As Old As the Hills

I happened across an anecdote today that comes from the days of widespread passenger rail. It's a simple one that I've taken the liberty of re-telling here.

A gentleman boarded a train he'd never ridden before and was surprised to find that his first class ticket gave him access to the same car as second and third class passengers. What was more, the seats and other accommodations were all the same. He had heard about small railroads, but he couldn't figure out what he had bought with his ticket, at least until the train came to the first hill. The train came to a stop, and the conductor came into the car. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention. First-class passengers, please keep your seats. Second class passengers, please disembark the train and begin walking. Third class passengers, get out and push."

I hope that gave you a smile to round out the week. Have a good weekend, and happy train hunting!

Tennessee Pass Update: Rust, Dust, Weeds and Little Else

If you wonder, like I sometimes do, what Tennessee Pass looks like about now, with all the aspens aglow and fluttering in the early fall breezes, head on over to Colorado Railfan and check out Kevin Morgan's pictures taken just last Saturday. The rails are 15 years rusted and the signals are shot, but the colors are beautiful!

POTD To Resume Soon On Limited Basis

So what is up with CR's Photo Of The Day? Well, you may not like it or you may not even care, but I have an admission to make. I am realizing that while I may be at least an average or better blogger, I find maintaining a constant feature very tedious. Routine is boring, and schedules are at best a necessary evil. Do I apply that to people? No, I admire others in their dependability, their steadfastness, and commitment. These are good qualities to cultivate. I have, repeatedly, tried to do so in my own life. I have failed often enough to find that holding to a schedule limits my very limited energy and dries out my passion for a subject.

Photography and especially railroad photography have captured my passion, as you've already seen. The last thing I want to see is my passion crushed under the relentless drumbeat of a schedule, especially when it is in my ability to change it. Therefore, POTD will continue on a sporadic, unplanned and impromptu manner. If you want to see the most recent, please use this link: http://www.corailroads.com/search/label/POTD

We Remember

Rio Grande Tunnel Motor In Brazil - An Answer To Wednesday's Question

Sorry about being off-schedule yesterday for a POTD. I've been under the weather. Your prayers and kind thoughts are appreciated.

In the meantime, Wednesday's POTD question caught the attention of no less than the photographer himself, Johannes Smit, who commented in. He actually has an entire category of US railroad engines that have crossed the equator. He answered the question with a photo and caption, mixed with a bit of Portuguese:

SD40 #4820, detalhe da inscrição “Rio Grande” reaparecendo. A #4820 era Denver & Rio Grande Western #5386. Brejo Alegre - Araguari MG
Uma foto do “original”: www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=223100 

which means,

SD40 # 4820, detail of the words "Rio Grande" reappearing. The # 4820 was Denver & Rio Grande Western # 5386. Heath Alegre - MG Araguari
A photo of the "original" www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=223100 *

*(courtesy Google Translate)

POTD - A Secret Hideout From UP Patch Kits

The Picture of the Day is a bit of a secret. Did you know at least one Rio Grande tunnel motor went to Brazil? Yup.

She seems to have been extensively modified. The trucks are B-B+B-B instead of C-C. and the signature low-level vents have vanished. The frame must have been lengthened for the trucks. Finally there's a non-standard door for the engine crew.

Does anyone out there have the story on this? Please comment.

Editor's note: The photo is "All rights reserved" on flickr. I won't use such photos typically,, although today is an exception. Even then, the photographers don't get as much exposure and I can't credit them. Too bad, huh?

POTD - Steaming On Toward Colder Days

A sudden dip in the temperature this weekend reminded me that winter is only a little over 3 months away. Former D&RGW class K-28 engine 473 makes her way northward past the tank at Hermosa,Colorado toward the wye at Cascade on a cold, clear Saturday morning in December 2003.

Photo: Kevin Wood

17 Year Old Girl Severely Maimed In Near-Fatal Stunt

Editor's Warning

This news article describes the real-life, violent injury of a person. Reader discretion is encouraged.

Amtrak Resumes Zephyr Service, ...Sorta

Since the accident last week, Amtrak hasn't been running the California Zephyr, owing both to the accident and damage from the floods further east. Today, Amtrak resumes service from Ft. Morgan west to the end of the line in Emeryville, California.

POTD - One Train - Part V

Today is Friday before Labor Day (Yeah!), and so we're wrapping up the theme for the week of One Train. Five different photographs of one train by Kevin Morgan of ColoradoRailfan.com have illustrated different aspects of railroad photography.

Perspective seems to be my favorite aspect of railroad photography, I guess, because I've been talking about it for most of the week. This shot illustrates a near perfect vanishing point.

Thanks to Mr. Morgan for the great shots and for use of these photographs to illustrate my points on perspective and railroad photography. It was awesome that even without any planning this whole series worked so well. Spontaneity sometimes works wonders, something you can also take to heart in photography. Experiment, try new things, and be willing to live with the results. You never know what you'll come away with until you try!

A meet between BNSF trains in Boulder yields a great perspective shot as
a double stack passes a dormant unit train on the siding on August 24, 2011
Photo: Kevin Morgan

If I don't post later this weekend, have a great Labor Day! Enjoy summer while it lasts, and if you can't find anything better to do, pop on by your local railroad museum. I'm sure they'd be glad to have you!

POTD - One Train, Part IV

For POTD this Thursday, I'm continuing the theme of One Train. Today's is very similar to yesterday's in terms of angle, but it has something very different. It's from a lower angle, which leaves room for the inclusion of a very unique cloud formation. While there may or may not be a statement in including the cloud, such as wings, for Boeing's cargo in the first car, at right, there can always be such angles if you work for it, using the right focal length, and so on. The elements that you include that are non-train related give you the ability to express your art however you want.

A BNSF double stack train rolls past a tied down unit coal train. The first
car of the double stack is bound for Boeing in the Pacific Northwest.

Photo: Kevin Morgan

Trainstar: Review of Unstoppable

Trainstar, says that Unstoppable is "great train porn." While I may not agree with her wording, it's a great way to sum it up. Check out her review. With two of my own favorite actors, Denzel Washington and Chris Pine (Sgt. Getraer's son, Captain Kirk) in the lead, I realize it's about time that I check it out.

POTD - One Train, Part III

Continuing with part III of this week's theme:

One train.

Perhaps the most classic pictures known in railroad photography circles are the approach photos, where a train is approaching on a single set of rails toward the photographer's position. It's a simple shot that a lot of photographers rely on as their "go-to" shot when capturing a train. It doesn't depend much on topography or distance available, unlike the previous two POTDs.

The feeling is one of imminent anticipation. The train is a traveler, passing in only moments. It bears a load from incognito toward parts unknown. It is arriving in only seconds, unrelenting and unhesitating toward its eventual destination. In the moment, it is everything we know of railroads.  It can be a brawny diesel, like this one, or a speeding 4-8-4, a miniature 4-4-0 of the wood-burning, narrow gauge variety, or an F-7 (or even an E-8) with the graceful curves and beauty that made her an icon of American railroading.

By stepping down next to the right of way, Kevin Morgan has put the point of view into the same vantage point most of the world sees trains in their most powerful and acclimated setting. 

Headed by locomotive 5338, a BNSF double-stack intermodal train comes in
for a meet, holding the main with a rather quiet train tied down on the siding
Photo: Kevin Morgan

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