Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 25: February 21, 2005

[Anonymous]

Number 1- Great Contrast gets My Vote
Number 2 - Not enough Snow for a Winter Scene

[mandelswamp]

Boy, you guys keep making the voting a very tough decision! Both are great shots of what I prefer - locomotives and their consists. Picture #2 is a beautiful winter scene with plenty of UP power on the front. Picture #1 is an unusual lighting shot that has SOO Line (CP subsidiary) power pulling container stacks. Since I favor Canadian owned railroads over the US owned ones AND I enjoy seeing container stack trains, Picture #1 edged out Picture #2 for my vote this week.

Erik, hope your fingers heal quickly. Don't want them bothering you when you email me your acknowledgements of the railroad news article references that I send in.

[fievel]

Both shots are great!
But the beauty of the UP train skating through a frosty field is simply irresistable!
[:)]

[Anonymous]

Photo #1 does it for me. A great shot in difficult light conditions.

[techguy57]

Love them both, but I had to vote for #2. Great contrast between the snows brightness and the shadows from the locos. And holy cow, is there a lot of power on that train!

Mike

[LVJJJ]

yep, they're both nice, but the brite sunshine, white snow makes me feel better, so had to go with #2, seeing the big beautiful American flag helps alot too.

[shanson2]

Most of the comments are for #1, but #2 leads in the count. Don't the UP voters have any real reason for their opinions?

Usually I don't vote for dark images, but the Soo was just too unique and got my vote.

[CSXrules4eva]

I had to vote for photo number one!!! One of the main reasons why I did vote for it is because, I've never seen Soo Line action before. I also like the setting of the intermodel consist. Thats awsome :).

[Anonymous]

Sorry guys, but photo #1 belongs in the trash barrel: apparent camera shake (or poor focus) and poor `exposure'. Regardless of the camera used, you can't expect to get a useable photo when shooting into lights without a lot of post-processing---and that''s true of film photography also.

[Anonymous]

I like the MP sign in shot 1 as well as the heat coming off the locomotives.

The power in shot 2 is pretty sweet, but overall I just prefered shot 1.

[Anonymous]

SHADOWS AND CONTRAST HAVE TAKEN THE DAY! BANKED CURVE DIDN'T HURT, EITHER!

[Anonymous]

I JUST NOTICED A COMMENT FROM ONE OF THE FLOCK LITERALLY "TRASHING" PHOTO #1 FOR "OUT OF FOCUS" RESULTS; HAS THIS PERSON EXAMINED THE UNIT NUMBERS?

[Anonymous]

I couldn't resist the UP flag graphics. This is one of the best paint schemes ever. You can just feel the power by looking at this photo. The snowy landscape really brings out the color of the locos.

[espeefoamer]

I really liked photo#1.First,I liked the way the train curves off to the left,with the loco shot head on,and the track continuing to curve in front of the train.I liked the headlights and ditch lights shining against the dark loco. I enjoyed the evening (or was it early morning?) lighting in the photo.Also ,I liked the milepost to the left of the train.#2 was a standard 3/4 shot against bland scenery.The fact that it was UP didn't help either!
Erik,enjoyed your shot of the WC SD45!Hope your fingers heal soon!

[Anonymous]

Liked both pictures for different reasons: #1 Looked good coming around the curve, and liked the intermodel cars. #2 With six engines it showed a lot of power and the coloring was great. Voted for #2

Still not sure what to think when I see votes based on what railroad is shown. I thought votes should be based on the best "railroad" shot, not what railroad is shown. Since many railroads do not even go through Wisconsin it seems fooli***o use that as a reason to vote for one picture over the other.