Tag Archives: freight

Waiting for Amtrak

While we were walking around Truckee, a UP freight train pulled in to the town just short of a grade crossing. At first I assumed it was going to head into the pass but it didn’t move. We then figured out that an Amtrak train was due in from the opposite direction but was running about an hour late. (The flight only started in the Bay Area so I have no idea how late it might have ended up being by the time it got to Chicago.) Since there is only a single track, the UP train had to wait until the route was clear. We left before it did so I hope they got on their way before too long.

Rochelle Rail Park

Rochelle IL is about half way between Chicago and the Mississippi River. For those with an interest in railroading, it is known as a location where the Union Pacific and the BNSF railroads cross. The town has taken this crossing to heart and created a park where the two lines intersect. There is a place to sit under cover and watch the trains come through while there are areas for kids to play. There is even a gift shop that stocks railroad related gifts.

I was in Rochelle for work and my colleagues were interested in seeing where the crossing was located so, during a lunch break, we headed to see it. It was a rather hot day so hanging around in the sun did not seem like a good idea to me. I went straight to the covered area to stay in the shade while they took a look around. Of course, I wasn’t going to go somewhere without taking my camera along.

We weren’t there terribly long but we did have a few trains come through. If I had thought about things, I might have come better prepared and had some hearing protection. The two tracks cross on the flat and then there are grade crossings for the local streets so they sound their horns as they come through. In such close proximity, this is a touch loud!

Locos Trying to Block My View

There have been a lot of plane shots recently and that shouldn’t be too surprising given that this is primarily an aviation photography blog. However, I do mix it up and you probably deserve something different. How about some trains. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is still related to a plane shoot though. Two locations on a day out were alongside rail lines and we got some traffic while we were there.

One location was near a bridge over a small river. We got a loco running along the line so I got a few shots as it came by. That was the only thing we saw on that line. The tracks on the other side of the airport are a different story. They have a steady stream of traffic. We sometimes were frustrated by a train in line of sight while something cool was departing but other times the trains rumbled through while little was going on.

I figured I should grab some shots of the trains whatever the circumstances. While rail may be the day job for me, I am not much of a train photographer. Those that do this on a regular basis will, no doubt, identify the shortcomings of technique for capturing train images. If they want to let me know what I was doing wrong, feel free. I am always happy to learn. However, I won’t be taking a lot of train shots so the chances for practicing will be limited.