Chasing the #1225 Again

Not that we're totally back to normal, but the #1225 is running again after taking a year off.  It's a good sign.  From what I can tell about yesterday's morning ride is that there were far fewer cars for passengers that what I've seen before in previous years.  That led to some interesting photo opportunities as the engine and car movement prior to the ride were all on east side of Washington Ave by the train yard.  In the past, there were so many cars to load that the engine would have to stage on the west side of Washington Ave, separated from the passenger cars.  That adds some extra time on the departure end to connect up with the passenger cars.  And if you are a passenger, the engine is not off the railroad crossing signal so while you are in line for the ride, the audible crossing noise is going while you are in line.  Yep, the line goes right by the signal.  

The new positioning of the engine allowed for better photo chances, which was great.  And a bit more quiet.

The train schedule calls for a departure time of 10:00 AM.  In 2019, I took some of my best photos while the train was loading coal and moving around before staging for the days activity.  Looking at the time stamp of the photos, most of the action started at 9:00 AM.  I figured the kit for the day would be the D850 and the 24-70 lens.  And that worked for 90% of the shots.  There was one scenario when I could have used a longer reach, but I can get around that.

The goal was to get anything I didn't have already.  Like blue in the sky where I can.  The sun was out for the most part which presented a large dynamic range from the black of the engine front in the shadow to the white steam and the clouds where they are.  Good demo photos for a  club meeting on how to deal with the situation.

There is what I call the money shot when the engine begins to roll.  Steam everywhere.  There has to be a bit luck with how the steam will frame the rest of the engine from where you stand.  This shot works for me, lots of steam and you can see the engineer looking out of the cab.  Not a big fan of the train year background, but from where I was it could be worse.  At least it is somewhat environment related.

#1225 Moving Forward

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

38 mm, 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 64

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

The shot is a bit of a reach for a 70 mm lens.  A lot of crop necessary.  Gigapixel.  I was trying to stay away from carrying two camera sets.  This was from my favorite location, but from a different angle.  I wanted to keep the shorter lens for the close up that would happen.  And that backfired on me, because when the close up happened it was all in shadow.  See if I can save it later.  But for now, a classic 'bend' photo.

#1225 On the Bend

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

70 mm, 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 64

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

And with this final shot, I managed to get in position to get the train and sun in a decent relationship.  Blue sky.  I was as close as I could legally get.  (Yes, there was a county sheriff at the intersection to make sure that the train chasers remained safe.)  I worked on this photo a lot longer than I should have.  There were power lines to remove.  A lot of power lines to remove.  There was a lot of 'learning' going on.

#1225

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

70 mm, 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 64

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

It was a good day.  I look for anything that resembles a return to 'normal' as good.  it was fun to watch all the kids and parents going to the cars in their flannel PJs.  And as a rider alumni, good to see they keep the kids and their families segregated from the more senior folks, not in their PJs.

#1225 - Mechanical Stuff

 One of the 2020 photographic casualties for me was not being able to chase the #1225.  Or ride the #1225.  In 2019 we rode the excursion from Mt Pleasant to Cadillac.  And the Polar Express Run.  I know, how exciting can a 35 mph train ride be?  Fun is in the eye of the beholder.  And for the times not riding, I didn't get to chase.  Train nerd.  But it is sort of fun.

One of my favorite #1225 shots can be found here.  What I like about the shot is if fills the screen.  Really fills the screen.  I can feel the vibrations, hear the familiar noise and smell the steam.  On the list of permanent screen savers, top three for sure.  Big, heavy metal.

Since the flow of new photographs has dried up, except for squirrels and small birds, I've retreated to 2019 for the most part to grab past memories.

And now for something a little different.  On my last #1225 chase, the day was crisp and clear.  Great light.  Too many people, but I need to learn patience.  The sun was directly behind me, if I remember correctly, so with great lighting comes shadows.  To remove the shadows, I had to take the photos at an angle.  No real big deal, but I think a straight shooting plane would have been better and a bit more sharper.  But looking ford to this as a screen saver.

#1225 Mechanical

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR II

35 mm, 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500 (AUTO)

EV -1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

With the great sunny lighting came the very uneven light off the metal.  Played all sorts of havoc with the metering.  Knocked it down to EV -1 and that seems to calm everything down a bit.  I bumped up the reds a bit in post, call it artistic license.

I like the diversity of the angles and the unevenness of the wires.  I sacrificed some of the black of the metal to get some light in the center of image.  In the original shot, that is a black hole.  I bet the EV -1 had something to do with it.  It's acceptable now, but I think with some (a lot of) either color manipulation or dual images and masking it could be much better.  And since the February forecast is still COLD and the weather gopher said six more weeks of winter I may be able to find some time to 'learn' something new.  I mean if it was a sky replacement, done tonight, right?

Real Blast from the Past - CSX Car

The original post:  CSX Car.
Date of the post?  February 15, 2011.  Date of the photograph?  August 14, 2008.
I was just a child.  
Camera?  D80.  Lens?  Some kit lens.  Major software?  Elements and Photomatix.  Philosophy?  Luck.  I had a Nikon and I was on a roll.
As this is a blog of my photographic journey, my self imposed rules forbid me to delete any post.  The paying job will keep me up late tonight - way into the hours of Sunday morning.  So to pass some time, drifted back through the early day of the blog.  The cameras, the processing and stuff I was proud to post.

FYI - This image was added by a link to somewhere deep in Google.  Not sure if I'm impressed or scared.
Fortunately, I was shooting RAW at this time.  The fact I was shooting RAW should not be inferred to that I knew what I was doing at the time.  This may not be far from the truth that I didn't like what the JPG output looked like.  So it was RAW.  There was a time when I bounced back and forth between RAW and JPG.  Lucky for me, at this time I was shooting RAW.  This allows me to revisit the file.
This photo does have meaning for me.  I thought it was just another travel photo.  In the early days, my (over) use of HDR was not a favorite of the photo club.  I get it.  One, I was doing it way overboard.  Two, it was new and different.  But one of the club elders told me this was the best photo I submitted, based on subject.  He wasn't a fan of the post processing as much although this shot didn't offend him as most of my efforts had.  That meant a lot to me.  
The photo was clearly put through Photomatix.  My photo processing history system was in its infancy in those days, like all I have is the RAW file and the finished JPG.  Space must have been at a premium.  Now, I have JPGs of just about all the steps that are not in the PSD file.  
This photo was taken while we were on the Covered Bridge Tour, which is a layout of the covered bridges in Somerset County.  Looking at all the photos, I could tell my abilities at the time were suspect at best.  Seriously, every photo has a blown sky.  Every one.  HDR saved this sky.  Seriously, every photo.
So, can today's software save yesteryear's errors?  
I didn't want to use HDR on this one, because it's not in my normal workflow these days.  These days, it is mostly PS with some assists to Topaz DeNoise and Sharpen.  If I wanted to take this project any father than the blog, I'd replace the sky.  But for this exercise, I was able to get some definition out of the file.  And I'll crop most of the sky out.

CSX Engine - 2008

NIKON D80/18.0-135.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

75 mm, 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 125

The rail bed is much easier on the eyes.
This was fun.  The journey - Defined.

#1225 Steam

It is the start of the Steam Railroading Institute's 2019 North Pole Express Season.  I told myself that I wouldn't chase every weekend, just those with blue sky and if there is fresh snow.  That lasted one weekend.  But the sky did start out blue yesterday.  And there was snow on the ground.  Not fresh, but it will do.
Prior to the day's activity, the #1225 is loaded with coal and water.  I caught some of this action last year, here.   After the fuel loading, the engine moves into position ahead of the passenger cars, separated by Washington St.  Yes, the railroad crossing bells/alarms go on.  Constantly.  If you are standing in line to get on, you hope the line moves quickly.

Not the most photographic environment.  Cars to the left, phone poles to the right. 
But there is a lot going on.  Apparently once these things get lit up, you need to keep it lit up.  There is always an Engineer in the seat, or at least in the cab.  Can't just leave the levels of heat, steam pressure or water un-attended.  And all those sight-seers.

I was around for almost an hour, and during that time I heard the automatic coal loader engage a few times.  You could feel the increased heat.  You could see the different colors of exhaust coming out of the front stack.  There are vents along the bottom of what I guess is the fire box to ram air into the fire once the engine is moving.  All very cool to see - while the engine is getting ready to depart.
I am used to maintenance hours per hour used figures.  My C5 aircraft required between 20 and 40 man hours per hour flown, depending on what source and what model you use for the estimates.  I'm going with the #1225 needs a lot of TCL as well.  When ever it is not moving, something is going on.

But for the day, I wanted one shot.  I wanted the front of the engine, as much as possible without the parking lot on the left and the building in the right.  And not have a wayward distraction with a camera walk by.  
When the engine moves, in any direction, from a standstill there is a large release of steam.  This much I know from a lot of hours watching.  So, I can be sure of a release prior to the engine moving rearward to hook up to the cars.  And I wasn't disappointed.

#1225 Steam

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

20 mm, 1/500 Sec, f/9, ISO 200 (Auto)

EV -1, Manual Mode, Size DX

There was some touch up work required.  On the original, there were hints of phone poles and wires.  This has the snow and blue sky I was looking for in the day.  I think the angle is good, gives some depth on the engine.  At the time the picture was taken, is was slowly moving backward.  And that helped the effect.

New Lens Focus Validation

AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR
It's big and heavy.  Not a walk around lens.
Five (5) pounds to carry around.  And on the D500, and D7200, it acts like a 300 to 750 mm.
I was looking at this lens or the 80-400.  For what ever reason, the 80-400 cost a lot more but the reviews are insane (good insane).
I went with the 200-500 as it has great reviews when used with the D500 from a number of posts on the UHH.  The 200-500 is a pretty good compliment of what I have now.  A 300 to 400 jump wasn't as big a bang, and I would probably have to sell the 70-300.  Keeping the 70-300 will work, that is more of a walk around lens.  As I found out today, the 200-500 is a lot more event driven lens.  Not good for all occasions.
The only negative remarks I heard from the lens was a few people posted that the auto focus didn't match up with the camera.  When you see these types of posts you never know the entire story such as were the cameras altered in any way?  Most posts said they had to send the lens back two or three times before they could get a good focus.  Camera or user issue?  Nikon hater?  (They're out there)  All I take from this is I should really get a test/acceptance drive done as soon as possible.
That was today's mission.  The subject would be the first day of the #1225's Polar Express runs for the year.  It would have been better to get some birds at the Refuge, maybe next June?
For my tests today, there is no UV filter.  There is no software sharpening.  This shot is as bare bones as I can get.

#1225 Rolling - Lens Test

NIKON D500/200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

480 mm, 1/2000 sec, F/5.6, ISO 640 (Auto)

EV 0, Manual Mode, Size DX

Looking at 100%, the image is very sharp.

Looking good at 200%.

On the lens barrel is it 320 mm.  Very close to the middle range.  I'm going to go with the auto focus on this lens is pretty good.  Think I'll keep it.

#1225 Cadillac Express

Yesterday I had a chance, for a fee, to ride the #1225.  Wonderful experience.
The Cadillac Express is a one day out and back adventure from Mt. Pleasant to Cadillac.  Time in the train car for both legs is just under 6 hours.  Quick math give me that about 3 hours per leg.  That's a long time for a trip that is about 60 minutes in a car one way.  But the train is limited to 35 MPH, even though it was designed for 60 MPH and more.  Apparently this speed limitation is a federal regulation that deals with the weight of the steamer on the rails.  The weight of the Steamer is quite different from that of current day diesel-electric models.  The tracks have not been maintained for the Steamers.  In the end, the day is limited by speed.
The ride was surprisingly smooth.  And quiet.  
The car I rode in (#5447) was built in 1954.  It was built in Canada for the Canadian National Railway passenger services.  This car was obtained earlier in 2019 by the Steam Railroading Institute.  The car is still going through restoration, but the interior was more than adequate for the day's adventure.
Any plans made for Michigan in October are iffy at best.  So, weather-wise the day could have been better with the morning's sun can light breeze all day.  Or the entire day could have been as the last half with threatening skies and gusty winds.  So a day with half and half is OK.  The pictures for the day start with great light, then.........
In the parking lot, we had the hobo band to keep us entertained while we were waiting to board.  The trio would roam the cars all day with their music.

I had no expectations of any good 'engine' shots during the ride.  Lots of photographers, like me, were on this ride and as I would find out later there were very few places to take good shots of the engine from within the train.  There was only one real good 'bend' in the entire trip where we could see the engine from the car.  My plan was to get the engine at rest, in the beginning and in Cadillac.  Just enjoy the ride.
When we arrived in Mt. Pleasant the engine was totally blocked from our side of the Chippewa River.  I wasn't sure I could make it to a good viewing place on the other side of the river and back to the train in time so I didn't venture about.  At some point, one of the SRI folks came through the lines stating that the train would be moving back in a few minutes for the passenger loading.  That's all I needed to hear.  Back to the field next to the river.  I wasn't disappointed.
Prior to moving, there was a loud rush of steam.  Camera ready.

This was awesome.  Nice greens, nice blue sky, sunlight and the white to gray of the steam - and that's working just the photographic side of my mind.  The smell, the noise, the vibrations and the engineering were working on the left side of the brain.  If it could come back just a bit more?
And it did.  And there was a steam release.  Awesome.

Already thinking of next year's photos from across the river.
At this time, the cars were loading.  On to my car, #5447 - with the nickname of Comet.

Some three and a half hours later, we were in Cadillac.  Along the way there were wonderful scenes of back yards, farmland, small towns and some color.  (If the trip was two weeks later this year, color boom.)  Along the way, at most intersections were the train chasers.  And in a few places, I saw what were probably hunters (bow season is open I'm told) looking out of tree stands and from behind trees.  C asked me if that is what I was doing last November and December when I was chasing the #1225 during the Polar Express season.  Why, yes it was.  None of the train chaser pictures came out to where I'd work with them other than for the sake of the day's story.  But the chasers were part of the day.  We'd see many of the same people at multiple places, the cars matching speeds where they could.  There are some serious chasers out there.  I am not in their league.  Yet?  Maybe?

So we arrived in Cadillac, on time.  No excuses about headwinds, gate confusion, storms or late take offs.  On time.
We had a two, two and a half hour stop over.  After we unloaded, the train departed Cadillac and did some of that train magic where the engine, cars and cabooses all had to switch directions for the return trip.  After a quick lunch and some tourism, including a few shots of a Shay locomotive for another post, I took ground where I guessed it would be a good place for shots of the train coming back in to town.  During that time I could chat with some of the more seasoned chasers.  A lot of fun.
The #1225 coming into Cadillac.

Once the train was in Cadillac, then more fun started.  I can only equate this to a NASCAR professional pit stop.  People and equipment over the wall to get the vehicle ready for the next leg.  And that is what happened here.  One of the things that had to happen was water needed to be on loaded.  I was stuck in Hollywood thinking that 'special water machinery' was needed.  Nope.  Just hook up to a close by fire hydrant.  Good to go.  I'm fairly certain there was a city official there counting the gallons.  
I overheard a few important facts from one of the volunteers.  The #1225 goes through 150 gallons of water per mile.  Water returned to the atmosphere.  The water tender holds 22,000 gallons of water.  As for coal, the tender holds 22 tons, and the train consumes one ton every 12 miles.  Do the math for range, but enough fuel to get us back to Mt. Pleasant.
Back to the pit stop.  Seriously, there is a support team there.  I should say, the team and equipment travel with the train.  

On the right is the biggest dude handling the biggest air gizmo I've seen or heard.  I'm guessing it is an air powered grease gun.  The air used is in the tank above his head.  Loud.  I bet one release of grease would take the hand off a mere mortal.  So this team worked on one side, then moved as a team over to the other side when the maintenance was completed.
While this was going on one side, the other side was being tended to as well.

As you would think, along with our riding crowd, there were locals out to see the train stopped in town.  I did the best I could to keep my shots 'focused' on the subject, without distractions.  But to be fair, I have to show some of the locals.

A few hours later, we were back in Mt. Pleasant.
All in all a very nice trip.  The crew and volunteers were incredibly informative.  Great way to spend a day.

Bring on the Train Spotting Season

The air show season is over.  The nature season is waning.  Bring on the trains.
The photo club did have an excursion earlier this year to see the #1225 in maintenance mode, but now getting itchy to see her in action.  
Last year, had a great time chasing the train around the area.  Unfortunately I entered the game a bit on the late side.  I won't make that mistake again this year.  I think I missed a few opportunities to get some pictures with snow - or a lot of snow - or fresh snow.  When the train starts making its weekend Polar Express runs, the leaves are down and the skies are gray.  The subject better be good and any help is appreciated.
The local train chase in the area will begin in mid-November, still a few weeks away.  The #1225 itself is out making the rounds other places in the State.  Next weekend it will be making a scenic trip from Mt. Pleasant to Cadillac.  (Shhh, C has a birthday coming up - and we have tickets for the day's trip.)  With any luck, the day will be great and the leaves will be turning to fall colors.
So to celebrate the beginning of the rail season (for me anyway, not sure if there is an official rail spotting season.), I went trough some shots from last year.  One of my most memorable days on the chase last year was a late December morning, some friends from the Club and I started the chase in Owasso.  We arrived in time to see the #1225 just out of the barn and being loaded with fuel (coal) for the day.
I like this first shot for a few reasons.  First, there is coal in the air falling out of the bucket.  Next, for all the 'greyness' in the shot, you have the orange traffic cone, the green safety vest and the blue engines to add some color.  The position of the CAT on top of the coal pile is interesting as well.  And call me lucky, but the headlight isn't totally blown.

Feeding the #1225

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

150 mm, 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800

EV -1, APERTURE Priority, Size DX

One of the elements of the #1225 shots is the steam exhaust.  The more the better.  In still air, fantastic.  I played around with trying to bring out more contrast, definition in the steam.  I tried some HDR and other blending tricks, but in the end the original was the best for me.

#1225 on the Move

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

90 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800

EV -1, APERTURE Priority, Size DX

One of the other elements I look for when at a location is the not so obvious angle, which is usually crowd or other photographer shots.  During my hour at this location, I did talk to the people pictured here.  No sense in asking if they were rail fans, it was cold and it was early.  Only fans are out at this time.

#1225 Fans

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

62 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800

EV -1, APERTURE Priority, Size DX

Extra Gear

In the SRI maintenance area there are many unused (?) rail cars.  Each one is a treasure to itself.
Way in the back, I found a flat car with a wood deck.  On the deck was so much stuff.  All sorts of odds and ends.  And plant growth.  And synthetic rope.  I didn't want to irritate our generous hosts by climbing all over the cars so I could get a good frame on the entire deck.  So you do what you can.
On the back corner was this gear.  Looked heavy.  Looked weathered.

The 1/800 second shutter speed and ISO 2000 are a bit of overkill.  But this isn't going to be a fine art image.  A little noise isn't going to hurt this one at all.

I was in debate with myself on if the branches should be removed.  In the end, the location demanded the scene needed to stay as is.  The subject to me is the gear, and the branches are not in the way.  The detail in the metal is starting to get to me like the detail in wood.  I usually prefer to 'add' some to the rust color, but here it didn't work for me.  This shade is just right.

Metal Wheel Stuff

I had fun photographing 'stuff' at the Steam Railroading Institute maintenance area.  In the old and new stuff, lots of interesting shapes, forms and contrasts.  There were so many targets of opportunity.
There were a number of older, naturally weathered cars that reside in the maintenance area.  Some of the cars were recognizable such as tankers and box cars.  Other cars were more of a single purpose maintenance vehicle with large pieces of machinery attached.
Other targets were lots of stores of spare and fabricated parts.  In those areas there were many shapes and colors.  Great stuff for 'artsy' images.
Hopefully we'll get a chance to go back at a different time of year when the trains are out of the shed and maybe some better light.  But for now, this excursion was an excellent time.

This is part of a wheel assembly of the next railroad project for the SRI.  When I entered the parking area I saw the bottom frame skeleton of a steam engine.  I was instantly fascinated.  Rust.  It was outdoors and it looked it.  Rust.  On the other side was this placard with the rest of the story.  So it is there for a reason.

This skeleton as it is now is just a mess of shapes, light and rust.  This was soooo coool.  Rust.

So the following is part of the (as you are looking at it) right side toward the front wheel.  Looks a bit odd, but this part of the wheel has the offset weight.  I wanted to get a number of seemingly unrelated shapes.  Did I mention, I dig the rust?

This is definitely out of my comfort zone.  Screams "Artsy"!

Niles Tool Works

Last fall I got hooked on the steam railroad engine, PM 1225.  After the holiday run, the engine spends the winter going through maintenance at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owasso, MI. 
Today, the Flint Photography club had the behind the scenes tour.  As far as the tour goes, we were paired up with a few volunteers who had a wealth of knowledge, and made sure we didn't hurt ourselves.  And although the trains and support cars were interesting, my end of the rainbow was all the unused/forgotten cars.  What stories could they tell?
Some of the machines, I had no idea what they were for.  But the colors and textures were too good to pass up.  The rust, the cracked pain and metal, just can't find that anywhere.
So this is not a picture of a train, per se.  It is on a train car, trust me.  This appears to be a mobile maintenance tool.

I worked with a 35 mm prime lens for the day.  I traveled light and if I had to do it over again I'd do the same.  In later indoor shots, I could have used a flash, but I didn't, and that decision could use some review.  But the outdoor shots were pretty good despite the bland sky.  Or in shots with no sky, it all works out.

This could be a winch of some sort, but most of the internal mechanics are gone.  But that is OK, the exterior is just fine.  I like the layout of this, I usually don't get this lucky for everything to fall into place.  And what would this look like in Paint?

No favorites here, I like both!

Huckleberry Village #152

In Genesee county there are over 11,000 acres of woods, water, trails and beaches that are under the control of the Parks Department.  One of the areas of the park is named Crossroads Village.  Crossroads Village is a collection of 19th Century buildings - and a working railroad.   You can visit these buildings for a small fee.  And since I'm on the railroad kick, I had to at least try to get an image of another working steam engine.  And time is a' wasting away as this is the last weekend for 2018 that the train will be in action.  And the train only runs from 5:00 PM and the sun sets at 5:07.  You get the idea?
I was out a few days earlier, in the wind, rain and dark and didn't do so well.  But in that darkness, I did figure out a few things.   As the famed philosopher Yoda said, "the greatest teacher, failure is".
So, aside from gaining some knowledge I also gained 5 minutes of daylight by returning two days later.  And the weather was much better.
And back to the story:  During the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year, the Huckleberry Railroad departs Crossroads Village a few times a night in 50 minute intervals.
There are multiple trains operated by the Village, two to three according to their website.  The train I saw was #152.  The #152 is just out of being renovated.  The #152 was built in 1920 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia as a 4-6-0 for the Alaska Engineering Commission.  The original job for #152 was to help build the Alaska Railroad.  After the completion of the Alaska Railroad and subsequent stops in California and Oregon, the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission purchased the engine in 1975.  After a year of restoration, the train began service in Crossroads Village.
This image was taken at the midpoint of the of the ride for the paying riders.

ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, 200 mm, Manual, Auto ISO

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

I used my recently discovered set up of using MANUAL mode with Auto ISO on.  I wanted to keep the speed at 1/250 and the aperture at 5.6.  I wanted to keep the trees relatively in focus.  I checked my ISO prior to the train entering view and I saw it would be 10k or lower and I was OK with that.  In this case for me, the method works.  This train chasing thing could become a habit.

Grand Trunk Western Logo - Restored

This railroad fascination has a hold on me.  Ha.
I'm having fun reading up on the locomotives I have pictures of, and getting a glimpse of the history.  We'll see where it goes.
In Grand Haven, the PM #1223 is on display.  I have a few shots posted here. 
At the display is a restored caboose with the Grand Trunk Western logo painted on the side.  It is really nice.  Too nice.  I mean a caboose needs to look used.  The restoration looks so good, looks like restoration was just completed.  An hour ago.  No bird evidence anywhere.
The logo to me is very interesting.  I'm guessing the leaf is Maple, therefore Canadian.  Which makes sense.  The GTW is and always has been part of the Canadian National Railway in some form.  The GTW was originally set up for rail access from Canada to Chicago, by way of Port Huron and Detroit and points in between throughout mid-Michigan.
This is the logo as it appears on the caboose as of a few weeks ago.

And while that may look OK, it doesn't do much for me.  I need some form of artistic license.

This would be a lottery project for me.  I would find a caboose somewhere, not in public use, and get the caboose art.  Much like barn art.  Just get the logo restored and have the wood moved to a large room.  Or maybe the lottery 'fun' project would be to start a museum with caboose art.

#1225 - Up close. (Hint: It's Large!)

If I ever need a image that fills the screen, this is it.  I can't say how close I was to the tracks at the time.  I'd hate to have broken some federal law that I'm ignorant of.  Or I could say this is a remote shot.  Whose to say?  Wow.

ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/160 sec, 36 mm, Aperture Priority (EC -1)

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

There are many things to like about this image.  So I'll start with the one that bothers me.  Just a little bother.
The 1225s are a bit blurry.  I'd say that is a DOF issue, but that might give a clue to how close I was.  But I'll go with this.  Due to laws of Relativity, the front of the train was moving faster than the 1/160 sec could capture without blur.  The rest of the train was OK.  I can live with that answer.
I like that the entire frame is filled.  There is smoke and train - and just the smallest amount of sky due to the boiler shape.  On the downside of filling the screen, I have to keep the original format.  I like the 1920x1080 because it fills my monitor.  The 1920x1280 doesn't fit exactly right.  Oh well, redo?
I like that there is enough angle to see all the engineering.  Pipes, bars, wheels and tubing.  Does it get any better?
I like the engineer hanging out of the cab.  Just enough for some definition, but not enough to hold your gaze.  Just like in the movies.

Chasing the Santa Express - PM #1225

One of the fundamental flaws I have is when I get a new toy, I just want to play with it.  And with the gift of the trains in the last week I've found that new toy.  Today, a few friends and I chased the Santa Express.  The Express is pulled by the PM #1225, same as the Northern Express.  The Santa Express does not follow the entire route of the NE, maybe going 50% of the way.  However, it made it far enough out of Owasso to make our day very eventful.
We started the day in Owasso, checking out the museum where the SE started.  We were there early enough that we could chat with some of the volunteers getting the train and cars ready to go.  And what a show we saw.

Bob and Rohn

Yes, it was cold.  I used gloves most of the day.  For some reason when you wear gloves, the shutter release button moves its position.  I need to let Nikon know about this.
Close to an hour before the SE scheduled departure, the train yard came alive.  We weren't the only ones out for the day, not to ride the train but to photograph it.

No problem, you're not in my line........

Actually everyone out there was playing by the rules, no one was hurt by interfering in one of my shots.
The most interesting sight of the morning was 'fueling' of the #1225.  I never think of these things until, well, I see them.  The #1225 runs on coal.  Lots of coal.  The #1225 needs roughly a ton of coal for every 15 miles to generate the steam required to move the engine and its cargo.  It never occurred to me to ask, well - how is that coal loaded?  Had I asked the question, this would be the answer.  You get some help.

Loading coal on the #1225.

With the train fueled, an intricate ballet of machinery started.  The engine need to exit the yard ahead of the passenger cars.  While the engine and cars were moving around, the peanut gallery would offer guesses as to what would happen next - and we were never right.  We did know which directing the train would end up leaving Owasso, and with that information we were never out of place.

The A-Team

After the train left the yard and staged itself for the passengers, we took off for intersections of road and rail road.
Our first stop was at Carland, where Santa was waiting to meet the train.  I have some images from there, but nothing exciting.  But our second and last stop of the day was at an off the well worn track where a dirt road crossed the tracks.
For me, this was the location of the day.  All that was missing was some loose snow to complete the effect.  Other than that little item, perfect.
I have two shots that I really like.  The first on, which will be posted soon is a little more creative in that there is motion involved.
This one is a little more standard,  The whole series from this location is good, but this is the best of the bunch for me.  No phone poles.  Correct era passenger cars.  All the steam plum.  Headlight not blown.  Awesome.

ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, 50 mm, Aperture Priority (EC -1)

NIKON D500 Ver.1.15/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

I was sitting on the road on top of some light snow, with all the joys that brings.  All things considered this is probably one of the better shots I've taken.  The scene was right, the ISO was right, the shutter speed was right and the frame was right.  Very few times does that ever happen for me.