I was raised by a family of raccoons in a junkyard. The sunshine still bothers me to this day.
Sshhhhh! don’t tell them that! I like it when I’m taken 100% serious. Because, um, I am. Makes me 20% cooler.
They ever settle the airport thing? Strasburg is within 5 miles of Smoketown Airport.
The first time the UP sent the 844 over the exCNW, my wife and I went out to a spot east of Boone where a county highway paralleled the tracks. While waiting, along with a multitude of railfans, a car pulls up. It’s mom and dad with a couple of kids in the back seat. I figured they were going to ask when the train was due. Mom rolls down her window and asks what’s going on. I tell her the railroad is bringing their steam engine through the area. Her response? “Is that something special?” I told her yes, that it doesn’t happen very often. She rolled up her window and off they went.
Jeff
Nah, I got tired of bailing her out!
"One was outside of Philadelphia in a semi-rural area. The property owner got annoyed with a neighbor’s kids drone flying over his home day after day after day, so he got out the ol’ 12 gauge and blew it out of the sky. Nailed it to his fence where passers-by could see it, too. "
It’s drone season, as Daffy Duck might have said.
Daffy Duck? I don’t know, sounds more like Elmer Fudd’s thing…
“Shhhhhhhsh! Be VERWY quiet! We’re hunting dwones!”
I chased 844 years ago (2009?) from Laramie to Rock Springs. Politely put, what a zoo! First of the engine goes at track speed, which is at or above the posted speed on hwy 30. So keeping up is “challenging” at times. Then you have the pacers to deal with so you have to be willing to pass them while they are trying to get their shots which now will be of the side of your pickup. You can also try and leapfrog (my approach knowing some of the back roads) which worked reasonably for me. Finally my best shots and video were done not from the road, but from pull offs and BLM roads that unless you know the area you would not find easily.
That was for the 844. 4014 will be that x100. My thought right now is one special spot I know, go there, camp out and see it go by in both trips out and back. One spot, Video on the tripod, Cameras maybe a 100 yrds down the track to keep the noise down. I will probably handhold one Nikon, and set another on a tripod with a remote set for autofire and a third on another tripod set for autofire.
Good luck and enjoy.
Go well in advance, scout the best photo locations asking if you will be safe doing it, including location exit strategy. Arrive early at each of the locations, be patient, take a folding chair if it can be managed. Yep, you’re gonna have to be both assertive and cooperative in keeping your photo spot. And, ohhh my heresy, consider just watching the events if you’re more experience than photo/video inclined.
The following is a post of some thoughts on driving while following the 4014 trip, in response to Jim Wrinn’s March 25 piece Planning to see the Big Boy in May?? Let’s Talk. In it, he lists some photo locations and how to access them. I chased several steam trips on NS back in the east, both 611 and 1218, all in the 1990’s. A number of these were on the ex NKP between Buffalo and Erie/northeast Ohio(a fast piece of railroad), as well as a few in Virginia. I have also been chasing freights for forty years, mostly on the D&H and the Southern Tier, where it was a reasonable proposition for many years, due relatively low trains speeds, mostly in the 40 MPH range, and good chase roads. My chasing is now mostly on the KCS between Joplin and Stilwell OK.
The chase road for the UP will mostly be I 80, which is a very busy stretch of highway, and fast enough to run ahead of most trains. In looking at the schedule UP put out for these trains, it seems the average speed will be in the 30 MPH range for the eastbound moves, not exactly the Portland Rose. I didn’t check the westbound, since I can’t make that part of the event, but I would imagine it’s pretty similar. This should make for easy chasing, but remember, you’re going to be on a 75 MPH interstate, with, I think, a 60 MPH minimum. That will make the chase fairly easy, but I don’t recommend stopping on the shoulder to grab a photo. Aside from drawing unwanted attention from the state troopers, it’s a bad idea from a safety standpoint. The posted minimum will be a lot faster than the train is likely to be moving, so don’t be an idiot and try to go 30 MPH on the highway shooting video.
Regardless of the speed, you will have to contend with a large number of other fans, which will pose problems as well, mostly congestion at photo spots, and the usual jockeying for position in photo lines. I rode/photographed a number of fantrips in Jersey in the 80’s; it gets
We won’t be chasing, plan to see #4014 and #844 at Ogden station and have a parking pass for May 10 celebration at Promontory. If we happen to see one of the engines on westbound or eastbound, we will stop and look, we know the routes. Only chase we did do was #611 in VA, the day after we had rode with her. Went to a crossing to film her passing and jumped in the car to follow, did pretty good with keeping up until she veered away from us. I was on #844 steam special in 2010 from Omaha to No. Platte and classic diesels on return. Had seats in dome diner and watched many chasers getting stopped by cops. One cop maintained the speed limit and cars were lined up behind him, knowing if they passed they would get a ticket. #844 soon left them all behind. Not worth taking the crazy chances that some chasers do, better to pick a spot and film it passing by.