The DPU of a westbound BNSF coal train streaks through the Montana night at Lombard, Montana.
I'll be sharing at least one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest or going on strike until I get my way and I depart for Big Sky Country. Along the way, I will try to give everyone some information and other tidbits about each photograph. So come along and join me in my protest! After doing time exposures with the eastbound coal train, we had a short window to eat a campfire-cooked dinner. Why are dinners cooked on a campfire always among the most delicious you've ever had? I'm guessing it's because you've been active and outdoors for the day, and you've worked up a huge appetite. Or maybe it's all the junk food you consumed during the day, and this is the first "real" meal you've had since waking up. The time we had to enjoy our dinner turned out to be shorter than we thought. It was an incredibly calm and quiet night. Because of that, every sound that was audible was magnified, including cattle and other animals roaming the nearby hills. These conditions also gave us ample warning when a train was approaching. Only 30 minutes after the last eastbound passed, a westbound was approaching Lombard. Because of the short time that it took for the westbound to get here, I figured they must have met at Clarkston, which is the next siding east of here. Once again we set up for time exposures on the old Milwaukee Road bridge abutments. I tried a couple of photos with the headlight lighting up the cliff walls to the west, but I didn't leave the camera shutter open long enough. We still had a hint of light from the sunset left in the western sky, so I didn't know how long I could leave it open before overexposing the photograph. As it turned out, I probably could have left it open and had the headlight from the front of the train and the DPU streaking through the frame without burning it out. Instead I took two frames (the second of which you see here). It's not bad, but I would have liked to see more of the mountainsides illuminated by the headlight and bathed in moonlight. Luckily for me, I would have more chances to get it right. Stay tuned for the next episode to see if the next train would provide better results.
Galleries:
Tom's Montana Protest Facebook Gallery
Tom's Montana Protest Flickr Set
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