UP No. 4019 leads another SD70M, No. 5057, SD70ACe No. 8605, and AC4460CW No. 7074, still with its "We will deliver" lettering, at Round Grove Road between Morrison and Sterling, Ill., on March 28, 2015. Jim Wrinn photo.
I was in Illinois Saturday on a quick overnight road trip to central Iowa and stopped at a favorite crossing on the Union Pacific, where I’ve had good luck before. My hunch was right: The headlight of an eastbound mixed freight was on the horizon at Round Grove Road between Sterling and Morrison, so I pulled off on the sunny side, grabbed the Nikon and the dog out of the car, and picked a spot. I zoomed in to make the grade crossing shot more interesting at least in my mind, and enjoyed the gift of another mainline train in action crossing before my lens.
As the train passed, I did three things to use my camera as a notepad.
First, I pivoted and photographed the trailing units, making sure the road numbers are visible, so that down the road if someone asks me what were the other units in the consist, I can answer truthfully.
OTTX and JTTX flatcars carry new John Deere tractors east on a UP manifest. Jim Wrinn photo.
Second, I photographed freight cars that caught my eye and a line of brand new tractors on flatcars that were pleasing to me. I like to record more of the train, often shooting the tail end whether there is a distributed power unit there or not. Besides, years from now, won’t we all want to know more about the consist of the 21st century freight?
Third, before I drove off and returned to U.S 30, I took a photo of the crossing tag to help me remember this location years from now. I usually do this when I’m out and at a crossing, and it’s a quick way to note the location.
I could use a notepad to record all of this data, but I find that notes and images often get separated and that while images get saved, notes often walk away on their own. I could add it to the digital files’ metadata, but my schedule is hectic these days, and using my camera as my notepad is a quick, easy way for me to save valuable data about the photos I take.
Crossing tag gives the location for future reference. Jim Wrinn photo.
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