Teen Railfan Place - Spring 2010

[Anonymous]

ns3010

Sorry Tyler, I think we have you beat in the weird equipment department.

 

In commuter rail equipment anyway...I had more meant the subway and light rail systems.

I am definitely going to lobby for a trip to see the trains have ice cream. Don't think we can make it to the shops, but I'll try anyway.

[WCfan]

    For many weeks, I have been planning my Good Friday trip to Tunnel City and the CP Tomah Sub with Brent. The trip turned out very successful, and I’m actually fairly pleased with my pictures. Although after seeing the photos of what I missed, I‘m still kicking myself in the butt.

    The day started out at 500 hrs. By 530 my traveling partner (my dad) and I were on our way. By 730 we arrived in Valley Junction on the UP. Now, all the times I have gone past the signal at Valley, it has always been green (Indicating a clear block). But to my surprise, it was red! We headed up the drive to the signal, and out in the distance I could hear a horn. About that time the signal turned green, indicating that the train had  left that block. I knew Brent was heading  west on Highway 21 following the UP line, so I warned him about the approaching train. Luckily he caught it.

    At 800 hrs my father and I arrived at the Tunnel City perch. Right away we heard an East Bounds horn out by Raymore/Sparta. A half an hour later Brent showed up, we could hear horns of two different trains out to the West, but the East Bound still wouldn't come. At 900 hrs a horn from the East surprised us; it was a west bound train. We rushed to get to a different location, but we soon heard the train enter the tunnel,. We rushed back up to the perch, and got a going away shot of a CP GEVO. CP 1, Brent and Jordan 0.

    Shortly after that, we heard the east bound approach.  While waiting, we heard that a Weston Bound coal train was behind the manifest. 15 minutes later the east bound finally showed up. A CP GEVO leads a manifest up grade.



    Right on his tail was the Weston bound coal train. This guy sounded great grinding up the grade!



    We waited for a few hours to see about nabbing another train at Tunnel City. We heard horns again way out in the distance. But they stopped after a few minutes. We decided to give up and head to Lacrosse.  When we hit Sparta, we heard the West Bound 199 call out Tunnel City. Great...We headed into Sparta, and at 1130 hrs we got the CP 199. This guy was moving!



    At Sparta, we were given reports that a 487 was heading our way, and that an SD60M was on a train. Brent parked his car at the Wal-Mart, and hitched a ride with us. On our way to Lacrosse, we heard Amtrak number 8 hit the detector at Bangor. Looks like the 199 had to take the siding. We arrived in Lacrosse at 1200 hrs. There was plenty of time to burn before the 487 got to Lacrosse, so we bummed around and checked out the yards. In the BNSF yard was a pair of NS units heading east, and a War Bonnet Leading a CSX unit, also heading  east.  At the CP yard, we found a pair of SOO geeps switching. The 199 made their way through the yard. After they cleared, I was able to grab a shot of the SOO geeps.



    I then realized that the two NS units had gotten an Authority and were heading south. We tired to head through town to give them a chase, but we soon realized it was useless. We went back, and parked by the depot, hoping to catch the 487 switching in the yard. I walked down the platform and checked out some angles, when I turned around, I could see a train heading into the yard. Using my zoom I found out that it was a DME/ICE unit, the 487 was here.

    At 1245 hrs, I took my favorite shot of the whole trip. It was nice that the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds.



    We watched the 487 switch the yard for a little bit. It really brought a smile to my face to see some ICE power again; and those EMDs sounded great! At 1300 hrs we heard a horn to the west of Lacrosse. To my dismay, it was another GEVO and AC4400.



    As you can tell, the sun went back into hiding. The storm front was starting to move into the area. After the GEVO AC44 cleared we watched the 487 switch some more. While watching an older gentleman in a red truck pulled up. He informed us that a pair of Blue Bonnet SD40-2s was in the BNSF yard getting ready to leave. We quickly headed to the BNSF yard. While going over Grand Crossing, we saw a west bound  with two NS units pull into the yard. More foreign power! We raced to the north end of the yard, and sure enough, it was two true, Blue Bonnet SD40-2s. We went north to an unknown crossing. I didn't like that location, so I checked out the map. At 1330 hrs the Cat fish hit us. Sorry for the dark shot!



    The BNSF dispatcher was giving out warnings of 55mph winds. The storm was fast approaching us. We headed north  to County X to capture the duo. It was quite the site to hear that ATSF horn, and the sound of two EMDs getting their train up to speed.



    The storm was fast approaching us, so we opted to head out. Arriving in the BNSF yard was a War bonnet leading another NS unit. We took some record shots, and we started to book out, hoping to still get ahead of the storm. It was no use, before we got out of Lacrosse we got engulfed. On our way to Sparta, we realized that while fooling around with the SD40-2 Duo, we had missed a CP SD40-2 leading a GEVO. At Sparta, we heard them cross the Detector at Bangor. I was satisfied with what I had, and decided to just get out of the rain. I also opted not to stay at Sparta to get the SD60M, again opting to stay out of the rain. Those mistake would prove to be "fatal". We dropped Brent off at his car, and quickly left. On our way home just north of Necedah, I saw a south bound CN local. I opted to let it go, as I was pretty happy with what I had.

    After coming home and pulling up flickr, I realized exactly what I missed.  SD60s galore out east  of me, and an SD60M leading a white SOO SD60 on the train I opted to skip.  

[Noah Hofrichter]

Neat stuff Jordan! I like the ICE/La Crosse depot shot a lot too. And catching two SD40-2s leading on the BNSF is something I haven't seen up this way in quite a long time...

I was out taking pictures too on Friday. I was in radio range of the CP, but I didn't actually shoot any CP trains (I found something better). I did hear a few conversations in the early afternoon that made it sound like the Dispatcher was having some serious issues with the signal system between Portage and Mile Creek or so though.

My trip report will follow later.

Noah

[B.Erdmann]

Jordan had already posted his Pictures & now its my turn. Trip Began at 6:00 when i left home most my route would be away from the tracks until i reached Necedah where the UP follows Hwy 21 until Wyeville.

Jordan have me a heads up on a UP East Bound so i decided to pull off in Necedah & check out the area i seen the end of a train going over me & i thought i missed it so i kept heading West then i seen headlights so i pulled off & happened to be the SSPR.

Continue my Way West i now Arrive into The Cranberry Capital of the World Tomah WI. My destination i am going to is 4 Miles west yet. I Meet up with Jordan & wait for the train. like he mentioned the Westbound snuck up on us. this train also happened to have 2 rare boxcars on it a Parallelogram & a Brown & white. still wishing i was at the bottom to get the numbers :banghead:

Heard a Roll by on the Scanner so we knew a East Bound was coming

808 came after them i wish i would of waited for it to round the corner more.

CP was now playing games with us as we heard horns to the East & nothing came & then we headed west. on the way i heard 199 call out tunnel city & that explains no EB. so we got 199 at Sparta

Then i parked my car at Wal-Mart to save on gas for the way home & hopped in with Jordan.

Some stuff in the BNSF Yard

Is That a Deuce 7 Tag?

CP Yard now

487 Pulls in

EB Grain Train ( The BBQ Joint here was making me hungry)

Then we got the heads up on the BNSF Nice to see Foreign Power one reason why i Like BNSF & wished i lived closer

Then the Consist of the Day

Then the Rain started to come & seen another set came out of the yard a good one too & too bard the weather soiled are plans.

Jordan Drops me back off in Sparta i Head West by the time i get to Tomah rain had stopped so i scope out Tomah a bit, After getting a report on traffic the SD40-2 leading the Gevo Comes by, & yes another Parallelogram Boxcar. yet i never did think of going to Camp Douglas to get them again.

Then i Find the Amtrak Depot that i passed twice realizing that the run down depot was the Station. 198 Comes into Town

They met 295 at Monroe just a mile East of Here

I was gonna wait for the 810 to come until the Rain took over so then i go to Culvers & get a Butter Burger & then head home. i am definitely coming back.

[Anonymous]

My trip to New Jersey was sort of a bust, railroad-wise. Due to The Powers That Be (parents) deciding to go to the zoo, I missed the NS-GP40-2-and-a-sick-Alco Easter Bunny Express but managed to get out to the Whippany Railroad Museum in the morning.

There's already a lot of photos here so I'll just post links...

Dum de dum...nothing exciting here

This turned out okay...that's an Amtrak sleeper in the background

REALLY like this one - star effect through a semaphore signal! Railpictures gave it a "PEQ."

I also like this one. Still in the RP queue after sharpening it.

HDR! Too bad it's a bit backlit so RP doesn't like it.

 

[Noah Hofrichter]

 Cool shots, Ty. I love that semaphore shot! I'm surprised RP didn't take it since I'm pretty sure they've taken similar shots in the past.

Noah

[ns3010]

Very nice photos all around!

What, the zoo? Seriously?!
Eh, it was only 5664, not even 3010 (Seems I'm not the only one that it escapes...). And 5664 is just a regular GP38-2, not even a high hood.

Well, at least you didn't miss 18 and 54!
Oh, and BTW, now I don't feel so bad about getting your hopes up of 54 being used... It wasn't on the train, but that doesn't matter since you didn't see the train anyways.

...............................................

I went out to PA yesterday and saw the remnants of the Old Road and Cutoff, but no actual trains. I'll have a few photos either later or tomorrow, since it's getting kinda late.

[Noah Hofrichter]

 As promised, I've also got a trip report to share, but it's a relatively short one. I was out train hunting as well on Good Friday, but in a different part of the state and after a different railroad than Jordan and Brent were.

Earlier this year the WSOR's Reedsburg local switched back to running in daylight. I did a little bit of chasing over my winter break at the end of January, but since they only run weekdays (while I'm at school) I haven't had a chance to chase them since. Since is no lighter longer this time of year, I made plans to head out on good Friday with the hopes of nailing a shot I've been wanting for 3-4 years but never had the opportunity to get: the view from the overlook at Devil's Lake State Park. Sun or no sun, I decided to go for it, as who knows if the local will still be running the same schedule a month from now (it can change at the drop of a hat it seems).

Devil's Lake is probably one of the more scenic areas around, and attracts visitors from all over the Midwest. It has an added bonus for railfans however - the CNW built a line right through the park along the east bank of the lake (in the late 1800s long before it was a park). The shot I've been wanting forever can be had from an overlook atop the bluffs on either side of the park, but they do require a fairly steep hike up on a well groomed but rocky trail. By the time I bought a park sticker and made it up the west bluff to the location I wanted, I didn't have to wait long. It was pretty windy, but one time when the wind died down I thought I heard a rumble of a 645. I wrote it off as just the noise of a car on the wind. About 10 seconds later I was proved right however as a air horn cut the silence. I caught of sight of the train and was happy to realize the WSOR's 25th anniversary engine, 4025, was leading, only to also realize he only had one boxcar. Oh well, I made the best of the tiny train:

There were a lot of Turkey Vultures (I think) floating on the wind, and at one point one wandered into my picture. It was an unexpected but rather neat catch:

I chased into Baraboo (just a few miles away) and arrived just as they were shoving into the industrial park. I was able to find out that the plan for the day was simply to turn the train here at Baraboo and head back for Madison instead of continuing to Reedsburg. This was good from my perspective, as it meant I could shoot him going the other way at the Lake too. I got a couple of shots as they switched in Baraboo (when the sun even bled through the clouds briefly):



While he ran around his train I went to hike back up the bluff at the lake and hoped that the sunlight would get stronger. Unfortunately the opposite happened and the clouds moved back in. Oh well. I had a little bit of a wait, but eventually the train showed up with his five car pick up. This looks much more like a train than the northbound version!:







With that I let him go as I knew it would be a long way before I could catch the train again. It may have been cloudy, but I'm happy with the shots. If the WSOR decides to change back to nights now at least I can say I've got shots from up on the bluff in Devils Lake. It's certainly quite the hike, but it's a neat view!

I would have probably been even happier with these shots except for the fact that about a half hour after the train went through it cleared off to pretty much mostly sunny for about an hour. I was hiking around the lake scouting future angles and enjoying the afternoon, and the sunlight was just beautiful - if only there had been a train! If the L463 had switched one more industry, or stopped for lunch, I might just have gotten sun. But that's the way the cookie crumbles. If the schedule keeps up however, I am definitely returning on a mostly sunny summer afternoon however...

Noah

[ns3010]

Very nice Noah!

I saw tracks from the top of a mountain as well, but no trains... On the way in I took note of the cars sitting on the tracks in PA, and on the way up the mountain, heard a horn. After we got back down on the way home, I noticed a different cut of cars was there... Darn...

Well, seeing that I don't have many photos, I'll post them, but not even all of them, since this page is already photo-heavy...

The Lackawanna Cutoff crossing the Delaware River, as seen from a parking lot on the PA side. The large concrete bridge is the Cutoff, and the track in front is part of the Old Road, also abandoned (although the track seen is still active- I believe it serves a power plant and a few smaller industries)

The Old Road passes under the Cutoff. The Cutoff ROW (tracks aren't extant anymore) curves to the north just to the left of the shot, and connects with the Old Road at Slateford Junction.

And the tracks (at this point, it is both the Old Road and the Cutoff) as seen from the top of some mountain on the NJ side of the river. The elevation of the mountain is 1,564 feet, but I was zoomed in quite a bit for this shot.

I really wish the datestamp wasn't on all of those... I can't figure out how to get it off the camera. I know how to set it, but not how to remove it...
BTW, they were all 4/5, but the time on the camera is off, which is why some say 4/4

I have a lot other non-railroad related photos that I haven't even uploaded yet- who knows when I'll get to that...

[Anonymous]

Joe, you might be interested in this! I took my rare clips of NJT Comet 1s, GP40PHs, a GP40FH, plus trains of ALP44s and other Comet cars at Convent Station, opened them up in my new video editing program (Cyberlink PowerDirector, which I love), and applied liberal image stabilization and sharpening tools! The moving black bars at the top and bottom of the frame were the original video edges - fixed a lot of shake, huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfD3JJ3frmI

[Noah Hofrichter]

 Very interesting Ty - I didn't know one could do image stabilization after the fact like that! It sure is pretty nifty, and it seems to do a nice job.

Noah

[WCfan]

 Thanks for the compliments guys!

Brent, I guess it is only far since I got you in a shot, that I can be in one of yours too. 

Tyler, I love that semaphore shot! That is also a pretty neat video editing program. I really could use the stabilization tool!

Joe, neat vantage point up there! Too bad you couldn't catch a train!

Noah, I really like the Devils Lake Bluff shot! Too bad the sun couldn't show it's self.

This month must be the month for high vantage points! Come on Tyler! I don't see any shots from atop buildings! 

 Another shot I would like to try would be the Bluff shot at Lacrosse, maybe I can do that for another time...like in a few weeks...

[Anonymous]

WCfan

This month must be the month for high vantage points! Come on Tyler! I don't see any shots from atop buildings! 

 

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1537770

SO THERE! Yes, it was taken a year and one month ago, but it was published in Trains and this is a Trains Magazine forum so that's my justification!  I really want to go back to the Skywalk soon so I can shoot a gigapixel panorama of Boston. Here's the gigapixel panoramas I've done so far - one of them train-related. Zoom in to the full amount and it's scary how much detail there is. You can read the train info in the Grand Central image! These things are like panoramas on steroids!
http://photosynth.net/userprofilepage.aspx?user=TrainManTy

[EJE818]

Don't leave me out! This was shot in 2005 off the deck of the Sears Tower in Chicago! http://www.flickr.com/photos/24084206@N08/4259973744/ 

[ns3010]

Tyler, the black bars are kinda bugging, but I think (not completely sure yet) it's better than shaking. Interesting how you can do that
Also, it's crazy to see how much Transit has changed in only two years. In your video, there were Comet Is and ALP-44/Comet MidTOWN Directs only. Now, the CIs are all gone, and most (not quite all) MTDs are 46/ML sets.

OT/Random- the other day I saw backwards stripe 4600 (4601 is also backwards). Unless you're really paying attention, you'd never notice. I didn't even realize it, except for the fact that I saw the number.

Well, I think Transit has made the decision that they will regret. Today, they passed the fare increases and service cuts. They made some changes, mostly to buses and a few trains (mostly changing times to make gaps smaller), but the plan is still pretty bad. 25% increase starting May 1, and the elimination of ORT tickets. They'll stop selling them on the 30th, and they won't be valid after 5/23. Rediculous.
I guess my email didn't do much to change their minds...