Living Steam: The Virginia and Truckee at the Nevada State Railroad Museum on DVD or Blu-Ray. DVD is $19.95, call for Blu-Ray pricing at 877 323-8002 or email video@livingsteam.com
Comstock Historical Society and Virginia & Truckee Info:
Virginia Truckee History -- Links -- Photos -- Discussion
RAILROADING with TRACK and TRAIN |
Chasing and Photographing Trains for the Rest of Us |
Why Trainwatching is Like Fishing
I have a saying I like, and I think I invented it. "Going fishing and catching fish are two different things." Similarly, going trackside and getting great photos and videos are two different things. Simple trainwatching can be fun, inexpensive and rewarding. On the other hand, getting great photos can be almost like work -- almost.
You have to be prepared, carry appropriate equipment and supplies, and be willing to wait and wait and wait for the right picture to present itself. If you are trying to photograph an Amtrak train, you'll have to wait even longer.
I will get to the article without further introduction, just look at this photo!
 "The one that got away -- UP's City of Los Angeles" Boy did I feel stupid taking these pictures! I had traveled to Helper, and already had my fill of hiking around the town, taking videos and photos, and freezing my butt off! I had wandered back near the train station was was relaxing in a park near the tracks. I saw that a train had pulled into the station but my view was blocked. I don't know why, but I didn't walk the 100 yards to take a closer look. I only had my camera equipment half-ready, so when I realized what I was missing, I began the mad scramble to get the video rolling and shoot the departing City of Los Angeles. Here are some fleeting photos of the one that got away:     CHASING TRAINS Often trains travel on tracks that parallel rivers and highways. Even if a train has clear track you can often drive a route safely and stay ahead of the train. When I took the photos above, I had arrived in Helper by train, and didn't rent a car. I was kicking myself. Another train buff at the scene hopped into his SUV and roared off after the train. CHASE TRAINS UPHILL On later trips to Helper, Utah I had my car. I was able to spend time in Price or at the Helper Union Pacifc station waiting for something interesting to come along. I had spent time figuring out where the best pullouts were to get good video shots. This paid off a few time, especially following an Amtrak train down the hill. I was able to get out, setup two videocameras, get my shots as the train passed by, pack up, and zoom off to the next location. |
SAFETY CAN NEVER BE
FORGOTTEN I wouldn't want to encourage you to go out and trainwatch without reminding you of safety. If you park your car anywhere near the tracks, park it far enough away so the train engineer doesn't have to even think about it. A train could come along on any track at any time. One time I was setup with my videocameras and a local UP contractor drove through a private gate and left his truck on the tracks. As he walked away, I yelled, "hey, there's a train coming soon." I had heard on my scanner that a train was working it's way up toward Donner Summit. This guy was slowly walking back to his car when we began to hear the freight train coming. He hustled to the car and drove off the tracks, laughing at himself. Another time I watched a private farmer with a long horse trailer race a train going around Tehachapi Loop. He cleared the front of the train by less than 100 feet. Basically, at that point, the train can't stop. Paraphrasing Jim Morrison, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the trains aren't really out to get you!" STILL FEEL TOTALLY SAFE TRACKSIDE? On a recent trip to Jalama Beach County Park, the ranger there told me a grisly story. He said that a train passed through where a metal cargo strap/band had broken on a lumber car. As the train went along, the band was hanging several feet to the side of the train. He knew this because they found the decapitated hiker by the tracks. Enough said? DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD! Stay away from moving trains! BATTERIES BATTERIES BATTERIES! One time I was trackside when a railroad worker came by. He stopped and we talked for about 30 minutes while I was waiting for a train that was behind schedule. I wasn't paying attention, and accidentally left the camera running. Although I have a beefy battery for my videocamera, I had forgot to recharge it the night before. I'd already been filming and zooming for about two hours, so I knew this mistake was going to be a problem. After the railroad worker left, I realized that the battery was dying! Luckily, I had a portable battery (jump'n'carry) and a small inverter, plus the charger for the battery. Before you could say lickety-split, I had the camera running off the AC charger via the inverter and the portable 12v battery. Regardless of what batteries your equipment takes, I guarantee that Murphy's Law of electronic photography will apply itself and your batteries will run out at the worst time. So even if you had an old camera like my Ricoh 35mm all-manual settings museum piece, there's still a battery for the camera's light meter. There's always something to recharge. OTHER EQUIPMENT: TRIPODS, CLEANING KITS, CAMERAS I have one piece of advice that's more important that anything else. Carry a lens cleaning kit with you. This one is pretty self-explanatory, just keep that lens clean. By the time you carry a camera or two, you might need a backpack. I use two videocameras at times, plus my digital photo camera. I also carry tripods, batteries, extra batteries, my scanner, a cell phone, and whatever personal items I need. It's a good idea to carry water wherever you go. Tripods are a necessity for good video. No matter how smooth I think I am handholding a videocamera, even with image stabilitzation on, the result doesn't match a tripod-mounted camera. Despite the Law and Order style of shaky camerawork, it doesn't work for trains. SCANNERS CAN HELP MORE THAN MAPS Taking train photos can take time. I remember once, for example, being setup near the Truckee River waiting for a freight to clear the Sparks yard. I was just up the road from Verdi, about fifteen miles west of Sparks. My scanner saved me several wasted hours. I heard once on the radio that the freight was being held up, and I figured that by the time it got there it would be dark. Another time I was waiting for the California Zephyr. The Amtrak system said the train was only a few hours late and predicted the westbound Zephyr would pass through Reno by 2:45. I dutifully drove out to the place off Highway 80 where I was taking pictures that day. After rushing into place, setting up, and beginning to wait, I heard on the scanner that the train was delayed two additional hours. Without this information, I would have trusted the Amtrak system and sat there two more hours before seeing the train. Knowing how late the Amtrak was that day, I was able to run back into Verdi and eat a nice late lunch at the casino. Then, at a liesurely pace, I made my way back and got my photographs under the light of the setting sun. HOW LATE IS AMTRAK TODAY? CALL JULIE Sometimes Amtrak delays work out for the photographer's best. For example, on the video page is a wintertime ride on the California Zephyr over Soldier Summit between Provo and Helper in Utah. The train was supposed to make the trip in the dark of night. Instead, we left Provo just as the sun was coming up. Since I had light, I went downstairs in one of the coach cars and opened a window to shoot video. Luckily, the coach car attendant was somewhere else nearly until we reached Helper. Late trains can be good trains. This is particularly true of the photos at the top of the page, in which Amtrak trains from Reno head west into Truckee in the afternoon. In the morning, when this train is scheduled to pass here, the sun is behind it and the photo would have been a waste of time. AMTRAK STATUS REPORTS DON'T MATCH REALITY If you are a serious Amtrak chaser than you know Julie. Heck, everybody knows Julie. She's the automated attendant computer at Amtrak's 1-800 USA-RAIL number. If you want to know when to leave to photograph a train, just call 1800 872-7245 and listen through the opening speech, "Hi, I'm Julie, why don't you goto amtrak.com and save us some trouble. You can say train status..." At this point you say "train status" or press 1 and go through some prompts to figure out where your train is. Check the status at stations before your chosen location and when the train leaves, you know it's getting close. I don't know why Julie is named Julie. Maybe Amtrak meant to say Just Understand Lateness Is Expected. Julie works OK, but can get confused. I have tested this system extensively, and it's inconsistent. You can get two radically different reports at different stations, and the automated Julie train status reports often don't match what the 800 reservations agents say. Amtrak knows its system is deluged with calls for Julie about train status, and Amtrak has done a good job making the status system work better in the last few years. The system has it's limits, but there is a better way to learn more about all trains near you. GET A SCANNER, ANY SCANNER Names like Bearcat and Midland harken back to the CB radio craze of the 1970's. CB's were like a little mini-Internet, allowing a new form of peer-to-peer communication that changed social interaction. Bearcat is now owned by Uniden, and the two names are used for various models of scanners. While CB's are passe, scanners are a necessary tool for those who want to know what's up on the tracks. You probably don't have access to the UP dispatcher. I suppose you could get the number for the local train yard and you could call the dispatcher. Just say, "I want to shoot a photo of a train, what's your schedule today?" I don't know, but I doubt train company employees are eager to give out train schedules or talk to railfans. According to some articles I've read, most railroad professionals would rather not deal with railfans. Scanners can reveal something about the world of railroad employees. You can often hear interesting things like dispatchers sending employees out to look for lost train cars, personal information, and discussion of the condidtions on the track that day. If you know the mile markers on the track you will know where many trains are by listening to the dispatcher's traffic. |