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Here we are, with another Wednesday upon us, so it is time again for Midweek Photos.  Look through your photos to add to the thread.  

You know how when you go to a railroad yard, and absolutely nothing is moving?  Even when you use a scanner, it doesn't bring the trains by any faster.  I had a totally opposite experience last week.  

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Last Wednesday, at the Steamtown yard in Scranton, PA. I noticed three sets of locomotives idling.  This is not outrageous, and some sets stay in town, or go to the Norfolk Southern yard in Taylor about a mile away for more cars.  

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One set of the units, with two original Erie Lackawanna C425s, painted in a similar to original Gray Maroon and Yellow markings, plus a third unit that is painted in the corporate two-toned gray headed past me.  

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Here, they roll past us, leaving a trail of the famous Alco smoke. 

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Shortly afterward, four more units roll past on the same track.  This batch was led by an early 1970s M420 with a wide cab, and consisted of an M636, an Alco C636 and a C425,  Notice that there are some freight cars are sitting on the track to the right. 

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Immediately after the second group, then a third set of units comes toward me.  Again on the same track.  This grouping was two C420s, and a C424.  

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The first unit here has a mid-1960s Lehigh Valley paint job. 

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Look how closely the third grouping follows the second.  

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And that was it!  In less than 10 minutes, 10 Alcos and relatives rolled past me to fetch some freight cars and run to their destinations.  This is also 50 years since the last Alco was constructed in Schenectady, NY.  

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All of this smoke led to a discoloring of the sky on this sunless morning.  Leading to this last photo of a 1941 built Alco, the Union Pacific Big Boy no. 4012.  

That is what I have to offer for now.  How has your rail-fanning been lately? If you have a photo or so to share, please add right here.  See you soon.  

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It's been a bit difficult with the weather lately, but I managed to get out a few times over the past few weeks. First two pictures feature a rare daytime meet of CN intermodal trains 148 and 149. Ex-BNSF Dash-8 CN 2137, still looking fresh, leads 149.

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CN 148 passes 149 with another Dash-8 leading, CN/IC "Blue Devil" 2463.

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CN 394 and 509, both lead by SD75I's, wait at the signals for back to back greens.

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CN Dash-9 2202, with it's EMD-style windshields, leads a mixed manifest east.

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CN SD60 5436, with GECX ET44AC 2035, take a mixed manifest west in the dwindling late afternoon light.

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It's been a tougher winter than usual the past two months.  Nights are still below zero, and it still snows every three days.  I haven't been chasing too many trains, but I have been photo'ing the ice races out on the frozen lakes every weekend.  I've always thought it a little nuts to clear a big oval out on the lake and race motorcycles with temps around zero.

 

Still, I have taken a few RR shots.  It's the best time of year, after all.  I have to wear heavier clothing and sometimes strap on showshoes, but at least there are no bugs flying around.

 

1. Empty grain train approaching the ag complex at Marion, SD.  BNSF Mitchell sub.

2. Coming back from my weekend patrol I spotted a w/b RCPE train.  A blizzard was dying down and the main roads had been plowed.  I decided to go after it!  I raced ahead on white roads at foamer speed and found a spot near Lake Preston, SD that looked promising.  I set up a few flash, dialed everything in, and waited.  Train didn't appear for an hour!  It was four below zero.    I saw a dim headlight coming down the track (no ditch lights, just a headlight,) and slipped a warm battery into my camera.  Train came, I popped the shot.  I think it came out fairly well.

3. With the success of that shot I decided to go for another.  I knew that usually an e/b will meet the w/b at the long siding at DeSmet, SD, I raced ahead to DeSmet.  The siding was empty, which I interpreted as the e/b hadn't arrived yet.  So further west I went, looking for a good spot to catch it.  Passing the Manchester siding I noticed a string of hoppers in storage.  They were heavily drifted in.   AHA!  This is the spot.  Lot's of snow!  I put out two flash, dialed everything in.  This time I didn't have a long wait, but to my surprise it was the w/b coming down the tracks.  There would be no e/b.  Train approached the freight car sized drifts and didn't even slow down!  I heard a loud series of "Boomfph--boomfffpht--BOOOOMPHFFTTT!----Boomphfttt....." as the track exploded with snow.  As the lead engine pulled a bit ahead of my position I popped the shot.  Unfortunately there was too MUCH snow!  All I got was a snow explosion about 120 feet long and 30 feet high. I didn't get the shot I wanted, but it was a helluva thing to watch!

4, 5. Ice racing at Brant Lake, SD

 

Kent in SD

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Last edited by Two23

As I previously posted in a separate topic, I went out to catch what I thought was the last run of Regional 83 to Williamsburg. Somehow, my shots turned out all right; of course, I only realized two days later that the last run of the train is not until THIS Friday, March 1st. I'll be traveling then, so these shots will have to do.

P42DC 94 pulls the second-to-last run of train 83 into Williamsburg at 10:12 on a cold and drizzly evening. 

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There are times I wish I had the nerve and expertise to use flashbulbs.

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Last edited by pittsburghrailfan
pittsburghrailfan posted:

 

There are times I wish I had the nerve and expertise to use flashbulbs.

 

They aren't that hard.  Main thing is to find a way to trigger them.  Could just run a sync cord from your camera to the flash holder.  Just two, maybe even one, will do quite a lot.  Take a test pop with your camera at a set distance getting a rough estimate of exposure setting from looking up the bulb's guide number.  As a starting point I'd try ISO 100, 1/60s, and maybe f8.  Analyze the result and increase or decrease the aperture as needed.  Don't worry about shutter speed as long as it's below 1/200s.  Shutter speed only affects ambient light, not flash.  I've used some #25 bulbs in the past as an experiment in Rollei holders.  Both are available on ebay.  The bulbs put out quite a bit more light than modern electronic flash does.  It's really not that hard but there is a learning curve.

 

Kent in SD

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