Steam on the LA Freeway and by the LA River

Here are some shots of the 3751 runs from earlier in the month to share.

First, on May 8, the big Northern comes down the middle of the 10 Freeway in Alhambra.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=324742

Second, the previous weekend, on May 1, is ATSF 3751 passing the LA Skyline (taken from the 7th Street Bridge).

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=324980

Third, back to Commerce, to see the 3751 passing one of the BNSF rebuilt “SD39-2s” which is a derated SD40-2.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=324932

Thanks for looking and corrections are welcome.

Charles -

They’re all good, but that 1st one just has to be a Picture Of The Week and/ or People’s Choice award winner. It could have been used in the ‘‘Back to the Future’’ movies - what a great contrast/ dichotomy between the modes and eras ! The comments below the photo pretty much echo my other thoughts. I’m also surprised how narrow the R-O-W is there, and the lack of fencing, etc. between the tracks and the lanes. I’ll bet that replacing ties there is a real exercise in working in tight quarters.

The 2nd one really shows how long the 3751 is - more than I would have expected - and in a different setting, that’s for sure.

Thanks again so much for sharing the fruits of your planning, foresight, and good fortune. [bow]

  • Paul North.

Paul,

Thanks so much for the kind words.

I had been planning on both the freeway shot and the skyline shot for over a year. I didn’t quite hit the skyline shot the way I intended, but hope for another chance at it next time 3751 runs (hopefully sooner than another year). It needs to be wider to include the river and more of the train, I think.

The freeway shot proved to me the old rule is true, which is “line up the shot you want most and don’t try anything else first… once you get that shot, you can zoom, or switch how the camera focus, or whatever else you want to change, but don’t do anything before it.”

I have a really bad habit of trying to get multiple shots, which often ends up with getting no shot that I like.

Charles

Thanks nice pics, wish I could have gone downtown for this move but…oh well, I take it this was part on National Train Day.

Wow the Budd cars in pic 2 sure look in sad shape.

All your images here are very well composed, Charles, and I really have enjoyed them…thanks. However, the first is exceptional in terms of its overall appeal in my opinion. You should be very happy and proud of that one.

-Crandell

I have to agree with Paul and Crandell![bow]

Nice work ( plan your work, and work your plan!) [tup][tup]

My favorite is the first shot in the middle of the Freeway. i do n’t know how far the track is in the median like that, but if it goes very far, I’ll bet they have to coordinate it with the HyPo’s[4:-)]

Wrong time of day and the traffic jam could reach Denver![swg]

How do they keep the black smoke from rolling? ( a la 844 or 3985) Is it just when you took your shots,

or is the diesel doing most of the work?[D)]

The tracks run at least five miles (maybe twice that) in the freeway median there.

It had smoked up just before (see the cloud of smoke there) but was running clean as it reached me.

The diesel was not helping at all.

Great shots, Charles. I especially love the guy poking his head prairie dog style out of the sun roof of the SUV next to the engine in the first shot. That was definitely a story to be told around the water cooler on Monday.

Nice shots Charles !!! [tup][tup]

Reminds me of chaseing the Santa Fe down the 210

I noticed there was no smoke in any of the pix and I wandered if it was being pushed…

Another fine job Charles,thanks for sharing !

? The first photo has a big puff of black smoke.

Thanks for all the comments.

Sure, it would have been nice to get a big plume of smoke coming out of the stack, but when you have an accomplished crew running the locomotive clean, that’s hard to get (unless they do it on purpose).

I sent this image on to some modelling buddies, and one of my comments was that everyone should appreciate that the engine is being fired properly…except for the glitch left back 100 yards. What would the motorists be thinking seeing this beautiful artefact belching smoke in a city where air quality is already tenuous on good days? No, my money would pay to see this gal in all her glory showing modern onlookers that the guys who built such beasts, and who eventually operated them, knew what they were doing.

A great photo, and I sure am happy to have seen it. [8D]

-Crandell

A properly fired steam engine does not put out a lot of smoke…in the day Firemen would be criticized for smokey runs. In today’s world of steam…smoke is made for the railfans.

Great shots, E L! The first one is my favorite also; it’s a real treat.

It’s been a long, long time since I saw a reference to that highway ever being the “Ramona Parkway”.

Funny that so few drivers seemed to pay attention. But let’s face it. In Southern California, we’re nothing if not blase/.

By golly ,There is smoke in them there trains !

I guess I was looking for it coming out of the stack and closer to the engine !

Oh well,sa lavie(however thats spelled)

C’est la vie (I knew that high school French would come in handy one day… only took 30 years).

It’s just such a shame they gotta have a diesel with the steam loco… who else here hates insurance requirements?

Insurance, dynamic braking, and head end power; not every group has a HEP car to add on. But, yeah, it is a shame.

Neat. Thank You

Thx IGN