My new camera hardware re-energized my desire to go out and railfan. It’s amazing the difference a single lens will have, but the sharpness of the stuff I was shooting now really made me want to go out and shoot more. So, with that in mind, I rounded up the troops: my friends Steve, Sean and Chris and Chris’s daughter (who is actually way better of a railfan companion than some adults I’ve met) and headed off to Harrisburg for a day out in the snow.
Gallery
January 2014 80MAC Hunting
I received a new lens for Christmas and was itching to try it out. So, on the first Saturday after the holidays, I headed out to the Martin State Airport MARC station. My plan had been to go try it out on some of the most challenging things to shoot: Amtrak’s NEC. However, that all changed when I got a fateful text message.
My First Trip to Sandpatch: Summer 2013
I’m not sure how it happened, but I had never spent any time on the old B&O west of Cumberland. That all changed over the 2013 Bedford N Scale Weekend.
An Hour in Canton: August 2013
I had a family errand to run over on the east side of town which gave me a free hour to do some railfanning. It turned out to be a pretty productive hour, with NS, CSX and Canton action afoot.
An Evening In West Baltimore: August 2013
I headed out to watch CSX after work with my friend Steve. Our goal was, specifically, to try and see the CPLs before they fell, but we also caught some trains.
Strasburg Steam Powered Morning Mixed: July 2013
The Strasburg Rail Road has recently (well, in the past 6 years or so) started increasing its freight business. Knowing how to put on a good show, they offer tickets to ride the (usually) steam powered morning freight runs. These tickets made a perfect present for my dad, who got me hooked on this stuff by taking us on monthly pilgrimages to Strasburg when I was growing up. These are the photos from that day.
Chasing Q398 Around Locust Point
I love catching trains “off the beaten path”. Sure, everyone (including me) has tons of photos from the common locations: St. Denis, Rockville Bridge, etc… but I really enjoy finding something somewhere that hasn’t been photographed to death. In this case, I caught CSX Q398, which runs from Cumberland to Locust Point. When arriving in Riverside Yard, it runs the “loop” that surrounds the neighborhood of Locust Point before yarding its train.
CSX in East Baltimore, March 2013
Bayview used to be a great place to sit and watch trains, before the Volunteer Corps of America moved in and ruined it. You could catch mainline action, and if your timing was good, be well-positioned to head off and chase something going down to Canton.
Baltimore Streetcar Museum: Dec 2012
The Baltimore Trolley Museum is a hidden gem in Baltimore. It occupies the area originally owned by the MA&PA near Penn Station, and has a great operational collection. I visited with my friend Steve in December of 2012.
Amtrak’s Busiest Day 2012
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is Amtrak’s busiest day. In order to meet the peak demand that returning holiday travelers creates Amtrak borrows equipment from various commuter agencies. This creates some incredibly rare catches. I went out to catch the action.