Today I planned to do just that. Just drive down the highway and take some gorgeous shots of a long coal train just sitting there in all its splendor.
There were certain flaws in my plan... First, the weather was not lovely. Then, when we got down there, the tracks were a bit... trainless. After we had turned around to head back, a train approached, and I finally got my pictures. Here they are:
So... the pictures are terrible. When taking pictures of trains, there are some things that are important. You want to capture the type of car or engine. You want to see the numbers. And you want to see what color scheme they are painted with. My pictures amazingly captured none of that.
I laughed at just how horrible they were. It seemed that I had put a bit of effort into a complete waste. However, I have learned some things.
1. If it's raining, leave the camera at home.
2. Have the camera in your lap ready to take pictures in case the train is moving.
3. When you are in a car on the highway and the train is traveling in the opposite direction and not slowing down, it's probably more important to work on turning the car around.
4. Make sure the camera is set to normal color mode before you start taking pictures.
Anyway, I hope someone else sees the humor in all this.
1 comment:
Some of that coal is indeed going to our power plant, or the one in Pueblo, but I think the majority is "through traffic" going to places south of us, like Texas. CDOT is looking into the possibility of rerouting this traffic on to the eastern plains.
http://www.dot.state.co.us/RailroadStudy/FAQ/default.asp
Question: How many trains would use the new bypass?
Answer: Approximately 18 to 24 trains per day. Most would be the 120-car unit trains carrying coal from the Powder River basin in northeast Wyoming to electric power plants in Texas. Unit grain trains currently traveling along the Front Range would also use the bypass.
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