Tim Stockwell
A Day in St. Lawrence County - Part 1
I'm going to begin a rare (for me) "theme week" today based on one of the most enjoyable days I've had trackside in a while. So, first, I hope you'll tolerate a little context as to why that is...
There's two things that have made the hobby of railroad photography a less pleasant activity for me in recent months. The first is what I'll call "mob chases." Thanks to the internet, there's a Facebook group for almost every railroad now, and it's therefore very easy to find out when a "special" engine or beloved shortline railroad is running. Case in point: I've been chasing the Batten Kill Railroad for years. Many of my successes there have simply been the result of taking drives to Greenwich Junction on nice days to see if they were running. Sometimes they were, and sometimes they weren't. With that approach, there were times I was the only person chasing the train, and other times where it was just a handful of guys who always respected each other and treated each other with kindness. Now--thanks to an infamous Batten Kill Facebook group and a Batten Kill Facebook chat, every single Batten Kill run has become a highly-publicized event. I've gotten more than enough photos of Batten Kill Alco RS-3 #4116, but the recent addition of an Alco RS-36 in a D&H lightning stripe-inspired scheme has peeked my interest as a history buff of the former D&H Washington Branch. I had one good chase of the RS-36, but my last chase was generally a pain due to the "mob" and people constantly getting in my shots so that they could get their close-up cell phone video of the engine. Even when I DID get a decent shot, I knew there was no point in sharing it anywhere other than with my friends on Flickr. Like clockwork, within a couple hours after each Batten Kill run, the Batten Kill Facebook group becomes littered with a diarrhea of photos of the engine, and most of them are not of very high quality. Even if I posted one photo from the chase (which would be my typical approach), it would get lost in the sea of other photos.
The second thing that has made railroad photography less pleasant for me in recent months is, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. No, it's not because I worry about getting sick or getting others sick (and, just for the record, I AM taking the virus seriously--I'm careful to "social distance" and I wear a mask in situations where that isn't possible). It's because of some railfans who have lost the ability to treat others with kindness due to their fear of the virus. Though I personally have not had any "incidents," I've now heard from way too many friends about their getting yelled at by other railfans for standing "too close" to them, etc. If you happen to be one of those who can't treat others with kindness during a time that's difficult for everyone, here's a word of advice: Don't go train chasing right now. Expecting the chase to revolve around you and expecting others to not start a photo line alongside you is very selfish.
Anyway, with the aforementioned current problems in the hobby, Memorial Day Weekend couldn't have been a better time for me, my wife, and my son to leave town and drive roughly four hours away to New York State's more remote North Country to visit her family in Potsdam. We drove up this past Thursday, and with the OK from my wife, I planned to spend the better part of Friday seeing what I could photograph in St. Lawrence County's sparse but interesting railroad scene. With CSX having recently sold their St. Lawrence Subdivision to CN and June 30th being the latest takeover date, it was certainly a key time to be in the area. But, there are other good options as well: Vermont Rail System's New York and Ogdensburg (NYOG), and the Massena Terminal.
The first railroad that typically gets going for the day is the NYOG, so that was my first focus. The short explanation of the NYOG is that it is a VRS-owned shortline that operates over former Norwood & St. Lawrence (later St. Lawrence and Raquette River) tracks between Norfolk and Norwood, then former Rutland (later Ogdensburg & Norwood and then St. Lawrence and Raquette River) tracks between Norwood and Ogdensburg.
Arriving at the NYOG's former Norwood & St. Lawrence enginehouse in Norfolk around 7:00 AM, I waited. A couple trucks were parked outside the engine house, so that was a good sign. From some last-minute intel, I learned that the "dreaded" 205 was in Ogdensburg, while the more favorable 801 was in the enginehouse in Norfolk. Would the crew "taxi" to Ogdensburg and get on the 205 (like they did the last couple times I chased), or would they start up the 801 and run down to Norwood first? After about 30 minutes or so, the door to one of the enginehouse stalls opened to reveal the 801! It started up, then shortly thereafter emerged. After getting a couple shots, I drove just down the road to get into position for a shot I've been wanting to get of them passing an old water crane from the line's steam era. While I lined up the shot, the 801 picked up a couple cars back by the enginehouse--even better! The light was perfect, and I was even able to work in nearby customer APC Paper into the shot as well. I fired off several frames before hurrying just down the street to also get the shot of them passing the former Norwood & St. Lawrence depot. After that, I was able to do two more sets with them before they reached the CSX interchange at Norwood. I was beaming, and if that little chase down the former Norwood & St. Lawrence ended up being all I did that day, it still would have been a huge success But, little did I know that it was just the beginning...
New York and Ogdensburg Railway
Norfolk, NY
Friday, May 22, 2020
A Day in St. Lawrence County - Part 1
I'm going to begin a rare (for me) "theme week" today based on one of the most enjoyable days I've had trackside in a while. So, first, I hope you'll tolerate a little context as to why that is...
There's two things that have made the hobby of railroad photography a less pleasant activity for me in recent months. The first is what I'll call "mob chases." Thanks to the internet, there's a Facebook group for almost every railroad now, and it's therefore very easy to find out when a "special" engine or beloved shortline railroad is running. Case in point: I've been chasing the Batten Kill Railroad for years. Many of my successes there have simply been the result of taking drives to Greenwich Junction on nice days to see if they were running. Sometimes they were, and sometimes they weren't. With that approach, there were times I was the only person chasing the train, and other times where it was just a handful of guys who always respected each other and treated each other with kindness. Now--thanks to an infamous Batten Kill Facebook group and a Batten Kill Facebook chat, every single Batten Kill run has become a highly-publicized event. I've gotten more than enough photos of Batten Kill Alco RS-3 #4116, but the recent addition of an Alco RS-36 in a D&H lightning stripe-inspired scheme has peeked my interest as a history buff of the former D&H Washington Branch. I had one good chase of the RS-36, but my last chase was generally a pain due to the "mob" and people constantly getting in my shots so that they could get their close-up cell phone video of the engine. Even when I DID get a decent shot, I knew there was no point in sharing it anywhere other than with my friends on Flickr. Like clockwork, within a couple hours after each Batten Kill run, the Batten Kill Facebook group becomes littered with a diarrhea of photos of the engine, and most of them are not of very high quality. Even if I posted one photo from the chase (which would be my typical approach), it would get lost in the sea of other photos.
The second thing that has made railroad photography less pleasant for me in recent months is, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. No, it's not because I worry about getting sick or getting others sick (and, just for the record, I AM taking the virus seriously--I'm careful to "social distance" and I wear a mask in situations where that isn't possible). It's because of some railfans who have lost the ability to treat others with kindness due to their fear of the virus. Though I personally have not had any "incidents," I've now heard from way too many friends about their getting yelled at by other railfans for standing "too close" to them, etc. If you happen to be one of those who can't treat others with kindness during a time that's difficult for everyone, here's a word of advice: Don't go train chasing right now. Expecting the chase to revolve around you and expecting others to not start a photo line alongside you is very selfish.
Anyway, with the aforementioned current problems in the hobby, Memorial Day Weekend couldn't have been a better time for me, my wife, and my son to leave town and drive roughly four hours away to New York State's more remote North Country to visit her family in Potsdam. We drove up this past Thursday, and with the OK from my wife, I planned to spend the better part of Friday seeing what I could photograph in St. Lawrence County's sparse but interesting railroad scene. With CSX having recently sold their St. Lawrence Subdivision to CN and June 30th being the latest takeover date, it was certainly a key time to be in the area. But, there are other good options as well: Vermont Rail System's New York and Ogdensburg (NYOG), and the Massena Terminal.
The first railroad that typically gets going for the day is the NYOG, so that was my first focus. The short explanation of the NYOG is that it is a VRS-owned shortline that operates over former Norwood & St. Lawrence (later St. Lawrence and Raquette River) tracks between Norfolk and Norwood, then former Rutland (later Ogdensburg & Norwood and then St. Lawrence and Raquette River) tracks between Norwood and Ogdensburg.
Arriving at the NYOG's former Norwood & St. Lawrence enginehouse in Norfolk around 7:00 AM, I waited. A couple trucks were parked outside the engine house, so that was a good sign. From some last-minute intel, I learned that the "dreaded" 205 was in Ogdensburg, while the more favorable 801 was in the enginehouse in Norfolk. Would the crew "taxi" to Ogdensburg and get on the 205 (like they did the last couple times I chased), or would they start up the 801 and run down to Norwood first? After about 30 minutes or so, the door to one of the enginehouse stalls opened to reveal the 801! It started up, then shortly thereafter emerged. After getting a couple shots, I drove just down the road to get into position for a shot I've been wanting to get of them passing an old water crane from the line's steam era. While I lined up the shot, the 801 picked up a couple cars back by the enginehouse--even better! The light was perfect, and I was even able to work in nearby customer APC Paper into the shot as well. I fired off several frames before hurrying just down the street to also get the shot of them passing the former Norwood & St. Lawrence depot. After that, I was able to do two more sets with them before they reached the CSX interchange at Norwood. I was beaming, and if that little chase down the former Norwood & St. Lawrence ended up being all I did that day, it still would have been a huge success But, little did I know that it was just the beginning...
New York and Ogdensburg Railway
Norfolk, NY
Friday, May 22, 2020