I just loved that short dinkey train of 1 hopper. What is that a 40 tonner? Maby a 70 tonner?
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
Choo Choo Aussie I loved Mike's photo. They were all good but I loved mikes. The rails, scenery and the small train said it all.
I loved Mike's photo. They were all good but I loved mikes. The rails, scenery and the small train said it all.
Ditto! I especially liked the effect of the telephoto.
Andy's was very good, too. I was intrigued by the inclusion of the highway in the shot. If I were in the same spot, I automatically would have shot from the other side of the road in order to exclude the highway. But, I think inclusion of the empty road and shoulderless bridge adds a lot to the off-the-beaten-path setting. It'll make me think a bit more next time I go out.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Three great shots on the subject - all with great rational'
Photographically I like Drew's - nice balance, good lighting, and the composition pulls the viewer right into the picture.
Andy's rational is beautifully illustrated by his shot.
Mike's shot really captures the local aspect of short line both with the engine and single hopper and with the track stretched out before and after the train.
Amtracker-in-OK
I knew, from my own model railroad photography, that Drew's shot was a toughy, but the context, to a kinda-not-really-a-railfan-except-in-British Columbia, didn't get under my skin. Nice work, though, and full credit.
Andy's shot had me hooked because I saw it first in full size, and I am a sucker for wooden trestles. I was thaaaaaaaaaaaaat close to posting my vote right then and there.
But, I dutifully opened Mike's shot and I couldn't help it; that lonely work crew is thinkin', "Jeez I'm hungry, and we still have two hours to get back to the shop! And this bouncing isn't making it any easier!" My compliments, Mike.
-Crandell
I voted for Mike's shot. This photo just screamed "short line" to me. One switcher pulling one car on 10 MPH track.Drew's photo deemed too much like big time railroading,to me.Andy's was good but Mike won my vote.
Voted for Mike's photo....It speaks of lean operation, hence....short line.
The other two photos are really great.
And I especially like the evening shot of Drew's....but it kind of relates larger rail operation....Love the night shot.
Andy's shot is very nice....Just thought Mike's said "short line better".
Quentin
"Short line" to me means a small operation, sometimes just a family and few friends/employees operating a few miles of castoff Class 1 branch line track, and serving only a few industrial customers; the type of operation which is usually modeled in someone's basement layout. Matching double-headed power doesn't come into the equation very often in this scenario... so Mike got my vote, for the scene most easily re-created by hobbyists.
Andy's NC shot was very nice. I agree, though, that he might have been better served to walk across the street. The road in the foreground distracted me more than I thought initially it would at first.
Drew's shot honestly didn't do anything for me, except that I know how challenging a night shot can be to pull off. Not being familiar with that area, I couldn't tell what was what without the description and a visit to a mapping application. So maybe it's a good shot but possibly in the 'wrong' theme? I dunno...
Mike's shot of the WSOR was a little blah at first. Then I stared at it a while and let my eyes wander. Older power, small (very!) train, serviceable but dated track structure (stick rail), rural setting. All of those spoke "shortline" to me. At first I felt the shot was wanting for a bit more detail on the train, such as letting it get a touch closer, or maybe finding an old trestle that it's crossing.
Went with Mike's shot.
Dan
They don't carry blocking or frogs these days. If something happens, call downtown, and the car department and the section show up to make things right.
I think Andy should have walked across the road to get the shot.
Drew's shot was good, but didn't really say "short line".
I went with Mike's shot.
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
All 3 were great pix. I voted for Andy because I knew the line and actually rode with Sam and Fred up there in the mid 90's when I lived in St Paul (NE). If it hadn't been a Cotesfield shot, I would have voted for Drew.
Drew got my vote. I just happened to like his entry best.
TJB - Nashville, TN (vacationing in FL this week)
All three photos were well done, Drews would have appealed to me more if the overpass was not cutting the top off, but the color and composition were great.
Andy's photo had every thing you could ask for, big blue sky with just a hint of clouds, beautiful power, good composition, great color...
But Mike's shot screams short line...thin to no budget for MOW, old, very old jointed rail, second or third hand locomotive, one car delivery to a customer out in the boonies...and having been there and doing that exact thing every few days it simply appealed to me the most.
I hope they have a re-rail frog and some wood wedges on that motor!
23 17 46 11
Only 3 choices. Should be easy to pick, right? Wrong! 3 good shots. I finally settled on Mike's shot, because it seems to best fit the theme. I do have some bones to pick.....to me, it's too compressed by the telephoto effect.Have to look pretty hard to distinguish the units. Of course the telephoto does make the track look pretty bumpy which does add a little "short line" look to it.
I felt tugged to vote for Drew's pic, because it is a really neat shot & I am very familiar with the location. Have shot many pics from that spot myself, very close to my home in Wauwatosa. As the Muskego yard continues to be used less & less, it seems like a stop there is a rarity these days. I think that your observation re an imminent westbound maybe has something to do with it also. It's my understanding that CP prefers not to run side by side traffic thru those dangerous State Street crossings, as a safety precaution. Those are all no horn crossings, and altho they are all gated, there seems to be no shortage of people who like to start across (pedestrians) as soon as the train clears. I'm sure there is someone out here who can help me out on that???
Photo must be fairly recent......looks like the Little Red Store is open??
Andy also has a very nice shot. I kept going back to look at it in large view. Hard choices this week.
Larry in Wauwatosa
Gotta go with Andy, not so much for the "classic" aspect but more for the "existential" aspect. I see trains running along an abandoned road (no vehicles!) transporting fuel that will not be used anymore!
Love the Yuhas short-short-short line, the oft jointed rail, wooden ties, plus the ditch lites seem like overkill on the MP15 while speeding along at 5 mph. Larry of the great NW
I totally had to go with Andy Cumming's photo. It just screemed a nice modern shortline to me, with the claasic small wooden bridge, the rolling fields and the small country road streaching off into the distance. Sorry, but Mike's shot just didn't do anything for me, it looks too run down. Just because it's a shortline dosen't meen it has to be in bad shape, also the train is just to small for me, I've never seen a train shorter then about 10 cars long and to me his shot looks like the train is switching more then it does a shortline train. I loved Drew's shot, it had to be my favorite of all of them, however it just didn't fit the shortline theme. Overall a great effort by everyone!
Ship it on the Frisco!
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)
I went with Drew's shot for one reason: I know where the shot is taken and know it's not an easy one to pull off. Hat's off, Drew.
The other two shots were good; I just gave Drew more credit for the degree of difficulty.
And Andy, I'm glad you're experiencing first hand how complex Trackside is. Welcome aboard!
Bergie
Something different this voting time. I loved them all, for different reasons. But Andy's made my heart go pitter-patter. Could it be because I am native Nebraskan? I love photos that I can "feel a part of" and these 3 all accomplished that for me!
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Oh its gotta be Mike Yuha's pic...classic shortline pose of a smallest engine and one car trundling off to somewhere to take care of a customer! The others are so contemporary, but this one is classic!
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Thanks, Ty.
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...
Larry, you linked to the voting page. You want this one: http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=5032
I had to go with Mike this time. While the other two both fit the catogory, nothing said shortline like a telephoto dirty switcher pulling one car on light jointed rail! Nice shot!
I also liked Drew's shot, since I'm a real sucker for nighttime photos, and the actual photo is very nice.
Andy's shot was very good, but didn't say "shortline" like Mike's did.
Nice work all!
Here's a link to Trackside 113.
(Don't forget to make it sticky, Andy.)
OK, so much for the housekeeping.
Had to go with Mike's shot - It simply personifies "short line" - switcher, one car, track's a mess. The picture just has a lot of character.
Andy's shot get's an honorable mention - it does say "regional" to me.
If it weren't for the names on the sides of the locomotives, though, Drew's shot would have "big railroading" written all over it. Six axle power, what appears to be a busy facility, not how I picture a shortline or a regional (although I know they easily could be).
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