2015 Year in Review [Highlights] Part 1

 

This is how my 2015 started and I couldn't have been more thrilled. I didn't make it out to shoot anything until January 16th when there were a bunch of posts about CNW 8646 sitting in Enola Yard waiting for assignment. I was shooting locally and with the following day free (amazingly), I took for Harrisburg to wait and see what happened. I got to the yard by 2:30PM and a few reports came in that it would be going north on NS 31T to Montreal, Quebec. I waited it out by shooting some movements on the Pittsburgh Line until they finished doubling their train at 9:30PM. The first spot I could catch them was at Sunbury, PA on the Buffalo Line.

I spent a few days during the rest of January and February shooting the local Conrail action, the Lehigh Line, and even a day at Strasburg but the next highlight came at the end of February. My brother and I were able to coordinate a day to go out somewhere and the weather decided to cooperate as well. We decided the "where?" would be the Winchester & Western to catch the railroad's ex-NS SD9M. We had done a few trips while the WW was using BDRV 9581 a few years ago but had yet to see WW 954. After checking in at the office, we first chased the train down to Dividing Creek.

That was good enough for us so we drove east towards Millville, where we were told WW 954 would be working. We were not in town long before they finished working the yard and headed south to Durand Glass Manufacturing.

Another significant snow storm hit the area on March 5th so I went to the Northeast Corridor where I knew I was guaranteed to get something. It was a decent afternoon but on my way home after sunset, I decided that the wait for Conrail local SA33 to Dayton wouldn't be too bad and the snow was tapering off so I stopped off in Helmetta to attempt my first night shot of the Helme Snuff Mill undergoing restoration into a loft apartment complex.

More snow would fall on March 20th, so my brother and I chose to head up to the NYSW where the most snow was predicted to accumulate. An earlier departure than normal was a blessing as it allowed a longer daylight chase which is rare during the winter. Our first shot was Oakland, NJ after missing anything closer to Little Ferry.

 

The winner of the chase for me was SU99 passing Baird's Farm at Warwick, NY just before dark.

 

More days off and sunny days meant a lot of shooting at the end of March and I was out and about again on the 23rd to shoot the Ringling Brothers circus train heading west on the NS Lehigh Line. It was another day I was planning on staying local until someone posted a heads up about they train departing later than originally expected. I went the back way to I-78 through Neshanic Station so I barely made it into Bethlehem, PA before they did. But I did. I decided to include the following shot of the train getting back on the move passing the Reading signals because they are currently in the process of being replaced. An unsuccessful chase west led me to spend the rest of the day shooting some of the other Reading signals between Alburtis and Fleetwood.

 

Thanks to another advanced heads up, I was up early on the morning of March 26th to catch the NS OCS heading east on the Pittsburgh Line. I made it as far west as Horningford, my favorite spot on the line, before hearing NS 956 calling signals. I chased back to Harrisburg where the clouds kept me from going any further.

My brother had the day free on April 4th and clear skies gave us a chance to explore the signals along the NS Reading Line. It was also our first time shooting the Allentown & Auburn.

A recent trend for me the past few years has been a trip sometime in April down south for the beginning of spring color. In 2015, that trip was to the NS Christiansburg and Pocahontas Districts. The goal of the trip and weather of the trip can be summed up in one shot. CPLs, N&W heritage and rain.

I consider them two separate trips in my 2015 folder but the end of my trip included the April 18-19 charter on the Potomac Eagle put on by Chase Gunnoe Photography. I'm not old enough to remember too much about the Chessie Sytem but it has always been my favorite paint scheme so I could not pass up the opportunity to spend an entire day shooting a Chessie GP9 or B&O F7 for that matter.

The next trip would not be until May 8th with which I will start Part 2.

"No resolutions this year, just goals."

"No resolutions this year, just goals." - Joe Hinson

A fellow photographer friend of mine posted this on Facebook on New Years Eve and it immediately struck a chord with me.

While 2015 was a relatively productive year photography wise, it was the year I spent the least amount of time shooting since 2006, what I consider the beginning of my "good photography" (when I started driving/upgraded my camera to a DSLR). The end of the year was especially slow after getting a promotion at work that kept me from having any free time in daylight from November until now. The main reason, I suspect though, is that 2015 was the first full year I spent living at home since 2010. It wasn't a new or exciting place to explore like I had been used to for 4 years. There was no motivation to shoot the same ol', same ol'. Obviously, that was a terrible way of looking at it because I missed out on a lot. I will still be at home in 2016 but with a much different mindset: capture what I haven't done locally before it disappears and recapture some things that might have changed within the last 5 years. That brings us to the title of this post before doing a little review of 2015. 2016 will be the year to have goals and reach them or at least try as hard as possible to get to as many as I can in 365 days.

Patience: A February/Lent/Spring Resolution

Normally when I sit down and start going through the archives, I'm reminded of the severe growing pains as a photographer I went through during my first few years of "serious" shooting (everything after going DSLR in 2006) and it gets frustrating looking at bad photos of interesting subjects. Today was a little different. Again I was reminded about how terrible I was, but I was also reminded about how impatient I was then. The best example of this took place back in April 2008. I had been driving for a little over a year and had just gotten my second [used] car so I was taking more day trips now that I had reliable transportation. The trees were finally getting their leaves so I decided to spend some time documenting the spring bloom along the southern end of NJT's North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL) between Manasquan and Bay Head. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but I believe I wanted to focus on getting the early morning light since the forecast called for a string of sunny days. Looking at the photos, I made it to Manasquan by 7:40AM one day and Point Pleasant Beach by 6:51AM the next. I got a few different angles that I had never shot before and power that was increasingly rare such as NJT 4142, one of only a few active GP40FH-2s at the time. While that may sound like two successful sunny day, I see that I left the area at 10:23AM and 8:55AM. I have no idea what, if anything, I had planned for the rest of those two days, but I'm almost positive that it wasn't anything productive. That being said, 7 years later I'm left asking why didn't I just spend the rest of those days down there to get more shots of one of the last active GP40FH-2s?! This is the one decent shot I got of the 4142 in two mornings since I screwed up my second chance.

  

Why think about these mistakes now and not just enjoy the photos I did get? I suppose it's to avoid repeating them. It's easy to spend sunrise to sunset shooting while on vacation because there is nothing to distract me and no temptation to go back home. While looking at almost every local 'trip' I've taken close to home since 2006, I've noticed that I rarely, if ever, spend an entire day out shooting. Why am I so impatient so close to home? I honestly have no idea other than getting bored of what there is around here. I'd like to think that I have gotten better and have more discipline to stay out until I lose the light, but I still notice that I'm coming back with the sun still in the sky and a lot of room on my memory cards. Along with getting more motivated to shoot more and finally make a local to-shoot-list, this is a top priority of mine in 2015.

"HI MOM"

Wednesday, April 17th, started just like every other Wednesday with me having off from work and waking up around 9AM or somewhere around there. As per the usual, I followed Miranda to where she has to park a few blocks off campus so I could drive her to the building saving time. I made sure to grab my camera and scanner on the way out rather than driving back home where I would inevitably get stuck sitting at the computer for hours. I took my usual route to the end of BNSF's Lower Yard at "East Lubbock" where I was pleasantly surprised to see an eastbound manifest just beginning to leave the yard as well as chatter on the Plainsman Switching Co. frequency. I'm not usually out while the sun is still on the east side of the tracks so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and get a shot I had found earlier this month at the west end of the Burris siding. I parked and walked down the access road toward the ex-ATSF searchlight signals glancing back down the tracks time to time to check the progress of the headlight. I had heard them blow for one crossing but they had not reached the next which was odd. I took some random shots of the codeline and signals as I waited.

 

 

Still nothing. I grew suspicious and convinced myself it was probably a train terminating in Lubbock making a reverse move into the yard, a common procedure. Just as this thought entered my mind, I saw a flash of blue a little ways down the track followed by "Crossing is protected." over the scanner and the horn of GMTX 404. The Plainsman Switching Co. had run down to the end of their line to Burris. I got excited at the prospect of getting the ex-NS, exx-CR GP15-1 still in blue between the signals but there was no reason for them to come down that far so I walked back to the Loop 289 overpass (seen in the distance above.)

 

 By the time I got up the embankment, they had already run up their line adjacent to the BNSF line to another spur to grab two tank cars before returning back to their "main" and the rest of the train.

GMTX 404 prepares to cross US 84 with the Lubbock skyline visible on a surprisingly hazy day in West Texas.

 

GMTX 404 and 403 pause while the conductor walks back to protect the shove across US 84.

As I began to ponder their next move, I realized that at some point they would be returning to their yard meaning I would get a chance to shoot one of the coolest spots I've seen on any railroad, anywhere. I quickly got back to the car and went straight there. I could tell by the conversation of the scanner they were doing switching somewhere else so I went to find them. I ended up finding E. 66th St. which parallels the line and grabbed a few shots as they put GMTX 403 on the west end making the trip back easier.

 

 

I high-tailed it back to E. 52nd St. to guarantee getting the one shot I absolutely wanted of this railroad.

As I took the backlit shot of the 404, I could tell they were slowing down for crossing protected only by crossbucks. I was wrong as they came to a stop right next to me and the engineer proceeded to tell me that people are not allowed to take pictures because they are under Class II FRA something, something, something, and they have to call the police if they see someone doing it. Yeah, okay. He was nice about it so I just agreed and told him that after I got the shot I would go check-in at their office. The encounter was a blessing in disguise as they would now roll through the scene at half the speed as they would have otherwise.

 After a brief conversation with me, the engineer prepares to cross E. 52nd St. and past some very track side residences.

 

 

 

 

GMTX 404 brings up the rear of the train as it rolls between two houses in a very model-like setting. I know 5 photos is a bit overkill but I think this is one of the neatest pieces of track I've ever seen. It reminds me very much of the following location on the Southern Indiana RR in Sellersburg, IN.
Photo taken in 2010.

I heard the engineer relay the message that I would be coming to the office so I decided to go straight there to put the crew at ease. Upon arrival, I spent a few minutes talking to and exchanging business cards with the General Manager/Superintendent who was super friendly and gave the okay for photography: "Take all the pictures you want just stay away from the tracks." I strongly urge anyone, if for whatever reason you find yourself in Lubbock and want to shoot the PSC, to stop by the office to let them know what you are doing. The train finally rolled into the yard and would not be going anywhere while the crew had lunch so I headed west toward West Texas & Lubbock's Doud Yard.

The F40 mother/slug set and one of their recently acquired LTEX GP35us were sitting on the main waiting to leave the yard as I continued west to the WTLC's offices in Wolfforth. I pulled up to the ex-ATSF Whiteface depot now lettered Wolfforth to have the same conversation as I had had with the PSC. This time, the guy who answered the door and claimed he was a manager (he didn't even tell me his name) barely said a word as I explained that I was a photographer and I planned on following the train to take pictures. He basically said the same thing, "just stay away from the right of way" and pretty much closed the door in my face. I took it as permission to shoot away so I grabbed a shot of the depot and two passenger cars in the yard before leaving.

 

I drove back to Lubbock to wait for the train to leave but hunger would get the best of me and I decided to head home, picking Miranda up on the way. After lunch and some TV time, I took her back to campus for the afternoon and went up to Canyon Jct. to check out what was going on there. A local was sitting at the signal so I drove to the west end of the wye to get a shot of the signals there. While I waited, I took the advice of the BNSF Special Agent I had gotten to know here and called the PD's office to let them know who I was and what I was doing. He advised me that where I had planned on shooting from was actually BNSF property so I gladly moved down to the next crossing. He thanked me for calling in and I had a worry free evening of shooting ahead if any crews got nervous enough to report me as suspicious. A few minutes later, BNSF 3196 with a local began its trip west on the Slaton Sub.

 

  

The local splits the ex-ATSF searchlight signals protecting the west side of Canyon Jct. This was also the spot where the ATSF line to Seagraves originally split off the Slaton Sub. You can see the old right of way to the right in the second photo. This line was ripped up in the early 1990s to allow the expansion of US 82, the Marsha Sharp Freeway, and was replaced by a new connecting track west of town.

 

 BNSF 3196 is framed by the Tech Inn's canopy.

 

 The westbound local rolls west through Shallowater passing a resting donkey and two horses.

 I wish I had taken more shots of the freight cars I've seen out here.

The donkey and horse look for a snack while the tank cars at the end of the train goes by unnoticed.

I called the chase off here and drove back to Lubbock. The scanner alerted me of an eastbound local heading to Slaton with BNSF 1981, still in BN green, leading. I was still on the north side of town as he got the clear signal to leave East Lubbock so I knew it would be tough to beat him anywhere before Slaton, but I tried anyway. Surprisingly, I caught his tail end at Burris (the first signal east of East Lubbock) and finally got past him at the next intermediate signal. With only one set of signals remaining before getting into Slaton, my decision was made for me as I pulled over onto the shoulder of US 84. I walked a little bit into a recently plowed cotton field to add a little bit of something into the scene. Literally, seconds before the train popped out from the cut a white van pulled over onto the shoulder right in the middle of the shot. As they say, some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue. Hello, my name is Statue..

 

A whole lot of green going on here.

As I pulled into Slaton, I noticed the headlight of a westbound pulling into town in the distance and knew I had made the right choice to follow the local all the way down. I stopped at the Santa Fe Harvey House to grab a few shots as the coal train waited for the local to get off the main.

I got back to the west end of the yard to shoot the coal train leaving through the searchlights but found the local stopped blocking the switch and crossing causing a decent traffic jam on Business US 84. I took the opportunity to get some gas since my fuel gauge doesn't work too well and I didn't know how much more driving I would be doing this afternoon. I overheard the dispatcher tell the SLABEL that they would be following the coal train west. Sweet! Two westbounds on the Slaton. One bound for the Plainview Sub. and one to continue on the Slaton past Lubbock.

 I returned back to my spot just as the local cleared up. 

Some of the vehicle traffic was able to get across but soon BNSF 5713 had the empty coal train under way passing the West End Slaton signal.

 

A little ways out of Slaton, I set myself up on a hill near a small cut to shoot the intermediate signals at MP 686.1.

 

 The next set of signals at MP 682.1 with the sign for the Great Plains Distributors of Miller and Coors.

 

I doubled back to the 686.1 signals to catch the SLABEL but was too slow and had to settle on the same shot at 682.1.

Unable to catch back up the coal train, I barely made it through Lubbock to get the SLABEL through the signals at the west side of Canyon Junction. Realizing that I had been following them, the conductor decided to have a little fun and made a sign that read, "HI MOM."

 

I skipped a few spots west of Canyon Junction and ended up at the East End Shallowater signals. By the time the train made it to me, the conductor had made another sign. His full message read, "HI MOM""I<3U."

The next spot was the wooden bridge over NCR 1100 between Shallowater and Roundup.

I had shot all the signals in Anton before so I wanted to try something different. Unfortunately, some idiot had to park in the shot. =) Whoops.

After stopping to check for dragging equipment found by the last detector, the SLABEL is back up to track speed through Littleton passing the ex-ATSF depot.

 A boxcar lettered for the Sabine River & Northern, a Texas shortline.

 

 Getting creative with the searchlights at MP 41.1.

 I attempted to get back ahead of him but got slowed down going through Sudan and settled for one last parting shot as they continued west into a mini dust storm towards Muleshoe, Farwell, Clovis and Belen.

 Here is what the shot at West End Sudan would have looked like.

 

Apparently, this stone train with a CSX trailing unit had been following the SLABEL. The dust had begin to defuse the setting sun so I grabbed one shot from the eastbound lanes of US 84 and drove the 40+ miles back home after a busy day on the Slaton Sub.