Midweek Photos 11/19/2014

Tim; I look forward to this post each week & enjoy your photos.

As bright as the morning sun, UP train QNLIN, (Quality-N. Little Rock-Indianapolis), eases into the crew change at Dexter, MO. Not much dust on the leader, yet!  The new crew will take the train up to Salem, IL.  On main 2 in the background is a bare table from Memphis headed for Chicago, That crew will head up to Dupo, IL.

BNSF 9887 North, a UP empty oil train has reached the summit of Tip Top, MO, the highest rail point in Missouri. The empty oil trains often use the UP's Desoto Sub between Poplar Bluff and St. Louis as a bypass off the busy Dexter-Dupo Chester Sub in Illinois. BNSF power is common on these trains the UP receives at E. St. Louis and they run down to Louisiana and back.

Dan

I was driving north on I-81 through Binghamton, NY yesterday just before sunset.  As I looked down from the highway overpass that spans the CP (formerly D&H) Bevier Street Yard, I spotted blue and gray...and lightning stripes.  Below me sat one of the only two remaining D&H "Heritage" units and I had to get a picture!  I obviously couldn't lock up the brakes on the bridge, so I took the next exit to see if I could figure out a way to get close enough for some photos. 

As you can see below, the GPS worked and I was able to catch #7303 idling away at the point of a work train that appeared to be tied up for the evening.  And check out the CP work caboose.  There's obviously not much of a view from the cupola of this extended vision re-build, but it sure looks nice in its fresh coat of bright red paint!

I was at a breast cancer awareness event a few weeks ago and happened to be near the CSX main line that runs through Tallahassee. I noticed a large pile of spikes the RR had from some recent maintenance they did on the track. I already have some so I did not keep any souvenirs. Must be about 3.5 feet high. 

No photos this week. so I think these wear the very 1st train photos I have taken on 2-19-14.  The  1st 2 photos   7-8-14  the 3rd & 4th photos

In the end, time is indeed the most valuable thing we have.  Its passing is inevitable, but whether or not that is sad depends on if we wasted it or used it to fulfill our lives.

This past week I continued my search for the elusive RCPE (Rapid City, Pierre, & Eastern.)  The land is now barren, and there are a few snowflakes in the air (and everywhere else too!)  The temps hover around zero during the hours best suited to RR photography--the night!    I dug out my winter gear and headed out, north bound once more to catch the RCPE.  This time I had a plan, and some inside live time information--a buddy with the railroad.  

The snow was coming down off & on and had piled up about half a foot by the time I reached the tracks.  The highways were plowed but despite that I was still driving on white roads the entire time.  That kept my speed to around 45 mph--about the same as the trains.  That meant I had to pick a good spot and not count on jumping ahead of the train for another shot.  I got my first shot as an e/b rolled through Balaton, MN with all SD-40 power.  I like the sound of those as much as the sight.  The conductor saw me and opened his window to ham it up a little for the photo.  That train tied up in Tracy, MN, which is the east end of the line for the RCPE and the start of the CP.  I was informed there would be a w/b shortly after dark.  Now we're talking!

I set up at an old elevator complex at the tiny town of Garvin, MN, about 17 miles west of Tracy.  I've long wanted to catch a train there, but they were too erratic for me to be successful.  Good inside info makes a huge difference in my part of the world!  I set up three big flash and waited.  Over the radio I heard, "RCPE west approaching Garvin, one mile."  That was my cue!  I took the plastic bag off my camera, turned it on, and popped the shot!  The train thundered by in the dark doing 40 mph, horns blaring.  I love this!

The next night it was snowing harder, but I again knew a train would be w/b through Garvin just after dark.  I decided to go for it, even though the white roads would make that a 2+ hour trip up there.  This time I set up four big flash and set them to full power.  I figured I needed a lot of light to cut through the falling snow.  I put plastic sacks over the lights to protect them while I waited--there's enough power in any one of them to kill me instantly if a wet one shorted out when I touched it.  I waited in my car, brushing the snow off my windows every now & then.  Finally I heard over the radio, "RCPE west, approaching Garvin, one mile."  I jumped out and took the sack off the closest flash, but then realized I was never going to make it to all four in the deepening snow!  I once again had to settle for two flash.  Well, at least I didn't get skunked this week.  I did get a couple of OK shots out of my efforts.  I'm already making plans for this weekend, same spot.  The good news is it won't be snowing.  The bad news is, it will be below zero.  Time will pass, but I will not be wasting it. 

Kent in SD

"My days are gliding swiftly by

And I, a pilgrim stranger,

Would not detain them as they fly--

Those hours of toil and danger."

              --George Root, 1855

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2SeQreej6s