Trackside with Trains.com, Vol. 110: "Rolling stock"

[barraclou.com]

Every photographer found a different car type and there's still so many different cars and loads not covered in the submitted pictures (Caterpillar construction equipment, John Deere tractors, heavy transformer loaded on a schnabel car and even the few remaining made in Motor City cars...)

But you missed the ultimate load to ship by railroad: railcars!

[Partsman_ba]

Fuselages. And I thought this was a photography contest.

[cx500]

 An interesting variety, and it was close.  I liked the coal train over the crest, since that did convey the rolling profile, but ultimately went with Tom's.  Wonderful lighting, and a better impression of rolling in the movement sense, as well as having rolling terrain.  Andy had an interesting variety of cars and an excellent picture but the strong telephoto did not give any particular car to focus on (and I suspect the train was stopped, not "rolling").

 John

[espeefoamer]

When I saw the category,my first thought was that I would never vote for intermodal.I read each participant's comments ,and photo. When I enlarged each shot for a better look,I started at the bottom and worked up.Kent's shot of rhe airliner fuselages really caught my eye.Then the night photo of tank cars was high on my list.When I saw the enlarged version of Tom's entry,I was blown away.The cars up close then then in the distance,with the golden hills and low light won my vote.

[lhtalbot]

Hi

I don't think we are running out of ideas, just expanding on them. I think this volume has some of the best shots I've seen in a long time. In fact, I'm having a hard time selecting a photo to vote for.

I am going to go ahead and post this, then try to go back & vote.

Thanks for another great volume                                                                                  

Larry in Wauwatosa

[LU-Trains]

Great Pictures from EVERYBODY this week!  And really a difficult decision on which to pick. 

The symmetry of Drew’s black and white is great.  Tom’s long golden sun-scorched ribbon of cars in the dessert was breathtaking.  Of course, nighttime shots are always hard to resist and Erik’s is no exception.

Admittedly, perhaps Andy’s mixed consist is really the essence of freight with its variety of design.  And then you come to the fun picture - Kathi’s colorful toy train across America! 

And finally, at the end, Kent’s picture of what is undoubtedly the most unusual freight haul - you’ve got to be kidding - a couple of really big planes!

I wish every photo shoot was this loaded with wonderful material.

I went with Tom’s shot.  The perspective - close and faraway - drew me in.

[ericsp]

What is wrong with freight cars? Without them, there would be no need for those high horsepower locomotives up front.

I liked the lighting on Erik Bergstrom's photo, and the fact that the reporting marks are legible. Although the others are good too.

Kent's Johnson's photograph raises a question. I have heard that BNSF moves the 737 fuselages on intermodal or special trains. There is a covered hopper behind the second set of cars carrying a fuselage which makes me think it is a manifest. Has BNSF changed what type of trains it moves these on?

[Choo Choo Aussie]

Wow! This is a hard one this week.  They are all excellent photos.  I ended up voting for Andy's photo as mixed freight keeps you watching the train to see what else is coming.

Great photos. Well done all. 

[dreams]

I had to go with Kathy's because of the beautiful contrasting colors.  Kent's was a very close 2nd due to the uniqueness of the subject.  The others were great also, especially after seeing them enlarged.  I love Galesburg too.  Looking forward to the next ones.  -  Chuck

[zardoz]

Lots of nice shots this week.

I loved the symettry of Drew's coal cars;

Erik's shot left me rather confused--lots going on with only a few cars hogging the image;

Kathi's shot was most interesting with the saturation of colors;

Kent's was interesting with those rather unique ladings;

Tom's image is beautiful. I like how there are at least 4 points of interest:
     the cars in the forground with the track structure so nicely represented,
     the cars in the distance getting lost in the haze,
     the sun catching the cars as they disappear around the curve,
     the locomotive exhaust which suggest power.
If the theme of this contest had been almost anything else, I would have gone with Tom's.

However, the theme is rolling stock, and Andy's shot pretty much covers all the bases regarding car types; additionally, I really like how the sun glints off the sides of the cars and the rails.  And i lke how it shows great detail, highlighting the cars against the darker track and background.  The distant background of signals, trains, etc is just icing on the cake.

Good shot, Andy. You got my vote.

[gemotor]

 Composition, lighting, impact, geometry, energy - Tom's got my vote this time.  Good work, all.  Looking for more in weeks to come.

 George in Lynden

[Rocket Man]

A lot of good shots this week... But one piece of art.

Kent had a nice and interesting grab with the fuselages.  The color in Kathi's popped so well, it almost had a surreal quality about it that I liked. Tom's was very interesting and had a lot that I liked except the harshness of the haze and glare which overpowered the rest of the shot. I think that Drew effectively displayed how his photograph showed the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. The black and white simplicity, the flow and symmetry of the consist was very appealing and his photo is one that I would hang on my wall!

[loadmaster747]

A good selection of photos this time.  Each time I thought I saw "the winner", I would scoll to the next shot and change my mind again.  First, I thought Erik's Galesburg yard night shot had it, until I studied Andy's mixed manifest shot.  Then, the colors of Kathi's freight snaking up the hill and into the distance impressed me.  But finally, Kent's "multimodal maximus" grabbed me and wouldn't let go until I voted for it.  Nice comeback, Kent!  And yes, I'll admit to some slight bias, since my screen name reflects my job and a certain model of Boeing cargo jet.

[TOMinTN]

Gotta go with Andy this time.  I really liked the dusky look...the mixed consist...some distant signal lights...and an adjacent track that looked like it could stand some work.

For color and beauty Kathi's entry is great...but it's almost TOO perfect and lacks the grittiness of Andy's Minnesota shot.

The others were good too...tough choices and an interesting collection to match the theme.

TJB / Nashville, TN

[PE 3&4]

Kent,
I "bearly" had to think twice. You got my vote. We see many great photos of many great locations every day.
A plane on a train, not so much. Thanks. 

[Partsman_ba]

 Kathi's shot made me think of Kodachrome, Kent's shot made me go, "Whoa! Nice catch!", but it was the honey-colored wide open spaces of Tom's shot that made me reach for the Vote button.

[Modelcar]

I voted for Erik's presentation....First off, I do like night shots and in my eyes, that is an outstanding one.

But close was Drew's....With the similar cars hanging over the grade hump...Impressive. 

Andy's shot had good light reflections on the cars and was impressive.  The tele lens really made the track look a bit in need of attention but believe most of that was simply amplified by the long lens.

And Kathi's was quite different.....Brightness of the containers and running on what looks to me, an unusual R of W location.

All did represent the theme very well.

[tree68]

I had to go with Drew's shot - I really enjoy seeing a long line of nearly identical cars.  Might stem from my days trackside at Rantoul, IL, watching ICG drags of hoppers headed north full and south empty.

[selector]

As is most often the case, all images have lots of positive points.  I liked the aircraft fuselage image, and the one with all the colourful double-stacks in the green hills.  However, Tom's was a clear standout for the superelevated foreground cars and the ones in the distance apparently righted.  Nice light, too.  Excellent.

[henry6]

Tom's photo takes it for me this week...endless rolling stock in endless rolling country!  But Kent's fusualage(um?) does make one pause to realize what might be stock for some company or on a manufacturing assembly line.

[CShaveRR]

Glad to hear that Kat's getting some votes--that shot was very deserving, but I couldn't vote for more than one.

Erik, is there any way the results can show either individual vote counts or total number of votes cast? Something more than just the percentage. I suspect that 28 votes have been cast, as of my last check.

Incidentally, Pat says she would "not presume" to pick the best out of this installment's selection. However, I can state unequivocally that her strongest (and most positive) reaction came after she enlarged Tom's shot.

[CNW 6000]

Love the topic Bergie.

Tom's shot...wow.  Nice!  Maybe the next installment can be for MoW?

[Bergie]

Murphy Siding

Are you saying I voted for Kent, and not Kathi?

     If that's true, I'll have to get a tune-up on my progressive bifocals, or move to Florida befoer the next election.

 

I'm just guessing... She has 4 votes now, so I'm thinking you hit one of the people around her.

Erik

 

[Murphy Siding]

Bergie

Murphy Siding

I have to wonder, how accurate the voting is.  After my vote, Kathi is still at 0.00%

 

I just had Kathi vote for herself and it registered the vote for her. I'm sure Kent appreciates your vote!

Erik

 

  Are you saying I voted for Kent, and not Kathi?

     If that's true, I'll have to get a tune-up on my progressive bifocals, or move to Florida befoer the next election.

[Bergie]

TrainManTy

Rolling stock? Running out of ideas?

 

Seriously?

We have dozens of topics to choose from. If you'd like to share some of your ideas with me, please send me a Private Message or e-mail. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

Bergie

 

[Bergie]

Murphy Siding

I have to wonder, how accurate the voting is.  After my vote, Kathi is still at 0.00%

 

I just had Kathi vote for herself and it registered the vote for her. I'm sure Kent appreciates your vote!

Erik

 

[Murphy Siding]

TrainManTy

Rolling stock? Running out of ideas? Maybe on each week's recap the readers should vote on next week's theme?

  There's more to railroads than just locomotives.  I voted for Kathi,  as I thought the bright colors of the cars contrasted well with the usually drabber colors of a railroad ROW.  I have to wonder, how accurate the voting is.  After my vote, Kathi is still at 0.00%

[CShaveRR]

Wow--freight cars!

This was like sitting down to a fantastic banquet, consisting entirely of stuff that you ordered, then trying to tell the chef which course you enjoyed the most. Nearly impossible!

I picked Andy's shot for the variety of cars that it shows, and the detail of it coming into a yard--isn't that what it's all about? The fact that it actually appears to be springtime didn't hurt.

As I write this, Drew's coal-train shot (those are gons, not hoppers) and Kat's scenic stack-train photo hadn't received any votes. They don't deserve that! Tom's shot falls into the same category, but he had some votes already.

Erik and Kent: Your shots are good, and interesting. They probably don't deserve to be left out of my consideration, but for some reason I prefer seeing my freight cars in bulk, not just one or two at a time. (On some other occasion, a single abandoned freight car sitting forlornly in the weeds might get my vote, so I guess it's my Monday mood or something.) Kent, both of your shots are unusual, and may have more in common than most folks think...consider how people are herded into planes at airports these days (at least that's what I hear!).

[Anonymous]

Rolling stock? Running out of ideas? Maybe on each week's recap the readers should vote on next week's theme?

That said, I went with Tom's photo this week. None of the other photos really "did it" for me, and the sun reflecting off the trailers was really neat!

Good work all!