Saturday, December 9, 2017

Some more random photos and thoughts

My brother sent me some really cool photos from Florida this week that make me rethink what I was going to post. In other words, I liked his shots so much that I thought I would share those shots. It wasn't until I was looking through my "random shots" file on my computer that I realized that I had a treasure trove of photos to share that I haven't gotten around to organizing. Sadly, some of these shots have been waiting to see the light of day since 2015! Well, time to clear out the closet.

First shot and it's a special shot. My brother snagged two Florida East Coast ES44AC locomotives, with a liquified natural gas tender in between, pulling a mixed freight. What's more, the engines are also sporting the railway's retro sunshine theme paint scheme.


Florida East Coast is a railway worth shooting, in my opinion. I have seen this railway in action but have never captured it with my camera. The railway just announced recently that it has converted all its mainline locomotives to LNG, which should prove to be an interesting experiment. Of course, the parent company of this railway is hardly what one would call a conservative company. FEC's parent company is behind the Brightline high-speed rail service on Florida's east coat.

The next shot I thought I had lost until I unearthed it while putting together this post. This is a BNSF freight train somewhere in Denver, Colo. The shot was taken in August 2016 by my brother's wife. I'm lucky that they have a railfan in the family, which is why they are always looking out for railway photos wherever they go. My nephew and I get to share the spoils. Sadly, I don't have any further details on this shot.


Here's another shot from my brother that has been sitting in the queue for two years. This was a shot he took during a snowstorm in November 2015 of a CN freight train barreling west toward the St. Clair Tunnel.


This is a shot I captured this summer in London of a Via Rail corridor consist inching its way along the end of the Goderich Exeter Railway's Guelph Subdivision in London. I didn't see much of anyone on the train, so I assumed it was deadheading, but then I saw someone in the window.


Can you see the passenger? That train was left to idle on the track for a while, since I could hear it from the parking lot where I was participating in the preparations for a family event. Someone with better knowledge of London might be able to inform me of the route Via trains take through the city.


I included this shot just to show that the first class coach was second in line, which I found odd. Can anyone explain why this might happen?

One final shot of a Via corridor train loading up at Fallowfield Station this past May. I tried to get some shots that conveyed just how close the parking lot is to the tracks. It makes for some tough shooting for railfans! This train was due west for Toronto and had a wrapped P42 on point.


So, there you go. A few random shots for your enjoyment. I'm glad my brother's adventures in Florida made me think about some of the lost shots that have yet to see the light on this blog.

3 comments:

Steve Boyko said...

There are some gems here, Michael! I really like that FEC train - something I have not come anywhere close to - and that snow-bound CN train.

I imagine the first class coach position is due to the direction of the train. They may not turn the consist as it goes back and forth, so maybe it's in the lead in one direction and not in the other?

Dave said...

VIA trains on the Toronto-Kitchener-London-Sarnia route run on the subdivision through Stratford and St Mary's, then past YXU airport and joining the CN mainline east of Adelaide St.

It's a long and bumpy ride; I took it a few times going back and forth between London and Ottawa, and though it was nice to have different scenery it was a full hour longer than riding through Brantford and Oakville.

They're also very short--often 2 cars only.

Michael said...

I have been on that milk run train a few times, Dave. I knew it used GEXR rails. I was east of Adelaide when I took this shot. I guess I was confused because the train had a first class car in the middle of a three-car consist and the train was inching along the Guelph Sub and stopped on the line just past where I took this shot. It was idling there for a while.