POTD - One Train, Part II

This week's theme is:

One train.

I have always been an acolyte of long lens work. There's something about being able to take a great distance and smash it into one 2-dimensional image. It's photography doing what it does best, and photographer Kevin Morgan makes it work well here.

In this case, a telephoto shot that doesn't close the distance, but instead takes a great distance of rail (a half mile?) and shows all the wobbles, variances and sags in something that--at least conceptually--should be stable, straight and strong. The haze on the horizon and subtle air distortions close to the rails makes the shot feel all the more heat laden as the rails all but melt into pools of silver.

A BNSF stack train trundles along under an ardent August sun
toward a meet over rails that look too hot to ride this afternoon
Photo: Kevin Morgan

POTD - One Train

I've had this idea for a theme of POTD, and I'm going to try it out. It's simple:

One train.

That's it. One train for the week. Obviously, we'd need five photos, and not just any photos. Five good photos that show different aspects. What's even better? The guy doesn't even know he did it for me.

Kevin and I have spoke very seldom, but he knows I am a fan. If you've read here for any period, you'd know it too. His web exposure is great because he has his own web site. This site lets you do searches by railroad, location, and even by weather. He e-mails his subscribers when he has new work, describing--sometimes in great detail--his shots and the stories behind them. He's doing what he can to get a core of loyal followers that take an interest in his work. Is he a regular producer? No, but if your work is of sufficient quality, that shouldn't matter. My point in this little diatribe is that it takes more than a good camera and average skills in railroad photography to make things happen.

In the decades before the internet, it took photographers the effort to find receptive clubs to come display their work, to sit down and organize their slides in trays, then haul them off in their car to the club meeting place, usually in the dead of winter, set up a projector and sit in the dark with a bunch of other grown men, and even women, and put your talent on display in front of everyone. Today, it requires a little less physical work, but effort is still a vital part. Learn how to use the tools like Blogger, Twitter, Flickr/SmugMug, Facebook, FeedBurner, Constant Contact, web forums and other, often free tools to increase your ability to interact and bring out your better photos. Making full use of the internet can change everything for you as a photographer and artist.

Diatribe over. Thanks!

Today's Photo of the Day is the basic high-angle, shot from a hill, overpass or other feature that enables a high view showing the tops of the locomotives and cars. Shot usually from the same side as sunlight, the effect is to show the train in the context of it's route. Interesting features of landscape fall second to the features of the train itself. This particular shot has the added benefit of the train curving between two trees that create a natural frame for the shot. The train is now part of the land, not just passing over or through it. What looks like just a shot of train at first glance is instead a carefully composed subject in its context.

Time: 11:52 AM

BNSF Double stacks are rare on the Front Range of Colorado
but this train seems as much a part of the land as the earth itself
Photo: Kevin Morgan

POTD - Big Ten 16 Years Ago

Denver's altitude is 5,280 feet above sea level, earning it the obvious moniker, the Mile High City. The railroad route directly west was built as Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railroad and came to be owned by its successors, Denver & Salt Lake Railroad and Denver & Salt Lake Railway, as well as Denver & Rio Grande Western, Southern Pacific, and lately, Union Pacific through a series of mergers. It's apex was first at Rollins (Corona) Pass at 11,680 feet ASL and then inside  Moffat Tunnel at 9,239 feet. Making up the difference (6400 and 3959 feet respectively) while at the same time keeping the gradient manageable and cost efficient was a balancing act that meant gaining altitude as evenly as possible. If there was a ramp of earth, much like Sherman Hill in Wyoming, the construction engineers would have had little trouble. As it was, construction from Denver into the foothills was the most difficult part. They had to claw and scrape for elevation to reach Boulder Canyon and the Flatirons. A tongue of land jutting out from the foothills became the stepping stone between the western high plains and the east face of the Rocky Mountains. The long, winding turns climbing onto and upon the butte are both ten degrees curvature, thus named the little ten and big ten curves.

On April 8, 1995, a Southern Pacific coal train descends through Big Ten and
approaches Little Ten curves west of Denver, 18 months before the UP merger
Photo: Rolf Stumpf

Railroad Radio in Colorado

If you've never listened to Railroad Radio, you've missed an opportunity to learn all about how freight moves in Colorado. It takes a bit of patience and knowledge of the nature of railroad operations, but, having it on in the background, you'd be surprised what you can pick up.

It's also a good indicator, given how expensive gas is recently, of how busy these rail routes are on a given day. Careful listening will help you know where the trains are, and how likely a photo run will produce good results.

All three live audio feeds are linked below and in the near column.

Railroad Radio in Colorado

• BNSF Front Range Sub - Denver to Cheyenne
• BNSF/UP Joint Line - Denver to Pueblo
• UP Moffat Line - Winter Park to Tabernash

 

POTD - Grande Colors In Strange Places

Just south of where I-70 and I-270 meet, there's a place unknown to most Denver railfans. It's even--probably--unknown to most Denver Railroaders. If you would think this is Commerce City, you would be wrong. First, very few areas in Commerce City are capable of sustaining green plant life. Second, the junction of I-70 and I-270 is roughly 1,400 miles to the east of Commerce City in Frederick, Maryland. Why then is this the Photo of the Day on CR?

When you look closely, Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway has no connection to Colorado with the exception that many of the upper management of W&LE used to call Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad home until they followed head executive Larry Parsons to the smallish short line in Ohio. Their love of their old railroad comes through in big and small ways. Recently, the railroad's ample power pool and tenacity in business led to their units showing up in other locations, including CSX trackage in Point Of Rocks, Maryland, many miles east of Rio Grande's old headquarters in Denver.

Wheeling & Lake Erie shows her Rio Grande colors in the muggy heat near
Point of Rocks, Maryland last week on July 30, 2011 waiting for a green light.
Photo: George W. Hamlin

PS: Interested in the Grande scheme of things in Ohio? Check out this fan page detailing the Wheeling & Lake Erie's motive power. It's a big page!

POTD - Empty Hoppers In the Sunset

From a river named "The Animas" in the San Juan mountains to a town named Las Animas on the eastern plains, it's hard to believe they're in the same world, let alone the same state at the same rough latitude (0.5° difference). From narrow gauge Rio Grande rails hung precariously on canyon walls to standard gauge Santa Fe rails somewhere in a vast prairie, these are Colorado Railroads!

Empty Hoppers In the Sunset - Coal hoppers wait their turn for service in beside a
piece of disused rail in the quiet town of Las Animas, Colorado, on June 16, 2008
Photo: Jenny Vaughn

POTD - D&RGW 315 Crossing the Animas River

John West is an accomplished photographer with many years of experience and hundreds of publishable and historic photographs under his belt, 13 of which are available for purchase. His pictures bring narrow gauge enthusiasts immeasurable joy and pleasure.

Originally Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad engine 3, the Denver & Rio Grande numbered it 424 before the Denver & Rio Grande Western numbered it 315.  Durango Railroad Historical Society restored the engine from March 2001 until she moved under her own steam in August 2007.

On August 23, 2010, during last year's Railfest, Mr. West captured #315, a former Denver & Rio Grande Western 2-8-0 steam locomotive as it crossed the Animas River near Tacoma, Colorado, on former Denver & Rio Grande Western rails, now operated by Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which will host its 13th annual Railfest later this month.

D&RGW Consolidation 2-8-0 #315 leads a photo freight over the Animas near
Tacoma on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad August 23, 2010
Photo: John West

 

Highball! First Run of Passengers Over Lobato Trestle From Chama To Osier

It is all over the narrow gauge world out there this morning that Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is finally back in service! While there were photos and videos of the trestle with the C&TS diesel switcher and a MOW car with ballast for the abutments, there was no official word when the trestle will be ready for daily service with the two regular trains ...until suddenly yesterday morning when a train loaded up and quietly left Chama, full of passengers.

New Mexico Antes Up For Lobato Repairs, Could Complete By Opening Day 2011

The Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which burned in a fire in late June, could possibly be back in service by next season's opening day! Long time New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson directed the state's Department of Transportation to direct $1.2 Million in federal funds toward the trestle reconstruction.

Firemen School on the C&TS

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad continues their school for different roles on steam operated freight trains. This week, they've got 6 firemen students training. The video is from Monday where they spent half the day in the classroom and half the day making up the train they planned to use on Tuesday.

Featured Photographer - Gary Morris

Aside from the photo aggregate sites like  railpictures.net and rrpicturearchives.net, it's hard to find photographers with high-quality railroad photographs of the 60s, 70s and 80s in Colorado. That's why I got a bit excited when I found Gary Morris' site and his section on the Rio Grande Railroad earlier this summer. He's got his collection organized in HTML by railroad, but you can still find a few BN and UP shots in Denver if you dig for them.

Trains Magazine Features Colorado's Distributed Power

I got my October issue of Trains on Saturday. Did you?

Trains Sept 2010

The September 2010 issue of Trains Magazine features diesel engines using distributed power in Colorado. The cover  boasts, "Ultimate Motive Power, 6 Locomotives [under] 1 Engineer, How distributed power changed the way railroads run big trains." The main article by David Lustig features a double page spread of the Moffat Route through Little Gore Canyon to start the article, another from the Front Range sub north of Palmer Lake, and yet another from the west of Denver above the Big Ten Curve west of Clay, Colorado, which is also where the cover was shot (see at left).

Coal Creek Canyon Bridge Knocked Out Of Service A Second Time

If you've ever had the feeling you were on a streak of bad luck, you and the bridge over Colorado Highway 72 at Coal Creek Canyon might have something in common. Last December, a significant derailment dropped hopper cars like toys all over the bridge and both approaches, closing the highway. Monday, May 17th, was a bit different, but it had a similar impact, with delayed motorists, re-routed freight and a Cal-Z sent through Wyoming.

Video: C&TS Photo Freight

While every summer, the tourist railroads haul thousands of visitors, this is different from their original purpose of hauling goods, passengers, supplies, ore, pipe and even oil. For the railfan born too late, there is nothing more true to that expeience than watching a photo freight, a train constructed by the railroad explicitly for the benefit of photographing it.

Cab And Trailer Utility Truck Split Decision At Ft Lupton

On April 13th, a construction worker at the Ft. Lupton Vestas plant drove his utility truck into the path of an oncoming Union Pacific container train. Jose Lucio was making a turn on an unfamiliar crossing and did not completely clear the grade crossing before the rear of his truck was caught by the lead unit. The train was traveling 50 MPH, but took only 1,000 feet beyond the crossing to come to a complete stop. John Carr of the Ft. Lupton Press covered the accident and the construction company's personnel cleaning up the resulting destruction of the truck.

John Carr, Ft Lupton Press

State Lawmakers Kick Coal When Its Down

Not only could this bill passed by our wonderful, Democratic state senate cut coal miners in our state, but also cost more railroad jobs when we're already in a massive recession. According to the Association of American Railroads, ton-mile volumes in 2009 dropped 15% compared to the same month 2008. Only 1938 and 1949 rival such a decline. "And that's compared to 2008, not exactly a stellar year itself," according to Roy Blanchard in Trains Magazine, (May 2010 pg 6). Further research with AAR reveals that nationally, February's coal carloads dropped 10% when compared with February last year.

Clearly, our lawmakers have an impeccable sense of timing.

With No TIGER, SL&RG Weighs Its Options

It was a pleasure to read a letter to the Alamosa Valley Courier today regarding the San Luis & Rio Grande. A doting grandmother who lives in the San Luis Valley recounted her trip with her grandchildren on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad from last fall. I too have taken that trip, and like her, I am worried that the SL&RG's denial of TIGER funds will prevent the valley from prospering.

Highball, Westbound Photo Turn CRB001 Track One

Climb aboard, brakeman! We're going on a run for the latest Colorado railroad photos out there on the web. Put your grip beneath your seat, click the Read More link, and we'll get moving!

Amtrak: CZ Denver To Chicago Run Canceled Friday

Important Information

The information below was based on facts available in 2010. For updated information on Amtrak train status, the first site to check is always www.amtrak.com. - S.Walden 2015-FEB-17


Amtrak's California Zephyr, the only Amtrak train serving the state has canceled Friday's eastbound run from Denver to Chicago because of the snow.

From the National Association of Railroad Passengers:

The California Zephyr due to arrive Chicago yesterday afternoon got there at 17 hours 56 minutes late, at 9:26 this morning. The Zephyr due to arrive Chicago today terminated in Denver yesterday. Yesterday’s departure from Chicago did not operate Chicago-Denver but the train departed Denver west this morning.

Similarly, freight service on BNSF (route of the CZ) and  Union Pacific, has been disrupted. From the AP:

Burlington Northern Santa Fe said the cold weather and snow was causing its freight trains to be delayed between 24 and 72 hours in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana and North and South Dakota.

There is no word whether service for Saturday is canceled.

More Info: Amtrak Suspends Chicago-Denver Train Due To Snow

More Derailment Photos

As reported last week, there was a bit of spectacular derailment on the Moffat line right over Colorado Highway 72, dropping a hopper onto the roadway below and spilling several cars down the embankment toward the CDOT depot.