Here's my third entry for the Trains photo contest:
"Arrival on Track 1"This is my second favorite photo, not far behind the first, which I will post next Friday.
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
Yesterday I got back from a two day trip to Rochelle. The goal of the whole trip was to catch and hopefully chase an ICE train from DJ to where ever the light ran out. Well unexpected things happened with Robbys' car. So I had to bail him and Nick out and give them a ride to their hotel, which luckily was right across the tracks at Rochelle. When they finally got set up, an ICE train had got its' warrant from DJ to Kittridge. Looks like that part of the trip was a bust. Other than that I have a few night shots from Thursday, and some pretty darn good catches from Friday. I'll probably post just good catches and pictures that I like. 25-30 trains in 6 hours is a lot, towards the end I just stopped taking pictures of UP trains. I don't know when I'll be done processing the shots, and I don't know when Robby will be back, he's probably still parked along side Americas Most Boring Class One.
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
I finally got back at 3:30. Lets just say the trip didn't go as planned, we'll leave it at that. Yes, the car problem cost all three of us a IC&E train, as I would've went out to Byron if I had the car. I guess after all the Es, Fs and old power, my luck was bound to change, but this was a dramatic turn for the worse with luck, since now I gotta go back out to Rochelle to get the car. It was busy right after Jordan left, but other then that, the variety of power was awful to say the least. The best thing we got was a BNSF SD70MAC on the BNSF, and a GP15-1 pair on a local on the UP (that didn't show up until 11PM). I'm not going to post anything from this trip since there's really nothing worth posting.
I finally got around to editing and uploading my backlog of videos!
Railroading in the Median: The MBTA Green Line - Not quite street running, but trolleys in the median with frequent grade crossings and special trolley signals.
MBTA in the Mass Pike Trench - Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, the MBTA Orange Line Subway, the MBTA Framingham/Worcester commuter line, and the Massachusetts Turnpike (the "Mass Pike" or just the "Pike"), all stuffed into a 200-odd foot wide trench in Boston!
CSX Q114 at Westborough Station - The start of my commute one day...standing six feet from the tracks as CSX Q114 blasts past at track speed! That'll wake you up any morning!
Morning Rush Hour at North Station - Morning rush hour at Boston North Station. Where else can you see three-train meets, big yellow lift bridges dating to the B&M era, and the widest cable-stay bridge in the world, all in one shot?
I still have enough footage for another video, which hopefully I'll get edited tomorrow.
I'll have to check the videos out Tyler!
Well I finished processing my shots from Rochelle. Most of the pictures are BNSF, infact all of the pictures are BNSF, except for three. UP didn't have much to offer that day. I hope the photobucket compression isn't bad. Enjoy my trip report, although it gets kind of boring towards the end.
My Oct 29th-30th Rochelle trip was probably by far one of my most interesting trips I have taken. Great catches, cold, rain, car break downs, and even straying off what I had originally intended this trip for.
I wish I could call this ICE Chicago Sub Trip Oct 29th-Oct30th, as that’s what this whole trip was planned for. Robby and Nick were to meet up with me in Rochelle, and once we heard that an ICE train was leaving we were going to give that a chase. Well it didn't exactly work out like that.
On Thursday my father and I had left around 1-2pm. I wanted to stop into Stevens Point as I had heard that 3 EJ&E units were there earlier. We drove around Point and found nothing. Although a Missabe assigned IC SD40-2 was down there. Our next stop was Portage. On arrival we found a welded rail train sitting in the yard. We stuck around a bit and watched the crew lay down some rail. On the lead was CP 6010, and SOO 4444 was trailing. Bringing up the rear was a MOW SOO caboose number 900016. No pictures to post of this one.
We arrived in Rochelle pretty late, and it was dark. We drove over to the park anyway to get some night shots. The rain was really pouring now as a UP local came by with two GP15-1s. Looks like I should have did a longer exposure...
Not too long afterwards the UP signal turned yellow as a west bound approached Rochelle.
Slowly the west bound crossed over the diamonds at Rochelle.
The next day we woke up to gray skies. At least it wasn't raining...yet. On arrival to the railroad park we noticed that a BNSF local tucking its' self away at the Delmonte Plant. I decided to wait as I knew they'd be back out.
The first real train came by on the UP. Not much to look at, just two flared SD70Ms, but what really peaked my interest was the trailer. This may be a crappy shot, but SD40-2s are getting harder to find on Class Ones, so I'll shoot what I can get.
Next the BNSF local made its' way out and headed back to the yard with BNSF 2807. On the scanner they where talking about a car they needed to pick up from the Savanna-Eola local. They would run that car out to Flagg Center. No picture to post.
Next to come was the Savanna-Eola local. The horn on this train was a little different, and I could immediately tell this was a former ATSF unit. As it rounded the bend the Blue Bonnet scheme lead me to think this was a standard cab GP60. Once it got closer I couldn't believe my eyes, it was a SD40-2 leading on the BNSF. This was by far the catch of the day.
Next up was a loaded coal train lead by UP 7272. Not much to look at.
BNSF 2807 cut its' car off the Savanna-Eola Local and headed out to Flagg center. The dispatcher gave him an hour to finish his work. Apparently a BNSF west bound was suppose to follow him. No picture.
Next a UP stack train made its' way out of the yard and headed east to Chicago. This train had two Mids/DPUs.
The next train through the Interlocking was BNSF 4436. Although the nose is semi-blurred, and the sky is gray, this is probably one of my favorite images of the trip.
Slowly UP 3946 lead a short auto rack train through Rochelle after the BNSF east bound had past. No Picture.
Around this time Robby had called and said he was leaving Chicago. He would be in Rochelle around noon.
Finally that BNSF west bound showed up. A nice War Bonnet was leading.
Another great trailer. A re-numbed former BN SD40-2, 1937. This was great to see, but also very sad. Only a year ago I saw one trailing on a stack train still in its' original BN number. It's too bad to see these classics being demoted to yard jobs.
BNSF 2807 finally came back just in time. He was held up though by an empty UP coal train. Trailing on the coal train was a former SP unit, UP 6164. No Picture.
After the coal train cleared BNSF 2807 got the ok to move through the interlocking. The former CB&Q signal bridge is a favorite of mine to add into compositions. Who knows how long this will be up.
Up next was UP 7769 leading a east bound stack train. This train had a DPU, UP 7390. No Picture.
BNSF sent out a work train, it appeared as though they were going to replace a crossing. I figured we wouldn't be seeing a BNSF train anytime soon. No Picture.
UP 6447 lead an empty coal train back west. No picture.
UP 5521 lead the next stack train. This train had two SD9043MACs trailing and had two DPUs. No picture.
Next UP 6637 lead an ethanol train east. No picture.
The rain really started to pour down now, as apparent in this picture. UP 4763 lead a mixed train through Rochelle a with former SP unit trailing, UP 6402. .
I decided to brave the weather and make my way into the gift shop. On the ATS I saw that two BNSF trains were sitting out east and west of Rochelle. Around this time Robby called and said that his car had broke down 10 miles from Rochelle.
UP 7207 lead an East Bound coal train through Rochelle. UP 5714 was the DPU. No Picture.
Next UP 3859 did a one unit wonder and lead an East Bound stack train. No picture.
The rain started to pick up again, and I hunkered down in the gift shop watching the ATS monitoring. Robby had called and said that they were getting towed into Rochelle. It would be about 2 o’clock when they finally arrived in.
On the ATS a BNSF had popped up and got the clear to head through the interlocking. A pair of GEVOs lead this train.
Two or three UP east bounds made their way through Rochelle. I didn't even bother to take pictures now as the weather was really getting crappy.
Back to the gift shop I went. Not to long afterwards another BNSF popped up on the ATS. What do you know, another pair of GEVOs.
Robby had called and asked if we could pick him up at the repair shop. While waiting, a BNSF east bound blasted through. Not much was on this train either, just a trio of Dash 9s.
While unloading Robby and Nick at their Hotel, a UP West Bound came with UP 4796 leading. No picture.
Right away when Nick turned on his scanner we heard an ICE West Bound get a warrant from Davis Junction to Kittridge. A bad day just got worse for Robby.
After that my father and I left. I thought it was a pretty good day for me. I got some nice catches and was well satisfied. Although I didn't get the ICE, I caught two SD40-2s on the BNSF in a day. Too me, that's was worth sitting in the rain and watching a sea of yellow pass by.
Nice videos Ty! Some very nice shots.
Good trip report Jordan. Sorry to hear you guys had some crummy weather and car trouble. Oh well, you can't win 'em all!
Alex
Can't win them all was a understatement for me this trip, the trip did not go well at all to say the least, pretty much a quadruple loss, the car breaking down, no IC&E, bad, cold and windy weather, as well as boring power on pretty much every train that passed through other than the GP15-1. When bad luck comes to mind, 10/30/09 will always come to mind now. Hopefully next time Jordan comes down I won't have such bad luck! The funny thing is that night while I was at the park, a black cat crossed the road. Quite fitting...
That seems to be the way things go in the world of railfanning: ebbs and flows. Sometimes you have a really good day, other times a bad day. And when you think about it, it's kind of amazing how many variables have to all come together to give you a good day. Sorry to hear this one didn't go so good Robby!
Even though the weather wasn't perfect, I'd say you came away with some decent shots and some interesting catches, Jordan. Seeing a GP30 (I know, it's now rebuilt with a new designation, but it's close enough for me) is pretty darn good for 2009, as was some of the other power. I actually really like the shot of the UP train in the heavy rain too.
All this mention of the ICE in Illinois has started giving me the itch to get down that way again. One of these weekends I stay down here in Platteville (or P-vegas as we more commonly refer to it) I'll have to see about making a trip that direction. Of course, I really need to get that Bellevue shot crossed off the list too.
Noah
Thanks Noah! That GP30 was neat to see, although it was weird for me. I think that was the first time ever seeing and hearing a GP39-2. Seeing a GP30 car body and hearing it sound like a SD40-2... Good luck on the ICE Noah, it seems like you can get a westbound around noon heading out of DJ. Not sure how long that'll last though.
My shots are a little lower than decent. I've been wanting to do better compositions, but I just don't have a good eye for it. I know it takes time, but looking back, it's going to be three years next year when I really started to get into rail fanning. I have improved my quality of photography greatly from when I first started. But what I shoot now, I feel like I'm "documenting" too much. Nothing is wrong with that, but I personally like a little more "art" in my shots. ICE_6418 on Flickr comes to mind. I really love his photography. For some reason, I just love his shots, and the train doesn't have to be perfectly in the center, or the nose doesn't have to be perfectly lit, they just appeal to me a lot no matter the conditions. In three years, I haven't really learned a lot so much in compositions. I've just learned how to take a good wedge shot. So I guess the whole point of this rant is that I would like to learn how to do better compositions, but I just don't seem to have an eye for it.
Thanks Alex!
Yeah, that trip did not go as planned for Robby. I've had trips that have turned out rotten before too. September 6th 2009 comes to mind. I still haven't posted the pictures for that. Nothing was going on at Rochelle. The ICE was better, but I could not get a decent shot of a full blue and gold consist at Savanna. That trip was a bust.
Yeah, ICE_6418 is basically the king of IC&E on Flickr it seems. Those shots are part of the recent inspiration to accomplish a IC&E trip, and also for my recent taste in trying to get the IC&E more frequently recently. I'll have to go back out there anyway sometime this week to get the car back since the repairs will be completed tommorow. The day I get the car back, I'll try re-doing Friday's trip again, hopefully successfully getting the IC&E this time.
Noah, the IC&E here has seen a pretty good decrease in daylight traffic since the CP takeover. Basically 271 is the only train that consistantly runs during daylight hour. For eastbounds, 270 and 272 both usually run during the night, as well as westbound 273. Your only hope for a eastbound on the Chicago Sub would be a late 272 or 270 (which isn't unheard of) or ethanol trains. It seems when a ethanol runs, it's usually in the morning. They also occasionally run ethanol trains westbound during the day, I saw one in Franklin Park earlier this year. The bad thing is with the time change you may have to go east of Davis Junction to get 271 before it gets dark out if it's running later, it usually departs Bensenville between noon and 2 and it seems to have been getting to Davis between 2 and 5PM. Last time I saw 271 it made it to Davis Junction in daylight, but didn't make Byron until just after sunset. It's still worth a try to get the IC&E, since it's pretty much given a SD40-2 will be leading.
Well we are running coal trains again, here is Kale during a break from conductoring.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=302350&nseq=41
To my surprise, since The 30th is already has about 930 views and was even the #1 Most Viewed Shot in the last 24 hours! I guess there were alot of girl railfans on that day!
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
Well, the NJ Transit F40PH-2CATs that were sold to Metro-North (I only found out about the sale a few weeks ago...) are finally being renumbered, as well as the ones M-N already had. M-N 4191-4194 will become 4907-4910, and NJT 4115, 4116, 4123, 4125, will become M-N 4911-4914.
MNCR 4913 (ex- NJT 4123)This photo is NOT mine, and I take no credit for it whatsoever.
I did go after the IC&E today after Friday's mishap, and we'll just say the trip went quite well this time around. We followed the IC&E from Davis Jct east until we intercepted what we thought would be 271. Nope, it was a ethanol train with 6 SD40-2s, even better! DM&E 6080 was the leader. We caught it going through Kingston, Kirkland, Fairdale, Monroe Center, Davis Junction and Stillman Valley. It was quite an easy chase as the train didn't do more than 30 at any point. This was shot of the day at Kingston. http://www.flickr.com/photos/24084206@N08/4073944096/
well i got pics i need to post from 2 trips, 1 from fall break & 1 from almost 2 months ago. now that football is over i got all the time in the world to catch up on stuff. so i should have pics posted soon as i get the rest uploaded on photobucket. in the mean time i can post a little trip i took beacuse i was bored
so ya i got lots of updating to do on flickr photobucket & everything else