Sometimes You're Lucky...

    I had slept in. Getting out from underneath the warmth of multiple quilts, blue skies greeted me. The sunshine was working its way down into the valley below. The first thing that ran through my sleep addled head was, “This would be a great day to chase a train!” Then the idea of visiting the bathroom overcame that. First things first I guess!

    Occasionally, the railroad below the house runs a train in the morning hours. Last week one came through around 10:30. Since it was raining, I stayed inside, nice and dry and watched it through the window. A day or two later, one passed by around noon but I was on the road and didn’t have time to turn around and chase it. “There will be others! It just wasn’t meant to be today.”

    With these two recent runs in my mind, I got dressed and put the camera gear near the door. I still had a few hours until anything would show up…if it did at all.

    The coffee cup was filled and steaming as I sat down at the desk. The shadows on the hillside had all but disappeared. I got lost for a few minutes watching the cars go by, small bunches then nothing, cars coming out of the shopping center and piling up behind each other while they waited for the light to change. Like little organisms under a microscope, all going in different directions, all with different purposes in mind. I checked my e-mails and then called a friend to see what was new in his world.

    In mid-BS, I heard it. Rather soft but still that distinctive sound that I know and love. Ending the call, I grabbed my gear and ran out to the car.

    “Drat, I left my keys in the house.” By the time they were retrieved, the sounds of the train were getting louder. Arriving at the stop sign in the neighborhood, the train was blowing its whistle at the crossing below the house. “This might be a close one!”

    The next problem encountered was road construction at a near-by intersection. Luckily, I was waved right through, only to find myself behind eight or nine cars waiting for a traffic light.

    When the light changed, most of the cars went straight and I followed two down Mt. Royal Boulevard. Thankfully they had no problem with going a few miles above the posted limits. Nearing Allison Park, the train could be seen traveling on the tracks below the road. “Yes, this would be tough!”

    The cars in front to me went straight at the stop sign leaving me with open road for the rest of the chase. I turned and stepped on the gas…only to come into another construction site. The train could be seen in the valley, three engines pulling a line of gondolas, streaming away from me.

    The flagman turned his sign and I crept passed the workers and then hit the gas, hoping that there weren’t any policemen sitting along my route. Bryant Road came up and soon I was turning into a small pull-off. 

    The train was nearly there, the sound of it was getting louder as I ran from the car to a spot between the trees. I saw the headlights coming out of the shadows around the bend as I checked the camera settings. I found my spot and quickly focused and snapped a shot as the train roared by. Repositioning myself I took a couple more as it continued on its way.

    It was a fun run, I doubted if any of the shots would be anything special but I did enjoy the chase, which is half of the fun! “Sometimes you get lucky…and then there are all the other times

    Returning home, I found out that the first shot I took came out OK. The chase wasn’t a waste after all, in fact, it was a great way to start the day, or for that matter, the week!

    I’m sometimes asked why I continue to chase trains that I have already taken pictures of…perhaps this cartoon might shed a bit of insight on it.

"I just love the feelings I get from them!"