Late 8 With a Hertage Leader

A 5-hour late Amtrak 8, the eastbound Empire Builder, disrupts a flock of rock doves that were warming themselves on the switch as she rolls through Newport, MN on a cold January day. Typical in extreme cold weather, the regular Amtrak engines failed and the train had to be pulled to Chicago by a BNSF unit. Instead of a newer orange locomotive, the BN provided "fakebonnet" 744 to lead the way - a livery we're seeing less and less of as time marches on. The warbonnet paint scheme holds a special place in my heart as my first model train featured a Santa Fe engine sporting the colors.