It was right around 1:30 on a humid Monday afternoon. I was standing above the railroad tracks along the Ohio River. The 6 mile marker was only a hundred yards away.
Below me, an eastbound Norfolk and Southern train was sitting, waiting for permission to continue on. Since it wasn’t moving, it gave me time to set up my camera, mount it on the tripod and frame my shot. I had an hour and a half until I needed to be at work, things were looking rather good!
A short time earlier I had arrived at the Emsworth Dam where I had planned on watching trains for a while. If I was lucky I might see one or two and maybe even get a couple shots of them in the process.
Coming down to the tracks I saw railcars moving through the trees. Getting closer, I saw flat cars with John Deere tractors loaded on them. Their distinct green color gave them away. I saw a line of large black tractor tires rounding the bend, moving away from me.
I had always thought this would be a great shot. I’ve seen these tractor moves before but was never in a good spot to shot them. I’ve been on highways with no place to pull over or else, the train had passed by the time I got the camera out.
They were already past my viewing area and the way the tracks curved here, I wouldn’t have been able to get them anyway. I figured it was another opportunity missed. “Oh well, no big deal.”
I turned the car around and then stopped. Where could I get another shot of these cars? Maybe as they crossed the Ohio Connecting Bridge. I knew a spot that looks right into the bridges as they cross the Ohio River and Brunot’s Island. BUT, what if the train continued on to go up the Alleghany River? I’d miss it if I was waiting at the bridge.
It was worth a try! I headed towards the bridge and Pittsburgh. The train was going slow when I left, hopefully I’d beat it there. As I drove along rt.65 towards Pittsburgh, different spots were running through my mind. I was thinking of the advantages and disadvantages of each as I went.
The road going down to milepost 6 might give me a good view. It would be above the train and I might get a bit of the river in the shot also. The question was, would I be able to get there before the train passed? It was real close, chances are the train engines had already passed it. The road was coming up, I made a quick decision and turned.
The road is paved with orange bricks and knotweed was desperately trying to hide the road. The bricks were outlined with moss; the weeds covered all but a car sized path down the hill. I crept down the road, the weeds scraping the underneath and sides of the car as I passed. I pulled over and parked where the road turns and drops down beside a cliff to the tracks below.
I pulled onto what used to be a sidewalk. Now, potions of it are missing and the handrail, which comprised of wire rope going through cemented pipes, only existed in spots. The other spots were open to the tracks below. The road is steep and it is a long way down!
There it was, below me, the train, sitting motionless. Things looked promising.
After setting up the camera, while waiting for the train to start moving again, I ate my lunch and wrote a couple notes. The wind was blowing hard, showing the underneath’s of the leaves. It felt like rain was coming, thunderstorms were predicted.
I heard a couple toots and another train passed on a track behind the stopped train. Going in the opposite direction, three engines pulled a combination of cars with a helper situated in the middle.
A couple minutes after it passed, I heard two more toots and then the clanking as the couplers pulled against each other. I put down my drink and re-checked the settings on the camera. Slowly the train gained speed. I kept a watch where the railcars came into view, about a quarter mile away. “Nope, not a tractor…nope, not a tractor…”
Finally, as I was starting to wonder if this was the same train, I saw that tell tale green appear. One by one they appeared making a long chain that slinked around the curve. All the details blended together forming a snake that followed the lay of the tracks.
Nearing, the details became obvious. Large wheeled tractors, most of them the same, an occasional box of equipment or tires strapped to the flatbed, every so often one that was a bit smaller than the rest. There were at least forty of them, maybe more. One after another, they were a study in similarities.
Bringing up the end was a couple of red and blue International Harvester tractors. They just didn’t match the nice consistency of the John Deere tractors, at least in my eyes.
I watched the rest of the train pass by as I tore down my set-up. I took a quick glance at the shots on the screen of the camera and was pleased with what I saw. With the train gone and my gear back in the car, I slowly backed up the weed choked road. The rain finally came as I was driving in to work.
I was happy! I had gotten my John Deere train picture, the rain had held off until I was back on the road and I had stayed “fairly” dry. I did mention it was very humid! All in all, it had turned into a great experience. My rail adventure had proven fruitful. Not bad considering it was a Monday!
1 comment:
Sounds like it was fun
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