This is one of my favorite railroad photographs - a perfect subject in perfect light. I can almost hear the detinctive groaned of the SD45's 20-cylinder engine. Again the digital scanner didn't do justice to the original Kodachrome slide.

The Burlington Northern 638 train, Extra 6684 East, crossing over the Santa Fe's Oklahoma District at Black Bear. The train was pulled by BN SD45 #6684 (ex-Frisco #936) and SD40-2 #6846, and trailed by Santa Fe CE1 way-car #999154.

Frisco train symbols continued to be used by the BN for a few years after their merger. The 637 and 638 were a daily second-class trains running between Enid and Tulsa's Cherokee Yard. On this particular day, it was combined with the CTB, the eastward equivalent of the QLA. The letters CTB stood for "California, Tulsa, Birmingham".

WARNING: This location is now off limits. The photograph was taken in a more tolerant era.