I went to post a little story for this week's "Midweek Photos, " and SURPRISE! No thread started yet! Unless I missed it. Hate to let tradition down so I'll step in an put up something, I guess. New Year's weekend my dad & I headed out to far west South Dakota, around Hettinger ND We ended up just hunting pheasants--no trains. This week's chapter is: "Winter Arrives." Up until last week it's been El Nino warm. The bottom dropped out last Saturday and all the mercury in the thermometer ran back into the bulb and hid! I called up my buddy on the RCPE and got a line up. I decided to drive out west of Pierre SD and catch them at the "Butt Crack Cut," about 30 miles west of Pierre along Bad River Road (i.e. middle of nowhere.) He thought they'd get there about 7 PM. I knew there was no way that would happen and figured on catching it there no earlier than 8 PM. I checked the weather report, decided to pull out my warmest clothes. 
So with that, I drove the three hours out there on a partially snow packed I-90.
As I was driving along Bad River Road I passed the RCPE w/b. It was moving about 10 mph, maximum speed on that old track. I was ten miles from the cut so that would put them there about 9 PM. I got to my spot, set up some flash, focused the camera, took some test shots. All was well. A little after 9:15 the train came into view and pulled into the siding. Huh? My buddy told me they were meeting the e/b, and there was a problem. That train had a bad air leak they couldn't fix and they were just creeping along instead of highballing it at the full 10 mph. 
It would be awhile before they got there. Around 11:15 PM the e/b slowly came into view. I turned on my camera and hit the button for a test shot, and nothing happened! My camera (and everything else) was coated with heavy frost. It was 16 below zero. I brushed it off and popped in a warm battery--all in time to get a shot as it came by me. The train rolled past the w/b and slowly, very slowly, disappeared into the darkness. The w/b got another warrant, slowly pulled up to the WSS, and stopped. And there it stayed! My buddy came on the radio and said, "Switch is froze shut. We need to get another warrant so we can back out. This might take awhile." It was now midnight. I replied, "Eight PM my Butt Crack!" He laughed and asked if I could give him a ride back to the ESS, so I did. He threw the switch, train backed out, and then began covering that last mile towards me. However, this time it was me that was having the problem. My camera had completely frozen up! I scraped the frost off the LCD--it simply said "Errr." The temperature was now 18 below zero. I brought it inside my car, put it into a plastic bag, and ran hot air from the vent directly on it. I had brought no back up camera so it had to work! After about ten minutes it was working again, just as the w/b began moving forward. I attached the camera to the tripod, took a couple of test shots, and all was well again. Whew! 
The train rolled through Butt Crack Cut and I popped the shot. Nailed it! 
I took a couple more without flash as the train slowly rolled west. I packed up my gear, brushed off the heavy frost before sticking it in my RAV4, and drove home. I slid into bed about 5 AM. Next afternoon I looked at the shots and saw my buddy was out along the walk way hamming it up. 
So closes another story of winter railroading on the Northern Plains. I've been charging up my batteries and getting ready for another trip this weekend. Another Arctic high pressure dome has moved in and it's supposed to be hitting 25 below on Saturday night. I'm up for it, but I'm bringing a spare camera along this time. 
Kent in SD
1. E/B RCPE
2. W/B RCPE
3. Under the stars
4. My dad bagging a pheasant in North Dakota
