NYtrainspotter
Order of Magnitude
There are some structures in this world that by their sheer size , are impossible to capture on film as the eye actually sees them.
New York City's Hell Gate Bridge is perhaps one such structure , one of a very few urban vistas that can dwarf a freight train and make it look like a toy .
Originally the " New York Connecting Railroad Bridge" it crosses the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands in Manhattan.
The main bridge is the largest of three bridges that form the Hell Gate complex. Together with approaches, the bridges are more than 17,000 feet (3.2 mi) long.
Conceived in the early 1900s to link New York City and the
Pennsylvania Railroad PRR with New England and the New Haven Railroad NH , (via Penn Station and the Bayridge car floats) The Hell Gate was seen as such a vital link to the US wartime economy that the Nazi's targeted it for sabotage.
As a child I remember seeing New Havens EP5's and E33's on the bridge ,as well as assorted diesels including GP9's RS11's and H1644's.
As PC took over and the traffic to and from New England was routed through Selkirk and the River Line , freight operations over Hell Gate gradually declined .
In the early 70's I remember seeing ex NH U25'bs as well as 4 unit lashups of F7's and GP9B's, then gradually more modern GE and EMD 4 axles on the Selkirk- LIRR symbols LI2/ LI4 and Oak Point to Fresh Pond transfers.
Seeing freight on the bridge is pretty difficult these days.
P&W's Cedar Hill stone trains (FPCH-CHFP) use it , as does CSX -LIRR transfers, but mostly in darkness. Photographing one on the bridge is next to impossible due to lack of vantage point and no clear schedule. ( yes I am also scared of heights )
You can imagine my surprise this particular morning at 0849 when I encountered two SD40's and SD60I wide open enroute to Fresh Pond while dropping my wife to work in Manhattan on the JFK /Triboro Bridge.
" OHHHH so that's why you asked me to drive"..actually I had no idea..lol besides I was shooting into the sun...but quickly realized the potential to capture the classic SD40 sillhouette .
(I don't know about the rest of you..but the SD40 ranks as another one of my favorite diesels and the SD60 is always preferable over a any GEVO..)
BTW the sound of "old school" EMD sounded amazing over the traffic.(which was barely moving ) .
Hell Gate Bridge Randalls Island NY Fremont Secondary CSX
Order of Magnitude
There are some structures in this world that by their sheer size , are impossible to capture on film as the eye actually sees them.
New York City's Hell Gate Bridge is perhaps one such structure , one of a very few urban vistas that can dwarf a freight train and make it look like a toy .
Originally the " New York Connecting Railroad Bridge" it crosses the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens and Randalls and Wards Islands in Manhattan.
The main bridge is the largest of three bridges that form the Hell Gate complex. Together with approaches, the bridges are more than 17,000 feet (3.2 mi) long.
Conceived in the early 1900s to link New York City and the
Pennsylvania Railroad PRR with New England and the New Haven Railroad NH , (via Penn Station and the Bayridge car floats) The Hell Gate was seen as such a vital link to the US wartime economy that the Nazi's targeted it for sabotage.
As a child I remember seeing New Havens EP5's and E33's on the bridge ,as well as assorted diesels including GP9's RS11's and H1644's.
As PC took over and the traffic to and from New England was routed through Selkirk and the River Line , freight operations over Hell Gate gradually declined .
In the early 70's I remember seeing ex NH U25'bs as well as 4 unit lashups of F7's and GP9B's, then gradually more modern GE and EMD 4 axles on the Selkirk- LIRR symbols LI2/ LI4 and Oak Point to Fresh Pond transfers.
Seeing freight on the bridge is pretty difficult these days.
P&W's Cedar Hill stone trains (FPCH-CHFP) use it , as does CSX -LIRR transfers, but mostly in darkness. Photographing one on the bridge is next to impossible due to lack of vantage point and no clear schedule. ( yes I am also scared of heights )
You can imagine my surprise this particular morning at 0849 when I encountered two SD40's and SD60I wide open enroute to Fresh Pond while dropping my wife to work in Manhattan on the JFK /Triboro Bridge.
" OHHHH so that's why you asked me to drive"..actually I had no idea..lol besides I was shooting into the sun...but quickly realized the potential to capture the classic SD40 sillhouette .
(I don't know about the rest of you..but the SD40 ranks as another one of my favorite diesels and the SD60 is always preferable over a any GEVO..)
BTW the sound of "old school" EMD sounded amazing over the traffic.(which was barely moving ) .
Hell Gate Bridge Randalls Island NY Fremont Secondary CSX