j-dogg
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2010
- Messages
- 526
- Reaction score
- 5
- Location
- Flori-duh
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Today's wasn't my craziest but definitely ranks high up there.
I live near A. B was my destination.
So I loaded up the car and headed north. The subject was the morning train, a double-header container intermodal out of Miami, comes through here every morning around 8:30am. I left around 9, behind the train but it has to slow down through Titusville about halfway up to my destination. Track speed is max 55mph sometimes 60, and I-95 is usually 75mph, so the theory was I would get there before it did and not have to wait forever in the sun. The direction of the sunlight is what made me make the drive and you will see why in a minute here.
This is the location in question, a railroad bridge in remote Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. Track speed is 55mph through here, and there are no grade crossings for miles so walking through here with Ipod blazing isn't wise. (I refuse to own one for this reason) Here is what happened.
I missed one detail, at the lower left where my car is parked (maroon rectangle) there is a canal. Not sure of depth and didn't want to find out judging from seeing these ****ers (show approximately life size btw)
so I went with Plan B, to enter through the refuge. The plan was originally park here walk over the bridge into the fish camp. Now I have to drive to the refuge and walk, okay not too bad. The light, as shown, hits the bridge at a near perfect 90* angle, illuminating the side of the locomotives (FEC and their direction) and a small portion of the front, making for some good lighting. Nowhere else in the county (or for about 200 miles both ways) can I seize this kind of opportunity. Here is where it gets fun.
Yellow was the original route. Red was Plan B, which I made the mistake of going 40 through instead of the 15mph sign I saw after I went airborne over a bridge. Good sign placement job, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. You rock, literally.
That didn't work, until I got to the end and saw the railroad and the fish camp and knew where I was. I headed a bit north to the fish camp, the county hadn't opened the gates yet so I couldn't drive there. With no aerial view of the road, I wasn't taking any chances, so I went with the dreaded Plan C, walk the entire length of the railroad trackside through the refuge (borders it on the east part) to the bridge. It's about 1 3/4 miles one way. In the Florida 85*F sun, carrying my Digital Rebel, and a Minolta Maxxum 4 35mm, two bags one with some liquid refreshment the other with lenses, video camera and a tripod. I come ****ing prepared.
By now it is 10:30 and this train should have already rolled through here. After Titusville it's 60mph of straight nothing alongside the river and the engineers drop the hammer on those new SD70's, which are 4300HP a piece, two of them that's 8600HP.
So I walked the whole length of the railroad, signals in view. I got to the bridge and the second I set my equipment down I heard the unmistakable sound of a Leslie RS3L horn. Talk about impeccable timing. 45 minutes of driving, half an hour of walking for about 3 minutes of shooting.
I grabbed both cameras, hastily setup the video camera, and made my way to the first green dot with the arrow.
A triple header, 3 locomotives, SD40, and two SD70M-2's = 11,000HP. I fired away, and got these. Not too bad, could have been better though.
The second green dot is where I should have shot, no trees to block the view and a better angle on the oncoming part. That is for next week possibly, when it gets a bit cooler. I was happy with the results and glad I scoped the area out, next time I'm bringing this.
Video
I live near A. B was my destination.
So I loaded up the car and headed north. The subject was the morning train, a double-header container intermodal out of Miami, comes through here every morning around 8:30am. I left around 9, behind the train but it has to slow down through Titusville about halfway up to my destination. Track speed is max 55mph sometimes 60, and I-95 is usually 75mph, so the theory was I would get there before it did and not have to wait forever in the sun. The direction of the sunlight is what made me make the drive and you will see why in a minute here.
This is the location in question, a railroad bridge in remote Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. Track speed is 55mph through here, and there are no grade crossings for miles so walking through here with Ipod blazing isn't wise. (I refuse to own one for this reason) Here is what happened.
I missed one detail, at the lower left where my car is parked (maroon rectangle) there is a canal. Not sure of depth and didn't want to find out judging from seeing these ****ers (show approximately life size btw)
so I went with Plan B, to enter through the refuge. The plan was originally park here walk over the bridge into the fish camp. Now I have to drive to the refuge and walk, okay not too bad. The light, as shown, hits the bridge at a near perfect 90* angle, illuminating the side of the locomotives (FEC and their direction) and a small portion of the front, making for some good lighting. Nowhere else in the county (or for about 200 miles both ways) can I seize this kind of opportunity. Here is where it gets fun.
Yellow was the original route. Red was Plan B, which I made the mistake of going 40 through instead of the 15mph sign I saw after I went airborne over a bridge. Good sign placement job, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. You rock, literally.
That didn't work, until I got to the end and saw the railroad and the fish camp and knew where I was. I headed a bit north to the fish camp, the county hadn't opened the gates yet so I couldn't drive there. With no aerial view of the road, I wasn't taking any chances, so I went with the dreaded Plan C, walk the entire length of the railroad trackside through the refuge (borders it on the east part) to the bridge. It's about 1 3/4 miles one way. In the Florida 85*F sun, carrying my Digital Rebel, and a Minolta Maxxum 4 35mm, two bags one with some liquid refreshment the other with lenses, video camera and a tripod. I come ****ing prepared.
By now it is 10:30 and this train should have already rolled through here. After Titusville it's 60mph of straight nothing alongside the river and the engineers drop the hammer on those new SD70's, which are 4300HP a piece, two of them that's 8600HP.
So I walked the whole length of the railroad, signals in view. I got to the bridge and the second I set my equipment down I heard the unmistakable sound of a Leslie RS3L horn. Talk about impeccable timing. 45 minutes of driving, half an hour of walking for about 3 minutes of shooting.
I grabbed both cameras, hastily setup the video camera, and made my way to the first green dot with the arrow.
A triple header, 3 locomotives, SD40, and two SD70M-2's = 11,000HP. I fired away, and got these. Not too bad, could have been better though.
The second green dot is where I should have shot, no trees to block the view and a better angle on the oncoming part. That is for next week possibly, when it gets a bit cooler. I was happy with the results and glad I scoped the area out, next time I'm bringing this.
Video
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