Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 76

[CShaveRR]

Not at all, Rev.!  Welcome!

Always great to get a different, unusual perspective on things.  Just watch your language and typing skills here, though--there are those among us who will take advantage of typos and other potential for word play to the fullest!  (I'm one.)

[revbry]

I liked the UP shot because of all the power, especially that winged tri-window SD60M in the second spot. 

 But I ultimately voted for the BNSF because somehow I thought it was a little humorous.  Something about that billboard with the kids running and laughing made it look like they were cheering on the train.  I know, I'm weird, but what can I do?  Maybe I've said too much in my first post...

[Anonymous]

I voted for the Union Pacific.  I liked the mountain "pull". 

The BNSF crossing over the river bridge with the billboard in the background advertising swimming was pretty neat catch.  I still cannot, for the life of me understand why people insist on "tagging" someone else's property and call it free speech, even if it just a bridge.  It is just disrepectful of others.  

 

[kicksvette]

Had to go with Erik's UP shot in this one. Mike shouldn't post a 'blind vote' shot on his website until after the voting.

 The UP shot was a nice scenery shot.

The urban jungle that some of us live in can make good use of big lumber (aka long lens) to help crop out some of the distraction like the billboard in the BNSF shot.

[Anonymous]

Once again, I'm in the tiny minority, but folks the UP shot is excellent and just like 99,000 other 3/4 on wedge shots going back into the dawn of railroads: a nice clean orderly photo. The BNSF shot is, on the other hand, a *great* photograph. Look at all the texture, color, and movement: the art/inscription/hieroglyphics/grafitti on the bridge, the water, the sign sticking up in the sky, the locomotives leaned into the curve on the bridge, and right there in the middle a Warbonnet. Whichever of you took this photo should be proud even if only 20% of the viewers liked it. I guess - to put it into a musical context - it is a bit like comparing a nice CW song (predictable 3 chord progression about a woman gone bad) to the soaring improvisation of free form jazz - say Coltrane at his height. As I've watched this contest for the last 75 editions it seems that the photo that docments always beats out the photo that expresses. Interesting.

Vive la differance

Robert

[DadH]

Photo Judging, thy name is simplicity. Photo 1 was my choice. Photo 2 is just too cluttered by non-railroading items.

[espeefoamer]

I must be slipping in my old age. I voted for the UP photo on two different forums today.

(On the other forum a UP shot was competing against a NS photo).

Remove the grafitti and the HUGE billboard,and the BNSF shot would have been much better!

[Lgerover]

Hi Everyone, being a longtime BN now BNSF fan I went with #2.....I had to look real close at it though.....I took me awhile to figure out where it was.  But after further review it finally dawned on me DUH....I've taken many a photo there and other places real close to there....Now sure who took the photo but I like it......Gary

[JSGreen]

Even being a Santa Fe fan, (and by "inheritance", a BNSF fan...) I had to go with the UP photo also this time.  Now, if the billboard had a railroad theme.....

[jeaton]

Looking at the voting up to this point, it appears that I should have set up another prepublication power lunch. 

The rule of the day would have been "No fair putting up a photo of a consist of 7 or 8 engines grinding up a grade in the middle a spectacular mountain range against a..."

Wait a minute!  When is the last time someone got a photo of a BNSF train heading out of Milwaukee on the CP?

Of course, it would be ironic if the UP train was heading up the hill toward Marias Pass.

Jay

[jlethbri]

UP has never been shy about using big power. Don't get to see that kind of thing around these here parts. Nice track too. The BN shot has too much non train "stuff" to make it appealing to me.

Jim

[Kell]

I liked photo 2 (BNSF). It told a story of a high priority TOFC sneaking outta town via the back door before sundown.

KES

[lhtalbot]

OK....so I struggled & voted for the BNSF anyway. Yes the billboard really sucks. Maybe I am swayed by where I think it was shot. I have photographed AMTRAK in that location. All in all, nice work guys. Thanks again!

Larry in Wauwatosa

[OJLAR]

I Really go for the UP Pics. Have to say I'm partial to UP even if I'm a displaced agent telegrapher. Keep them coming.

[wcnut]

To each his/her own, and my own is #2.  While the large and intrusive billboard is a distraction, I was much more impressed with the wide angle of the BNSF opposed to the 3/4 of the UP.  Also, the UP shot seems a little heavy to the left of the image, so I would have like to have seen a little more scenery on that side to balance it out.

As I am living in an urban environment now, it is challenging to incorporate these intrusive elements into our shots.  Ideally the billboard should be on one side of the image or the other, I find all the urban elements interesting...angles from the interstate, light poles from the parking lots, and the graffiti on the piers (not to glorify it).

Greg "wcnut"
Transplanted from the Dairy to the Nutmeg Sate.

[Billman730]

Photo 1 though boring is better than photo 2 because the engines look like junk in pic 2. Also not as sharp a picture as in photo 1. It would take some good CSX power to make a great picture though... LOL  ..

[Anonymous]

Definately the UP power, don't see one with that many around here very often!

[dorfantiques]

Graffiti? A monster billboard? Come on now...

Don

[LVJJJ]

Ooh, painful, had to vote against a war bonnet, BNSF photo was just to washed out for me.  The UP picture grabbed my attention, the BNSF caused a, huh? what's this?  Oh well, at least EMD's lead the UPs.  Larry, at the edge of the world, Blaine WA

[mandelswamp]

I found both photos to be pleasant but neither provided much in the way of "Wow" factor.  Photo 2 has some interesting graffiti on the bridge supports but I found the large sign advertising the hotel to be a distraction.  Photo 1 is a closer shot of a train with lots of front end power.  Of the two pictures, I like photo 1 better so that one got my vote this time.

For a future volume of Trackside with Erik and Mike, how about competing photos that focus on a railroad structure rather than photos that focus mainly on locomotives?  Perhaps a trackside industry, track bridge, signal bridge, round house, water tower, station, freight house, or switch stand?

[gyro-gearloose]

It was that dumb sign in photo 2 that killed it for me.  It just screwed up an otherwise great photo.

[Anonymous]

I gotta go with the Uncle Pete photo... While there is a lot in the BN picture that adds to the level of interest, I hate seeing a sign growing out of the top of a loco. I like the location but not all of the clutter that came with it. The UP shot is clearly my favorite. 

Too bad that You guys can't find a way to easily accept photos from us, so you could turn the tables and choose a few shots and make comments  on them. It might help me out with the guilt that I feel week to week when I write something negative about one of your photos, when I know full and well that I have a lot of duds stored away on my computer...

Have a good Labor day Weekend!!! and thanks for pictures you share with us!!

[silicon212]

I voted for Uncle Pete.  Sure, I see UP trains all of the time, but this one stood out on the quality shot and the power, all of that power. 

[sporegonfan]

Personally, I thought the billboard stood out in the BNSF shot, but the way it was worked into the picture actually appealed with me. For once, I didn't vote for the photo of my home state. (Come on, who visited Oregon this week and didn't tell me?)

-Alan-

http://rails_etc.rrpicturearchives.net

[loadmaster747]

Lots of horsepower on display in the UP shot, but I voted for the BNSF shot.  Why?  I am a sucker for that Warbonnet paint job.  I hope someday their management realizes what an icon the Warbonnet has been for generations, both kids growing up with their Lionel Super Chief train sets and their parents who rode the "1:1" version.  Besides, that shot shows modern rail at work in the real world, warts and all... didn't a shot with broken fences, weeds and telephone lines win in the last few weeks, too?  There was nothing wrong with the UP photo, but when I can look out my living room window and see UP rumble by 20 times a day, the novelty wears off!

[BillKi]

Great pictures but UP has it this time. A much sharper shot but what sold it for me was that the UP photo doesn't suffer from all the distractions of colour as in the BNSF. That's one decent number of engines. I can't wait to know what was behind them that required that many. Great stuff fellas.

[Rocket Man]

I'll vote for Photo #1 hands down. #2 was too busy and frankly unappealing. As far as guessing where the photos were taken. I'll take a wild guess and say photo #1 was Professor Bergstrom, east of Rollinsville on the Moffat Route, with a Canon. Thanks for doing the "blind" contest again!

[StephenDx]

I like the BNSF shot as it shows more of the environment of where the train is working. I'm not a fan of graffiti but this shot shows that the paint was applied when the channel was dry. It also shows that there has been an attempt to remove/cover over previous efforts of graffiti artists.

The UP shot is a great country shot, but the head-on nature means that there is not a lot of train showing. 

[Anonymous]

Wow both photos were great but I got to say the UP was just to much.  Did count that right, 7 UP Loco's?