Hello,
The latest edition of Trackside with Trains.com is now live over on TrainsMag.com! This week’s theme: “Dirty”
Click here to read Trackside with Trains.com Volume 108
… then click here to vote.
When finished reading and voting, add your comments about this week’s photos below. We’ll be back with a recap next Monday, March 2, 2009.
Thanks for participating!
Erik Bergstrom
In Jim’s picture, it looks like the coveralls just came out of the washer! Mike’s car is certainly not as bad as what I see normally around upstate NY with NS, CP, and NYS often much worse for wear. Eric shows more dust than dirt. Drew ain’t seen an Alco giveing a real oil bath coating. But Andy’s train coming out of the tunnel is real diesel oil and smoke ripping junk off the ceiling, picking up dust rising from the cars, and dragging that all out in the open…it willl probably get worse shortly…thank goodness the engine is so far in the lead and there’s no caboose full of choking trainmen!
I selected Mike’s photo for my choice of “dirty” photos…
Guess the dirty vehicle takes my eye as I am one to try to keep vehicles clean, etc…All photos showed considerable dirt. And quite a variety of displays of dirt…But Mikes “dirty” SUV really reeks of needing run thru a car wash.
While my eye kept coming back to the pretty blonde, I went with Drew’s shot of a just plain grungy locomotive. I’ve worked on several of its BC cousins here in NY.
I can identify with the the oily locomotive, however - we do run an ALCO or two in our fleet, and for a while the RS3 was pushing almost as much unburned fuel out the stack as it was actually using.
The SUV looked only marginally worse than my own truck last week. Hindsight being 20-20, it’s too bad the shot didn’t include more of that CNW covered hopper in the background - which qualified as dirty as well.
Perhaps most interesting with this competition was the wide range of subjects represented that met with the criterion “dirty.”
Hmmm,
A cold steam engine with it’s guts showing,
A dirty auto (with a few freight cars in the background)
A dead locomotive sitting on panel track,
A snippet of an alleged locomotive,
An actual train making lots of DIRTY smoke,
Had to go with the train shot for this week’s TRAINS magazine contest (although the ash-laden steamer came in a close second).
If the television show “Malcolm in the Middle” were based on Jim Wrinn’s photograph, I might have watched it even once.
Mike, I finally figured out what they do with Proviso’s old company vehicles: they clean 'em up and send 'em to Butler!
My vote went to Andy’s tunnel shot this time. I’m just glad that my tours of duty have never involved something like that. It doesn’t take long for something to get grimy, though. Back in the late 70s, the C&O Historical Society presented a Newsletter issue in tribute to the Chessie Steam Special. Included were a pair of shots of the 4-8-4 on the point of one trip, both taken by Editor Jesse J. Smith. The only difference was that between the two shots the train had passed through one of C&O’s tunnels in Virginia (Moss Run, perhaps?). But that was enough–wow, what a mess!
I considered all five, and eventually decided I would abstain from voting. To me none of the five really put across the theme as I interpreted it. Yes, all showed some form of dirt, but none of them seemed to convey it as the primary theme. The closest was the train exiting the tunnel with a big cloud of smoke, but my eyes were immediately distracted by the shiny lead locomotive.
Sorry, folks
John
Tough choice between Jim and Andy, but I went with Jim on a technicality…his showed “Dirt” dirt; Andy’s was more “Smoke” Dirt. Anyway, I think Jim’s would even have been better as more of a close up and more 3/4 to get the 20th Century light pole away from the 19th Century loco. Maybe the girl (is it a girl? It looks like a girl) would have even created more action by throwing a shovelful of cinders at Jim…aw c’mon now. You wouldn’t duck away from a snowplow flying by!
As for the rest: Mike: EVERYBODY’S car looks like this by March.
Erik: Reminds me of when the local DARE officers come to the high school and set up a wrecked car on the front lawn to warn teenage drivers about the evils of drinking and driving.
Drew: If you can’t say anything nice about something…but are your photo archives REALLY that thin???
Mike’s was the dirtiest photo, but the train was clean. So I didn’t vote for it. Andy’s was the smokiest, but not the dirtiest. I liked the shot. I voted for Eric’s. Though not really ‘dirty’, it was unique enough to overlook the cleanliness.
Wow, you guys are around a lot of clean trains! I chose Andy’s as the dirtiest. I respectfully disagree with my fellow posters who who call Andy’s the smokiest, but no the dirtiest. True dirt? No. Would you want to roll around in the tunnel in your newest Sunday best hickory stripe overalls with your lens cap off? No. So I would,say his photo definitely portrays “dirty” as the competitions theme is… not “dirt”. Mike’s was also dirty, but not “trainy” enough for me. I also like the variety as to what meant “dirty” to our photographer’s eyes. These themes really help bring out the creativity. Keep up the good work!
Not much else in railroading says DIRTY quite as loudly as a steam locomotive. SMOKEBOX implies plentiful grime, too, and that did it for me.
The other shots were good…but I just couldn’t get past this one.
Possibly the only thing that would have changed my vote is if someone had submitted a shot of a crew dipping ties into a vat of creosote treatment.
IDEA…how about “greasy side up” for a theme sometime? In other words…wrecks.
TJB - Nashville, TN
I voted for Andy’s tunnel shot. On viewing the picture, my first thought was "Yaaaa…they were in there with all that smoke. I don’t care how tight the windows close…that has to be bad; I remember reading an article in TRAINS about a rookie who had to learn how to keep up the steam but keep down the smoke on a first run thru a tunnel. Anyway, I think that dirty!
Larry in Wauwatosa
Frankly, this seemed to be a rather dull set of choices this edition. I think I have cars on my model train layout that are dirtier than these. However, if I want to be part of the gang, I suppose I’ll probably vote for the smoke belching tunnel shot. Admittedly, I do tend to stifle a cough every time I glance at it.
I’m thinking that bikini clad girls mud wrestling in a hopper car might have peaked the excitement level just a tad this week.
Just a suggestion.
Went with the “Smok’n Train” shot. Lotsa “clean jeans” showing in those “dirty” pix. And that yard shot-- whats all that white stuff on the ground; and “icicles”??? It was 91 degrees here today, and my car gets dirtier than that in our desert rain/dust storms. Lotsa room here for snowbirds. DadH
Lu-Trains, I like how you think! [bow]
Boys, I think we are onto something here![dinner]
I liked the steamer being de-ashed, kinda gives a more personal aspect to dirty (and I didn’t mention the girl once)
I chose Drew’s entry for this segment…I was also leaning toward the one that portrayed the diesels
exiting the tunnel. This certainly exemplifies “filth”, however I like the close up view better, more
specifically for the detail of the dirt, grime, and age. To me, it’s the things you can see closer that
really segments “filthy” I like them all…
gijim…
I voted for Andy’s. Steam one last week so I figured that it shouldn’t get it twice I don’t by any way shape or form mean to offend anyone. I just think that photo could be background for the “Dirty Jobs” show. Next’s week’s theme should be “squeeky clean.”[:)]
A set of MRL’s Mullan Pass helpers would have won hands down (Danneman’s got the shots, I’m sure). Sand Patch helpers would come in second, if not a tie.
I put myself firmly into the minority with my vote this week. I went with Mike’s dirty vehicle shot. If the dirty CNW hopper in the background had been centered in the shot, with the UP truck to the side, I’m sure it would have garnered a lot more votes. That poor hopper looks like it hasn’t even been rained on, let alone washed, since UP acquired CNW. Ashley vs. the smokebox came in second for me, then the tunnel & smoke shot.