You can sling an MU Cable through there when not in use. UP and MP and some others were big on that.
I voted for #1. Yeah, I wi***hat EMD would have led in #2. By the way, it’s an SD9043MAC, that gives it 300 more horsepower worth of credit, lol.
Well, here we go again. It’s all fun stuff, so please don’t take that as boredom exactly, but these shots have been pretty ordinary for the past several months. As to this week’s choices, Photo 1 was nice, sharp, technically good, but it was sterile and indifferent. Too many wires, especially the left-to-right wire that read into the cab top. Looked like an ad for EMD power. A venue like Winterail would ho-hum it out of the hall. Then, there’s Photo 2, that I voted for. First, there’s the superelevation angle giving that lead GE a nice “railroady” feeling as it heels to the curve. A few other elements added to the overall effect - light on the rail and hot exhaust both mentioned by another poster. The background woods suggests that the line is in hilly country and the curve follows a natural route through the hills, so there is a feeling of “good fit” for the train in that setting. “Good fit?” Yeah, no engineer would survey a curve like that in flat country.
I voted for Photo #1 for one primary reason: it is looking up at the train instead of either straight at the loco, or above it. Of course I like the blue sky, but the angle of Photo 1 is what I liked.[;)][;)][alien]
I chose photo 1 due to the color. #2 was just too dull, color wise for me.
Photo 1 !! Ditch lights overwhelm photo 2. Gannbb
Tough decision. I chose #2. I like the composition a bit more. #1 showed the “stretched perspective” of the wider lens.
It’s good to have you both back. I’ve miss the contest while it was not going. Take care of your health, that comes first though. Now as for the pictures, once again it is a hard choice. The angles of both are nice, even the different lens focals made each picture. One picture told me that winter was hanging in there, and the other gave me a hope that spring was just around the corner. But I had to choose one of them and that one was picture number 2. I just liked the composition a little bit more. Thanks again for these contest, it’s a great way for me to unwind on mondays when I get home from work.
I like #2. #1 looks like just another pretty day… nothing interesting to keep your eye on the photo.
#2 However, has a lot going on:
First, the slight angle of the train on the track, almost disorienting but gives a sense of motion.
Second, the rich red color against the serene grayness of the woods… a great juxtaposition of subject and background.
Third, the reflection of the branches in the window almost like looking into the eyes of the locomotive.
Fourth, the lights and the heat plume give the locomotive life and power!
Go back and look at the #1 photo… yawn…
Just liked the composition of Photo 2 better, Photo 1 is a little too bland.
Good to have “The Contest” back, continued recovery from that “midwest” cold!
Will
I voted for #2 - I Like the contrast of dark and light - and the sense of mystery as the train arcs through the woods.
I really wanted to vote for #1 (the colours, the light, the older EMD, etc), but it simply didn’t move. Picture #2 on the other hand was an assault on the senses. I could feel, hear, the raw power as that train roared past me.
It was hard to choose between the two but I decided on Photo 1 because of the angle. I thought it was a bit more different than a lot of the photos by both Erik or Mike
I also borrowed the red train art for use as a desktop I hope that is ok
SrBldr
Photo #1 is clearly NOT a Burlington Northern locomotive, altho it may have been originally. Both are good photos. But I chose #1 because it features a locomotive color scheme that most people don’t get to see every day. Good work!
Welcome back guys…as far as the contest there is no doubt in my mind. Photo #1 is it for me. Reading & Northern - right in my neighborhood (almost); actually maybe a 45 minute drive from my location of Harrisburg PA. I am very infatuated with this line. Unfortunately I get to see it very little - the drawbacks of having a non-railfan spouse. Anyway anything having to do with the east caost area is fine with me. Can you enlighten me as to how this pix got in the contest?
Both shots are appealing especially following your absence. I had to look at both of them several times before finally coming to the conclusion that I was drawn more to shot #2. Then I had to define what was drawing me toward it more. I think it is the lean of the locos and the cars on the curve along with the distortion of the scenery through the exhaust plume. It’s just a more complex looking shot than the standard wedgie. Nice job to both of you!!! It’s good to have you back!!! It gives me something to look forward to during the normal work-week.
A PS to my reply above; Reading & Northern SD40-2 3050 Ex-Union Pacific 3550. I have their roster on my hard drive.
Had to go with Photo 1. I like the feel of a short line over a class 1 any day.
Oh–and to the author who was throwing the temper-tantrum a few blocks up…the photo is not a Burlington Northern, it is Reading & Northern. I appreciate that everyone has their own opinion, but look at the photos more closely before you judge them. The competition is more than “train pictures”, there is more to it than that.
Oh yeah, before I forget it…WELCOME BACK! I really missed reading your installments over the past month. It just wasn’t the same.
Interesting group of comments with this one… Perhaps someone should stop “shouting” long enough to actually look at the pictures?
Now that you mentioned it, I think the wires actually kinda add to the photo! The last pair of wires on that pole line still standing after all these years.
I went with #1, personally. It’s an unusual subject, being a Pennsylvania shortline/regional railroad, the clouds break up that nice blue sky, and it’s yellow and green – what’s not to like? The unusual angle of the photo helps as well.
I like #2, but it is a very moody shot. It looks like it may be a nice sunny day outside of the forest, but the lighting is somewhat haunting in the forest itself. The first car on that train looked interesting, any idea what it was? Unfortunately, pictures of CP AC44s are all too common, it’s hard to get a really great picture with as common an engine as a CP AC44…
BTW, Erik, what was that commuter car in the consist of the first Amtrak picture?