running on the Phoenix Sub, due to a dinner break near Casa Grande and hotel check in back at Phoenix.

I was busy looking for a cool breakfast joint (which I found) the next day, and the day's MPXTU departed Phoenix while I was eating. I didn't know I missed it until I was approaching Picacho (where Phoenix and Gila Subs meet), and overheard it on the radio. I headed north on Hwy 87 for an intercept, but I saw the train's headlights soon after. My goal was to nab it at any of the remaining searchlights, and I was too late.

I'm rambling here, because knowing about the MHNPX the day before helped me accomplish a railfan mission, and the failure to intercept MPXTU actually helped me nab another train later.

- Saturday's MPXTU at Picacho, on the east (Gila Sub) end.
- MPXTU leaving Red Rock after doing the same setout as the day before.
- Video of an eastbound 2x2x0 intermodal passing MPXTU at Red Rock - entire train NOT shown.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/24 20:06 by cchan006.

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MPXTU's Saturday Red Rock setout took longer, due to the single-stacked well cars located toward the middle of the train. DS 242 showed a hint of anxiety, asking periodically where the conductor was (walking back), whether he was back in the cab, and when the train was ready to go (couple of minutes). The train sat for a while, and when there was signal indication, the train got high green to stay on Main 1 instead of a diverging to crossover to Main 2 as originally planned by the dispatcher (image #2 above).

I was hoping to video-document the crossover at east end of Red Rock, but since I couldn't, I decided to follow the train east as far as I could, hoping MHNPX might show up, so I could turn around, follow it west onto the Phoenix Sub...

Headlights!

Oncoming westbound was still on Main 2, and closing fast... Z train!

With a fresh C44ACM leader (UP 9625), I HAD TO nab this guy, but I was out of position. Fortunately, I was still on Camino Adelante (frontage road), not on I-10 yet, so I pulled a quick U turn, jumped back on I-10 to try to get ahead of this guy.

I already had experience in chasing down a Z train in this same 70 mph territory, as described here in 2016:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4162955,4162956#4162956

Because I still wanted to find the MHNPX, I didn't want to go all the way to Gila Bend on I-8. Time to think on my feet. I anticipated a crossover back to Main 1 nearby, and saw a flashing yellow ahead. OK, looks like the Z will go back to Main 1 at Wymola. I got off I-10 at Picacho Peak to get back on Camino Adelante, expecting the Z to slow down to take the crossover, which it did. That gave me valuable time and distance, as I just got ahead of the Z at Picacho Peak. I set myself up at the crossing on the east end of Picacho...

Headlights, eastbound! Crap! Here comes a PSR-length "I" train! Since it was on Main 2, and the westbound Z would be on Main 1 by then, my view of the Z might get blocked! So I took off and desperately jogged my brain to see if there were any more options left before I headed to Gila Bend...

Earlier on my failed intercept of the MPXTU, I noticed orange cones that cordoned off an area of Hwy 87 overpass over the Gila Sub ROW. I decided to gamble and use that location... and when I showed up, there was room to park (temporarily), and better yet, there was enough gap on the base of the fence to get a clean shot of the west leg of the wye at Picacho with Newman Peak in the background:
 

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After getting over the Z train adrenaline rush, I turned around and headed east on I-10 again. I caught up to the MPXTU past Marana, and I was rewarded with a westbound manifest train near Cortaro, which is between Rillito and Kino on the Gila Sub.

Yup, the westbound looks like the MHNPX, which I recognized from the train makeup I witnessed about 2 years ago. As the saying goes, "I love it when a plan comes together (80's TV series 'The A-Team')."

I did a lazy chase to Red Rock to document the entire train (this video), then lazily headed west to verify signal indications at Wymola and Picacho to make sure it was taking the Phoenix Sub. I headed north on Hwy 87 and chose the searchlights at Phoenix Sub MP 973.0.

- MP 973, Phoenix Sub, new crossing for Hanna Rd under construction.
- Video of the entire MHNPX at Red Rock.

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The days are numbered for the searchlights at 973.0, as UP is building a new crossing and converting the signals to Darth Vaders in the process. The signals south of that are already Vaders. Signals north of that up to the Gila River (past Coolidge) seem to be searchlights still, at least the ones visible from Hwy 87. For those, there should be enough time left to document them in the near future.

I had ample time at Hanna Rd. (MP 973) before MHNPX showed up. When it did, the searchlights did not light up, so that strongly hints at them being removed very soon.
 

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In the video above, I have bonus clips at Tempe, where the Phoenix Sub has a bridge going over Hwy 101. The setting sun was going to present challenges, so I deliberately shot with shadows to minimize too much sun/shadow contrast - hint of that is seen on the nose of UP 7163 as it gets close.

That's it for the report.
 

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Wow, great report with photos and videos! Thanks for sharing....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Great report, and fine videos, as always!
GK

I noticed a block of hoppers carrying petroleum coke or coal in the video. I wonder where they were going. Did they stay on the train all the way to Phoenix?

EricSP Wrote:
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> I noticed a block of hoppers carrying petroleum
> coke or coal in the video. I wonder where they
> were going. Did they stay on the train all the way
> to Phoenix?

It's not in the video, and I didn't record the whole train at Tempe... but I do recall seeing them there, so I believe they made it to Phoenix Yard.

Thanks, I will have to look at satellite photographs when I get sume time.

3x1 for the HNPX, must be a pretty big train.

I'm interested in the international box IM to/from Phoenix, I assume it's the HNPX or PXTU that picks these up or sets these out (presumably at Red Rock since you observed single stacked well cars there?).

Also interested how many Phoenix cars HNPX departs Herrington with, and how many more are picked up in El Paso or Tucson (and how many cars from Herrington are dropped at those points.

pbouzide Wrote:
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> I'm interested in the international box IM to/from
> Phoenix, I assume it's the HNPX or PXTU that picks
> these up or sets these out (presumably at Red Rock
> since you observed single stacked well cars
> there?).

Memphisfreight commented on my earlier report on the MPXTU on the single-stacks, likely Phoenix --> Long Beach. Don't know how Long Beach --> Phoenix intermodals are handled, but I suspect MTUPX would be the job that handles it, since MHNPX didn't have any intermodals the times I've caught it recently, and in 2020.

> Also interested how many Phoenix cars HNPX departs
> Herrington with, and how many more are picked up
> in El Paso or Tucson (and how many cars from
> Herrington are dropped at those points.

When I scouted the Golden State Route to Texas/Oklahoma border in 2020, I ran into a manifest train, and it was doing work at Dalhart, TX. A day later, I caught the same train in Tempe and it looked overpowered, and a good source told me it was the MHNPX. So my guess is that MHNPX is much larger out of Herrington. It might do work at El Paso, but based on how soon MHNPX showed up to Tempe during that trip, it probably skipped Tucson - any cars destined for Tucson was probably picked up in El Paso by another train terminating in Tuscon?

Earlier in the year (July 2020), UP was doing PSR experimentation and ran the train as IKCPX (Kansas City to Phoenix, symbol gone since autumn of 2020) where all the intermodal boxes (predominantly, if not all 53') were setout in Tucson, and the train went into Phoenix with mixed freight only.

My guess is if the containers are going to Long Beach they are being filled with an agricultural product in the Phoenix area for a backhaul to somewhere in Asia and they proobably come in empty from the east.