Archive for the 'photos' Category

In the past couple of months I’ve gotten to know some of the local photographer crowd via some Portland Flickr gatherings (pdx Flickr group). Last week, I happened to see some railroad photography on my Flickr contacts page, but it wasn’t from the normal railfan sources. I asked Jennifer and Ryan if they’d allow me to share their take on railroad photography here and they both agreed. And thus I present a couple of photos of the BNSF in the Gorge. If you click on the photo you can view it larger on their Flickr pages (or browse their other work):

by reesman9

by jasmine008

…well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.  Like most of Washington we had a touch of April snow in Vancouver yesterday.  After one of the showers I ran out and snapped a photo of my lone remaining Daffodil.  The poor thing I’m sure it was second guessing its decision to bloom.

Snowy Daffodil

Yacolt is at a bit higher elevation than my house so of course it way snowing up there and yes, that’s snow on the hills above the BYCX 1.  Certainly snow is expected up there in January, but not in April.  Dare I ask what’s next?

Cold Excursion

Yesterday Vancouver had a surprise foreign visitor, KCS 4100 which I believe is the class unit of their SD70ACe series in the newer Heritage paint scheme. It was the trailing unit on a westbound train at 8th street (in some amazingly craptastical lighting… but you take what you can get, right?).

Recently I went about town for some photo taking opportunities and managed to grab a few decent shots of a Portland & Western freight rolling on through Union Station downtown. It’s been gorgeous the last few days and I just figured that at least a few trains ought to be photographed.

After a refreshing spring break trip to the beach, its back to railfanning for me.  On Saturday I made another one day trip to the Oregon Trunk to become more familiar with the South Jct. to Redmond segment.  I’ll post on that later this week.  Sunday I set out with the goal of capturing a few images of the Vancouver rail construction projects.  Yep, that’s right, projects.

Right after the first of the year the West Vancouver Freight Access project phase I kicked off.  Aaron and I learned that this first phase will construct a spur off the Fallbridge sub near Eighth St. to serve Albina fuel and the LaFarge cement plant south of the depot.  The second phase will extend the spur west into the port with the goal of all movements to and from the east using this track instead of the hill and grain lead they use now.  The primary goal of the project is to speed up entry and exit into the port which is now slowed by the fact trains have to cross the Seattle sub at Vancouver center. 

West Side Frieght Access Construction

This should be a very interesting project due to watch as there will eventually be a shoo fly built while the trestle near 6th St. is replaced and the fact the first nearly 1000′ of the spur will be on an elevated right of way built on a pre-manufactured concrete wall system. 

The second project is the construction of a storage track or third main track between the north end of the B Yard and 39th St.  In February a switch and some porta potties showed up which is a sure sign that work was about to begin.  In mid-March, during a one day long main 1 window, the switch was installed just north of the Fruit Valley Rd. overpass.  In the last week a minor amount of sub grade work was done just south of the switch.  Other than that progress has been slow. 

A northbound grain train passes the location of the new storage track

Track to nowhere

As has been mentioned on various forums the approach signals for Vancouver Center and Vancouver Jct. North were replaced with a dwarf signal.  I’m sure that is temporary until the new signals are installed at the Fruit Valley crossing location.  When the opportunity presents itself I grab a shot of the stubby little thing.  This storage track is actually part of the Vancouver Rail Project which involves the overpass at 39th St.  

These projects should make the next 3 years fairly interesting around here!

In many regards the 1960s were different than today but unfortunately in some regards they were not.   Despite how much people think highly of the current era or romanticize about history people make mistakes in judgement today just like in the past. 

Take this photograph of a grade crossing accident in Toppenish, WA taken sometime before 1963.  While the true story of this incident is not easily found, it appears from the photo someone did not heed the clearly marked crossing and ended up with their automobile draped across the bulldog nose of a Northern Pacific F unit (NP 5407A if you are keeping score). 

What distracted this driver?  Probably the same sorts of things that would distract a driver today…the radio (hey, maybe Kennedy was on the radio?), traffic, food, a passenger, or maybe they were just in a hurry.  Most likely, just like today, it was not a situation where getting to the other side of the tracks was something that couldn’t wait a few minutes.

We have learned a lot since this photograph was taken.   We have come to know that the refined oils and fuels we use to keep our cars moving are hazardous to the environment and treat spills with the utmost care (23-19!, 23-19! for Monsters Inc. fans).  So today it is highly unlikely to find someone simply hosing the spilled lube oil, anti-freeze, and fuel from the pavement!  We also understand more about the factors that cause pedestrians and drivers to not recognize a train is approaching and through improved technology, improved visibility at the crossing, and improved visibility of the approaching train we’ve made crossings safer.  On top of that railroads and local agencies have made a tremendous effort to close as many crossings as they can even though the alternative is expensive.

We haven’t learned a lot since this photograph was taken.  Not all drivers have gotten the basic message and unfortunately as long as grade crossings exists the basic fact is these accidents still occur  So Look and Listen and lead your friends and family to do the same!

Railroading isn’t the easiest job.  You have to interact with large, heavy equipment and you must be mentally alert at all times.  Despite these obstacles a dedicated group of railroaders works everyday to execute their job safely.  Sunday provided several opportunities for me to capture these folks carrying out their duties.

All Lined Back South End of the NP Pass

Two Cars Herder

Roger, All Clear On Bags

Lately my photographic interests have often led me away from the rails, but they’re always nearby and a part of my life. Last weekend I participated in a photowalk around Portland led by photographer Thomas Hawk. As we neared the end of our walk we happened to be on the Broadway Bridge as a set of light power came south out of Albina. I shot it moving along the bank of the Willamette River:

Once crossing a river was daunting.  Today rivers don’t stand in the way of the fast trains of Amtrak Cascades.

 Cascades train 501

Comfortable travel

I’m lucky my family history includes railroading.  In fact that history is probably one of the reasons I enjoy the railfan hobby as much as I do.  While visiting with my parents a couple of weeks ago I came across one part of my family railroad history that I knew about but had never looked at too closely. 

In the early 1960s after a stint in the Air Force my Uncle Dale landed himself a telegraphers job with the Southern Pacific at Surf, CA.  He and his new bride moved themselves to nearby Lompoc and started their life.  With the arrival of their first daughter in 1963 the family from Washington had to come for a visit.  It is photographs from this visit that survive today and document my uncle’s history in southern California.

Uncle Dale and wife on the platform

Trains ran an article in the March 2008 issue on the last years of operations at Surf.  At the time I read it I didn’t realize that Surf was where my uncle worked.  It was only during the later discussion with my parents and reviewing these photos that I put the pieces together about Uncle Dale’s work location. 

With these pictures in hand I poured back through the article looking for things I recognized.  By the 1970s and 1980s era of the article Surf had moved to the ’new’ depot and of course looked much different than what is shown in these photos.  Despite that I did pick out one common thing though.   Pictured on the top of page 50 is the ’new’ Surf operators desk and just above it is the same model board as pictured below.

Uncle Dale listens intently on the dispatcher’s phone.

By 1968 on the job injury and other illnesses ended my uncle’s SP career.   It would be really cool to say that he had a long career with the SP and that I fondly remember depot visits.  Alas, the realities of life have prevented that but I am still happy that I do have these photos that I can look back on to remember this bit of my family railroad history.

A quick break

How can I be so positive in my assessment?  Here’s how…

 1.  Its very foggy.  Amtrak Cascades train 500 of the 27th departs Vancouver shrouded in heavy fog.  With the recent power issues the Cascades are having it probably a good thing a Dash-8 is supplying the power today.

2.  Rail cars exiting the Gorge are covered in snow.  Thanks to a good dose of snow between Skamania and Bingen even trains that park at Eighth Street for a few hours, like this grain train, are still covered in the white stuff.

3.  Trains have snow on the nose.  It looks like this M-SPOLVJ enjoyed the brunt of the storm as it passed between Bingen and Skamania.

Winter’s still here!

It finally happened!  I was reunited with an old friend and old friends do what old friends do, they conjure up memories.  My happy reunion caused me not to reflect so much on myself but on 25 years of railroading and how much or how little it has changed.

What changes in 25 years of railroading?  That could be a challenging question to answer depending on which 25 year period you choose.  Take the period 1983 to 2008 for example.   1983 was early on in the Staggers era and railroads were just exiting their dark ages.  Freight was still defined based on what would fit inside freight cars not what could be stacked on top.  Fuel economy wasn’t critical and track capacity was shrinking.   For railroading it was a time of transition from decline to growth.

Clearly railroads were different in 1983 compared to today, but were they really? 

BN 8127 waits patiently on the point of an eastbound freight at Parkwater, WA in 1983. 
Did she have any idea of the changes ahead? 

My reunion caused me to look carefully at my old friend, the 8127.  Has she changed in 25 years?   Sure, ditch lights were added so the increasing numbers of people don’t run into her and the horn was moved to help those that control her to hear long after their retirement.  The rotating safety beacon was stripped to save costs and flags were added as badges of support for a distant war.   The railroad that owned her merged with a kid named Chico and when her original lease was up she was sent to be part of a surge fleet, no longer a regular player.    

Did all of these superficial things change the way the 8127 did her job?  Not really.  In 2008 she’s still doing what she does best, making horsepower and moving freight.  No different than 1983.  In 25 years locomotive technology has bypassed her but her basic skill is still in great demand.   Her still present ability to move freight ties the years together and shows that some parts of railroading are no different today than 25 years ago. 

To my old friend, the 8127, I say keep up the good work and I look forward to our next reunion. 

FURX 8127 waits patiently on the point of an eastbound freight at Vancouver, WA in 2005. 
25 years later does she have any idea of the changes that occurred?

With the recent news from Arlington I thought a photo from a more peaceful time would be appropriate.

This is kind of embarrassing.  I have worked in inner Southeast Portland since February, and Amtrak comes through during my lunch hour, yet this is the first time I’ve actually taken a shot of the train.  This is train #504 from Eugene, shown here as it zips north ducking under the Belmont/Morrison overpasses today around 11:45.

My recent family vacation led me nowhere near an active railroad, so instead I’ll throw something up that I found online. It’s an interesting video montage of the life of a conductor, set to, appropriately, a song titled “You Are A Conductor” by The Constantines. From the early-morning on-duty call to a bunch of cab ride footage, you’ll enjoy this:

For some reason there is a strong association between Christmas and trains.  Stores include trains in their holiday displays.  Many folks have a loop of track around their tree.  And, if you’re the Oregon Zoo, Christmas provides a great time to light up Washington Park and Zoo Railway’s #1 steam locomotive as part of ZooLights:

Merry Christmas to all!

Today’s forecast for Vancouver includes the threat for cold temperatures and snow. Sure enough we’ve had snow showers off and on all day and so far my high temperature has been just under 36 degrees.

So, what am I thinking about today? I’m thinking about 2.5 months ago when the temperature was just under 3 times what it is today and there wasn’t much of a risk of any sort of moisture from the sky or the river…

On a nearly 100 degree day Union Pacific’s Z-LADV-18A rolls through the remote Afton Canyon near Basin, CA

“Cap’n we’ve got a railfan dead ahead and he’s shoot’n at us!”

There’s three strong clues in the photo as to if I would actually get run over or not. Can you find them?

Railfan Ahead!

For Railroads Illustrated’s Day In North America I chose to railfan UP’s Brooklyn Sub. I’m reasonably familiar with the line north of Albany but I’d never spent any time between Albany and Eugene so part of my adventure was to learn the area. Wouldn’t you know it the day was wet and rainy, but what the heck it was October in the Northwest so out came the engineered plastic camera shields (I believe mine are Safeway brand…as in I’ll take plastic). The rain did let up a bit so I could get some photos without being soaked.

After a full day of shooting I had some night photos in mind and Salem was the perfect spot for them. Standing on the platform I was serenaded by the usual railfan radio enhanced by the live band across the street at The Ram. Ahh, Saturday night in a college town!

On October 20, 2007 Salem’s beautiful brick depot observes the passage of yet another freight as UP’s Q-PDWC rolls past at track speed.

Salem Nights

It seems on Veteran’s Day that it’s almost a bit cliche to post a picture of a relatively clean UP Building America unit with the flag, but we should pause and realize that as much as we may love a railroad, our country’s veterans have performed far more important tasks.  Take a moment to honor them on Veteran’s Day.