What Photo Opportunities Did You Squander?

I turned 18 in 1966 and was fortunate to be able to ride most of the trains I yearned after, some of which were only short trips, before Amtrak Day.  Most opportunities missed were those that passed in my early youth, when I was too young to know of or appreciate them.   The short list includes:

• The Chicago Great Western,
• Union Pacific,
• Chicago Aurora & Elgin,
• Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee,
• Santa Fe,
• Milwaukee Road, Olympian Hiawatha, and
• Rock Island, Golden State

I wish we had ridden an Electroliner. We had the time on several different trips. The Capital always brought us into Chicago in the early AM and depending on what train we were taking Westbound it might be 4:00PM before we boarded so lots of time to catch an Electroliner. Had we I would have had an Electroburger 

I would have to say the NEW YORK CENTRAL along the water front on the Hudson, especially the Weehawkin yard and tunnel. The PENNSYLVANIA RR and its Meadows roundhouse in Kearny, NJ. The ERIE- LACKAWANNA, SUSQUEHANNA, LEHIGH & HUDSON RIVER and NEW HAVEN.  Maybrook yard would have been a photographers paradise for me in 1967 but girls and cars led me astray....   

I almost forgot the JERSEY CENTRAL, READING and B&O at Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City.

I wish I hadn't lost track of the 8mm B&W movies I took and processed as a teen. Sentimental value only because they were terrible quality. Interesting tech-wise as I'll bet few were processing B&W movies. There were several extra steps to develop for a positive image rather than a negative.

I rarely took photos in the late 1940s thru the mid to late 1950s. Considering my "learning experiences" at South Amboy, NJ with the various PRR K4s (plus one K4sa locomotive #612) assigned to the New York and Long Branch passenger service, I rarely even took a camera with me. I had much more enjoyment getting dirty with the men and learning about steam. I did, however, purchase a ticket for the "farewell to steam" trip, which began in NYC's Pennsylvania Station behind a GG-1, which was changed-out to K4sa #612 (my old friend). I did take a camera on that 1957 trip, and still have those B&W negatives.

I also purchased a ticket for the very first Reading Ramble, handled by #2124, and have some nice B&W photos of that fantastic outing. Also, living on the DL&W "M&E" electrified line (home was Chatham, NJ) I took quite a few B&W and color photos of DL&W in the late 1950s. My "big outing" was visiting the N&W in Roanoke and Crewe, Va during the steam days of late 1950s. However, I didn't take near as many photos as I should have, since I had a full "letter of permission" to be on the property, which was good for access to all facilities a locomotive cabs (even got a cab ride on #600 out of Crewe, Va.). I much preferred to enjoy the experiences instead of carrying and using a camera.

I squandered a chance to take a Canadian train over the Rocky Mountains.  I have placed this trip back on my bucket list. On the the upside I was able to make a living with my hobby of photography for over 40 years and still clicking the shutter.

I live about 35 miles from the Via Station in Windsor, Ontario and would like to travel over the Rockies and end up in Vancouver.

Gary

The real CP CANADIAN!

All we had was a Kodak 110 camera when I was a kid. I wish I had taken pictures of the Illinois Central Gulf, and the Illinois Terminal (which had trackage rights on the ICG) that ran passed our house growing up. The quality might not have been great, but, better than nothing at all. I wasn't concerned with taking pictures at the time, just wanted to see the trains go by, what they had for power, the different cars they had in their train. I just always thought it would be there.

I remember seeing all GM&O consists, IC green diamonds, and of course, orange and white geeps. You could see anything on a IT consist, all switchers (SW 1200's, SW 1500's some mixed) Switchers with GP 7's, GP 38-2's. I think it was whatever they had available that was running and they used it. Good memories for sure, watching trains that ran past my home growing up, just wish I had pictures to go with the memories!

Rusty

As a kid, l hung out at a small Southern country station where steam trains picked up the mail  on the fly and  swapped coal hoppers around for the country store.  I thought that would always be part of the scenery.  And then in my teens we drove past Mopac steam on the way to SW Colorado where a narrow gauge passenger train could have been photoed on it's way to Alamosa, Durango, and Silverton, and ridden (Durango to Silverton was ridden, but not well photed). Early one morning my brother and l, alone, walked all over the Durango yards. History passed before my eyes, and was not captured.

I was allowed to hang out in the Norris Yards steam shop (Irondale, Alabama).  The Southern 4501 was my favorite.  I enjoyed seeing the restoration process.  I wish now I had taken photos each time I was there.  

On Sunday mornings in the 1990s we could hear photo runs of the N&W steam passing through Bon Air Va. They were letting passengers off, backing up and doing a run by.  It was maybe a mile away. Plenty of time to grab a camera and run over there. Never bothered.

My father was an enthusiastic photographer when I was a lad, and I did manage to get some nice 120 B/W pics of the early SEPTA Red Arrow.  Alas, those materials have long since vanished in the confusion of multiple moves...  

Man, what I coulda done with a modern DSLR and a pocketful of SD cards back in the late 60s...   

Mitch 

Speaking of movies, I wish I had taken a movie of a pair of B&O Fs shoving against a freight train on the hill Southbound from the Allegheny River bridge through Gumtown/Adrian/Montgomeryville. I still have a clear memory of the sound of those 567s bellowing in Notch 8 and the sight of white dust being blown out from under by the traction motor blowers. They were always moving slow and sanding straight along, hence the white dust. There was a rough spot in the track where the bridge ended (typical) and those engines would sway pretty heavily right there. Wow, I wish I had a movie of that sight&sound. A B&W movie I could have done but [portable] sound capability was in it's infancy in the early '60s.

Two missed chances in particular:  In 1959 I forsook  N&W steam for smaller power in Canada (a Pacific on a way freight in Ontario, Pacifics and Hudsons on Montreal Commuters and an ancient 4-4-0 in New Brunswick).  My other regret is that I was so gaga on steam that I  missed all the colorful passenger trains still operating in the late 50's and 60's.

Excellent topic Tom.

Growing up in the 1970's in Northern NJ I wish I had taken more pictures of the Erie Lackawanna going through town. 

Living in CA for several years  I never ventured to Tehachapi - still on my bucket list.

Every year about this time I feel I squandered New England Fall RR opportunities.

When I lived in North Carolina I wish I had spent more than one day railfanning Saluda grade.

When I lived in Sacramento i should have taken more time to play around Truckee and Donner area.

Last - are there any semaphores left that guard a main line? 

Paul

IIRC the Semaphore signals on the old Santa Fe Main between Raton and Glorieta are still there. This because BNSF wants to abandon that line because the only train using it now is the Southwest Chief so they aren't spending the $$ to Darth Vader the signals.

Dad took those pics in the early '60s between Raton and Glorieta.

In the eighties I was in SW West Virginia for work, drove past a siding and saw a pair of hoppers still sporting their Virginian paint.  I picked up a disposable camera and returned to the spot later that afternoon but the hoppers were gone.

After that I tried to keep a disposable camera in my car just in case, but that didn't solve the problem.  One afternoon after work I drove past the Southern yard in Alexandria and saw a steam locomotive on layover.  Pulled out my disposable and shot a few pictures.  Then when I developed them a couple of months later the pictures didn't turn out.

Railrunnin posted:

 

Last - are there any semaphores left that guard a main line? 

Paul

If you make time to go this coming year, you'll probably be able to see semaphores in service between Las Vegas, NM to Raton.  Some are gone, but many still remain, for the one train in each direction, the Southwest Chief.  There are three at each end of sidings, as Santa Fe used leave-siding signals.

There is also a beautifully maintained upper-quadrant wigwag at Delhi, Colorado, between Raton and La Junta.

Even though the idea of carrying a camera on my job assignments was my last thought, I do regret not having pictures of the people I worked with as they performed their job.  Fortunately, one of the engineers on our board DID carry a camera in his grip.  Occasionally he reveals one to our great delight.

photo:  D Townsend

This next photo was given no credit when posted on the FB Frisco page.  Don was engineer on a switcher we called the Dayton job, called for 12:00 noon, five days a week, and did all the switching at an industrial park west of OKC (including Dayton Tires).  He was a very nice man.  I think I might put my hands in fire just to see more photos like this one.

Squandered photo ops:

Way too many to list, and not just RR subjects. In addition to sparse train photos, my biggest regrets are:

* No where near enough family pics. (Now they're gone or grown up.)

* Not enough "friend" pics, especially from my childhood, youth, and early marriage era's.

* Not enough motorcycling and motorcycling friends pics. (I owned several bikes decades ago that are now very historic, etc.)

The list could go on, but you get the idea. Unfortunately, you don't get "do overs" in life.

Andre

I remember one very early excursion powered by CNR #6218, right after #6167 was replaced by the U-2G.  This might have been in 1966.  After we had returned to Toronto, we made our way to the Spadina Ave. roundhouse, since I wanted a slide of #6167, which was dead inside.  A young kid was leaving the roundhouse and walked toward us,  He asked us if we were going to photograph the diesels in the yard, which was filled with CNR Montreal built FA's, and if I remember correctly, a few Fairbanks Morse, all in the CNR green and yellow.  My buddy and I told him that we were interested only in the steamers, and did not want to waste any film.  Wish I had taken his advice!

What is unnerving is that happened to me previously!  A friend and I visited Benwood Jc in August, 1958 to see if any B&O steam was active.  We weren't sure that all B&O steam was retired since an earlier reply letter from Larry Sagle of the B&O advised that, "no steam was being operated presently but, with the summer ore and lake traffic, some steam might be used".  When we arrived, we found a roundhouse full of dead EM-1's, including two outside and a quantity of dead Q-3's.  We photographed all of the steam both inside and outside, but did not take a single exposure of a few A-B-A sets of B&O blue and grey Baldwin sharks!