I had been thinking about trying a brief chase tomorrow morning. Then my wife informed me I'd forgotten about a previous commitment. RATS. Boxcab E50
I'll post my trip photos in this thread, unless there's any objections, and I'd then start my own thread. I went out with a MILW nut friend of mine, Gary. We took a few foamer favorites, and stumbled upon new, mostly unknown shots, and took a couple of my favorite harder-to-find shots, too. We started early in the morning at Shelby, and grabbed fuel, foamer snacks, and headed east out of town. My shot of choice was just east of Shelby, where a sag in the hills allows a neat view of the tracks. We sat there almost an hour before we had any action... The shot I had was not as nice as the one Gary had picked, and after I stacked a small rock pile, the necessary elevation was gained to allow a much broader shot. Yes, I am sick.... A Z-train was first, and is not shown in this thread.... After it cleared, about 10 minutes passed before the 4449 gracefully chuffed by: Wider:
Not long before the train descended into town, a large batch of chasers thundered by, enroute to Shelby... Most of them converged at the depot, and surrounded the stemer. I took the high road (Oilfield Avenue), and grabbed a few elevated shots. And the 4449's crew greasing the bearings: We chased west from here. Pacing, video, and many more shots yet to come! Don't turn that dial!
Yeah! Keep 'em coming. I like those shots from the bridge, and it looks like at least some of the residents of Shelby turned out. Looks cold, too. :tb-biggrin:
The light was horrible, but I figured a poor shot is better than none at all. Here's Milepost 1071 (IIRC), as she furiously charges up the grade out of Shelby: The Skytop and Superdome car is THE way to view the part of the high line ahead.... Sharp-eyed viewers will note a batch of foamers atop the hill adjacent the locomotive in this shot:
Did I mention pacing? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJhdaL8SCR0"]YouTube - Pacing SP 4449 east of Cut Bank, MT[/ame]
I could have paced a while, but we had to get ahead of the train, and grab some lunch in Cut Bank. So, onward we charged! The trestle is quite scenic, no matter how great or otherwise the weather: Westward HO! Meriwether, MT is the site of a neat grain elevator, and FAST running: Track speed is 60-plus thru these parts! Next up, Two Medicine Trestle, and what might be the shot of the day!
Two Medicine Trestle is spectacular anytime: And what better way to view Marias Pass and the Montana Rockies than from a Skytop or Superdome!! More to come tomorrow! Essex, Snowsheds, tunnels, and more!
After a charge back to the highway, we stopped near Bison West, and just in time, too: After a nerve-wracking drive over the summit, thanks to a couple unmentioned retards swerving all over the 2-lane road, and pacing the 4449 at 10MPH in a 70 zone, we finally got around them , and ahead to a special little place near the double sheds. After waiting about half an hour, (I suppose they greased at Summit) and had to await a downgrade piggyback train, they appeared far across the valley, leaving Blacktail: And about to enter Shed 4D:
Beautiful photos, especially #2 coming around that tight curve. I hope she was heavy into an upgrade, because the exhaust bark would have been awesome echoing off the hills and coming across the valley.
Thanks, Hank! The stack talk was quite nice, but I was too intent on taking the shot, and jumping back into the truck to speed off to another photo op! Essex is next, and a couple of secluded tunnels! Secluded? As in, nobody else around? With SP 4449? No competition for the best photo spot? Yup! Stay tuned!
This is quite possibly the greatest photo ever taken. Is your original large enough to be a wallpaper?
TM, Thanks for the kind comments! If you PM me your email addy, I'll shoot a copy of the full-res original your way.
Entering Essex: The crowd gathers: I have never seen Essex so jammed with foamers and their cars! Wow! Here's the newest pride & joy of Essex, outclassed by another beautiful steed: Thanks to this trip, my railfan friend is now a certifiable steam nut!
As the crowd thundered west to easy spots, I had in mind a shot or two that would take some time to reach. As we drove west, I saw it... I hollered "STOP THE CAR!", and Gary couldn't figure out what was the matter. We turned around, and I showed him what might be the easiest tunnel shot on Marias--Tunnel 2! After an eventful hike from the truck down a rain-soggy slope, we set up awaiting 4449: The west portal is reched by a treacherous hike down from the road to Paola Creek, and was featured during Alaska GP49 and my Taking Montana By Storm. Too hard to reach quickly, we ruled it out. Tunnel 3.7 is a new favorite, and while not easy to reach, a dead sprint got me trackside with about a minute to spare and catch my breath. As the railfan crowd drove west to shoot from the overlooks at Tunnel 3.8 and 3.9, we took our last shots at Tunnel 3.7, as it took too long to get back to the road. We hustled to Coram, but the grand lady was already past. With about 3 hours of daylight left, we turned back for home. Thanks for the memories, Gary!
