Tag Archives: seattle

Two More 737s Heading to Renton

At various times I have seen the fuselages for new Boeing 737s heading by on the trains through Seattle. Usually I am a distance away from them and I get a shot that is a bit hazy and less than distinct. Recently I was working in a yard alongside the main tracks as some equipment was being loaded. I had my camera to hand to record the loading process as a train came by behind us. Initially I figured it was just another freight train so didn’t pay attention. Then, I caught the color of the fuselages out of the corner of my eye and realized a couple of new jets were onboard. Before it got too much further, I was able to grab a couple of shots.

New WSDOT Locomotives

1 Reply

In the days running up to the introduction to service of the new WSDOT Siemens Charger locomotives, they were stored in the yard in Seattle awaiting the clearance to run. I was down there for another project and all of these shiny new locomotives were just asking to have their picture taken. How could I refuse? Sadly, one of these locos was involved in the accident a few weeks later.

Lufthansa Retro Jet

Leave a Reply

Lufthansa have painted up one of their 747-8I jets in a livery that is based on their old color scheme. Until recently, the Seattle route was being flown with a 747-400 so I didn’t anticipate the chance to see it. Then, in the aftermath of the Air Berlin bankruptcy, Lufthansa deployed some 747s on domestic services to bolster capacity. This meant some 747-400s were pulled from routes and the 747-8I was subbed on to Seattle. I was down there on a crummy day to get the IL-76 and the special jet was due in. I figured I couldn’t miss it, even if the conditions weren’t great. The light was not great as it came down the approach but the shot from behind as it got to the threshold was a bit better.

Cargo Conversion 737-700

Leave a Reply

Alaska’s cargo operation has used 737-400 freighters for a while. They are now the launch customer for a cargo conversion of the 737-700. I read about them taking delivery of the first aircraft but wasn’t too focused on seeing one. I almost ignored this departure since SeaTac has a steady stream of Alaska 737s. I did decide to shoot it though when something about it looked different. Sure enough, it was the cargo conversion. A lack of windows and the cargo markings set it apart.

Fin Park

Leave a Reply

A little too much celebration of Thanksgiving meant I needed to burn off a few extra calories. I figured a bike ride would be a good option and decided to check out the Burke Gilman Trail. This runs around Lake Washington on the alignment of an old railroad. Not too many hills to deal with then! I wasn’t sure how far I would go but I headed towards Magnuson Park. This sits on the eastern shore of Lake Washington on the site of a former naval base. It was once a Naval Air Station but was progressively pared back until it was deactivated and returned to the city.

One of the things I was curious to see in the park is a sculpture installation called the Fin project. This takes a bunch of fins from decommissioned nuclear subs and arranges them in patterns that are reminiscent of the fins of pods of orcas. The Navy donated the fins and private subscriptions paid for the rest of the installation. The result is an interesting exhibit with varying sizes of fin at different positions and angles.

The meaning of the sculpture varies depending on who is checking it out. It represents the naval station and the service of those based there, it draws parallels with the wildlife in the area, it represents recycling of material and it has a swords to plowshares aspect to it too. Each fin has a plaque that notes the vessel it came from, the name of an orca from a local pod and the names of those who donated to fund the installation.

I was there on a pretty overcast day and only had my phone with me to get shots. I think that the cloudy sky was actually a pretty appropriate backdrop as the darkness of the fins and the hint of their life in the deep would be a little offset on a bright and sunny day.

Lake Union Departures

Leave a Reply

The floatplane activity on Lake Union is fun to check out, not just for an aviation geek like me, but for plenty of visitors to the city too. I have previously gone down to the lakeshore to check them out but, one evening, while driving into the city to drop a friend off, I was coming down the road on the hill overlooking the lake when a plane took off giving an interesting alternative perspective on its departure. I figured this needed to be explored further.

The question was where to go. The road I had been on was not one on which stopping was practical. Parallel roads exist but there are buildings along most of them so the view is obscured. However, I did find a location that had a clear view of most of the lake (aside from one building that was right in the touchdown zone! I wasn’t around for much of the traffic but I did get to see a few arrivals and departures. Looking down on the flights and having some scenery behind them including the cityscape rather than the sky is a nice change. I may have to try this out again at a busier time.

Washington Park Arboretum

Leave a Reply

Wherever we live, we tend to end up at the arboretum and Seattle is no exception. The Washington Park Arboretum is near the university (and I think the university has something to do with managing it) and close to Lake Washington. We paid it a visit at the beginning of Fall with some hope of seeing a bit of color in the trees. The layout of the arboretum is rather long and thin so, while you have a choice of paths, you tend to make an out and back trip as you walk around.

We chose a good day to be there with the sun out and the colors shown at their best but we were either a little early for the full fall colors or the types of trees there were not the sort to turn too dramatically. This wasn’t a hindrance for us, though. Walking through the trees was really great and surprisingly peaceful given how many people were there. When we turned back, we took a larger path and that had a lot more people on it so maybe our choice of outbound trail was a good one for avoiding the crowds.

One end of the arboretum comes up to the lake. It is rather close to the SR520 bridge across the lake so not normally the most peaceful of spots. On this weekend, they were carrying out part of the rebuilding program on the bridge so it was closed one way and things were a bit quieter. Any other day, though, and I suspect that the noise would be rather obvious.

Great Scot!

Leave a Reply

Dassault make some very elegant looking jets. The Falcon 7X is a particularly good looking one in my opinion with perhaps the only issue being the extension of the fin below the tailplane which looks a bit like a fix for something. This example was at Boeing Field heading out. I don’t know where it lives because it has a Manx registration which means it could be from almost anywhere. I did like the rest of the registration, though. I hope they are Scottish rather than just someone called Scott!

Are These Globals Twins?

Leave a Reply

Within the space of a few minutes, two Bombardier Global Expresses took off from Boeing Field. This type is a regular feature at BFI so this is not unusual. What did catch my eye was that they appeared to have the same color scheme. If they were NetJets aircraft, that would make sense. However, they didn’t look like a fleet operator I know (not that I know them all). Is this just a standard scheme that Bombardier will finish the jet in if you don’t have a preference or were they connected? If so, was a group of people taking two jets at the same time to go to the same place? Who knows?

Aerial Views of Seattle

Leave a Reply

My brief trip to the UK was concluded by a flight back to Seattle from London. I ended up in a seat on the right side of the plane and, as we came across the city, I had a good view of the downtown. The seat was rather low compared to the window but LiveView came into its own and I could hold them camera above me pointing down and frame the shot using the rear screen. Technology is a wonderful thing. The Space Needle and the football and baseball stadiums both stand out from above.