Midweek Photos 3/4/2015

Nice pics. I would like to get up in that area in my lifetime. 
For this week photos I have been training for the Lincoln marathon and I like to run on the old Rock Island line. It is now a trail that runs into Kansas. Also about a 1/4 of a mile east is the BNSF line. The trail has no one on it, lots of wildlife and a train about every 10 minutes.  On the 9 mile run this morning I cross at least a dozen plus bridges. I took a few photos of them. I really like the 1903 New York one. Nick

Tim; I have to thank you for what you do each week. I look forward to it.

Still winter here in the Chicago area but looks like will be getting a warmup next week.

Not my photo but saw on Facebook. Near Chicago Midway airport Northwest side of airport. I grew up 2 blocks from where this photo was taken. Indiana Harbor Belt loco's. 

franktrain

Maybe this will warm us up a bit -- San Diego this week.  Was "chilly and damp" -- in the 60's with light rain.  Oh, waa.  

Great photos guys...

OK TA8FAO.............you are holding back! How many rivets are there on the bridge?

  Thought you were a train guy! (lol)

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winter maintenance season at Greenfield Village has been flying by.  Train operations ended the first weekend in November and we reopen in just over a month on April 15th.  Several of us spent the past few workdays polishing brass on our 3 steam locomotives.  A task that is much easier to accomplish when the locomotives are cold.  Above are the bell and builders plate of our 1897 Baldwin 4-4-0 from the Detroit and Lima Northern RY/DT&I.

       
       
     I will count them Friday morning on my next run.

Here are a couple of my favorite train pictures.  They are of Milwaukee Road 261 pulling a steam excursion just outside of Waterman, IL on June 23, 2003.

 

 

 

Art

Posted some photo run-byes of 611 from a 1993 excursion trip from Atlanta last week here.  Here are some more photos from that terrific trip.  (NOTE:  click on the image and get a larger image.

 

 

Carl great photos.  You got a shot of Bob Saxton there.  Thanks 

Chris, which one is Bob?

Engineer?

MARC gliding into Garrett Park MD on the old B&O Metropolitan Sub on a very foggy 3/4/15 prior to Washington's last big snow of the year (today). 

Cool pics. I wish I was closer to the ARR.  During the summer I am, but not as much as during the winter. 

 

For those with a Facebook account - put in ARR Friends for search & check out that northern lights shot.  I wish it was mine.

 

 

The engineer...in the green hat.

Thanks, Chris.

 

Also, should have said in my original post that clicking on the image provides a larger image.  I edited the post to say so.

 

Now that's a cool video, especially the beginning. 

Hey! what happened to the rails on the table?

 

Maybe the take them inside for the winter?

Nope, they have been gone since April last year.

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The rails were pulled up, along with the ties last Spring for a minor repair and painting of the turntable structure.  Mike CT know when he took that photo, but my recollection was the work began in May, not April.

The funding was there, so the work began.  While inspecting the structure, it was discovered that the pedestal was cracked.  The turntable was installed in 1991, so it should not have happened in that reasonably short period of time.  This led to some re-engineering of the turntable and repair of the electric motors.  The ties and rails will be re-installed soon.  

My first contribution to a thread like this is a photo of three interesting engines trailing NS 8355 in Alliance, Ohio on 10/9/2014.

 

 

I've been working a lot of hours during the day all of a sudden, but that still leaves time at night to chase trains!  Last weekend I headed back out to the western third of South Dakota, chasing the elusive RCPE.  And once again, I nearly got skunked.  Even having a railroad employee along with his work computer, I still nearly got skunked!  There was train parked at Philip SD (WAY out there!), but it wouldn't get a crew until 9pm.  It wouldn't be where I wanted to take some shots until nearly 1am, and that would mean I'd be getting home about 5am!  That was the only train running for 250 miles in either direction.   I headed back east, all the way back to the MN/SD border (about 300 miles) to catch a meet near Elkton, SD.  Along the way I stopped in Huron SD to photo some engines parked by the roundhouse.  There was one on the turn table!  Finally got ahead of the e/b train, set up a few big flash right at the SD/MN border, and waited until it came through.  I ended up with only two photos for the day, but I did get home by 1am. 

 

Last night the Dakota & Iowa ran their train south from Dell Rapids SD, through Sioux Falls, and down to Sioux City IA (about 90 miles.)  I caught them passing the abandoned GCC cement plant at Hawarden IA, and then again at the abandoned elevator in Westfield IA.  Night temperatures have been below zero up until last night.  Now, it gets up to 40 degrees during the day.  Looks like winter is over.  Ice-out will be later this month.  I always miss winter.  I still have the west end of the RCPE to get to, before summer.  It's wild country! 

 

 

Kent in SD

Hope you sent Bob a link or photo.

Oh I don't know him personally.  I met him on a few occasions during excursions but that's all. 

Kent in SD,

 

First, the two photos of engine 3029 are fantastic.  They are so good and I mean this as a compliment, if they weren't posted in the real trains forum they could be mistaken for Proto48 modeling.  Just incredible.

 

Second, have you ever had any bad reactions by the train crew when the flash lights illuminate?

 

1. Thanks.  The D&I is my favorite little railroad, and the first one I ever took photos of.  Engine 3029 is a fairly rare model, an SD-39.  Only 54 were built.  The D&I has four or five of them.  They also have several GP-50, two SD-40, and a few of their original GP-9 units.  Originally they had all GP-7/GP-9, about two dozen of them.  They used them to pull their heavy quarry trains up out of the Big Sioux River valley, usually stringing 8-10 of them together.  The sound those made going up that three mile long steep grade, notched up all the way but still only making about 5 mph, was just incredible.  The ground was shaking and smoke shot high into the air!

 

2. This is a common question.  Most guys that do this sort of thing use the little flash that are powered by 4 AA batteries.  I do have eight of the Nikon SB-25 flash, and will use them for smaller scenes.  However, lately I've been taking photos on a pretty big scale, or of trains at a distance.  I use up to eight White Lightning X3200 monolights for that.  (Usually only using about three.) Each of those equals something like 15-20 of the little flash.  That is quite a bit of light!  In nine years I've not heard a single complaint, and I do talk to crews about it.  There are several reasons for this.  First, I only have one flash pointed at the cab, and it's always some distance away.  Brightness falls off pretty fast.  Second, their eyes are already accustomed to looking to the tracks ahead lit by those three bright headlights.  Third, the flash are always at an angle, never straight on (they'd be hit by the train!)  Fourth, the flash only lasts 1/1000s.  The upshot is in the nine years I've been doing this, no complaints from train crews, and my local trainmasters have not mentioned any negative comments either.  In my area most crews have seen me out there and are used to me.  When I'm working a new area, I try to catch them beforehand in a siding or crew change.  Otherwise, I am standing in the open with a safety vest on, camera on a tripod (30-100 ft. off the rail.)  I pop the flash when they are about 200 yards out.  They figure it out pretty fast.  BNSF crews call me the "Flash Foamer." 

 

I'm the only one on the Northern Plains doing this sort of photography.  It is technically challenging, the conditions (mainly cold) are difficult, and the gear can begin to get expensive.  There is inevitable loss of some of it too, mostly to weather conditions.  I think there is something a bit intangible going on too.  Most people seem to be very uneasy sitting out alone in the dark, in the middle of nowhere.  I am comfortable with that, but will have a carbine on my shoulder when in mountain lion country.  You never know.  Tonight I'm planning on catching the RCPE around midnight while standing out on the still frozen (hopefully!) Big Sioux River at Brookings, SD.  There's a nice iron bridge there.

 

I just bought a new lens for my Chamonix 4x5, a Nikon 90mm f4.5.  This is a wide lens for 4x5 (equivalent to ~30mm on a 35mm camera).   I'm going to start doing some of these shots with black & white film.  That will double the difficulty, but the result could be cool!

 

 

Kent in SD

Kent,

 

Thank You for the detailed response.

 

The tidbit regarding the carbine answered another question I thought about asking but decided against.

Recent pictures from Steamtown.