by Steve Eshom on November 9, 2011
Fall in the Northwest still lingers on. Some trees have completely lost their leaves while others have not. In a few short weeks everything will be gone until spring. Until then we still enjoy seeing places here and there where the color is strong. At this location on the Washougal River most leaves hang on under the mild conditions near the river. At locations not protected from frost the trees look much more bleak.
With a La Niña winter ahead who knows what condition the Empire Builder will see as it passes here. Cold and snow are certainly a possibility.
by Aaron Hockley on May 22, 2011
A couple weeks ago was National Train Day and while I was photographing the event at Portland Union Station I was looking for unique angles and photos that were a bit different that the standard shots of the equipment amongst the crowds. We had gray and intermittently-stormy skies which let to things being wet. At one point I created an image looking down between a Superliner and SP Daylight observation car that were on display. The gray skies, wet pavement, and smooth reflective cars made for an interesting photo.
For those curious about technical details, this is a three-shot HDR image, tonemapped in Photomatix followed by some localized color correction in Photoshop and then a bit of clarity/sharpening in Lightroom.
by Steve Eshom on May 7, 2011
Having a daughter who loves trains means attending National Train Day is a “no brainer” for me. It is not so much am I going but rather when. To make our NTD more of an adventure we decided to use Max to get down to the station. With the yellow line stopping a mere block from the depot that seemed much more fun than fighting traffic. As we were leaving traffic around the depot was really heavy so I’m very happy I chose to take Max.
National Train Day is about getting people out to learn about trains. Judging from the crowds around Portland Union Station this morning there was a lot of success with this. Amtrak put on a great show in Portland this year having a couple of Superliners open for viewing in addition to the historic equipment. Later in the day one of the Cascades Talgo set was also supposed to be open. Fabulous! For people who’ve never ridden the train this will be a perfect opportunity for them to get the feel for what it is like.
My daughter and I had a great time taking in all the sights and sounds (4449 whistle every half hour!) . In fact my daughter came back with quite the collection of items in her goodie bag including a SP 4449 video she’s been eying for a while. We are of course looking forward to next year.
by Aaron Hockley on May 5, 2011
This Saturday, May 7th is National Train Day. Coordinated by Amtrak through a network of local events, National Tray Day celebrates our railroad heritage with exhibits and information about trains of the past, present, and future.
I’ll be at the event in Portland, Oregon, where the SP 4449 will join other equipment and displays for railfans of all ages. If you’re in the area, come on down to Union Station between 10am and 4pm and check out the scene. Look for me wandering around with my camera.
Find a National Tray Day event near you.
by Steve Eshom on February 17, 2011
First, let me say passenger safety is of the utmost importance.
For years I’ve been frustrated by the slide problem we have along the Amtrak Cascades route in Washington. It seems every time the weather gets bad the trains stop. However it’s during these times of bad weather when highway travel is slow or disrupted that we really need our trains. I think Amtrak Cascades has a unique opportunity to be there in the bad weather when other modes have failed. Right now they are worse off than the highways.
This winter has been particularly slide prone. According to the WSDOT there have been nearly 20 slides in the last 6 months keeping nearly 90 trains from their destinations. In my opinion this is not a good record and doesn’t give the public confidence in the reliability of the trains. If they don’t have confidence they’ll get there those passengers will seek a different mode of transportation.
The good news is WSDOT is very much aware of the issue and the perception. They wrote a blog post Wednesday addressing this very issue. I’m happy to hear they know about the problem and are trying to do something about it. Of course ‘something’ will take money which seems to be scarce these days. I hope they find it for the sake of the public’s perception.
I’m also hoping they can work out a plan with BNSF that can keep the trains moving when a slide does occur. Not all slides are as severe the Frazier slide of 2008 so I’d think there could be something done to keep Amtrak trains moving (refer again to my first sentence). A form B with a flagman on site for visual inspection maybe? An on call geologist who can better predict if more sliding will occur? A Hulcher like service that will come and remove anything that looks remotely like it might slide?
Let’s hope this does get resolved soon.
