zwsplac
The Tortures And Rewards Of The Oregon Trunk, Pt.4
This is part 4 of a 9 part photo essay.
After Crooked River, I headed north to see what the manifest was up to, and then photograph it in Madras. The fact they were working Round Butte was going to guarantee that Madras was the likely end of photo opportunities.
The northbound manifest had a simple job: setout 14 cars and pickup 22 cars from Round Butte. Later, they would setout at South Jct., which was a bit weird to me, but apparently that's how this train operates because the next day a northbound manifest operated similarly. By the time I'd gotten to Round Butte, they'd been at it for 30 minutes. How long would it take to perform this work? It turns out...a REALLY LONG TIME!
I was setup at Madras, and the conditions were absolutely stunning. For more than an hour I watched this scene transform from one beautiful look to another as the sun set and the clouds morphed and moved. There, 5 miles away, was the train I needed to shoot one of my finest shots ever. One ear was glued to the scanner, the other strained for a distant horn. "Backemup 8101...10 cars...5 cars....that'll do" "Set and Centered" "Clear of the redzone" Switching chatter was all I heard. 30 minutes after sunset, the sky went dark, and I gave up. Even when there is a train around, sometimes you just get tortured on the OT.
Fully committed to trains at this point, I drove north into the Deschutes Canyon. At Maupin, I was chagrined to see a southbound train headed through the dark. Already the 4th train I'd seen in 6 hours, would there be any trains left for the next day? Tomorrow the plan was to find an amazing photo spot and hope for the best. Tonight, I grabbed a campsite near Oakbrook, and I slept fitfully, only waking when BNSF 8101 north passed by at 1230am.
The Tortures And Rewards Of The Oregon Trunk, Pt.4
This is part 4 of a 9 part photo essay.
After Crooked River, I headed north to see what the manifest was up to, and then photograph it in Madras. The fact they were working Round Butte was going to guarantee that Madras was the likely end of photo opportunities.
The northbound manifest had a simple job: setout 14 cars and pickup 22 cars from Round Butte. Later, they would setout at South Jct., which was a bit weird to me, but apparently that's how this train operates because the next day a northbound manifest operated similarly. By the time I'd gotten to Round Butte, they'd been at it for 30 minutes. How long would it take to perform this work? It turns out...a REALLY LONG TIME!
I was setup at Madras, and the conditions were absolutely stunning. For more than an hour I watched this scene transform from one beautiful look to another as the sun set and the clouds morphed and moved. There, 5 miles away, was the train I needed to shoot one of my finest shots ever. One ear was glued to the scanner, the other strained for a distant horn. "Backemup 8101...10 cars...5 cars....that'll do" "Set and Centered" "Clear of the redzone" Switching chatter was all I heard. 30 minutes after sunset, the sky went dark, and I gave up. Even when there is a train around, sometimes you just get tortured on the OT.
Fully committed to trains at this point, I drove north into the Deschutes Canyon. At Maupin, I was chagrined to see a southbound train headed through the dark. Already the 4th train I'd seen in 6 hours, would there be any trains left for the next day? Tomorrow the plan was to find an amazing photo spot and hope for the best. Tonight, I grabbed a campsite near Oakbrook, and I slept fitfully, only waking when BNSF 8101 north passed by at 1230am.