Archive for June, 2006

One of my favorite features of IMatch, falling into the “gee that’s nice info to have accessible” realm, is Data-Driven Categories. IMatch can dynamically assign images to categories based on the EXIF or XMP data stored with the image when it was shot on a digital camera.

What does that mean in real life? Well it means I can tell it to index on the EXIF lens field, and get something like this:

If I want to quickly see all images shot with a particular lens, the info is ready to go. You can setup a data-driven category for anything in the EXIF, such as aperture, focal length, lens, etc.

Looks like another big name is now in the Digital Asset Management field.  Microsoft has purchased iView, makes of iView Media Pro, one of the biggest DAM tools.  This means Microsoft will now be competing against Adobe, Imatch, Extensis, and others in the market for tools for cataloging photos and other media.

Well, my plan to go see some cars being hauled off for scrap at lunch didn’t pan out… I drove by around 11:30 and there was not a soul to be seen, the fences were still up, and no heavy equipment was around. There wasn’t too much going on but I did find a stack train stopped at 39th street with a lead unit in need of a paint job:

With the popularity of internet photo critique forums, one has to wonder, how would some great photographers of the past fare on today’s message boards?  A humorous piece of satire by The Online Photographer.

I just saw this article by a Kansas City news outlet which is stirring the pot regarding one-man operating crews on freight trains.  While safety is a valid concern, unfortunately the article quickly delves into nothing but scare tactics, and the so-called real world examples they cite have nothing to do with crew size.  Here’s some bogus examples cited in the article:

• The London Subway bombings.  Not freight trains, totally irrelevant to how many men are in the cab.
• A plan to release chlorine gas into the New York Subway.  Again, irrelevant to how many men are in the cab.
• An air hose broke in the back of the train. One person would not be able to get to it quickly.  So what?  It’s not like the current two-man system is quick.
• A train is involved in a grade crossing crash. One person would not be enough to handle such emergencies.  Huh?  It takes two people to plug the air?  The person who goes to check out the carnage can’t also use their radio to call for help?

I won’t argue that one-man crews would be safer, but I’ve yet to be convinced of any doomsday scenario of losing a crew member.  Yes, there’s union labor issues involved, and job security is really the number one issue, hiding behind the screen of “safety” and “think about the children!”

I’ve heard from a reliable source that the remaining Pullman passenger cars at the former Crossing Restaurant in Vancouver (adjacent to 8th Street on the BNSF Fallbridge Sub) will be removed for scrap on Monday.  I may try to sneak down there around lunchtime and see what’s going on.

So… today I figured I’d get a few shots after work. The Vancouver Terminal dispatcher sent two eastbounds to Wintler and Eavan, telling them to wait for one west.

I didn’t realize that I’d set up for my shot and have to wait 90 minutes… what is this, Stampede?

Anyway, here’s the shot, at milepost 17.3 on the Fallbridge Sub. This was a new angle for me.

It’s the longest day of the year… the summer solstice.  Unless you’re Kit Courter, who probably favors the winter solstice, there’s no excuse for not getting out and snapping at least one picture of a train in daylight today.  I’ll be out for a bit after work.

The best way to improve your photography is to take more photos and study them.  Go take more photos!

I spent a couple hours down at the depot last night, not too much was going on but I got this shot of the light power off the 664 as it came off the bridge and around towards the center. It wasn’t until I was looking at the photo at home that I noticed the nose of the 3017 has a nice rusted shot-up look.

New photo in my gallery.

Since I haven’t had a chance to take a bunch of new photos in the last week or so, I figured I need to entertain y’all with something, and I decided I’m going to post a few things over the next few days in a “GorgeRail Unplugged” series, offering a bit of behind-the-scenes insight into putting together the annual railfan event. Even if you have yet to attend GorgeRail, there might be something of interest.

Each year, GorgeRail has had an “official” lodging arrangement including a group rate at a hotel/motel in the area. Attendees are able to stay wherever they choose, but staying at the group motel has often had some benefits.

The first to years, we held GorgeRail at the Best Western Hood River Inn and so that became the natural choice for our group loding. We received a discount on the conference room based on the number of folks which chose to stay at the motel. The motel was nice, clean, and offered rooms with a river view for those who wanted the scenery outside their patio door. The hotel bar stayed open until a good hour so that we could toss back a few pints on Friday night and again on Saturday after the show.

In 2005 we changed the show venue to take advantage of the wonderful theater facilities at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles. Holding the show in a hotel conference room was adequate, but the theater at the Discovery Center provided more comfortable seating, better viewing, and a better sound system for about the same price as we had been paying in Hood River. Of course, being a museum, the Discovery Center doesn’t have a hotel in the building.

Last year we setup a group rate with the newly-built Comfort Inn, which was on the opposite end of town from the show. The facility was new and clean, and offered a continental breakfast included with the price. Unfortunately, my impression of the facility was marred by the fact that my reservation was screwed up and they had me in a room with a single bed instead of two.

This year, we setup group lodging at Cousins Country Inn. The rooms were clean, the prices were right, although no breakfast (or coupon for their restaurant) was included. One disappointment was that they shut down the bar at 10pm, even though we had probably 25 people who wanted to continue purchasing drinks. They lost money and made us unhappy.

Next year, I’m going to do a bit more planning. I want to find somewhere with affordable railfan-friendly rooms, with a bar that’s going to stay open past 10. If anyone has suggestions, or any sort of feedback, feel free to let me know.

This makes wading through a lot of useless crap on photo.net worth it…

The rumors are already out, there might be a Baldwin and/or a PA at next year’s Crusin’ Sherwood event.  Read more on RailroadForums.

Well, I’d hoped to find out more about the BNSF Railfan ID card, but my inquiry to BNSF Public Relations has been ignored for a week, despite prompt responses from them in the past.

Perhaps they’re just too busy to deal with a questioning railfan, but if the whole thing was a let’s-be-friendly-to-railfans gesture, you’d think they would reply.

The station for the now-defunct Samtrak excursion service was brought back to life this weekend for use by the SP&700 in a Celebration of Steam, marking the 50th anniversary of the last steam locomotive excursion on the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railroad.

For those of you who love desert railroading, Trainfoamers.com has added a “Arizona and the Southwest” forum.

The SP 4449 made a short trip to Sherwood, Oregon today for the “Crusin Sherwood” city festival. After getting delayed about four hours trying to get onto the main at Brooklyn, she finally made it out and I got a couple shots.

First, crossing Kellogg Lake in Milwaukee:

Crossing a trestle just east of Sherwood:

Local steam fans, don’t forget that this is also the weekend of the SP&S 700’s celebration at Oaks Park.

Prior to today, I’d never setup for a photo at one spot, and stayed there until the train arrived…5 hours later.

I had grand visions of leaving work around 1600 today and heading east to hopefully find a combination of evening light and a westbound fleet of trains around the Drano Lake area. Around 1600 instead I looked at the gray drizzly skies and decided it wasn’t worth $20 of gas to get white-sky shots. Instead I went down to the center, then over around North Portland for a few hours. Here’s a shot of a northbound UP train crossing the slough just north of Penninsula Junction:

Today BNSF announced a program called “Citizens United for Rail Safety” where railfans can sign up, get a membership card, and help the BNSF by reporting suspicious things.

Why would I need to get a registration card to report suspicious activity? I honestly can’t say I understand the motivation behind this program.

I’m going to make some official inquiries and see what I can find out… stay tuned.