I just posted the latest installment of Trackside with Erik and Mike in our new section within the Railroad Reference area of TrainsMag.com.
Read Trackside with Erik and Mike Volume 59
Voting for Trackside with Erik and Mike now occures at the top of the Trackside with Erik and Mike section. Click here to vote.
Please add your comments regarding this week’s photos here.
Thanks, Erik
Ooooo, tough call today. I ended up choosing Photo A.
Went with B.
Lots more of interest: the station (with name), the people, the crossings, the newspaper box, the signal bridges. All these elements come together and create an image that really places the railroad in the everyday world.
In addition, I like how the massive trains seems to dwarf the surroundings.
Plus it was just a very cool shot!
Photo B gets my vote. It just seems more interesting. How many nose shots of passing trains with a background of trees have we all seen? B seems to be a bit more of a true action shot.
My choice was Photo B, purely for personal reasons. Photo A has a very negative connotation for me right now, and Photo B is a “feel-good” shot from somewhere close to home. I can’t quite figure out how you got the elevation for the shot, though–is the sidewalk up that high just west of Wolf Road?
Thank you for pointing out the presence of the approaching Dinky in the second shot; that’s part of this line’s appeal.
Gonna have to go with “A”, though as always a tough choice. For me B just seems a little to busy, the train seems a little dwarfed by the surroundings a bit.
went with green .(B photo) csx has some stacks lead by sd 40-2s too. nice to see.
stay safe
Joe
Photo B. The reflection of METRA on the stacks swayed my vote.
I went with Photo A. Not that there was anything particularly bad or particularly great about either photo, but for some reason I found the telephoto effect in photo B to be a little extreme.
How’s that? Photo A was shot at 180 mm; photo B was zoomed back to 112 mm.
It’s just the visual effect. I expect that the difference is that photo A is more of a side shot while photo B is more head-on.
Photo B had much more of interest in it than picture A. There is what photo mavens refer as “reference”, in that there is no doubt as to where it was taken, and has better overall composition. It also is in a much nicer spot in general. A is a news photo, or a shot one takes because one does not see a CSX unit leading on BNSF every day.
It took me a while to decide, as both are very even shots. In some ways I did find a few of the details off to the side of photo B distracting, like the railing and the partially cut off lamp post, but after looking at it a little while I decided it was just better than photo A. Mainly because it was different. I’ve seen plenty of shots of trains that looks like photo A, but photo B is just different and kind of cool. Which ever one of you took it just took advantage of the conditions (the people, the headlights, ect) and then composed it properly, and I like it.
Nice job to both of you though, as they are both great pictures!
Noah
Both are very Good
I voted for photo A because it showed som separation between cars. Both were very good though
It’s photo A for my vote. The curve just makes it more graceful. Sure, there are a lot of photos of trains in front of a background of trees, but I think these are easy to look at. I’ve seldom been attracted by locations (or photos taken at them) in which people and their artifacts congregate. Just personal stuff. Thanks for continuing this project.
I had to go with B as it had a lot more elements of railroading in it… not just freight movement & Equipment. getting a decent shot under less than optimal weather or conditions isnt easy. Having said that both shots were ok, but B had so much more going on in it that touched on many aspects of railroading in general. Plus the added bonuses of the headlamp reflections on the stacktrain, and also the lights from the signal bridge overhead showing even more oncoming traffic due in just made this shot even better overall.
Both photos were good, but I went with Photo A. I liked the countryside train. The leaves are just starting to turn and the air looks crisp. You can almost feel Fall in the air.
Photo B looked a little busy.
I voted for Photo A because CSX is big in the east and ends in Boston at Beacon Yards . The boys ought to come East and see what runs from Buffalo to points East and South . From Maine comes Gilford with some Maine Central Power ,CSX or Boston & Maine.CSX pulls a trash train out of Boston every week-maybe twice to a landfill down south.
Can’t get lighting reflections off the rail when shooting in ISO 100 light - kudos for both offerings in scuzzy weather. [8D]
Wish the twin lamps [xx(] in photo B weren’t decapitated - but it is [}:)] almost Halloween!
Despite that - so much geometry at the station - the crooked fence, commuters, twin platform signs, signals, roof lines, newpaper boxes, an impending thunderstorm? (or is that November creeping in early?) A buffet for the eye. Brrrrr! And stars on the headlamps and ditch lights. Ready for a steaming bowl of soup !!!
Sorry CSX - no SOUP for you! [:P]