Vol. 125 of Trackside, “Capturing the essence of EMD’s classic Forties,” is now live. Seven of our 13 photographers submitted photos for this round. Enjoy!
I went with Jim Wrinn’s photo. I’ll remember the Forties at their best in service on a heavy-duty main line.
Where are the 4 Conrail GP40-2s zipping vans along the Mohawk River at 70 mph? To me, that’s the essences of the 40 series. In, fact were are any GP40s in this group? Next closest for me were the NS SD40s doing what they were purchased to do.
Jim’s shot did it for me, with Drew a close second, and Aaron in third.
Matt’s shot was a tad too busy - I had to look for the locomotives.
Andy and Elrond lost me with the lighting. Just didn’t appeal to me.
Alex’s snow shot didn’t click, either.
Like the old F’s the 40’s were the standard of the day, workhorse for all reasons. So, Jim’s shot of four 40s hooked up shows all that the best. Ordinarily I would go for the night shot or the snow shot, but here they are, lashed up and turned loose with a train.
Must think this over a few days. Next to the SD70’s, the SD40’s are a favorite of mine. While Jim shows me a great picture of the 40’s - calendar quality - Elrond’s tugs at me. And just the opposite of Tree, it is the lighting that is attracting me.
Will go mull this over and come back later to vote.
None of these pictures shows the (SD) 40s’ greatest attribute very well–and that would be those huge porches at either end. A profile pan shot (one appeared in the magazine decades ago) would have won hands down for me. I had to go with second best this time–and that would be Jim’s shot.
It was a tough desision,but Andy’s sunrise shot of the ethanol train won my vote. For a while,I considered having myself cloned several times so I could vote for all of my favorites.
I’m in the same boat. The engines all look so similar…
Snow and a working diesel. Great shot, Alex! Very nicely timed and composed.
It is a strange feeling to actually look for SD-40’s to photograph, when 20 years ago they were just boring and not worth putting on film. I like Andy’s prairie shot, wide open spaces, great lighting and several forties.
For the 1st time in recent memory, NONE of the 40’s Photos are worth voting for. Let’s hope for better photo’s next month
Sorry
For what it’s worth, my first choice was a panned profile of UP 3134 racing through the desert in 1984. Unfortunately, only digital photos are eligible, not slide scans. Rats! Maybe it will show up in Trains one of these days… or Classic Trains if I wait long enough. 
-EL
Went with AAron Jors’ photo… it just sez “Railroading” without having to resort to “special effects” as in snow, or fall foliage. And I’m sure more “40s” were to be found on short rather than long haul (Read that somewhere a few years ago).
Why don’t you have a Trackside contest where ALL entries would ONLY be “Action Orange” or Red/White with snow background. Equal opportunity photography.
Dad H
Again, many nice RR photos, and all sticking to the theme too.
This time I must give Jim the nod…I have similar thoughts when thinking of EMD’s 40-2’s…Engines working hard on difficult mountainous grades and in this case the site surely qualifies. 4 on the rear must indicate a rather heavy train challanging the Alleghenies. Just a few miles to go yet.
Matt.
This is a tough bunch! Gotta have that train front and center to get the votes from these die- hard rail fans. But that is OK. After all it is TRAINS Mag!
For me, seing the train in its enviroment, doing what trains do and within the Christmas card atmosphere makes your shot a winner.
Gary
Aaron got my nod…just because!
I noted after voting that was not a widely shared preference…but I can’t imagine why. It’s well composed, warm-fuzzy, and fits the criteria perfectly.
But then, I also predicted that Gore would win TN in 2000! [#oops]
TJB - Nashville
I’m not sure this was our best week of pictures, but admittedly, there were some pleasant surprises along the way as I perused down the list. I enjoy going to Aaron Jors’ website and looking at his train pictures, but today’s entry didn’t really do anything for me. And Alex and Drew? - Ooooh Noooooo! Drew!!! RED TRAINS IN WHITE SNOW!!! Where have I seen this panorama before? - Neither really captured me. Elrond’s sun-washed shot woke me up a bit and I hesitated with my finger poised over the “vote” button for a long moment . . .but then . . . I moved on . . .
Living in the Tennessee Valley did draw me to the Norfolk Southern Four by Jim Winn. Lord knows we see a lot of that black and white livery here in the Chattanooga area and the fall foliage almost pulled me in. Directly above however, I was a bit jarred by Matt Van Hattem’s Christmas montage . . . Where the heck are the engines in that mess . . . oh…ok…there they are, lost in the watery shimmering glaze . . I feel like I’m looking at one of those ridiculous Christmastime Nightly News features where somebody covers their 600 square foot cabin with 6,493,762,476 blinking lights! You discover that you’ve scorched your retinas trying to make out the shape of the cabin through the glare!
However, to his credit, Matt did get me in the mood to start looking at the Christmas catalogs for a twinkling trinket for the little woman . . .
But then there’s Andy’s picture. Power. Promise. Distance. Sky. Romance of the rail. All wrapped up neatly. Finger presses the button. DingDingDingDing. We have a winner!
Andy gets my vote.
I particularly liked 4 out of the 7 photos this week. Aaron, Drew, Elrond and Andy’s but I could only choose 1 which made it quite difficult. Matt’s was too busy. I only saw the train when I enlarged the photo. Jim’s was ok but didn’t stand out for me. Alex’s was also ok but he always seems to have snow which makes all of his scenes similar. I ended up voting for Andy’s. The different colours in the sky and the closeup of the loco’s and rest of the train was what won me over in the end. Keep them coming!
Yesterday I liked 2. Today I like 7. All for different reasons which I won’t belabor here. Normally it is pretty straightforward, but each time I look, I see something new.
Still debating.