Back in 1992 I made my summer pilgramage to Chama NM. That day the C&TS had a twenty car east bound and they triple headed it with the 463, 497 and the 488. The whiseling, thundering roar and general specticle on the way to the top of Cumbres pass made chills run up my spine
Watching the deer by the tracks as the California Zephyr stopped at a siding for another Zephyr near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Luckily, I was able to grab my video camera in time. See the video at my homepage:
http://homepage.mac.com/donclark
Click on deer by the tracks…
I have seen an alligator on the Sunset Limited, a bear on the Empire Builder, several eagles on the Southwest Chief, but, alas, my camera was not ready. But I got the deer on video…
Pretty much any moment involving a train will do but…Earlier in the summer a friend of mine and I were sitting by the diamond in Rochelle, IL, when down the UP line came a consist with 3 locos up front, followed by the 3 UP E units, 2 A’s and the B. It was my first time in Rochelle!! We got some good photos, but the only trouble is, we were too busy looking through a camera to really get to appreciate the E units. Pretty awesome!!!
It’s not my favorite but its ok.
It was 3:35 pm, and the day was kind of miserible. We go to a Restrunt by the railroad tracks to get some late lunch. It was a disiponting day because We couldn’t get the boxcar I was hoping to get a the hobby shop. After we were done eating I herd this rumbel at first I payed no mind to it but it got louder. I ran out of the restrunt like a bat out of hell. Half of the people thought I was crazy or something. Then two BNSF C44-8W’s came thundering down the rails. It was a heavy “potash” or grain train with about 107 cars. That moment made the day a whole lot better.
[:)]
In no particular order:
-NKP 759 fan trip blasts thru Tobbyhanna PA at dusk in 1972(?) with me at trackside.
-Eating steak dinner in Amtrak grill car along Conn shore.
-Camping in tent at MP241 near Horseshoe curve in 1976 (also counts for craziest…)
-Riding rear vestibule of Clocker going 95 thru North Philly in mid 80s
-Cab ride in steam locomotive at Steamtown (VT) as a kid in the mid 60s
-Metroclub trip from Philly to NY on July 20, 1969 (also bat day at Yankee Stadium and the day they landed on the moon - memorable day all around for a 13 year old)
-Cross country trip on Empire Builder/Broadway Ltd in April 1973.
-Riding in roomette on Lake Shore Ltd climbing West Albany hill and slowly accelerating to 100 mph behind a pair of F40s
Many years ago, watching a big steam loco (the C&O 2716, I believe) gallop over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, FL. An abandoned highway next to the RR bridge provided the perfect vantage point.
Though my favourite train moment these days is anytime the light is just right, my camera’s set up, and a freight train comes barreling into sight I’d have to say my all-time favourite moment came in September of 1978 when I was in Jasper, Alberta on a Sunday, my day off. I had been in town all week playing in a rock’n’roll band at a local hotel frequented by tourists and local railroaders alike and had met a few of the guys. I was wandering around the railyard and station area when I heard a voice call out. This guy, John, motioned me towards the cab of the unit he was in and asked me if I was doing anything special today. I said, “No, just watching trains.” He said, “Wanna come along for a ride?” Well I certainly couldn’t turn down this opportunity so I climbed aboard for a very memorable head-end trip through the glorious Rockies to Blue River, BC and back. We saw moose and deer along the way and I got to spend a few hours sleeping in the crew quarters in Blue River before my buddy got an empty coal drag to haul back to Jasper. It was definitely a trip I’ll never forget.
Chasing a BNSF train all the way from Bakersfield to Mohave in California through the Tehachapi mountains and seeing that engineer’s face when he pulled into Mohave. It was priceless.
mine would have to be the time I got to operate the Whitcomb 65 tonner at the St. Louis Museum of Transport, I’m only 15 and that happened when I was 10 so its still a big deal!
My favorite trains moment happened the summer between fourth and fifth grade, 1997 - I was watching a Wisconsin Central geep switch the drop off cars at the lumber yard in town, and the engineer saw me and we chatted it up a bit… I think I dropped the phrase “GP38-2” and he must have figured I was a budding railfan, and invited me into the cab. He showed me around, and even took me out onto the main track for a hundred feet or so, the back into the spur again. Being so young, it pretty much made my day, and week, and month, Lol.
Looking back on it - was it necessarily safe? No. (Stranger, danger…) Was the engineer seriously violating the rules? Indeed. Knowing what I know now, it may not have been the best idea but… I wouldn’t change it for the world 
Back in the early 1980’s, I used to ride the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s train to McKeesport Pa to work. One rare Saturday that I had to work was riding to work on one of PATs RDC cars. I knew most of the operating crew then and I was invited up to the cab to ride up front. When we got to Glenwood the engineer said to me “Why don’t you get orders coming up from the tower operator?” I had only seen orders being grabbed only a couple of times, so I reached out the open window and held my open hand out to grab them with my fingers. The operator had the good sense to hoop the orders over my arm so I didn’t miss them. Even better was when we got to McKeesport they stopped for coffee and they bought me one. They were some good times then.
MY FAVORITE TRAINS MOMENT WAS ABOUT TWO MONTHS AFTER I GOT QUALIFIED AS AN ENGINEER I CAUGHT A SOUTHBOUND CN RUNTHROUGH TO SYRACUSE. 20’ OUTSIDE, BLINDING SNOW FOR ABOUT 40 MILES AND 10,000 TONS OF TRAIN BEHIND ME. IT WAS SNOWING SO BAD YOU COULDNT SEE THE MILEPOSTS AND WE WERE THE FIRST TRAIN THROUGH IN ABOUT 8 HOURS.
When I was little, my dad’s friend’s house was 50 feet from conrail’s main line. I would just sit in the back yard and wave to the crews in the passing trains.
It was at a spot where the locomotives would open up the throttle wide, and blow the horn for a crossing. How cool is that for a little kid?
I couldn’t tell a GE from an EMD then, but so what. My only distinction was between units painted “Conrail” and units painted “Conrail Quality.” Later I would say “Hey dad I saw two conrails and one conrail quality pulling that train.” I wish I could go back there.
Adrianspeeder
I think I speak for almost everyone here when I say that the MOST UNFAVORABLE moment is leaving the camera at home, or running out of film at the worst time.
Others would probably say that the most unfavorable time is when nature calls LOL.[:p]
Mine was last summer. The first time this east coaster made it to Cajon Pass. The train density, the scenery. It was railfan heaven to me. Twenty trains in less than four hours time, sometimes 3 trains at once. It is something I will never forget.
-Camping in tent at MP241 near Horseshoe curve in 1976 (also counts for craziest…)
Here’s a picture of that!
…Don, that is a gutsy position to place a tent…! But one thing else, and that area surely has some posionous things crawling on the ground…Sure hope those tents sealed up to be sure they stayed outside.
Being that close to the tracks brings up another thought…The loud squealing of the flanges as they passed especially the down grade ones.
[Pennsylvania native]
I’ll take “gutsy” as a nice way of saying “stupid”. It was stupid. Didn’t see any snakes of any kind the whole weekend there, but didn’t sleep much that night either. Three to four trains an hours all night long, the upgrade ones in notch 8. full load, the downgrade ones in Notch 8, light load, but with DB screaming, didn’t make for uninterupted sleep. You’d hear them coming a couple miles off and the noise would get louder and louder until you were convinced the train was adjacent to you. Then, it would continue to get louder until I started wonder if somebody had moved me ONTO the tracks!
Not the smartest thing I ever did (I hope), but I was there to get some great early morning shots before the sun swung around too far.
Thanks Don,
Now I have visual proof to show my wife there are people out there nuttier than I am, and who really will sleep next to the tracks
Nice shots.
Stay Frosty,
Ed!
Don, those are some really nice pics but i don’t think i would be camping that close