Trackside with Trains, Vol. 85 with special guest Kent Johnson

[TOMinTN]

Red engine, white snow...repeat after me...red engine, white snow...red engine, white snow.....!

Have I been hypnotized by that repetitious siren call, or are the photos really that good?

Must be, because I voted for my second of that ilk against another very striking competitor.  What didn't I like about the UP shot?  Too perfect!  Is that possible?

TJB

Nashville, TN

[zikkan]

Well, I did vote for Mikes photo, it tipped the scale barely. But had Ken submitted the "snowy passing train"-shot ("Blowing snow from the passing train darkens the sky at Pewaukee") he would have gotten my vote ....  I really like the fuzzy image of the back of the train and the sharp contrast of the signs to the left. Great Shot!!!

Regards

zikkan

[Sagelake]

Sorry Mike,

Maybe its the fact I have a soft spot for CP, but if you would have entered the loaded and empty's on the curve, I would have had a much harder time deciding. All are great shots though!

Thanks,

Chuck

[emddd40x]

This is just like last week, Mike takes the best shot and then enters the wrong photo for voting. I voted for Kent, but I would have prefered to vote for the photo of WSOR GP38 3803 and WC GP40-2 3017 with that purple sky.

I agree.  I voted for Kent because the picture reminds me of what I see outside.  It's the sort of shot I could have taken if I had gotten out and scouted the area.

However, that being said....IF Mike had only.....*sigh*  Mike, you trying to throw the game or something?

[Partsman_ba]

The only thing I can say to justify my vote for Mike over Kent is that the empties vs. loads moving in opposite directions made such a great visual story. Both photos are awesome!

[espeefoamer]

Again,two great pictures.This time I voted for Mike's coal train photo.Two identical coal trains,one empty,one loaded,moving in opposite directions really got to me.Goood work both of you.

[CShaveRR]

Last time I voted for the shot in the snow.  And it probably took a similar effort for Kent to get this shot.  I wonder what a shot taken a few seconds later would look like!

Nonetheless, I had to go with Mike's shot this time.  As somone said, there's a story there.  Maybe more than one (this is why the Missouri Amtrak trains can't run on time!).  And when you think of all of the probable outcomes of where the two units came together side by side, this was probably the best.

[LU-Trains]

I aagree with past posters that Mike probably did enter the wrong picture, because that purple sky shot is absolutely stunning! 

But several weeks ago I mentioned his website and the fact that he had some great shots from around Eureka, Missouri (my birth-state).  It was neat to see some of that coal train action here.  I couldn't help myself.  In spite of my partiality and predelection to the asymmetrical, the parallel union of those two trains was just too big of a fascinating coincidence to ignore.  Very cool.

Admittedly it always hard to pass up "Red Train White Snow", but I sided with Mike on this one.

Whoops, I just saw the results of the voting so far. hmmmmmm, looks like it's haiku time:

 

Red trains on white snow

turns Mike's pricey camera

into paperweight. 

 

[asnjoe24]

Two absolutely marvelous shots for this week's vote!! I'm totally stunned by the sheer beauty of both!

In the end, my decision had to come down to a matter of personal evocation of feel. The perfect alignment of the lead engine and DPU in Mike's UP shot is what makes it very appealing, although to me, Kent's CP photo evokes the feeling of much more power, with the consist blowing up snow and the trackside angle giving a strong feeling of "comin' at ya!!" This is what took me most, and Kent got my vote for this week.

Kent modestly noted in the column that he's just lucky to get the lens cap off. Well, let me tell you, his shot makes anything I've ever shot look like chicken feed (I'm so bad with cameras, digital or otherwise, and I don't know why; guess they just don't like me). In my opinion, he's a much better shot than I can hope to be!

- Bryan

[bnsfkline]

Sorry, Kent, but I just did not have the heart to vote for your this time, even though it is a spectacular shot, I just HAD to vote for the two UP coal trains meeting for three reasons.

Eureka, MO is a suburb of the City of St. Louis, my hometown, The line is on Union Pacific's Jefferson City Sub (Freq. 161.220 MHz) and three, I was in Kirkwood, MO and saw BOTH these trains. However, the Eastbound stalled on the hill (Kirkwood Hill) when the DPU ran out of fuel.

If Mike had not posted the shot from Eureka, your shot would have gotten my vote...I vote for anything St. Louis!

[drgw17]

Kent's photo, with its simple yet strong and dramatic red-on-white impact, gets my vote.  Mike's shot is a good composition, to be sure (and I'm not going to deduct for the luck, having had lucky shots of my own published) but the lighting is a bit on the dull side.  Actually, and I wonder if anyone else agrees, my favorite of the bunch is Kent's previous shot with the train in the distance.  There's a sense of anticipation, and the undulating rails, stark against the snow, add interest and draw the eye deeply into the scene, right to the approaching train.  Just a thought.

 Ctrain

[JLarry]

Tough decision.. Kent's pic had 2 of my favorite things to shoot -trains and snow. Moving water alongside would have clinched it.  But I went with Mike's pic of 2 trains. I also don't think he could take being beaten another week

[K5GBW]

Wow, two great shots to choose from again. I must admit that my favorite time to be out with my camera is during or just after a good snowfall. Snow doesn't usually hang on the trees that long once the sun comes out. Finding a train with good lighting and snow still on the trees is just as lucky as the shot Mike was able to pull off with the DPU and lead engines side by side. I ended going with Mike's shot because of the flaring of the headlight in Kent's shot. I know that may sound picky but with two excellent submitions it's the small details that you have to look for.