Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 42: November 7, 2005

[Anonymous]

PHOTOGRAPH 2 HAS MORE INTERESTING TOPIC AND VERTICAL LAYOUT DEPICTING A STEADY MOVEMENT OF MANIFEST FREIGHT THROUGH THE SEEMINGLY CHAOTIC LABYRINTH OF THE YARD,

[Anonymous]

I liked numder 2 . It's two of my fravroite things trains and semis.[8D]

[Anonymous]

I studied both photos for almost 15 minutes. I finally voted for #2 only because I had to vote for one or the other, and it had a uniqueness to it that makes it stand out. kinda like the one white faced cow in a herd of black ones. Any other week I could have fallen for #1 just because it is so pleasing to the eye. The fall foliage really brings out the yellow handrail.... I was really surprised to see the spread in votes, and thought it would be much closer. Both very good shots in my mind, I'd be proud to have either one in a fram in my train room!

[88gta350]

While I'm a NS fan, Photo 2 is a much more visually interesting shot.

[Bergie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sterling1

By the way I have a question to ask, why did BN or BNSF convert from horizontal cab to vertical nose headlights?

Matt

I believe it was to reduce glare off the top of the nose and thus improving the vision / experience of the crew. I think it was a Santa Fe thing, because shortly after the merger all units started getting modified.

Bergie

[Fred_Parkinson]

Although a classic wedge shot, photo 1 is unusual for the choice of the roadrailers. While free of the usual ROW clutter, I found the contrails distracting. Photo 2 is almost pure clutter, but the sinuous curves on the lines of cars do pull the eye through the photo, so I voted for it.

[wctransfer]

Number 2

Alec

[Anonymous]

Love the yard action. Had to go with 2.

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mandelswamp

Is it normal for the first RoadRailer behind the engine to have a slight tilt? Is it because the CoupleMate Rail Bogie brings the front of the trailer down more than the rail bogies that link two trailers?

It appears that the locomotive in Photo 1 is a GE wide cab unit. Anyone know which one?

The GP-50 and GP-40-2 have the NS paint scheme along the locomotive's sides where a series of white stripes lead into large white NS letters with Norfolk Southern in smaller lettering below the large NS letters. Does anyone know when the horse head was added to that paint scheme? I'm modeling 1989 and want to know if the horse head scheme existed then.

The answers to your questions:
1. Yes, that's normal, and yes, that's because of the couplermate.

2. It is a Dash 9-40CW (or D9-40CW according to NS).

3. The horse head is a recent addition, since the Conrail merger. Definitely not around in 1989, so you'd have to stick with the "standard" NS scheme. Or use a little modeler's license! [swg]

I thought that both photos were beautiful!!! And, despite the blind voting, I find it easy to figure out which is whose. You guys have different styles, not to mention a certain person's website that I regularly visit! Nonetheless, I think the blind voting is a great idea.

Although I think NS is awesome, and Roadrailers even more awesome, the photo of the BN engine in the yard really caught my eye. The way that the train curves off to the right, and then there are the yard tracks that are straight in the background of the picture. Sweet job, both of you!

[zardoz]

#1 is prettier, with the fall colors and such, while #2 is more interesting, much more railroad-intensive.

Went with #2.

[Anonymous]

Had to be #2. For me, nothing catches the essence of railroading like a down-and-dirty rail yard.

(Surprisingly, the yard actually looks relatively clean!)

[BuckeyeandWalnut]

The NS Triple Crown Express is old hat to one who lives near the NS. I voted for the BN yard shot because of all the related items.
Erik and Mike, keep the pics coming, they are always something to look forward to!!

[Anonymous]

A tough choice, but I went with Photo 2. It's composed very well and I love how much of the yard it shows, with freight cars taking up every space.

[Anonymous]

Photo #1 got my vote. I just like NS locomotives because we don't see them very often on the rails in Southern California.

[Anonymous]

Guys you have done it again. Just as I was about to vote for photo one, with it's awesome angle, cool locomotive AND ROADRAILRERS!!!!!!!!! I saw photo 2, cool loco, neat shot with the yard, and I am a BN fan!!!! This was some of the best rounds of photos ever, real hard to decide- but photo 2 won by a hair!