BergiePartsman_ba Bergie, you got my vote. Those certainly are some happy little trees right there! Yeahhhh... happy trees. I was hoping a few more people would have picked up on that reference and would have voted for me in honor of Bob Ross' memory. Oh well!Thanks for the vote!Bergie
Partsman_ba Bergie, you got my vote. Those certainly are some happy little trees right there!
Yeahhhh... happy trees.
I was hoping a few more people would have picked up on that reference and would have voted for me in honor of Bob Ross' memory. Oh well!
Thanks for the vote!
Bergie
Awwwww. I didn't know he'd passed. Maybe we should both grow AngloAfros to truly honor him.
I felt like Andy's photo actually spoke "Grain" better, but was put off by the fence post in the foreground, so I went with the best composition - yours. Oh well, I guess some people are suckers for a huge trestle.
Only four pictures!?! I’m surprised, but nevertheless - Bears were cute. Tall trestle was magnificent. Foggy trees with trains and water make one misty, but - Andy’s picture took me back to my childhood, reminding me of my farm heritage - fence post and all . . . It’s hard not to vote the call of your heart.
A mile from the tracks, but I still hear the whistle! Cleveland, Tennessee
Wasted Grizzlies: the original "Bad News Bears"? One more comment about Kent's photo though. The problem with grain on the tracks is bad, but CP does have hi-rail mounted vacuum trucks to deal with the issue. What is not that well understood is that this problem only really began with the introduction of covered hoppers. Contrary to what was reported in the April issue of TRAINS and a number of other sources; in comparative terms boxcars with grain door's didn't leak. Sometimes they may have had damaged wooden floors where grain could run out the bottom of the car, but even national park spokesman have said that the grain leakage issue didn't begin until the covered hopper era started in the 1970's.
I will now dismount my soapbox and say I enjoyed Andy's photo best. His photo, and the one at the top of Page 51 of the April TRAINS, sure brings back memories of my childhood in the CPR Station at Irricana AB. Compared to that picture of the CN train, a unit double-stack train never will look right to me. Both of the trestle photos were excellent second choice photos for me. A wonderful photo theme and issue for me.
AgentKid
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
While Andy Cummings' submission wasn't the prettiest or flashiest of the entries, it said more about GRAIN to me than any of the others.
TJB -- Nashville, TN
I was a bit puzzled by Kent's photo this week... although he stated that there was probably some grain spilled between the rails, there was none visible. So, automatic DQ. Bergie, you were a close second, but my vote went to Tom. Good shots by all once again.
I just had to think Great Norhern in Toms photo. I also liked the comment about Michal Phelps. (kind of funny) I just liked the fact that it is a BNSF and ia going over a tresele. I like those shots.
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Although I live in western Washington, I love and prefer eastern WA. When we are able to get east of the cascades I take a lot of pictures in the vicinity of Andy's picture, so that's my choice. I don't think western WA is more spectacular, its dark and dreary and rainy, eastern WA is bright and sun shiney!
The old grain elevator in Andy's shot did it for me, although I really liked the bears.
Dave Nelson
Andy's photo got my vote.The train on the curve was perfect.and the elevators really tiede into the grain theme.The last time I checked this magazine's name wasn't Bears.
Eric and Tom's photos were excellent photos but very similar and hard to choose between the two.
Good one Kent for trying something different but bears wondering over the track didn't do much for me.
Andy's conveyed old and new which gave his photo a lot of interesting things to see and think about. It isn't a photo you can just glance at. There are lots of interesting things to see. Andy got my vote. Well done.
Hi guys - I voted for Andy's because he was at the top of the list & I couldn't make up my mind because I loved them all. Also, it reminded me of the high plains. I particularly enjoyed the commentary regarding all 4 pix. Super good!! Keep up the good work. Chuck.
Bergie, you got my vote. Those certainly are some happy little trees right there!
Although I think I know what Andy was trying for with that post in the foreground, it is distracting. Nonetheless, I chose Andy's photo anyway just because the way the train is threading through the drainages gives a "leaning into it" kind of feel. Close second is the Marent trestle shot. I love that area of Montana, and I know how much the photographer had to work to get to that location, and I wish that photo were in my camera, but it is a bit sterile when compared with the dynamic of Andy's shot. Again, nice work, gentlemen. Looking forward to more.
George in Lynden
Andy's was the nicest of the 3 pics with trains in them. Interesting footnotes about bears and trains from two pics. Guess I never thought much of that, probably cuz there's not many bears around where I am. I admit I was surprised to see no UP or even WSOR trains.
Voted for Andy.
Dan
A nice selection to chose from this week, although I'm a bit surprised there were only four entries.
Kent, I really like the artistic interpretation you give to each contest, and this one is no exception. Unfortunately, it needed too much explanation (which I quite enjoyed, BTW), and it went up against one of the nicest shots I've seen in a while.
Andy, your shot was quite nice, except for the partial building on the left side, which I felt intruded on the image and disrupted the symmetry (plus there was that one darn grey hopper....). But otherwise, I felt your image best captured the theme.
I was all set to vote for Erik's shot; that is, until I saw Tom's image. In comparing the two images, I had two trains of thought (pun intended).
In Erik's image, I liked the composition better, but the building behind the first row of trees took away from the effect of highlighting the train in the wooded surroundings. I really liked the "Joy of Painting" feel the image conveyed, although having to compare Erik's 'watercolor' feel to Tom's 'electric' colors, the image came across as a bit too washed out. Against almost any other image I've seen in these contests, I would have given this shot my vote.
In Tom's shot, I did not like the composition quite as much (a bit too much foreground, although I did like the orange flowers), but the colors just jumped out at me. And since my personal tastes tend towards the 'vivid' end of the spectrum, Tom's shot really grabbed my attention (and vote).
Obviously Andy's. If you have to explain the picture, ie why bears, the picture just can't qualify. The other two, while admittedly showing grain trains, have the wrong background to support the theme. Andy has captured some grain elevators, even if there are only tiny glimpses of grain fields in the mostly surrounding rangeland.
John
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
....Selected Andy's photo....but it was close between he and Tom. Like Tom's unusual view of the bridge and train, but had to select Andy's because of more reference to the "grain" theme.
Quentin
Andy gets my vote. He has captured the entire theme with a panoramic shot: an old elevator, the rolling hills with the undulating and curving tracks, and of coarse the train with modern locomotives and hopper cars.
Andy's juxtaposition of old and new caught my eye and got my vote. Bergie and Tom turned out similar pictures that still deserve note. They may be "wedge" shots in spectacular scenery (which is always a plus), but the long line of grain cars behind them speaks to moving the product to the market.
Kent's shot was nice, but given the theme, being able to see some grain on the tracks would have tied the bears in without much explanation. As it is, it's just some bears along the tracks. Might be a nice entry for another theme I've suggested, though.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I can "bearly" contain myself! I See grain trains all the time, so one looks just like another just a different color engine and/or car. But in these here parts its the pigeons and gulls who pick up the tiny morsels between the ballast and off the top of the cars....and despite the number of bears roaming these here neighborhoods, I've yet to see one up close and personal. So Kent's picture grabbed me as not being a mundane picture of what is normal. Nice pictures guys, but, Kent's got my vote!
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Hello,
The latest edition of Trackside with Trains.com is now live over on TrainsMag.com! This week's theme: "Grain"
Click here to read Trackside with Trains.com Volume 109
... then click here to vote.
When finished reading and voting, add your comments about this week's photos below. We'll be back with a recap next Monday, March 16, 2009.
Thanks for participating!
Erik Bergstrom
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