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[Anonymous]

Fantastic photos, Noah! I took a look at your Flickr photostream and like what I see.

--------------------------------

I love finding cool stuff in secluded folders on my hard drive. I've got to get out fanning at night more often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74hw4TfDyHA

[ns3010]

 Ok, remember how two months ago, Transit cut dozens of trains and raised fares? Well, they magically found four hundred million more dollars!

The possible purchase of 10 additional Dual Modes and 100 new Multilevel 2s is on the agenda for tomorrow's board meeting!

I'm really PO'ed about this...

[B.Erdmann]

 I Got my Trip Report ready on my 3 day trip out to the Mighty Mississippi

Wednesday i go up to Wausau to get Jordan since we are staying at his sisters place in Winona.

First we see the power at Weston for the coal train


So then we head south & along the way we catch 588 at Junction City. Mine as well get these while we can



My Favorite Artist



On our way we catch IC 1019 was getting ready to go to Necedah after working Erco in Nekoosa



SOO 2064 & 4423 were parked on the Main in Tomah crewless, i think they were eating lunch at the pizza joint next door.



Then we stop in Sparta for some food then we stop in at the BNSF in La Crosse & We see this WB ready to go as a EB comes in



Yard Power



he had a CEFX on the trail



Then at the CP we have a Mini Pool train coming in the yard



Then we have a Train roll by with a SD40-2 Trailing



then we head up the River to Winona MN where we were going to park for the night.

Thursday our goal was to shoot along the River as much as we could & we did what we could.

First up is a 581 at Minnesota City



Then we hear about 486 out on the DME Waseca Sub & we find them at Stockton



The DME crew gets off at Minnesota City while a CP crew takes over



Then after they Work Winona we get them at Homer MN



Then we see 487 is in Homer Siding & found out the crew was getting called at 2:00 PM so we eat Lunch & Check out the Yard & see the Yard Power



Then we camp out at Goodview while we were there we see a 291 come by



Then Shortly after 199 comes by



Then after an Hour 487 gets done will head up the Waseca Sub



We then Chase them to Stockton



Nice thing about Minnesota highways the shoulders wide enough on the roads & easy to pull off on so we go to the Bridge in Stockton



Then we go to Lewiston MN for the last shot of our Small Chase



We figured we would go to Winona Station just to see if anything decent ran by

We had Amtrak



271 comes in



we also had a 499



& Then 270 Rolls by



We did have a 182 come by but it was getting dark & my shot didnt turn out

Friday

 Our goal was to see what the BNSF was like on the River.

First we see if any EB's are lined up in LAx while doing so we see a WB Waiting to Leave



Then we hear a Warrant for a EB but we couldnt find the spot we were looking for.

Then we hear 2 more warrants 1 for this EB we got at Victory



Then for this Ore train at Genoa



With a DPU, I must be getting pro at shooting out the window



Then we head North back to La Crosse & see these guys we saw at Goose Island but in better light



We check out CP but nothing showed so we decide to work our way home

 We stop in Sparta for Lunch & visit an old friend of mine then we go to Tomah & while coming into town the Oakdale Detector goes off & its 291 We knew 291 has good power so we go to the Depot & look what we got



This would be the Last Picture of our trip we took. It was a Fun trip to go on as I have yet our Small trip we took to Stevens Point to do yet ill post that in another post.

[WCfan]

 Yeah I'll eventually post my pictures from that trip, along with the Nebraska Trip. Most of you guys have probably taken a look at my photos from Flickr. Although I will have extra photos in my trip report.

[Noah Hofrichter]

 I envy you guys catching that 487 - I found one coming into Winona a few weeks ago but they tied it down near tower CK. I had to be back to work so we couldn't wait around for a new crew to take it up the hill. You got some neat stuff.

I made it out for a couple of quick shots today. Mostly the standard CP and Amtrak stuff except for a nice 637 empty ethanol train that had been tied down in the siding at Kilbourn (north of Wisconsin Dells). When he finally got going out of the siding and up the hill, he put on one heck of a show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35317901@N02/4829407982/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35317901@N02/4829408336/

Even with the red bomber leading instead of something nice in blue and yellow, it was still neat to hear the 645s pounding away. And catching an SD40 with class lights leading is still kinda cool. I guess I'm starting to be more accepting of the red leaders, as even though they may not be pretty, like everyone says they won't be around much longer either.

Noah

[WCfan]

 That's quite a catch Noah. The red DME SD40s are really starting to grow on me. I think they are an amazing catch now days, an SD40 frame leading trains on the CP mainline. Where else can you catch that? The only road I can think of is the CSX.

So now it's time for my trip report. It doesn't look like a new page is going to be started anytime soon, so might as well burn the bandwidth. Tell me what you guys think of the photos. I'm all for improvement. A few of the pictures of re-edited. I've started to mess around with the colors more, and I think I'm going to have to start doing that more in the future. Enjoy!

On the 14th-16th Brent and I took a trip out to the Mississippi River to try and catch some trains, while the river portion didn't work out so well, we still had a great time catching some nice power.

I also tried a "standard" crop ratio. So tell me what you guys think of my photos!

July 14th

On our way south we stopped in a few places. Weston was the first pull of for some coal power. To save bandwidth I won't post that photo.

With the storm approaching we stopped at JO to see if anything was going on. We heard that the 588 was on his way out. After a short wait we found an SD60F leading. This was a great catch considering that these cowl units won't be running in the states next year. Again, because of bandwidth I won't post the picture.

We passed through Wisconsin Rapids without looking at the yard. Near Nekoosa Brent took a wrong turn and we stumbled across IC SD70 1019. No posted picture.

After that we just kept heading to Lacrosse. Along the way we heard the UP dispatcher, but had no idea where or what he was talking about. In the BNSF yard there was a nice CEFX 1020 trailing on a manifest. Also in the yard were an SD40-2 and a B40-8W. No posted picture.

We decided to head to the CP near the Lacrosse depot. We had no idea if anything was coming, so it was a shot in the dark. After a little while of waiting we could hear the sound of some non-turbo'd geeps. Around the bend came two plain vanilla geeps sandwiching a cherry.



Shortly after that passed, a GEVO and an SD40-2 made there way on the main. No posted picture, it was too dark anyway.

After that we decided to head to Winona. On our way we ran across what must have been a 270. Leading was a CP SD40-2, along with three blue and gold IC&E SD40-2s, an old blue and gold DM&E SD40-2, a blue and gold DM&E SD40-2, and a red bomb DM&E SD40. No picture of that consist at all. We made it into Winona just before the second storm hit.

July 15th

The morning of the 15th didn't start out too well. We started head south on the river to find some shots. Although none of the shots would have been well lit. We found a 170 in the siding, but we couldn't see the power. We also stumbled across a 487 tying down at Homer siding. We headed north as a one unit wonder headed south. I suggested that we should go after the 486 as they were just out of Rochester and would be in good light all the way to Minnesota City. After getting a bad shot of a local, and waiting around a bit we decided to head up the valley and get the 486 off the DM&E.

We didn't see anything along the way up the Valley. After arriving in Lewiston at the top of the Valley we just turned around. It was a good thing we turned around, as we caught the tail end of 486. We must have just missed them on a section where the road doesn't follow the tracks. We high-tailed down to Stockton MN to catch them on the river. A de-rated bird slides down hill. The unit is a former SLSF SD45.



On the scanner we heard that they where going to get a crew change at Minnesota City. We set up down there to witness the event happen. My shot didn't turn out that well, so it won't be posted.

After getting some gas and heading down and up the river a couple times we found a spot. At Homer MN we caught the 486 blasting out of Winona. Where else can you find an SD45 car body and an SD40 frame leading a train on the mainline? Not many places that I can think of. I really used my polarizer on this shot, I don’t think I really like the super blue sky.



We ate lunch and headed to the depot to sit in the parking lot. The dispatcher wanted to get 487 out of the siding, so they sent the Winona switch crew to bring her up to Goodview. We kept a good eye on those guys as it would make a great chase up Stockton Hill. When they were ready to leave we headed off to try and catch them. As they rounded the bend at CK we could see them from our vantage point. My little 135mm lens captured the head light of 487. They must have been a mile or two away.



We waited for them to pull up to the light. But instead they stopped near a cut of grain cars. The DM&E crew was about to come. So there we were, waiting. An hour or so later we heard a 291 call out CK tower. Trains 290 and 291 always seemed to have good power, but with our luck we figured it had AC44s. As they came closer it seemed as though we where right. But then a complete surprise, it had a SOO SD60 in the lead! As it got closer we realized it had two SOO SD60s, and that they where consecutively numbered!



It doesn't get much better than that, two SOO SD60s passing two blue and gold SD40-2s.

Hindsight should have told as that the 487 would take a while, and that we should have killed some time chasing the 291. But instead we were waiting as they got a new crew. 487 started to putz around even more with that cut of grain cars. 199 was getting near, as an hour or two before they were making a pick-up in Lacrosse. 199 is very predictable power wise. It always has two AC4400s, or some GEVOs. This time was no exception.



487 called the dispatcher and told them that they wouldn't make it up the hill if they picked up all the cars. To solve the problem the dispatcher told them to pick up only what they could handle. That number was 12. After getting back to their train, it was time to head out. A cloud has just cleared when they started to pull up. But it was followed shortly by another cloud. This was the last shot I was able to get before the clouds took over...



We headed up Stockton Hill, hoping that the 487 would be crawling on his knees in notch 8. Well he was crawling, but he wasn't on his knees, and defiantly not in notch 8! It was still nice to see two blue and gold SD40-2s.



We headed up to the highway 14 bridge near Stockton. Again, at a slow crawl, but not in notch 8. This sure isn't Wall Hill, but it works!



Next stop was the first town at the top of the hill. From Lewiston on its all farm land, no more bluffs.



Alternate view. (I don't really like this composition, seems like too much "dead" space.



We could have probably chased the 487 a couple more towns, but Brent didn't want to go any further. In the end it all worked out.

Number 7 was due into Winona, so we stopped at the station. While there I rolled off some shots of the yard power.



Number 7 rolled into town only a couple minutes late. A ton of trains had to clear the way for Number 7. Three west bounds were waiting by Homer, and at least two east bounds were at Goodview/CK Tower.



Two west bound one unit wonders passed by after Number 7 left. 270 was next to come in. This is pretty much just a record shot. It does have some significance other than being full blue and gold. The lead unit, DM&E 6365 is a former Milwaukee Road unit, and has most likely ridden these rails many of times before.



Another one unit wonder east bound headed through. 271 was still stuck in the siding at Homer, I’m still curious to know exactly what he had for power. No posted picture of the one unit wonder.

June 16th

June 16th was the day we were going to explore the BNSF on the Wisconsin side. First up was a stop at the yard. We saw that at least one east bound was ready to head out. There were some goodies in the yard though. These photos were only "slightly" corrected.



Wider angle.



We caught this guy after we had done our thing on the river. But I'll post it up here. The SD40-2 and B40-8W were getting ready to head a manifest out of Lacrosse and north to the twin cities. It is really hard to catch SD40-2s on the BNSF, but they seem to hang around work trains and yard to yard locals.



Down the river we went in search of the Genoa curve and some other S curves that looked familiar. We couldn't quite find the Genoa curve, and in the process of trying to find it we missed one east bound. Victory was our next stop. We found a curve and gave it a shot. I walked down to a crossing where I figured the light would be better. Shortly after an east bound snaked it's way down the line.



We still wanted to find the Genoa curve. I had a very good idea where it was, so we decided to scope it out. Around the area of the curve an east bound tac train surprised us. We bailed the car and accidentally stumbled across the curve we wanted, although from a different angle.



I actually liked that shot; I think it would have been nice a little later in the day.  So back into Lacrosse we went. With nothing going on we headed back home. Near Tomah we heard another 291. We decided to head to the tracks to see what was on it. The previous days 291 had some good power, so we hoped for the same results.

When it doubt go for the wedge!



That train had another Blue and Gold SD40-3, and a DM&E SD40-3.
 

[BNSF & DMIR 4Ever]

Been a long time, and it's nice to still see plenty of photos.

 

It's been a rather eventful month for me, making a trip up to the Range, while also getting to explore the CP around Glenwood.

 

First up, the Range trip from June. Did the usual, which is going up to the Iron Junction area, and work my way down to Duluth, hoping to catch the PRS, as DM&IR 215 is working there. Plus, with the whereabouts of 403, perhaps we'll find luck up near the mines. A quick overview reveals little aside from a T-Bird unloading at Fairlane. Signal check at Iron Junction doesn't show much promise, so I head off to find Shelton Junction. Apprehensively, I find where I'm going, and also find 406 and 212 waiting with a T-Bird outside of the Thunderbird complex.

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be headed anywhere soon, as there's a headlight on the horizon. What appeared to be the other T-Bird turned out to be a long CN Manifest. Of note is IC SD70 1012.

 

After three more follow, I'm fairly confident that the Bird isn't heading out soon, so I do a bit more exploring, narrowly missing the empty T-Bird heading back to the mine. Time is getting short, so it's time to head south. Near Meadowlands, I find a Limestone empty waiting, powered by the SD40-2W trio that's been hanging around. Not often I can shoot an entire train in one shot.

5304

5339

5258

 

Duluth didn't yield much, and the construction really hampered any chance of going anywhere in a hurry. Jumped the pond to the Superior side of things. Pretty quiet, but Stinson provided some gems. Lots of SOO power hanging around, with the occasional CP unit.

 

Didn't catch 215 or 403, but not a bad trip, overall.

 

Next adventure takes us to Glenwood, MN, a small town with a nice CP yard. After some exploring, I find this nice bridge, with two AC44CWs preparing to depart.

 

9536

9652

 

While waiting, I caught sight of another departure, and headed off for some pics, and possibly video. The train approaches the Highway 55 Crossing.

 

A pretty common leader, but I didn't have any CP on video, so I switched, and prepared to record. ES44AC 8878 is leading the way, and trailing is an awesome surprise in the form of a Dual Flag SD40-2 6009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgnIYhBKvsc

 

Back in familiar territory, I catch the now more common Manifest cruising through the small town of Deerwood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6L8jdLeWY8

[Noah Hofrichter]

Boy am I glad I'm not on dial up anymore - this page would take forever to load!

Lots of neat stuff posted again though.

It's hard to go wrong with any of the curves around Genoa and Victory south of La Crosse really, but Nickelatti curve is about the best, IMHO anyway. The last time I was up there though (mid July) I came tio the realization that in the middle of summer it's hard to get nose light on anything on the BNSF south of La Crosse though. The light is such that it's almost north of center, making both eastbounds and westbounds almost perfectly side lit...

It's interesting that you were experimenting with a 3X5 crop to Jordan - I was trying to same thing on a couple of photos myself the other day. I've decided in the end though that I've really become a 4x6 shooting and thinker. In my experience something like a train that's long and thin seems to lend itself to a frame that's wider and thinner most of the time anyway, as otherwise I tend to leave some dead space in the foreground or background. Every once and a while however I'll find a situation where it seems like having a more square crop would be better, but not as frequently. And I suppose part of that is because now that I've been shooting with a 4X6 mode camera for almost four years, it feels more "normal" and I naturally compose things that way.

Ultimately though I've never worried too much about stuff like that - I consider myself just a documentary photographer, not so much an artistic photographer, so as long as I've captured the scene and it's well exposed and decently composted I'm happy. But once and a while everybody has to get in touch with their artistic side....

Noah 

[WCfan]

 It's hard enough for even me to load the whole page!

Actually Noah, for that set of photos I was using a 4x3 crop. The 50D also takes a photo of a 6x4 crop. I've used that crop when I first started taking photos with the 50D, but I've moved more towards a taller crop. I think a big reason why I'm more accustomed to a 4x3 crop is because of RP. As you know, and other, the minimum crop is 1024x800 pixels. For years I always used that crop "ratio" for my photos, even for photos not going to RP. So I guess it feels "normal" to use a taller crop. I've tried a few crop ratios, and I really like the 4x3, but I can see its limits. I guess as time goes on I'll have to see what pans out. Maybe I could do a 5x3.5 crop.

Ian Contreras and Nick Benson have always inspired me with their photos. I just love the compositions that they can come up with. It would be a goal of mine to get to the caliper of their skill, but I know that won't happen anytime soon. But I don't want to be like Josh D. on RP. Don't get me wrong, his shots are nice, but they seem too bland for my taste. Maybe a middle ground would work for me. Like the photography of Kevin Madsen. 

[ns3010]

Hey all, sorry I haven't been here, hectic to say the least. I don't even have time to make a full post right now or catch up, but I bought a new camera yesterday and I'm going to Bay Head tomorrow. I won't be able to post photos tomorrow (still don't have a computer...), but I'll be able to look at the trip reports and make a full post tomorrow.

[ns3010]

 Hey guys, sorry for the absence. Been crazy around here. First a death in the family, then working a lot, plus still not having a computer, so it's easy to see why I haven't been around...

AMAZING photos everyone! I'm not even going into detail, because I don't even know what to say!

Got some decent shots from Bay Head and Point Pleasant yesterday, but I can't upload until I have a computer again, so I have nothing to share.

[Guilford Guy]

Hi Guys,

Just dropping in, as I haven't posted here in ages. Most of you know me, some may not, but that's besides the point...

I won't bored you with too many pictures, just a few of a TOFC train, and rapid transit and commuter trains around Boston.

Pan Am's AYMO Westbound throttling up. They really got moving within half a mile, with a really good sized train.

 But then they hit Fitchburg hill and crawled over it at 5mph. It took 11 minutes for the entire train to go past this point.

 

Also started practicing with pan shots on rapid transit.

And lastly a shot of an inbound train at the drawbridges over the Charles River. The Zachem Bridge is in the background. Next time I'll try to get the shot from the other side of the River because of the trees blocking the view of the bridge and train.

[Railfan Alex]

 Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well.

I haven't been posting much, but I have been reading. I figured I'd pop in to post one of the better videos I shot early this summer, a couple of SD40-2's on Expressway at Valois. The tiny mic on the camera isn't great, but you get the idea. Turn the volume up to here them screaming in Notch 8 a little better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qONjFdYNetM

Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

So here's that video I promised months ago...a video montage with music of trains from the Skywalk Observatory on the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower in Boston. I finally finished editing it today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtJt0bogY9c

[Lord Atmo]

 Pictures speak better than words...

I took that! I was there! After 5 years of horrible trolling, ranting, whining, complaining, and being as immature as possible. my decade-long wish was granted. Here before me sat CNW 6847, the sole surviving CNW spartan cab revived from the dead by Eric Zabelny and the IRM diesel department.

With the shiny paint on the cab, it looks like CNW patched one of their own locomotives 



Head-on view!



From behind!



I was sitting on the nose when I took this. Shot a CNW....FROM a CNW. Am I dead? Is this heaven?! I don't wanna leave!!!



Hey the cab was unlocked! Where's the bell control? This must not be the control stand it had when EMD built it.



GONGGGG



Now for some high hood happiness in the form of another CNW!  



And a classy F7



And finish things off with the heritage unit sneaking past a true CNW!




Until we meet again...6847 :D