Even if the busy mainline is filled with beautiful viewpoints, you still need luck. After hours of waiting for no train to come, in the burning sun, our stock of water heating up and shrinking away too fast, we had to decide to do something else.
Take a break (like what the train traffic did). Walk back to the car. Get a dollar menu at an airconditioned fastfood restaurant.
With renewed energy, and a couple of hours later, we noticed train traffic resuming. We went back to the same spot we had been standing before noon, where all previous shots were made. The sun had turned, and so did we. Some totally new viewpoints of the snaking railway line were possible.
Here we see a westbound grain train. On the top left of the photo, the mid train helpers can be seen. The end of the train is still far away.