kevin_standlee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kevin_standlee) wrote2022-03-25 02:34 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2022-03-25 02:34 pm
Catching a Train
Thanks to advance notice from the Friends of the California Zephyr Facebook group, we knew that today's train #5 (westbound California Zephyr) would have some unusual equipment on it. Lisa decided to get out the big video camera and set up to record it passing through town.
Using Amtrak's Track Your Train page, we knew that today's train would be about two hours late, and thus we could plan for an approximately 9:45 AM arrival.
Lisa moved the minivan across the street and set up her camera next to it (the tripod is just visible near the right side of the Astro). This gave her a place to sit and wait for the train.
I was working at the Day Jobbe, but I checked on the progress of the train periodically. Also, our radio scanner hears trains hitting the defect detector located about ten miles east of us. When I heard the detector go off, I knew we had just under ten minutes before they would be here, so I went out and gave Lisa the word.
From a safe spot where I could look east down the trains, I watched for the headlight of the train, and when I saw it, I waved to Lisa to let her know to get the camera ready. I then also decided to take a couple of snapshots on my phone.
In effect, I was shooting blind, because with my sunglasses on, I could barely see the screen of my phone. Here's the front half of the train. Besides the two Amtrak locomotives, we see a cab-baggage car. This is a former Amtrak F40PH locomotive with the engine removed but the control cab left in, with the rest the car turned into a baggage-storage area, and concrete included for ballast. The main use for the "cabbage" cars is to serve as a control cab on trains with one locomotive at the end, for use in push-pull service.
At the other end of the train were three private cars. Because the train was moving at 70 mph and I could only barely see, I did not get a great shot of these cars.
Lisa pronounced the video shoot a success. We'll post her video later when we get a chance, although it's primarily intended for something she plans for Railway Legends, Myths, and Stories.
Using Amtrak's Track Your Train page, we knew that today's train would be about two hours late, and thus we could plan for an approximately 9:45 AM arrival.
Lisa moved the minivan across the street and set up her camera next to it (the tripod is just visible near the right side of the Astro). This gave her a place to sit and wait for the train.
I was working at the Day Jobbe, but I checked on the progress of the train periodically. Also, our radio scanner hears trains hitting the defect detector located about ten miles east of us. When I heard the detector go off, I knew we had just under ten minutes before they would be here, so I went out and gave Lisa the word.
From a safe spot where I could look east down the trains, I watched for the headlight of the train, and when I saw it, I waved to Lisa to let her know to get the camera ready. I then also decided to take a couple of snapshots on my phone.
In effect, I was shooting blind, because with my sunglasses on, I could barely see the screen of my phone. Here's the front half of the train. Besides the two Amtrak locomotives, we see a cab-baggage car. This is a former Amtrak F40PH locomotive with the engine removed but the control cab left in, with the rest the car turned into a baggage-storage area, and concrete included for ballast. The main use for the "cabbage" cars is to serve as a control cab on trains with one locomotive at the end, for use in push-pull service.
At the other end of the train were three private cars. Because the train was moving at 70 mph and I could only barely see, I did not get a great shot of these cars.
Lisa pronounced the video shoot a success. We'll post her video later when we get a chance, although it's primarily intended for something she plans for Railway Legends, Myths, and Stories.