There was no lunchtime railfanning today since my (now ex-) co-workers took me out for a pint, but I did manage to get a couple pictures on either end of the workday.
This morning, a SD70ACe leads the ISEBA towards the Columbia River bridge:
This afternoon, a blue CEFX leaser leads the MPSPD north past the B yard:
Last July, I was fortunate to begin a job that placed me within blocks of the railroad tracks in downtown Vancouver. As time passed I realized that as great as it was being close to the railroad action, the company was not a good fit for my style and career aspirations. I have given notice of my resignation and will begin a new job next Monday.
Why would you care? The new job is a few miles farther away from the tracks, which means I won’t get trackside nearly every day as I have over the past several months. I’ll still be railfanning, and will still take the occasional lunch break at the depot, but it won’t be several times a week as in the past. Posts here will hopefully come nearly as often, but if the “lunchtime photos” slow down, I wanted everyone to know why.
It’s a sad commentary on the lack of daytime railroad activity (due to maintenance) that I’m quite satisfied and happy when I see one train moving through the Vancouver terminal during my lunch hour.
Today’s treat is the ZSEMN with a couple 70Ms and an ex-SP tunnel motor:
Train action has been very light lately in Vancouver during the days due to extensive MOW work on the Fallbridge sub. Last week the highlight of one day was this shot, a “race” around the wye towards the depot. On the left, a track inspector. To the right, a caboose, er, I mean riding platform. In case you’ve ever wondered how they steer, it must be that wheel the guy’s cranking.
Today, the M-EVEABN left its train in the NP yard in Vancouver, and this picture was taken as the light power pulled south onto the tail track next to the platform. Radio traffic indicated the UP would come get the train when it was ready. I guess that’s one way to avoid the hassles of getting into Albina.
Jennifer wanted to get some sort of artwork/photos to hang in our bathrooms to liven up the dull walls. Because I’m the warped twisted guy that I am, I suggested (and she agreed) that we’re going to use this photo for one of the bathrooms, with the photo hung above the toilet.
A westbound manifest crests the summit at Kamela, Oregon in the Blue Mountains in December 2003… I think I might have to return to the area next month.
Putting locomotives into my database a few minutes ago, I recorded the 6,936th unique one I’ve seen. Me, being the big dork that I am, chuckled that it was a UP loco.
A few days ago I posted a shot I’d snapped while down in California and asked “what’s wrong with this picture?”
It gathered a few comments.
My original thought of what’s wrong came as I was standing there and noticed there weren’t any crossbucks on the pole. Then, I noticed it was signed as a private crossing. As Mike Smith noted in the comments, both of these things struck me as odd, given the lights. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crossing with lights but without a crossbuck.
On a stormy Sunday afternoon, the California Zephyr races west over the Yolo Causeway between Sacramento and Davis, California.
Posted by Aaron Hockley in photos | 1 Comment »
If anyone is in the Portland metro area, you might want to check out Metroblogging Portland which is a group blog of a dozen or so folks that covers everything for politics to food. I post over there under the top secret name of “Aaron”.
It can be amusing. My lastest post over there starts with “Banana, you ignorant slut.”
About a year ago a few friends and I began serious discussing insuring our gear. I don’t have nearly as much equipment as many pros, but between my camera, lenses, and assorted accessories, the equipment would cost several thousand dollars to replace.
I looked at a few options and ended up getting a personal article policy through State Farm. It turns out the insurance was quite affordable. I was able to cover all of my gear against theft, loss, and damage for around $45 a year.
$45 a year. That’s less than I spend on gas for a weekend railfan trip. The policy essentially covers anything that could happen, from a bag being swiped at an airport, to me just being clumsy and dropping my 300mm off a cliff in the gorge. I quickly signed up for the policy. I figure at that rate, if I have just one expensive piece of equipment damaged in 20 years, the policy will have more than paid for itself.
I recently saw a blog post about a program called NikSecure which starts at $150/year for coverage for Nikon equipment. It’s more expensive than my State Farm policy, but it’s an option.
Steve, Robert, and I have all contributed a few photos to a thread on RailroadForums about our trip south for Winterail. Check it out. I have some other photos that have yet to be seen but will be posted here or in my gallery.
They do things a little differently in California…
Some days there isn’t much of interest to shoot, especially when maintenance of way has the railroad virtually shut down. The one frame I shot today was a yard crew taking a stack train out to Wintler to be abandoned.
A photographer’s gotta do what a photographer’s gotta do, and if that means taking pictures of a bird in flight while waiting for the train, so be it.
All praise fast L glass with IS…
It was odd weather this morning down at the Vancouver depot… crystal clear until I got about half a mile from the tracks, then the whole area near the river was fogged in. Hence this gray foggy shot of a CN unit (stripes!) leading an eastbound garbage train at 11th street:
Just a few minutes later, the fog burned off, it cleared up, and I finally nailed this shot which had eluded me for a while:
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