Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 78

[zardoz]

Bergie,

...how about guest contenders to challenge Mike on Trackside from time to time? You have quite a staff at Kalmbach, and I'm sure you could scrounge up some pictures there. Additionally, I'd be game to submit a shot from time to time if you would allow entries from the forum goers.

Yeah, like a sort of mini photo contest.

[CopCarSS]

Bergie,

I'm sorry to hear of your departure as well. I hope I didn't have anything to do with it. I've been a little critical of some of the last few installments of Trackside and I hope my criticism didn't influence your decision.

I'd like to see you stay, but if that's not possible, how about guest contenders to challenge Mike on Trackside from time to time? You have quite a staff at Kalmbach, and I'm sure you could scrounge up some pictures there. Additionally, I'd be game to submit a shot from time to time if you would allow entries from the forum goers.

Best of luck to you with your house and other pursuits!

[air1fan]

I have to go with photo number 2. I think the details are more interesting. The shining rails, the crooked poles of the phone lines, the heat and exhaust from the locomotive distorting the trees, the gleam of the headlights. It just has more interesting little details that are appealing. I think it would have been difficult not to get a washed out skyline because it looks like it was taken facing into the rising sun.

 

Photo number 1 interested me in terms of composition. I liked the linear feel of it. The parallel tracks, the phone lines, the perpendicular road and even the field in the distance near the tree line adds to the linear feel. It's always a nice change to have a different angle other than trackside, like overhead. With all of that said I still have to go with photo number 2.

Great shots, both!

[Anonymous]

I was also sorry to hear of your "withdrawel" as I enjoyed your column greatly. Maybe you could find some other railfans to take up the position? It wouldn't be the same, but it would be better than nothing.

[CShaveRR]

Congratulations on your somewhat lopsided victory, Erik!  Also sorry to read the news about your upcoming withdrawal (I didn't say "departure").  I'd ask you to reconsider if I thought it would do any good.  This column has been fun to follow, even for a non-photographer like me.

P.S.  Would you believe we had an old WC SD45 on the hump at Proviso last week?  It was #7525, with an Operation Lifesaver logo on the side.  It couldn't go through the retarders, so we got rid of it in a hurry.

[Bergie]

I just posted the Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 78 recap story on TrainsMag.com.

Thanks, once again, for all the feedback. We greatly appreciate it.

Bergie

[Bergie]

PS:  No matter who wins, how did photographer for shot no. 1 get that vantage point?  Were you hanging on or off a bridge or a signal structure??

Most certainly a bridge. Neither one of us would be so stupid as to climb up on any type of railroad property like a signal bridge. That's just plain ignorant.

I not trying to imply that you're stupid Al, I'm just trying to make the strong point that we would never, ever condone something like that.

Read our recap later today, Monday, October 1, to see who took which photo.

Bergie

[Anonymous]

It's a GP-38, not an SD45.  Figured that with it being of WC heritage, it had to be one of the big SD's.  Oh well, you win a few, you lose a few!  Still a nice shot, though.

Wooops! I thought it was an SD45 too..

[StephenDx]

WC over CN this time. This closer to ground level shot spoke more to me. The CN shot was your typical top 3/4 shot. Nice look at the whole train, but ... 

[ValorStorm]

I'll always choose an above shot over anything resembling a wedgie. #1 gets my vote.

[espeefoamer]

Photo#2 got my vote this week.I liked the low angle of the shot.along with the second track and the green signal in the background.I liked the WC power,with a SD45 as the second unit.It was great seeing that as these units are all but gone from WC today.#1 was better lit,but seemed lifelesscompared to #2.

[asnjoe24]

Once again a good move this week to revert to blind judging.

For this week's vote, I think the modern CN intermodal picture captures me more, since there is more of a wider perspective that allows one to see the rest of the stack consist and the rural scenery. The light is against the engines very nicely, bringing out their detail and lettering. The fact that it's intermodal stack also grabs me, too. It won my vote this week for these reasons.

The Wisconsin Central picture does have some nice ground perspective, though; very close up and a charging forward feel. The curves in the empty main also seem strangely appealing with the straight look down the track. The lighting gives me the impression of a early morning local run. There's even almost a steam engine feel with the exhaust pouring out of the top of the lead engine. Nice.

- Bryan

[Anonymous]

Well it seams that I'm one of the few who voted for #1. It was a hard time picking but had to pick one. I just liked the shot of the train all lined up. Nice shot.

[DadH]

Photo 1 Took my vote because of the "infinity" factor. The shot angle was supurb giving a vanishing point way in the distance. (Do those tracks really converge somewhere)?

Photo 2 had a nice showing of the "nitty gritty" of railroading but still preferred Photo 1.

[CNW 6000]

#2 WC picture got my vote.  It seemed like it was definately moving, and working hard.  The #1 shot didn't say anything but 'Yawn, intermodal'.

[stevewf1]

I voted for photo #2.

Personally, I've always loved telephoto shots of trains and trackwork. This shot shows all of that up very well.

There's an approaching train, a crossover, a diversion off the mainline and a road crossing. And that signal - watch your back!

This photo has an "art" quality to it - very nice!

Steve Wyant

 

 

 

 

 

 

[islandbridgejct]

2 interesting photos. I went with the 2nd, but liked the composition on both. In the CN shot, the train divides the picture left and right, and the road gives a strong horizontal at the 3/4 stage. It's an interesting arrangement of triangles and tetrahedrals. The train draws your eye back to the road, and then the road has the earth mover on the right, and the other rail line on the left. The telegraph poles reinforce the strong near vertical emphasis of the train. That's where I felt the photo fell down. It drew the eye to the back of the picture where everything was going on, and never returned your view to the loco at the front. It never said, 'by the way, this is about a train.' I think the lack of light on the nose of the engine could be part of the reason.
The WC photo looked wrong at first, with the second track surrounding the train, but it grew on me as I looked at it. The headlights direct the eye down, like an arrow, towards the rails. The rails draw you back at high speed to the back of the train, but then they join up with it and lead you back to the front end and the exhaust in the evening light, which seem like the whole point of the photo. So even though the rail distracts you from the main focus, it ends up bringing you back to it after you've looked around. Which was pretty neat.
Nice work, guys.

[lhtalbot]

Hi all

I voted for #2, I think I like the closer feeling. Both are good shots. They did a nice job on those tracks....normally a telephoto shot like that would have made every dip & bump look like roller coaster tracks.

Larry in Wauwatosa

[Kell]

Photo 2. My choice reflects more about me though. I'm getting bored with high iron, cement ties and symetrical consists.

[al-in-chgo]

At first photo no. 1 looked almost a little too good, with that straight-line train and parallel track(s).  But I liked the kind of blocky look the late-afternoon sun gave it.  The photo has great dynamism to me in spite of the arranged look, because of the expression of power inherent in it.   The engine was perfect for that look. 

Photo no. 2 certainly has its merits but I never considered it seriously.   The wobbly ribbon rail and the pervasive diesel fumes extending to the top of the frame don't look romantic to me . . .  just dirty.   Not a great reflection of today's Wisconsin Central.   -  a. s.

PS:  No matter who wins, how did photographer for shot no. 1 get that vantage point?  Were you hanging on or off a bridge or a signal structure??

 

 

 

[Rocket Man]

Both nice shots! the #2 WC shot had so many things going for it, but the light that gave it all those great features (heat plume, rail shine and texture, wire glint, #43 Hemingray wire insulators), just killed the shot for me with the blast of white hot sky. Strangely, I like the half of the power pole on the right to help frame the shot... otherwise I wouldn't be able to tell where the photo ended and the web page began. I think it was a great photo.

The theme I loved in photo 1 of the CN is GEOMETRY. Lines everywhere that made the shot very attractive to me. Not just the typical wedgie but, the convergence of so many lines like the power lines, track, train, road, and then the crossing parallel lines of the other road, tree line, and changes in the fields. I also felt that this photo got the most out of the light (in comparison to #2) with out the harsh side effects. The way each container was illuminated yet defined by the shadow cast between them gave the train great geometric texture.

I think in general both of these photos show a lot of effort by the photographers and both gave me a lot to think about photographically speaking.

[gemotor]

I was immediately drawn to the Wisconsin Central photo, even in the thumbnail.  And the larger the image, the better it looked.  It's just ineffable.  The photo has soul, which is why it is ineffable.  You just can't put such things in words.  Oh, well, one strength is that you can imagine the sound from just looking at the exhaust against the tree.  That's one indication of a good image - it suggests more than enters the eye.  The photographer captured the graceful curvature of the trackage and a green board for a junction, suggesting more traffic on the way.  I like subdued lighting, with skylight highlighting the sides of the subject.  That photo has a lot going for it.  Meanwhile, the CN shot is dead.  It reminds me to stop taking overhead train shots.  Down on the ground, looking up at this looming behemoth, on the ground, where it shakes when the train passes and the dust and leaves come up, is where I find it these days.

George Werkema

[TrackTalk 1]

While I liked both shots I think that shot number 2 captures the essence of railroading much better. I get the feeling of being in the scene instead of just looking on a scene.  As a railroadman I feel at home and it's what I see when I'm on the job.  The dynamics of shot two can be felt while viewing the shot.

[NYC]

Another tough choice.  I think I went with picture two because of the lighting effects.  The sunlight picked up exhaust from engines and reflected off the tracks and wires.

 Both pictures were examples of "tough" engine power.  Good Job.

[Anonymous]

Both are great shots, but the rails in photo #2 were the deciding factor.

 

Bill

[Anonymous]

Photo #2 just seems to have a lot more "impact" to it.  First off, to my eye's its the clearer of the two shots.  The colors seem a little more vibrant.  Secondly, with the smoke coming from the exhaust stack, you can tell the units in photo #2 are under load and working full out to pull the consist, whereas #1 seems static, as if the train is just sitting there waiting for a signal or something.  Just my but thats how I see it.

                                        Rich

[UnionPacificVic]

It's a GP-38, not an SD45.  Figured that with it being of WC heritage, it had to be one of the big SD's.  Oh well, you win a few, you lose a few!  Still a nice shot, though.

[loadmaster747]

Once again, two good photos.  #1 almost looks like someone paid to pose the CN train for the photo... clear day, strong lighting, green grass, and the train itself slashing diagonally across the photo, off into the distance.  #2 spoke to me just a bit louder though.  Something about the light glinting off the rails showing a right-hand curve on both ends of the short straight occupied by the train almost makes it look like a scene from someone's marvelously detailed HO layout.  The exhaust plume, though, anchors it in reality.  Whoever took that shot, backlit as it was, deserves to win this week!

[DennisHeld]

To me, it was an easy choice. #1. Both are good shots. But I'm funny about train shots. I like to see the train. The WC was a good shot and the rails came out good. But I found the train too forshortened because of the angle.
The CN shot had a very nice profile and absolutely great detail of the train itself from the engines all of the way back. It was the sharpness of the train itself all of the way back that impressed me. It's hard to get that much depth of field.