Happy Valentine's Day

Yesterday I received a phone call informing me that my normal Saturday morning activity was cancelled. After I heard this, I told Mrs. L4T that I just might head out Saturday morning to do a little railfanning.

I fully expected the day to dawn cloudy, but to my surprise the sun revealed a clear sky as it peeked over the horizon. Following an exchange of Valentine's Day cards, I announced my intention to head over to Staples for a little photography and train watching this AM.

After finally getting my act together I was out the door around 8 AM. Within a minute I heard something trip the detector at MP 174 on Main 2. Knowing this was likely an eastbound, and the sun being directly in his face on the run from Wadena to almost Aldrich, I decided to head to the Todd County Road 9 crossing (that's the location where this shot was taken) to try and get whatever this train was coming out of the little forest that surrounds the tracks to the west of there. Here's the result of that effort:


That was my last chance at this train, as he wasted no time passing through Staples and I wasn't able to beat him to the 6th St. crossing.

I did hear him clear up his warrant and get a new one, after which the dispatcher told him that he would be meeting two trains in Lincoln. So I knew there would be some "against the sun" action later, at the very least.

While I was waiting for another train, I scooted around to the south side of the yard and snuck in a couple of shots of a loaded coal train behind a pair of ACe's. My, but they are getting common on coal in this area. I'd love to see one in some form of green paint. The heritage loco program is one thing I appreciate the UP having done, and it would be neat if the BNSF was able to do something similar. Anyway, here is the shot:


Next up I heard an eastbound clear up a warrant at Wadena. A quick glance at the signals in Staples showed green on Main 1 and red on Main 2. It never dawned on me that this was probably a coal load for the Brainerd Sub until the train showed up. I must be really out of practice! Turns out it was likely a Laskin train, given the consist of all BN steel bottom dump hoppers. The leader on this train was an ES44AC. I shot the train as passed the Staples depot. I didn't notice any activity around the depot that would lead me to believe it was getting a new roof soon, either.


Next up was the parade of westbounds. The first one was a merchandise train behind a warbonnet C44. No pictures of that one as it was badly backlit. Second out was an empty coal train. This one got the bad news that he would be waiting in Staples for an hour or two due to "some problems out in Jamestown". I never did hear what those problems were. I shot him as he passed the depot, where he gave me a series of short toots on the horn as he rolled by. The dispatcher did say he would keep him waiting on the main so at least they didn't have to throw switches and derails.

This was a DAPX train and there were a couple of unique items about it. First, I spotted my second-ever double rotary coupler DAPX car. I have long watched for DAPX 550, well now I know that DAPX 549 is also double ended. And here is the proof:


Second, 550 was the highest number I had ever seen in that car series, until today. There were a handful on brand new DAPX cars in this train, including this one:


At least 6 cars have been added to the fleet, as the highest number was 556.

After this train was stopped on the main, I swung around to try a backlit shot from the west end of the yard. There was a DPU on the loads I had shot earlier visible, along with the power for a coal empty that was parked south of the loads. Here is what I came up with:


Probably my favorite shot of the bunch. One thing I like about this photo is the angle on the yard ladder. I like to see the curve in the rail highlighted by the sun.

Since I didn't know of any more traffic coming, I headed for Wadena. About halfway home I heard the dispatcher giving a crossing warning malfunction to BNSF 608, the warbonnet I had seen earlier. He then repeated it for another train, which I suspected was an eastbound. I stopped in Wadena and waited for about 10 minutes, and sure enough I heard him pass the detector at 174.1. I decided to shoot him from the east end of town, in a location I have never tried before. I like the results of this shot as well:


That was it for Valentine's day morning. My scoresheet showed 5 moving trains and 2 parked trains, not bad for a couple hour's time on a Saturday morning. Hope you enjoy these. Until next time, that's it from Jim.

Changing Times on the Staples Sub

Given the variability in my workload, other obligations, and weather, I tend to railfan when I can, not always when I would like to. There are times when I will go for weeks with only a glance at the tracks to satisfy my curiosity.

This can cause me to not notice a change on the railroad until it darn near reaches out and slaps me. The most recent example I can think of is the disappearance of the once-common SD40-2 locomotive on trains travelling the Staples Sub. I made a post to the Outstate Minnesota Rail group observing that I hadn't seen many 40's recently and it came to light that they are either stored or being returned to the leasor, due to the economic downturn and the arrival of new power on the railroad.

Having been tied up for much of the fall with work issues, I had done very little fanning after we returned from our trip to Glacier in September. I decided to look back at the few photos I had shot to see when I had last photographed an SD40-2 on BNSF rails. Surprisingly (to me), it was while on vacation in Montana. The last 40 I shot on BNSF rails was BNSF 6994, which I caught as it passed through what Google maps calls "Badrock Canyon" just east of Columbia Falls, Montana. This is where the Flathead River, the railroad, and US Highway 2 all pass through a narrow valley.


At the time I had no inkling whatsoever that this would be my final mainline BNSF SD40-2 for, at best, quite a while. So the fact that Mrs. L4T and myself chased the train to Olney was purely coincidental, although now that the 40's are gone it seems only fitting that the last one I got to shoot deserved a chase.

We beat the train to Olney and I grabbed a going away shot, not for the historical value, but because the scenery was very un-Staples Sub like. I guess the fact it is going away is symbolic, isn't it?


Now I know that as that train curved out of sight on September 19, 2008, I had just released the shutter on the last BNSF SD40-2 I would see in mainline operation for what now looks to be a long time.

This all made me go back and take a look at some of my favorites SD40-2 shots. Here are a couple of them. The first one is a Z train approaching Lincoln in the fall of 2006:


Here's one passing through Wadena in a snow flurry:


I miss them and I hope we see the need to get them back on the high iron soon.

Jim

(Partial) Success

DME 6056 leaving Blooming Prairie
Originally uploaded by look4trains

It's funny-living here is west-central Minnesota, with access to one of the busiest rail lines in the state, strangely enough seems to make it harder to get a shot of a train coming through a snowdrift. First, the train frequency and speed tend to keep the right of way clear, and second, even if a drift forms, there will be a train along in a matter of a few hours at the very most to clear the line.

So oddly enough, my travels to the furthest corner of the state gave me the chance to get this shot. I happened to be in Austin last night, and as I headed for home today under beautiful blue skies, I noticed a train on the main just north of Blooming Prairie. Having travelled this way a number of times I knew that trains were scarce, and this one had a FRED on the north end but no locos on the south. I suspected they were in town doing some switching and a quick u-turn revealed that was indeed the case. I found out from the conducter (setting the derail) that they were headed south again in a few mintues, as soon as they were coupled back up and the air pumped up on the train.

I checked out a couple of crossings south of town, and picked one for a first shot. After a wait of about 20 minutes I shot the train at the first crossing. Since they were travelling so slowly (about 15 mph) I was able to run to another crossing and get this shot. The train was still meandering along at the same speed so there wasn't too much excitement but it's a start.

After all, a day when you get to shoot a train in good light is a day worth remembering, whatever color the train was. And this day certainly fit the bill, and goes into the memory banks on the plus side. Here's to trains, and sun, and snow.

Jim, out

My Venture into the World of Flickr

BNSF 4323 approaches Frazee
Originally uploaded by look4trains

Once upon a time, I had a website running some open source software called coppermine. It worked pretty well, and I enjoyed tinkering with it and creating new galleries and tagging the photos. However, it required attention, which I wasn't always willing to give. My failure to update the software on a regular basis resulted in an attack which basically wrecked the site.

So I wiped it out, went without an internet presence for a time, then started this blog. I've been happy with it, and enjoyed getting it set up like I wanted. However, I missed being able to share photos in an organized way.

Christopher Muller, John Fladung, and a number of other Minnesota Railfans were using flickr to share photos, and I grew to like the features they had. Do I decided the time had come to set up a flickr account and get some photos uploaded. I didn't know at the time that flickr would allow me to blog about any photo that was posted, like the one above.

I have started posting on flickr, and have 100+ railroad photos up now. I always enjoyed this one and thought it would be a good one to use to promote my site. If you're interested, feel free to drop by-you can find me at http://flickr.com/photos/look4trains. I'm always very interested in feedback, so let me know what you think by comment or email. Thanks!

Jim

BNSF 4866 near Lincoln

BNSF 4866 near Lincoln
Originally uploaded by look4trains

Usually the most important focus point in a photo is the numberboards or the pilot detail. I went a different direction with this shot.

Chilly, Snowy Sunday

With a cloudy day forecast for Sunday January 11, I had little hope of getting out to exercise the new camera. However, after we got home from church, a check of the satellite photo and the map in motion showed a giant sucker hole settling over western Minnesota. I decided it was worth taking a chance that the sun would hold out by heading west for a few picture taking opportunities.

Mrs. L4T is never one to argue about a road trip and she was soon ready to leave. We made our way west, with little traffic between Wadena and Detroit Lakes. There was a broken rail just east of Frazee that was being repaired, and the westbound stack train was running wrong-main to get around that problem, which meant nothing was moving eastbound. Chatter on the radio seemed to indicate that the rail would soon be fixed. Here is the crew working at that location:


I knew that the stack train was right behind us, and that there was at least one eastbound waiting for him at Richards Spur. I heard him at the MP 225 detector, and predicted that we would soon see a stopped train. Sure enough, he was paused at the crossing just to the west of Richards Spur. I decided to get a shot as the stacker passed by, and here it is.


Just as soon as BNSF 809 west cleared his warrant from Wadena to Richards Spur, the dispatcher got busy handing them out to the waiting eastbound and three more behind him. I scooted for Lake Park, in the hope I could beat 809 to some photo location in that area. I made it to the overpass just west of Hwy 32 where I shot him as he approached. The engineer gave a friendly toot as the train passed.


At this point I wasn't sure what other westbound traffic was out there, but decided to run into Hawley as I always wanted to get a shot of a train entering town in nice light. The wait for my first chance wasn't long, but even before that the next eastbound train passed by. Coal loads with two units up front told me there was the chance of a DPU unit, and there was, but it was facing the wrong way. In just a few minutes an empty coal train showed up, with four EMD's up front. I got him just as he leaned into the curve.


I didn't even make it back to the car before the next eastbound showed-a stack train with ES44DC's. Here is the backlit B&W shot:


The next train was a coal empty behind three MAC's. At the urging of Mrs. L4T I shot him as a crossed the highway overpass in Hawley. I'm not real happy with how this turned out. Need to work on this spot some more to get it right.


With one last westbound before the light went away, I headed back to the curve on the east edge of town. This time I made my way down the bank in some deep snow, and the resulting shots are from a lower angle. Lots of power on this train:


Then once more as he rounds the corner:


We enjoyed our supper at Jimmy's Pizza in Hawley, after being joined by the heir to the L4T throne from Fargo. It was getting mighty cold at this point, and the full moon was doing all it could to light up the night. I tried one artsy shot of the moon on the way home but cold fingers got the best of me.

I am happier with these than the previous batch of photos. I seem to be getting more comfortable with the new camera and hope that my skills continue to improve. I've got a couple of shots from this week that I hope to post soon. I was in the Hibbing and Virginia areas and spent a little time in the Iron Junction area, so they won't be Staples Sub shots.

Still looking for trains,

Jim

First Shots with the New K200D

Saturday January 10 was my first chance to get out and put the new camera through its paces. Mrs. L4T and myself decided to drive west in hopes that the sun would hold out long enought to take in the sights in the Lake Park area.

It wasn't long before an eastbound offed the chance for a wedgie near New York Mills. This Z train was behind a nice looking GEVO, not a bad unit for the first railfan trip photo with the new camera.


I knew there was another eastbound coming, most likely a coal train, given the radio chatter with a 5600 series. I intercepted this train just west of Perham, another plain old wedgie shot.


Next stop was Frazee, and I soon heard the detector at MP 203 announce the impending arrival of a train on Main 2. Probably another coal train, given the axle count. Sure enough, here he comes behind a pair of MAC's. I wanted to emphasize the s-curve and get the water tower involved, and I guess I succeeded, at the cost of snow in my boots and up my pant legs at least to knee height. It's getting deep over that way.


Finally, another coal train, this time powered by two ACe's, running elephant style. I decided to try and stay out of the deepest snow this time, resulting in different angle of shot.


Clouds put an end to the trip at this point. The overcast day caused us to decide to head home and save the "big trip" for a sunnier afternoon.

I was fairly happy with these images, although I noticed later that I had shot them at ISO 800 which did nothing to help the image quality. So many things are different with this new camera, and will take a little getting used.

I'm looking forward to learning about the capabilities of this new camera and hopefully learning how to take advantage of them.

Keep on looking,

Jim