The Verndale Shot in October

I've always loved this photo by Christopher Muller. Why? Well, it's a beautiful shot-I especially like the way the sun catches the roofs of the autoracks on the downgrade, at the end of the train. But it also reminds me of the first edition of Verndale rail.

Last Friday Mrs. L4T and I went to Brainerd to get an oil change on the Escape. We were nearly home before meeting a train, at which point I promptly reversed course and sped back to Verndale. I ended up shooting from almost the same location as Chris was at when he got his shot. But now it's October, and the sun has swung quite a ways to the south, resulting in a more sidelit, less contrasty photo.


It's not much of a photo, really, but it did one thing for me. It reminded me of Verndale Rails, past and future, wherever they happen to be held. And that was a joyful thought, as I have great memories of those days and look forward to more in the future.

I suppose I learned that sometimes the intrinsic value in a photo isn't the pixels that are captured, but the memories that bubble to the surface as a result of shooting it. That's certainly the case with this picture.

Jim