Florida East Coast - Day And Night

This is part three of a mini-series on Florida from a trip in February 2013. In the first part we visited the Orange Blossom Cannonball steam operation and in the second we visited the last sugar cane railroad in the U.S. and the South Central Florida Express.

Florida East Coast; New Smyrna Beach, Va.; February 8, 2013

There is no railroad quite like the Florida East Coast. As its name implies, it follows the Atlantic coastline from Jacksonville to Miami. The railroad is a challenging one to photograph, as it is largely a nighttime railroad. Trains leave both ends of the line just after dark and arrive at the other end right around dawn. There are a couple of predictable daytime trains, including Train 101 from Jacksonville in the early afternoon and Train 202 from Miami. Our first train we caught on the FEC on this trip was 101 as it headed through New Smyrna Beach (above).

One good thing about the FEC is the whole railroad can be monitored using ATCS Monitor, which allows you to see a dispatcher-style display of where trains are at any given time. You can tell when you have an hour or more to do something else between trains, and you know when you need to be near the tracks. A location like Stuart is perfect, as there are ample restaurants and other distractions to occupy your time between trains. But come train time there are also ample photo angles around the big bridge over the St. Lucie River. The FEC is painting some locomotives into an early "heritage" scheme to add variety.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Fla.; February 12, 2013

With the FEC being a nighttime railroad, the best way to keep the fun going is to keep shooting after dark. This was the first time I had brought my Alien Bees flash units to the sunshine state, and they came in handy. We set up on the dock in Stuart to shoot a local train heading north.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Fla.; February 12, 2013

Using ATCS Monitor, we knew there was plenty of time between trains to enjoy dinner and a beverage at the restaurant adjacent to the bridge, and finished in plenty of time to get reset for a southbound road freight later in the evening.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Fla.; February 12, 2013

All good things must end, and our time in Florida came to a close a day later. We headed north, and using ATCS Monitor we were able to intercept Train 101 as it headed out through Cocoa Beach. The engineer is a well-known train enthusiast, and he stepped out to wave to us as the train sped south. With the red, white and blue locomotive and American flags flying and painted on the tank, it was a patriotic scene!

Florida East Coast; Cocoa Beach, Fla.; February 13, 2013

We'll conclude the Florida mini-series next time with a look at Amtrak and some odds and ends.

Ain't No Cane

South Central Florida Express;
Port Mayaca, Fla.

In the last entry we started a mini-series on Florida with photos taken last February. In addition to the Orange Blossom Cannonball (which was covered in the last installment), my other primary Florida goal was to shoot the South Central Florida Express, a subsidiary of U.S. Sugar Corp. and the last true sugar cane railroad in the United States. An attempt to shoot it a few years ago in March got us to the railroad just a couple of days after the cane season ended. This time we were there in February.

South Central Florida Express hauls sugar-related products to the outside world from the mill in Clewiston on two different lines. Heading northwest is the connection with CSX Transportation in Sebring, about 70 miles away. Heading mostly east is a connection with the Florida East Coast at Fort Pierce, maybe a distance of 50 miles. Both lines feature nice bridges. However, after two visits I have not been able to get a decent shot of the swing bridge at Moore Haven on the line to Sebring (it seems to be a cloud magnet). The wonderful old lift bridge on the line to Fort Pierce, however, at Port Mayaca proved to be an easier target, and we got a train heading towards Clewiston at the bridge on February 11 (right).

The line to Fort Pierce also has a nice deck concrete bridge at Port St. Lucie, about 13 miles out of Fort Pierce. We were able to catch trains here twice in good light, such as this one on February 13. Only one locomotive was needed for the short train however; usually two locomotives lead a much longer train. We'll see why this train was short in just a minute.

South Central Florida Express; Port St. Lucie, Fla.; February 13, 2013

With an early February visit, we'd be guaranteed to find trains working the mill and hauling cane back from the fields. There were also frequent trains scheduled to come in from the former mill site at Belle Glade. However, on the first morning of our visit the mill at Clewiston had a major steam line rupture. This would shut the mill down for four days (much longer than our visit); since cane is highly perishable, no cane would be cut in the fields. And no cane meant no cane trains. We were fortunate to see the last train come in from Belle Glade right after the rupture; this train was already on the road when the rupture occurred and most of the cane it had would ultimately go to waste.

U.S. Sugar Corp.; Clewiston, Fla.; February 11, 2013

With no processed sugar heading out of the mill, the interchange trains to CSX and FEC would be running short -- thus, the short train we saw at Port St. Lucie. The tracks near the mill in Clewiston, by the way are operated as U.S. Sugar Corp., while the tracks heading to the interchanges are operated by subsidiary South Central Florida Express. USSC owns all the locomotives.

With not much running except the interchange trains, we chased them around. The train we shot at Port Mayaca paused to do some work between Lake Harbor and South Bay. We set up for night photos at the Miami Canal bridge, but as dusk approached the train stopped working. It just sat there with its lights on. Not ones to give up easily, we kept an eye on the train and about two hours later a crew van pulled up; shortly thereafter the train began shuffling back and forth once more. Finally, after a far too long wait, the train came west to finish its run to Clewiston.

South Central Florida Express; Lake Harbor, Fla.; February 11, 2013

So what does this mean? Hopefully, third time will be a charm. We'll be back to Clewiston at some point this winter to finally see the last cane trains in the U.S. working the fields.

Next: Florida East Coast

Orange Blossom Cannonball

Mockup of proposed
Railfan & Railroad cover

Let's spend a few posts visiting Florida. I was down in the Sunshine State for a few days in February, and one of the highlights was visiting the Orange Blossom Cannonball, the passenger train operated by the Tavares, Eustis & Gulf over trackage owned by Florida Central.

A group of us arrived on February 9, and we were greeted by Neil Bagaus who showed us around. The new depot in Tavares was nearing completion. We had let the railroad know in advance we were coming (I will be writing a feature on it for Railfan & Railroad this fall) and they arranged for the locomotive to be properly oriented for most of the day.

Power for the railroad is a neat wood-burning 2-6-0 built by Baldwin in 1907 for the Lufkin Land & Lumber Company. It went through a variety of owners, but is probably best known for its work on the Reader Railroad in Arkansas. In recent years it has been the star of several movies including 3:10 To Yuma and the remake of True Grit.

Our day of chasing started out by waiting at the cool timber trestle in Tavares. Okay, it used to be a cool timber trestle; the bridge was replaced about a month before our arrival by a new concrete span that gives more clearance for tour boats and party barges on the canal. Still, the nifty Mogul made a nice sight crossing the bridge.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Tavares, Fla.; February 9, 2013

The train makes three trips a day, with short trips to Ellsworth Junction and longer trips to Lake Gem. One thing the railroad does well is entertain people, and during the Lake Gem stop passengers were encouraged to get off the train during the run-around move and watch the switching. A blow-down was also done, with steam spewing from the locomotive to the delight of passengers. When the locomotive ran out of wood between trips, the run to the wood pile was turned into a photo opportunity for riders. It was well done. We shot the train as it made its approach to Lake Gem on the second trip of the day.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Lake Gem, Fla.; February 9, 2013

As part of the work for the magazine article, we requested some night photography and the railroad was more than willing to cooperate. There is some street running in Tavares (actually on a median between travel lanes) and we found some nice Spanish moss to frame No. 2.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Tavares, Fla.; February 9, 2013

Another night scene involved blocking a traffic circle near the Tavares depot. Neil called the local police, who pretty much said "go ahead and block it." It resulted in a very nice photo.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Tavares, Fla.; February 9, 2013

All in all, it was a wonderful day. The railroad was extremely cooperative, and No. 2 is one neat locomotive. As this is being written, No. 2 has one more weekend of work to do this spring before heading back to Arkansas for its federally-mandated 15-year rebuild. It will be back in Florida when the tourist season kicks in again in September. When you make your plans for a winter vacation, be sure to visit this excellent railroad!

Random Ramblings -- I Hate Cords!

Back in July 2010 I had just purchased four Alien Bees strobes for doing synchronized night photography of moving trains. The Bees arrived just before I headed out from New Jersey to Milwaukee, where I was giving a presentation to the National Model Railroad Association. I had purchased only one battery to power the Bees, which meant I had a ton of extension cords so I could spread the lights around.

After working locations in Ohio on the way out, I had dropped down into Illinois on the return trip, heading for the Illinois Railway Museum. One target I wanted to get was the large coaling tower that still straddled the former Chicago & North Western at Nelson. I pulled into Nelson later than I wanted to on July 16, at about 10:00 p.m., and started setting up the strobes. Unfortunately, my extension cords had become hopelessly tangled, and when a westbound train rolled through at about 10:30, I was still trying to get cords straightened out. Not to worry, though -- this is a fairly busy main line and there would be another westbound shortly. Or not.

Midnight came and went without any trains at all. I was beginning to think about calling it quits when an eastbound train (the wrong direction) came by. Still thinking about calling it quits, I snapped the last car on the train to get some idea of what my shot would look like if a train came from the proper direction -- and it was really good. Okay, that decides it -- I have to wait it out.

Finally at about 2:00 a.m. a westbound finally showed up. Click! Success.

Union Pacific; Nelson, Ill.; July 16 (technically 17), 2010

While tearing down, an eastbound coal train wandered by. It had a Distributed Power Unit (DPU, a locomotive attached to the back of the train for added power) on the rear. I was well into putting away my lights, but I broke out the tripod and took a going-away shot of the train under the coaling tower.

Union Pacific; Nelson, Ill.; July 17, 2010

My extension cords misadventures cost me about four hours of sleep that night. Needless to say, I went out and purchased a second battery which, with judicious light placement, has cut down on my extension cord needs by about 80%. Still, the results were worth the lack of sleep. But I still hate cords.

Cool Chromes -- Pounding Around The Curve

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular feature where we look at some slides that have just gone through the scanner.

Back when I lived in southern New Jersey, the Southern Railway Steam Specials (and later the Norfolk Southern Steam Specials) came within a one-day trip from the house only on one of their departure points -- Alexandria, Virginia, was three hours down I-95 and trips departed there bound for either Charlottesville or Front Royal. I chased many a trip to both places.

In August 1982 I had chased Southern's ex-Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716 to Charlottesville (2716 was a magnificent locomotive, but sadly only served in the Steam Specials for a little more than a year when mechanical issues sidelined in permanently). I knew the locomotive would put on a spectacular show climbing Fairfax Hill on the last leg of its northbound trip, but I didn't know where to go. Marc Balkin of Custom Steam Productions (he was producing audio tapes then; video was still not available) clued me in on a great spot on a curve on the hill. Fairfax Station Road winds its way out of the town of Clifton, and a few miles out of town it turns left at a T intersection before turning right again and heading into Fairfax Station. But turning right at that T put you on Colchester Road, which went under the tracks. At the underpass, there was a good location if you walked up the hill. And it was good.

On that first visit in August 1982, a freight train left Manassas ahead of the steam special. It was a Chessie System freight running on trackage rights over the Southern.

Chessie System (on Norfolk Southern); Clifton, Va.; August 1982

A few minutes later, the 2716 came pounding past with the steam special.

Southern Railway 2716; Clifton, Va.; August 1982

And as soon as the steam special cleared, another freight could be heard growling up from Manassas, this time led by diesels in Southern's attractive "tuxedo" black and white.

Norfolk Southern; Clifton, Va.; August 1982

If my slide mounts are to be believed (someday I'll pull out the notebooks and verify this), I was back on Fairfax Hill about a month later to witness the newest locomotive in the NS steam program. Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 came pounding past on this day.

Norfolk & Western No. 611; Clifton, Va.; September 1982

I wouldn't get back to the curve for a steam special for another five years, but in August 1987 (I think -- the date on the Kodak-processed slide mount is pretty much unreadable) I chased Norfolk & Western Y-Class No. 1218 to Front Royal and back. Once again, a freight departed Manassas ahead of the steam special. And despite the Southern's merger into Norfolk Southern over half a decade earlier, this train was led by a pair of units still showing that Southern Serves the South.

Norfolk Southern; Clifton, Va.; August 1987

Shortly thereafter, the massive 2-6-6-4 came pounding up the hill. Roll on, eighteen wheeler!

Norfolk & Western 1218; Clifton, Va.; August 1987

With Norfolk Southern operating the new version of the steam specials, Steam In the 21st Century, I'm hoping that eventually trips will be run northward out of Manassas. If they are, I will return to my favorite curve and listen for the whistle at the end of the day.

Happy New Year?

NJ Transit; Peapack, N.J.

Okay, so I've been a little bit lax in posting entries this year. Looking back, I made it through two entries before travel and other distractions broke my concentration. So even though we are mere hours from May Day, let's reset the clock and give 2013 a semi-official start. With that in mind, today's blog entry takes us back to New Year's Eve 2012.

I had reservations to ride the New Year's Eve streetcar charter, an annual event hosted by the Friends of the Philadelphia Trolleys in the City of Brotherly Love. The trip begins at 10:00 p.m., and the new year is brought in while riding the rails. This was the first year I could make the event. Thus, during the afternoon of December 31, 2012, I headed south through New Jersey.

I knew that New Jersey Transit's new dual mode locomotives were being used on the Gladstone Branch in the central part of the state. Being able to operate as a conventional diesel-electric or as an electric-only from overhead wires, the locomotives were purchased to run on lines where electrification catenary didn't reach the end of the route (for instance, trains from New York City run out of wires in Dover, even though the tracks -- and diesel service -- extend beyond to Hackettstown). The Gladstone Branch is electrified for its entire distance from Hoboken to its namesake town, and thus these dual-mode locomotives were not intended for Gladstone service. However, Hurricane Sandy put much of Hoboken under water, and even nearly four months later the damage to electrical substations at Hoboken kept the wires at the terminal de-energized. Thus, the dual modes were pressed into service, feeding off the wire from Gladstone to Broad Street Station in Newark, where the locomotives were switched to diesel to continue into Hoboken.

On this New Year's Eve, cloudy skies were present, so I decided to go for a shot that is never properly lit when the sun is out. There's a through truss bridge over the South Branch of the Raritan River between the towns of Far Hills and Peapack, and westbound trains immediately enter a man-made tunnel under Route 512. I used the top of the portal for a perch to get the train running under wire.

With that shot done, up next was a visit to the New Hope & Ivyland in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Even though it was a week past Christmas, old St. Nick was still riding the rails on the incredibly popular Santa Claus Specials. I met Mike Burkhart at the small community of Hood, located just outside New Hope, and we plotted how we would light the train. While plotting, the homeowner who has the property on the west side of the deck girder bridge at Hood came out to check his mail. We got into a conversation with him, and he graciously let us use his property to get the train from an angle neither one of had gotten before. As darkness moved in, Santa and his train showed up and we were able to light the train and about half the houses at Hood.

New Hope & Ivyland; Hood, Pa.; December 31, 2012

Mike went home to take his wife out for New Year's Eve, while I headed down to Philadelphia, meeting up with the organizers of the charter at the Callowhill streetcar and bus depot in the western part of the city. Kawasaki streetcar No. 9022 had been decorated for Christmas by SEPTA streetcar operator Gary Mason, and it would be the car used for the charter (with Gary doing the honors as operator). Most of the patrons would be boarding at the loop at 63rd & Malvern Streets, so with a nearly empty streetcar I rode up from with Gary and photographed him just as he waited for traffic to clear so he could guide the car into the loop.

SEPTA; 63rd & Malvern, Philadelphia, Pa.; December 31, 2012

With passengers on board, the streetcar headed for the Sugar House Casino at the east end of SEPTA's Route 15 on Girard Avenue. The plan was to shoot the streetcar with fireworks at midnight. Not coincidentally, Mike Burkhart and his wife had chosen the Sugar House as their New Year's date destination, and they came out to join us. The fireworks didn't quite line up with the streetcar, but we brought in the new year right -- by photographing a trolley! Once the fireworks ended, Mike and Jen went back into the casino and we continued on our way.

For the rest of the night we wandered the streets of Philadelphia, stopping occasionally for photos. One location, popular with charters, was in front of the Gables Bed & Breakfast, which is always well-decorated for the holidays.

SEPTA; Philadelphia, Pa.; January 1, 2013

Soon we were back at Callowhill Depot sometime around our 2:00 a.m. scheduled arrival. It was a great New Year's Eve! And with that, I'll wish you a belated Happy New Year and raise a toast to more blog entries on a more regular basis as we continue through 2013!

Random Ramblings - An Evening At Hyndman

Chessie System; Hyndman, Pennsylvania; December 1986

Back in December 1986 a group of us went to Sand Patch Grade, located in southern Pennsylvania. It is located on the former main line of the Baltimore & Ohio, but by the time we visited it was run by Chessie System (today it is part of CSX Transportation). Heavy trains heading west from Cumberland, Maryland, would need extra power for the run up the Allegheny Mountains, and after crossing into Pennsylvania they would stop at Hyndman to have locomotives added to the rear for a push.

Hyndman had an operating signal tower, one of several still active along the old B&O, and the operators were generally friendly. On this particular evening, we parked in the employee parking lot for the tower, walked across a railroad bridge, and ascended the tower steps. We wanted to do night photos of the power stationed at Hyndman, and we knew our flashes would attract attention. The operator was understanding, and said there were no train movements in the area and sent us on our way. "When you're done," he said, "stop back here. We just got a new shipment of B&O baseball caps."

We took several night shots of the helpers, a pair of yellow SD50s (at the time these were big engines) and just as we were wrapping up I saw a set of headlights coming up the tracks from the east. Not a train headlight, but truck headlights from a rail/highway hybrid "hi-rail" truck. Now, even though we had gotten "permission" from the operator we were still technically trespassing (we weren't even supposed to go in the tower), and I hoped no one in charge was in the truck or we could be in a heap of trouble. We moved our tripods off the tracks and the truck rolled up and stopped next to us. Much to my dismay, a guy in a white hard hat -- a supervisor -- was in the truck. We were in trouble.

"Hey, you guys," he yelled out the window. "When you get finished taking pictures, go up in the tower. We just got a new shipment of B&O baseball caps if you want to buy one." And with that he was gone.

Random Ramblings - To Wedge Or Not To Wedge

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe; Prewitt, New Mexico; September 30, 1999

In 1999 I was in New Mexico following the former Santa Fe transcontinental main line across the desert (at the time of the trip it was known as the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe, and since has become simply BNSF Railway). I was with a group of friends, and it soon became apparent that we had different shooting goals. They wanted to wait by the tracks and shoot every train that came by in the standard three-quarter wedge shot, then move when there was a break in the action. The problem is, the Santa Fe is one hopping railroad, and breaks in the action are few and far between. Meanwhile, we were in the heart of The Mother Road country, along historic Route 66, and I wanted to pull back from the tracks a bit and get some iconic Route 66 imagery into the scene. It became readily apparent that sticking with them was going to result in getting a dozen trains in the exact same location from the exact same wedgie angle. But they are friends, so I decided to hang with them.

Finally there was a break in the action and we decided to move. I was in my own car and pulled away first, looking for a new angle. Their driver was slower, and soon some cars separated us. Finally, I saw a shot I wanted and pulled off the interstate -- but they missed me turning! In this time before cell phones I had no way to get ahold of them, and a futile attempt to get back on the interstate to catch them didn't work (okay, maybe I didn't try all that hard). But suddenly I was alone and free to make my own decisions. I set up at the Tomahawk Bar in Prewitt for a shot (something none of the rest would have even considered) and captured several more away-from-the-tracks angles along Route 66. I didn't catch up with the gang again until we hit our reserved motel later that evening. 

They caught about 30 trains during the day from about three locations. I caught far fewer, but quantity isn't the name of the game. On this day, I was in a non-wedge zone.

Cool Chromes - Fall on the Monongahela

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular mini-feature looking at some slides that have recently passed through my scanner.

Monongahela Railway; West Brownsville, Penn.; October 1993

The Monongahela Railway was built to haul coal. Heading south from West Brownsville, Penn., the railroad was a joint operation of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (New York Central) and the Baltimore & Ohio. When the PRR and NYC merged, new railroad Penn Central controlled two-thirds of the operation. By the time of this visit in October 1990, the Penn Central share had gone to Conrail while the B&O's third was controlled by successor CSX. In 1993 the Monongahela vanished entirely into Conrail.

The railroad's headquarters was at West Brownsville, where we found a set of the railroad's "Super 7" locomotives, B23-7R's rebuilt by General Electric from units that worked for Western Pacific (above).

The railroad actually consisted of two separate lines heading south from West Brownsville. The railfan favorite was always the westernmost line, which was actually fairly new below Waynesburg, Penn. Officially the Waynesburg Southern (a subsidiary of the Monongahela's controlling railroads), the line opened into West Virginia in 1968. Prior to that, the railroad only went as far south as Waynesburg. A train is seen passing the mine at Waynesburg as it heads onto the Manor Branch (below).

Monongahela Railway; Waynesburg, Penn.; October 1990

If the Waynesburg Southern was the railfan favorite, the brand new Manor Branch was the favorite favorite. Due to its newness, it presented wide open vistas. The small town of Time became quite the place to shoot, as seen by this set of Super 7s pushing a northbound train through (actually above) the small town on a fill.

Monongahela Railway; Time, Penn.; October 1990

I couldn't decide which shot I liked better, so here's the same train in the same location a couple of seconds later in the S-curve.

Monongahela Railway; Time, Penn.; October 1990

If one got tired of Super 7s (like that was going to happen), the train to watch for was the unit coal train operated by Detroit Edison. DE operated its own train from Michigan to the coal fields using the utility's own GE-built diesels. We see a set crossing a small bridge just south of Waynesburg before diverging onto the Manor Branch.

Monongahela Railway; Waynesburg, Penn.; October 1990

And we chase the train out onto the Manor Branch to catch it at Time.

Monongahela Railway; Time, Penn.; October 1990

Heading back to Waynesburg and continuing south on the Waynesburg Southern, we come to the town of Rogersville. I'm sure I was mad at the time when the car showed up just as the train was heading over the bridge, but in retrospect the car's headlights accentuate the bad weather we were fighting on this day.

Monongahela Railway; Rogersville, Penn.; October 1990

And with that we'll wrap up this edition of Cool Chromes. Thanks for coming along!

Random Ramblings - Here Comes Thomas!

There was nothing quite like the glory days of Michigan steam in the 21st century -- yes, the 21st century -- when two Berkshire locomotives from the Lima Locomotive Works were stomping through the state. From 2007-2009, Michigan's own Berkshire, Pere Marquette No. 1225 based out of Owosso, would be joined on and off by Nickel Plate Road No. 765, visiting from Fort Wayne, Ind. Photo charters by both Lerro Productions and Historic Transport Preservation, plus Train Festival 2009, all made Michigan a grand place for steam.

Nickel Plate Road 765; Carland, Mich.

The grain elevator at Carland made for a favorite photo prop on many charters, and not unexpectedly we were once again at Carland on October 10, 2009, for a charter sponsored by Historic Transport Preservation with the 765. While there, a mother and her young son happened to pull up to watch the runbys. The kid was obviously a budding railfan, decked out in complete Thomas the Tank Engine garb. Well, we just had to get the kid into a photo. Mom was dressed in 21st century clothing, but we asked her if her son would mind posing with two of our "actors" during a photo runby. She said it wouldn't be a problem, so Kelly Lynch of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society took the lad by the hand and posed him in front of the photo line. Christopher Pitzen knelt down next to the kid.

Now 765 is a loud locomotive, especially during photo runbys when smoke and noise are a part of the show. With a grade crossing just behind the photo line (and the need for 765 to whistle loud for the crossing) I was positive the kid would bolt for his mom halfway through the runby. Christopher, however, pointed down the track and kept telling the kid "Here comes Thomas! Here comes Thomas!" The noise was incredible, the ground shook -- and the kid held his ground. As the locomotive blasted (and "blasted" doesn't begin to convey the experience) past, the kid turned his head and followed the engine with his eyes, smiling a huge smile. That's an experience that will stick with you for a long, long time.

To Missouri By Train

BNSF Railway; La Plata, Mo.; October 20, 2012

Last month I was invited to be a speaker at a travel writing and photography workshop sponsored by the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation and held at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Mo. As part of the deal, I was offered an Amtrak trip from New York to La Plata with sleeping accommodations each way. I opted to go out via the Lake Shore Limited from New York to Chicago and return via the Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington, D.C. (and a Northeast Corridor train from D.C. back to New York). Travel between Chicago and La Plata would be on the Southwest Chief. Because of the train travel, this trip would be unique for me -- I wouldn't have a car, so every photo location had to be accessible via train and foot.

On Thursday, October 18, I got a ride from home to Dover, N.J., to begin my train travel via New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex line to Penn Station in New York. I had sent most of my clothes out to Missouri ahead of me to keep what I was carrying to a minimum so I could do exploring between trains at various stops. My exploring started right in Penn Station where I found a remnant of old Pennsylvania Station (demolished in 1964) -- a door frame from the old station still remained in the Long Island Rail Road section of the new station. The doorway was located right next to a police kiosk, and I quickly explained to the officer on duty what I was doing -- shooting a doorway is not illegal, but might look a bit strange. "Knock yourself out," the officer laughed. "It's all good."

Train time found me settling into a roomette in a Viewliner sleeper. I had a room on the west side of the train for great views of the Hudson River at sunset and enjoyed dinner in the diner in the final glimmer of light. The train paused at the Albany-Rensselaer station for just under an hour as the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited was added to the train for the trip to Boston, which gave me some time to explore the station there.

Train time at Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y.; October 18, 2012

After departure the attendant made up my bed, and I was delighted to find that the bed was even with the window sill; no awkward propping up was necessary to watch the lights of the towns out the window as sleep approached. Morning was somewhere in Indiana.

CTA; Chicago, Ill.

Arrival in Chicago was in mid-morning and I had about five hours before getting on the Southwest Chief. I had seen photos of a pretty neat junction on the Chicago Transit Authority in the Loop that was shootable from a parking deck, and I made my way to the intersection of Canal and Wells and found the parking deck. Sure enough, it looked down on a crossing with interchange tracks in three of the four quadrants of the crossing. Trains were frequent and I tried a variety of angles. With so many geometric lines in the photo, it was a bit difficult to figure out which lines to make parallel to the edges of the photo (and the looking-down angle didn't help matters). The photo at right is heavily cropped and rotated, as I didn't like the looks of the lines in the original. The horizontal photo below is pretty much the way it was shot -- the horizontals were a little easier to frame up.

After getting several trains at the Loop, I headed out onto CTA on the Blue Line towards O'Hare Airport. The 2200-series cars are making their last stand on this line before being replaced by newer cars, and while none are used on the front or back of train sets (they are always sandwiched mid-train, making photos difficult) I did make sure to ride a few of the cars. It was cloudy, but I made a few stops for photos, some with the skyline in the background. The line ducked back underground for a couple of stations (the Belmont Station being particularly nice), but when the tracks went above ground again west of Belmont they were in the median of an interstate highway. Not caring for the noise, I turned back to downtown Chicago and explored Union Station before it was time to board the Chief.

Chicago Transit Authority; Chicago, Ill.; October 19, 2012

Chicago Transit Authority; Chicago, Ill.; October 19, 2012

I had a Superliner roomette on the Chief, but since I'd be detraining at about 9:00 p.m. the bed wasn't required. I enjoyed dinner in the dining car before retiring to my roomette until arrival at La Plata. Once there, a shuttle van met me at the station and took me to the Depot Inn & Suites.

On Saturday I enjoyed a railroadiana sale at the Silver Rails Event Center in La Plata, then enjoyed some train watching from the railroad overlook in town. The main line below is former Santa Fe, while the overlook is built on an embankment where the Wabash once crossed the Santa Fe on a bridge. I watched several trains go by (somewhere around ten in an hour -- see the photo at the top of the blog), then did the short hoof back to the Inn. The next few days (Sunday-Tuesday) had the seminars in the morning and usually a short afternoon activity including visits to the Silver Rails Art Gallery and the headquarters of Train Party which, as the name implies, stocks everything you could possibly want for your next train-themed event. Bob and Amy Cox were gracious hosts at both locations. Bob is also the caretaker of La Plata's Amtrak station, and he provided a historical tour of the facility.

The weather had deteriorated from Saturday, so I spent most afternoons at the Inn. I did get back to the overlook on Tuesday night to shoot the Southwest Chief making its evening stop at the La Plata depot.

Amtrak; La Plata, Mo.; October 23, 2012

La Plata is a typical midwest heartland town with the one-story row of businesses flanking a main street and the town square, along with a grain elevator. The highway has long bypassed downtown, so it has a feeling that time stopped a few decades ago. I quickly became attached to the town. All too soon, though, it was time to board Amtrak and head back east. Once again I was in a Superliner roomette for the ride back to Chicago.

CTA; Chicago, Ill.

During the week I had some time to evaluate my photos from the CTA junction that I had shot on Friday and decided I would go back there during my Windy City layover and try again if it was cloudy -- there would be too many contrasty shadows to deal with between the buildings if the sun was out. Well, the sun was out, so Plan B was to ride the Blue Line back out to get some of those skyline shots I had seen on Friday.

Western Avenue was my first stop, which showed the Sears Tower (I don't care what it's officially called now -- it will always be the Sears Tower) quite nicely. Next up was California, which also presented a nice scene from the end of the platform. My time was growing short to get back to Union Station but I still wanted one more shot at California. I moved myself to the middle of the platform near the steps -- if I saw an inbound train coming I could hustle down the stairs, cross under the tracks and get up to the inbound side. The shot I wanted was actually better from mid-platform that what it was at the end of the platform, so this maneuver was actually beneficial. Another outbound train showed up first, then I hustled over to the inbound side and rode back into downtown. I walked down the platform at Union Station alongside the Capitol Limited, and was soon in a Superliner roomette for the eastbound trip. My last dinner in the diner was held shortly after departure.

Chicago Transit Authority; Chicago, Ill.; October 24, 2012

I quickly discovered I like the Viewliner roomette I had going west more than I like the Superliner roomettes. They aren't laid out quite as nice, and the bed is below the window level by a few inches, requiring bending pillows to keep your eyes at a level to see out while lying down. A pleasant overnight ride was had, and I was enjoying breakfast as the train descended Sand Patch Grade in western Pennsylvania on the former Baltimore & Ohio. Since the miles east of Cumberland, Md., featured numerous tunnels and river crossings, I decided to enjoy the ride to Harpers Ferry from the Sightseer Lounge where I had unobstructed views out both sides of the train.

Arriving in Washington, I had over two hours between trains. I spent some time photographing Union Station (the original concourse is under reconstruction and the ill-conceived 1976 addition that now houses a mall is just dark and dreary). The Metrorail system features some nice stations nearby, so I headed down there for some quick riding and photography.

Metrorail; Washington, D.C.; October 25, 2012

As I was finishing up my shooting, I was going for one more shot from the platform at Gallery Place of a train heading back to Union Station. Just as I was ready to shoot, someone stepped out in front of me with a cell phone to take a picture of the train. The headlights put a rim light around the man, and you can see the train in his cell phone -- I wound up with a much better picture than I could have imagined!

Metrorail; Washington, D.C.; October 25, 2012

The line was long to board the Northeast Corridor train that would take me to New York, but I was near the front and easily found a window seat. The train was pretty crowded by the time we left Baltimore. At New York's Penn Station I had time for a fast food dinner, then boarded a New Jersey Transit train to Mount Olive. My ride was waiting there, ending my Missouri adventure.

Thanks to fellow presenters Henry Kisor and Carl Morrison for their hospitality in La Plata. Thanks also to Steve Grande for the train tickets and the lodging at the Depot Inn & Suites. And thanks to the staff at the Inn, Bob and Amy Cox, and the people of La Plata for a memorable stay.

Cool Chromes -- A Great Day at Bellows Falls

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular mini-feature looking at some slides that have recently passed through my scanner.

Vermont Rail System; Bellows Falls, Vt.; July 31, 1999

Vermont Rail System; Bellows Falls, Vt.

Each year the town of Bellows Falls, Vt., celebrates Old Home Days in the middle of summer, complete with one of the most spectacular fireworks shows in northern New England. For a few years Vermont Rail System (which controls much of the old Rutland Railroad, operated as the Vermont Railway north of Rutland and the Green Mountain Railway south of Rutland) would pose some of their locomotives and some guest locomotives in the Bellows Falls yard, which was conveniently located just beneath the fireworks.

Bellows Falls, situated along the Connecticut River, has always been a railroad crossroad, historically served by the Rutland and the Boston & Maine. The town gained further rail fame when F. Nelson Blount located his Steamtown U.S.A. collection in the area, first at North Walpole, N.H. (just across the river) and later at Riverside, just north of town. Today, when it comes to rail activity, Bellows Falls can be quiet for hours, but then suddenly come alive with multiple moves from multiple directions all at once.

Vermont Rail System; Bellows Falls, Vt.

In 1999 I headed up to Vermont to assist in lighting the night photo session (a very daunting task given that you had to balance bright fireworks with a combination of light and dark locomotives against a black background). But during the day there were excursions operating from Bellows Falls southward to Brattleboro with a guest locomotive on the south end (Canadian Pacific GP38-2 No. 7312 painted for CPR subsidiary Delaware & Hudson) and Vermont Rail System's own No. 302 (a GP40 lettered for the Green Mountain). It turned out to be a really good day, with decent sunshine and plenty of action. One of the highlights of Bellows Falls is the short tunnel under the town located just south of the station. I caught the excursion train popping out of there on one of the trips (above).

The north-south running of the excursion train meant there wouldn't be good light on the north VRS locomotive, so for the first trip in the morning I headed into New Hampshire and shot across the Connecticut River as the train crossed a tributary on a deck bridge (right).

Amtrak; Bellows Falls, Vt.

Guilford Transportation

That afternoon there was a bit of a traffic jam in Bellows Falls as the excursion, a freight from Guilford Transportation (operating on the old Boston & Maine) and Amtrak's Vermonter (also operating on the ex-B&M) all hit town at once. The Vermonter (with its F40 locomotive) and the GTI freight (with GP40 No. 334 leading) both made for a fine sight as they framed up looking through the Bellows Falls tunnel (above).

The south end of the excursions was down in Brattleboro, and while chasing was kind of tough (it really amounted to shooting the train leaving Bellows Falls, driving 20 miles and shooting the train arriving at Brattleboro), the scene down there was worth the effort. Brattleboro is a classic New England manufacturing town, and the brick mills along the track made for a nice backdrop (below). That night, we enjoyed the fireworks as Green Mountain RS1 No. 405 and GP40 No. 302 flanked guest locomotive ConnDOT No. 6690 (a former Southern Pacific F7A painted in the colors of the New Haven) (top of blog).

Vermont Rail System; Brattleboro, Vt.; July 31, 1999

New England may have the reputation of being a hard place to shoot, but on July 31, 1999, Bellows Falls provided a great day of photography.