Hello,
The latest edition of Trackside with Trains.com is now live and we once again have six of our 10 photographers contributing to this week's theme: "Fog"
Click here to read Trackside with Trains.com Volume 105 ...
... then click here to vote.
When finished reading and voting, add your comments about this week's photos below. We'll be back with a recap of this installment on January 19, 2009.
Thanks for participating!
Erik Bergstrom
Well, in the early voting, it doesn't look like anybody's going to win by a landslide. Sorry, I couldn't see my way clearly to voting for...aw, the heck with that! Drew got my vote this time, because I've been there. In his position, I mean--not the location.
I liked the novelty shot of the steaming DM&IR train. I've seen loads of scrap metal produce the same effect in muggy weather--usually with a sharp smell accompanying them. What's really eerie is to see frost evaporating off cold tank car surfaces, with the fog trailing behind.
Erik and Kat, your going-away shots were good enough, but I'm thinking "train" in these, not "fog". Guess that's what comes of not being a fair-weather railroader.
And, Erik:
"Remember the eerie feeling of being in a new place in the fog? Or when you're driving your car down an unfamiliar road in the fog? Now imagine how unnerving it must be for a train crew leading a train into unknown surroundings in the fog. I believe the term "white knuckled" wouldn't come close to describing the feeling."
Keep in mind that a railroader is very rarely venturing into unknown territory. (S)He knows the track he's operating over, where the signals are, and where the grade crossings are. I'd be prepared to stop in dark territory (admittedly, the "half the range of vision" rule might mean that you're not moving at all!). In signalled territory, you depend on the signals to tell you about trains ahead. It won't tell you about otrher potential obstructions, but trust has to start somewhere. You pass a whistle post, you sound the horn. You pray that the drivers at unmarked crossings are looking out as much as you are. And that the dumb people who will blow the lights or drive around gates aren't going to make your life any more miserable.
Some of my road buddies might be better able to talk about this--but I know that if I were to be riding along, I'd probably own a few white knuckles, just because I'm not familiar enough with the lay of the land.
In the yard, I depend on seeing the lights at my switches to make sure they're lined properly. If I can't see (or hear) that a car has made it off the lead, I don't throw the switch--it's that simple. Sometimes I'll have the crews mark the end of a car with a fusee to make it easier to follow (I hope!) off the lead. If I'm real lucky, I won't have to explain that they need to light the fusee.
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)
Interesting choices to vote on this week... I have a couple comments to add:
Drew: Your shot was my second choice this week, as I've been there before, seeing a headlight far off after a long wait. They always sneak up on me, and then I realize that there's headlights approaching! Nice shot!
Kathi: I really liked the symbolic nature that you mentioned, with the DM&E headed into the unknown in two different ways; the CP buyout and the fog itself. Neat photo!
Andy: Maybe it's not fitting the "Fog" theme well, but I'm a real sucker for crisp photos of diesels hard at work! You got my vote this week! Nice job!
Kathi's image gets the nod from me because it has real fog. I don't necessarily like the composition... would have preferred the emergent shot...but her explanation suffices.
Otherwise Andy's shot was storming hard from behind and very close...an excellent image. Just wish it were "fog" and not merely vapour from a man-made process.
-Crandell
Well, I voted for Bergie's shot. I like a close-up "going away" shot too, and that's some thick, wooly fog there. Reminds me of a winter morning (or sometimes all day!) in and around Eugene.
I voted for Drew's photo. There is not a bad shot in the competition, I liked them all. I really like it when the photo invokes a strong emotion of wanting to be in that spot as that particular train goes by. That is a spot I would choose to take a photo.
Kathi, Andy, Kathi, Andy, Kathi, Andy.....
Kathi - more fog.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
......My vote goes to Drew Halverson's photo of approaching train with visible shining ditch and headlights.
Not really my favorite type of scene to be photographing in.....but that is the scenario for this time, so I simply chose the one my eye seemed to say had the most interest to me.
Hope the vibration of the train doesn't finally topple the communication utility poles and wires. Not sure if they would reach over to the track or not.
Quentin
CShaveRR Erik and Kat, your going-away shots were good enough, but I'm thinking "train" in these, not "fog". Guess that's what comes of not being a fair-weather railroader.
Fog?
A personal favorite:
But that one's not in the contest.
I voted for Drew's shot, too.
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...
tree68A personal favorite:
Yes, I like that too.
Although Kathi Kube's photo was very pleasing, it troubled me that the locomotives seemed to be on a direct course for a bath in the water. Erik's photo is my choice, and I agree with Erik that a going-away shot has a lot of appeal, especially in the fog. The rivet-counters would disagree of course, but hey, this is partly about art.
I came close to voting for Andy's photo of the taconite train producing its own fog,but I decided that Kathi's excellent shot of the DM&E freight was a better example of the spirit of the category.
Kathy's, Andy's, and Tom's shots would all be 'wall-hangers' were I to shoot them. A great group of shots, by most measures I can think of.
The shot I can identify with, and spoke to me the most, was Drew's. What sealed the deal was how he described the moment. I think every railfan has had that moment (or will soon) while trackside. Excellent job Drew!
Dan
I had to vote for Drew's photo. As a child, wandering the Milwaukee Road ROW, this was a common scene and the photo immediately brought back fond memories.
But Andy, this photo could have just as easily been taken in Iowa!!! I immediately recognized the "fog" above the cars, even though as a "tween" I had no idea what it was.
Robert Lynn, Bellevue, WA
Fog, or steam? If steam had been the category I'd have gone with Andy's steaming taconite pellets...but since I don't think they truly fall into the fog category, I had to look elsewhere.
The decision was easy. Kathi's DM&E, with the rakish angle and pleasing mix of fog, rail action, and water caught my eye and got my vote. After hitting the submit button, I noted that thus a lot of you felt the same.
The categorical format is a lot of fun, and elicits some interesting thoughts from participants. There never seems to be a lack of comment.
TJB - Nashville
Kathi's photo would make a great inside the cover photo for a definitive history book of the DM&E. As for Kent's photo of the Prince of Wales Hotel, I don't think you can take a bad photo of that place. Highly paid commercial artists seem to think so too. The hotel was the backdrop of both Buick, and a European auto, VW or Audi I think, commercials in the nineties that I saw on American TV.
Although I almost voted for Tom's photo of the home team, as it were, I went with Drew's shot. As an artistic shot I felt it was the best, but as the son of a telegrapher and station agent, seeing that telegraph line pole gave me a certain shiver. Growing up hearing the sound of the telegraph and all the other memories. Thank you.
AgentKid
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Loved what's her names shot of my Favorite Road: I.C.&E. Having lived in NW IOWAY, got up to their neck of the woods from Sheldon East to Mason City... Even did couple of OPER.LIFESAVERS. Anywho: Great Shot... brought back a lot of memories, nearly all good. THANX.
Das Adler
Kathi, Drew...Kathi, Drew...hard choice.
Ended up going with Drew's shot.
Funny, fog can deaden sound so you can't hear the person next to you talking, and sometimes it can magnify it and you hear things miles away you could never hear on a clear day...Drew's shot evokes a sense of anticipation...you can just see the train coming, you can hear it too, but your not quite sure what it really looks like...you would want to wait around and see...
Kathi's shot, well, like Carl, I would have liked seeing it approaching, but thems the breaks.
23 17 46 11
Wow . . . I haven’t the foggiest notion of what to do . . .Can I split my vote 6 ways? . . . OK . . Even tho I was really intrigued by Andy’s train picture . . because I don’t know anything about taconite pellets . . . If someone had mentioned them to me without the picture, I would have assumed they had something to do with constituted Tex-Mex food . . after all, it does sound quite delicious - “116 cars of hot-baked pellets” . . . !?! . . Well, anyway, it was a lot of new information. So thanks, Andy. Oh right . . .but I didn’t vote for you . . . So I’ve got Drew: one train engine and pretty good fog. Tom: one train engine and kind of wussy fog. And I’ve got Kathi: TWO train engines and “Holy Cow!” fog - Plus 1/8th of a boxcar . . . The Winner! With more stuff almost not showing - KATHI !!!!I used the same logic when I voted for President last November . . .
A mile from the tracks, but I still hear the whistle! Cleveland, Tennessee
If anyone ever asked me why I do not go out and shoot railroads (or most any subject) in the fog, it is because one needs to have just the right amount of subject, background, and weather conditions. Fog photos are mostly boring, washed-out images, and this selection lives up to that reputation.
However, having said all that, and certainly no disrespect intended towards any of the photographers, this is a contest to choose the best image of the one's offered. So after much deliberation between Andy's image (nice train, beautiful setting) and Kathi's shot (which actually followed the guidelines of this weeks contest and had actual fog in the image), I had to go with Andy's.
These were all great shots. It was hard to choose. I was suprised the voting wasn't closer.
It's too bad you don't have a Northwest contributor as we have some incredibly beautiful foggy days out here.
Dave in Oregon
I went with Bergie's shot, I think it has the best balance of train + fog. Danneman's shot, with the droplets catching rays on the wires, comes in a close second for me! Ken's shot looks a little too much like a model, or too plastic, or maybe both! Still looks like a neat place. Drew's shot is neat, but the leanin' pole line just looks a little too hazardous for my tastes. Andy's shot was nice, but a matched set of power would have been better -- or at least some non-taconite-generated fog. I think I would have preferred Kathi's shot with the Standard sign; it didn't really help that I had seen some similar shots several weeks back in This Week's Photo. And speaking of TWP, I kinda like the new format! Seems really familiar...
I like to look for something different and "outside the guage(s)" or outside the rail. and while Johnson's shot certainly does that, there is an untouchable eliment missing. Therefore Todd's meadow mist parallel to the train gets my vote. The others were non definitive, bland.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
I have suggestions for futrure themes:
Night.
No trains (B&B only).
Employees.
No locomotives (equipment only).
Behind the Scenes.
Structures (even to a specific type, ie, stations, signals, bridges, etc)
Track (no trains)
Trains as a minor player in the scene (as we saw a while back when someone used a very long shot of a train - city scenes also come to mind)
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.