There is something to be said for standing trackside as an SDP40 blows by at 79 per. On the other hand, there is something to be said for standing trackside trying to keep track of how many cars there are in that coal drag trundling by (was that 49, or 50?).
We have a gentleman who occasionally visits the our station because he likes to experience the ground vibrations of the engine going by, including during runaround movements.
As someone's sig says - If it's trains, I like it.
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 kind of like slower trains. 30mph is a good speed to watch as you can actualy see the details and notice stuff but still fast enough to make some wind and noise.
At high speed it all becomes a blur.
I love watching heavy power at full throttle hauling heavy trains at slow speed on a grade.
I like it when they stand still. Then you can take really long exposures of them at night!
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
Depends... I like the high speed ones, and try to set up a shot that reflects that speed (Like an Amtrak with a plume of snow behind it in the winter, or a double stacker running off the prairie on a summer day with a plume of dust...) Slow speed trains are nice too, because I can take my time, frame my shot, and then take it. When the stacker is moving at 60-70+ getting that shot becomes a bit tougher... but , it's fun all the same.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
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)
railfan619 wrote:I like all kinds of trains fast moving ones like amtrak trains and and others like. Fast movin frieght trains espeacially when someone is held up at a crossing but anywho. I think no matter what all trains are cool to watch and even are cooler when you get to ride on them. But everyone is has there own opion on what trains they like to see from fast moving ones to slow long coal drags and other kinds of trains.
http://www.raymondloewy.com/about/quotesby.html
A couple of years ago, I did an art project about Raymond Loewy, and found these quotes on the Official Raymond Loewy website to be pretty insightful:
"… I waited for the S-1 to pass through at full speed. I stood on the platform and saw it coming from the distance at 120 miles per hour. It flashed by me like a steel thunderbolt, the ground shaking under me, in a blast of air that almost sucked me into its whirlwind. Approximately a million pounds of locomotive were crashing through near me. I felt shaken and overwhelmed by an unforgettable feeling of power, by a sense of pride at what I had helped to create… I had, after all, contributed something to a great nation that had taken me in and that I loved so deeply. And I had come a long, happy way myself from my start in fashion advertising. I had found my way of life.""Standing somewhere between New York and Philadelphia, I don't know where, and seeing that engine come at high speed, shaking the ground. It was a thrill, unforgettable. There are great the great moments in a man's life..." [this one in reference to the GG-1 of the PRR]
Willy
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
"The sensations presented by the Panama Limted flying through Central Illinois at 100 MPH + are a unique experience....headlight visable on the horizon....rapidly approaching....a swirl of brown, orange, dust and sound....Observation Car fading quickly into the distance."
Double Tracked " Mainline of Mid America" Flying low through the dark of the Mississippi Delta, and South Mississippi, "doing a dollar bill," heading to Mardi Gras; sucking the trash outa the ditch on both sides of the right of way, and exactly as you said about the an orange and brown and yellow streak!
Amtrak could really take some lessons from those railroaders. Those were IC trains, on IC tracks and they were scheduled, and expected to be ON TIME!
I grew up around a slow train. Out one day, back the next local. We were probably the busiest town on the line as far as switching and-looking back-I'm sure it wasn't much. Still it's a pleasant memory to recall watching anywhere from 30-50 cars of mostly pulpwood roll by slowly enough that you could stand close and really watch them go by. Fast trains were a treat that came with visits to relatives in Illinois. Mostly, watching the C&NW's Northwest line commuter trains (I only remember seeing one freight) but the big fun was visiting my grandmother along the old Wabash (by then the N&W) Chicago-Decatur main. We'd listen for trains as far off as possible and then try to run to the tracks to see them go by, usually catching the last half. One time we lucked out and happened to be along the track when we saw one in the distance and caught the whole thing blasting by. Awesome to a teenager.
Ah, the good old days when parents knew you were safe when you were down at the tracks watching trains, not worried about it.
If there are no dogs in heaven,then I want to go where they go.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.