Seaview SW-7 #5 spots some loaded auto-racks at NORAD's Davisville, RI, unloading yard. The headout car is a still fairly fresh, and graffiti-less, Providence and Worcester auto-rack; the previous owner of the little EMD switcher.

November 2013

Davisville, RI.

The Pickens Belton Job throws cars back and forth as the build their train for Belton on a cold morning.

On April 7, 2008, SMS SW1200RS #1337 leaves Delanson, NY with a one-car train for Guilderland. Scanned from a Fujichrome Provia 100F slide.

Nerdy Light Switches. Embrace your inner geek with theses decorative wall switches. Coming to the 7event this Feb maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cyldane%20Mall/208/214/3097

Monte Tinisa, cima est

HDR

Montana Rail Link Train 844-19 switches the Graymont facility at Townsend on 10/19/2022.

Lime is mined and produced at a mine to the west of here, which is then trucked and transloaded onto rail cars here.

I was lucky to catch the 109 leading, since it had been out of service for most of my trip and went down again not long after.

Montana Rail Link

Train: 840-19 (Helena Local)

10/19/2022

Townsend, Montana

MRL 2nd Subdivision

GM EMD SW1001 no. 120 shunts a rake of loaded stone hoppers at Whatley Quarry.

22nd September 2021

Four of CN's four-axles engine fleet are at the helm of local job L538, doing some switching at the east end of Coteau yard's track Q068.

After the switching done, the crew of three will pick up their train built into track Q065 and head toward the Valleyfield subdivision in order to serves the daily needs of Valleyfield industries.

CN L53821-12

4777 GTW 6226 4802 9410

Coteau Yard - Milepost 38.3 Kingston subdivision

Coteau-du-Lac,QC

August 12 2021

CSXT MP15AC 1189 pulls a set of tanks from Heinz Portion Control in Jacksonville, FL. The 1189 is one of only a handful of MP15s remaining on the CSX roster and is likely only left because of it's remote control capability. Heinz makes small sauce packets here and receives corn syrup and other oils and tomato paste by rail. The remote operator would set out an empty tank, replace it with a load and also spot a loaded boxcar of tomato paste, which gets tucked away at the farthest spot on the spur where the only unloading door is located.

Chicago, Illinois

6002 is an SD40T-2, originally built for the Southern Pacific. Seen here switching at Guardian with several other Lancaster and Chester units.

323210 rolls into Four Oaks with 2O45 Lichfield Trent Valley High Level to Bromsgrove with the former platform lighting control switch taking centre stage removed and rusted up it's certainly switched out.

2021 represents a significant milestone in the history of the Phoenix Railway-Photographic Circle with the celebration of our 50th anniversary. Phoenix was set up in spring 1971 and was created to promote an alternative approach to railway photography. Why not take a look at the PRPC web site at www.phoenix-rpc.co.uk/index.html.

Blue Blue Blue

7DWF, Saturdays: Landscapes

Yes, I know. I should have taken a look at the Crazy Tuesday discussions a little earlier. Though it is debatable whether this blue is pretty at all. The apartments there are certainly very expensive. Nonetheless, after the recent lost places decay (more will follow), I wanted to show something more glossy for a change ;-) Taken during a boat trip on the River Spree and Landwehr Canal in Berlin in summer 2016. This apartment house called "Living Levels" is a new residential tower located at the riverside of the Spree next to the famous East Side Gallery. The building, actually the entire development of the Spree riverside, is very controversial. Most of the new (residental) buildings are / will be luxury buildings, while affordable living space is a scarce commodity nowadays. The irony: The tenants of the Living Levels tower are now fighting against a new hotel which is supposed to be built next to their building. They claim that the hotel will block out the morning sun.

At this point I still had my manual vintage 50mm Zuiko lens mounted, but the 100 mm (crop factor 2 for MFT) on my OM-D were too much tele. Later on that trip I switched to the m.zuiko digital 17mm f1.8.

Wohnturm "Living Levels" am Spreeufer neben der East Side Gallery. Das Bauprojekt (eigentlich alle Bauprojekte dort) war sehr umstritten, Stichwörter: Verdrängung, Gentrifizierung, Mediaspree... Nun klagen die Bewohner des Luxubaus selbst, denn neben ihrem Haus soll nicht nur ein Hotel errichtet werden (bereits in der ursprünglichen Planung enthalten), es soll auch noch zwei Stockwerke höher werden als geplant. Und das nimmt ihnen die Morgensonne weg.

Aufgenommen während einer Bootsfahrt auf Spree und Landwehrkanal im Sommer 2016. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte ich noch mein manuelles 50-mm-Zuiko drauf, aber die 100 mm, die daraus an meiner OM-D werden, waren doch zu viel Tele. Später habe ich dann das m.zuiko digital 17mm f1.8 angeschraubt.

.

Taken during a photography workshop with Mark Fearnley.

South Shore Terminal Carmen at Michigan City Shops are making some yard moves. July 1975.

Grand Trunk Western Alco S2 8093 is switching Dunne Paper at the mouth of the St. Clair River. May 1976.

Soo Line GP38-2 4427 is switching Stinson Yard in Superior WI. September 1995.

The nose of a Wheeling & Lake Erie GP35 shines off the end of a relatively new tank car at Rook Yard in Green Tree.

South Shore Line 803 switches the EJ&E interchange at Goff Jct., east side of Gary in January 1981.

TRC 2008 switches out some cars at the massive facility in Trona, CA. While generally inaccessible to the public, the Trona Road grade crossing offered this view of a switch crew that pulled up just far enough to be photographed.

Thomaston, CT Station

Repainted GTW Alco 8093 works the Dunne Paper plant at Port Huron MI. September 1980.

Mass Coastal 2008 is seen at Maritime Terminal Inc. switching out a reefer car in busy New Bedford, MA.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Arkansas and Missouri train SFLO is doing a bit of switching at the siding known as Johnson Switch ad they work their way south from Springdale to Fayetteville. This job was on duty at 11 AM with a pair of classic Alco C420s, numbers 56 and 57 both built for the Lehigh and Hudson River Railroad in Dec. 1965 as their numbers 25 and 26 respectively. They are seen here working just north of the Main Street crossing near MP 347.7 (measured from the Frisco's historic corporate headquarters city of St. Louis) in this once small down that is now a suburb of booming Fayetteville.

To learn more check out the long caption with this shot: flic.kr/p/2mmJMoD

Johnson, Arkansas

Thursday September 2, 2021

SMS SW1200 #104 has paused its switching duties in Fort Edward, NY as the covered hopper on the headpin gets transloaded to a truck.

SMS Rail Services

Fort Edward, NY

April 27, 2026

A late running 6M31 09:53 Hunslet Tilcon Sdgs - Arcow Quarry hauled by GBRf 60087 “Ingleborough” passes Switchers Farm near Otterburn, on approach to Hellifield.

Having departed Hunslet some 100+ minutes behind schedule, it was down to 67 late passing Shipley however, on approaching Skipton it got routed into the loop, despite nothing needing to overtake, after an anxious wait, 6M31 got the route north passing the camera around 92 late, probably a blessing in disguise being late.

January 2025.

Maroon 5 - Payphone

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRaWnd3LJfs

I'm at a payphone, trying to call home

All of my change I spent on you

Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong

Where are the plans we made for two?

Yeah, I, I know it's hard to remember

The people we used to be

It's even harder to picture

That you're not here next to me

You say it's too late to make it

But is it too late to try?

And in our time that you wasted

All of our bridges burned down

I've wasted my nights

You turned out the lights

Now, I'm paralyzed

Still stuck in that time

When we called it love

But even the sun sets in paradise

I'm at a payphone, trying to call home

All of my change I spent on you

Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong

Where are the plans we made for two?

If "Happy Ever After" did exist

I would still be holding you like this

All those fairy tales are full of shit

One more fucking love song, I'll be sick (oh)

You turned your back on tomorrow

'Cause you forgot yesterday

I gave you my love to borrow

But you just gave it away

You can't expect me to be fine

I don't expect you to care

I know I've said it before

But all of our bridges burned down

I've wasted my nights

You turned out the lights

Now, I'm paralyzed

Still stuck in that time

When we called it love

But even the sun sets in paradise

I'm at a payphone, trying to call home

All of my change I spent on you (oh, oh)

Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong

Where are the plans we made for two? (Yeah)

If "Happy Ever After" did exist

I would still be holding you like this

And all those fairy tales are full of shit

One more fucking love song, I'll be sick (uh)

Now, I'm at a payphone

Man, fuck that shit

I'll be out spending all this money while you sitting 'round

Wondering why it wasn't you who came up from nothing

Made it from the bottom, now, when you see me, I'm stunning

And all of my cars start with a push of a button

Telling me had chances I blew up or whatever you call it

Switch the number to my phone, so you never could call it

Don't need my name on my show, you can tell that I'm balling

Swish, what a shame could have got picked

Had a really good game, but you missed your last shot

So you talk about who you see at the top

Or what you could've saw, but sad to say, it's over for

Phantom pulled up, valet open doors

Wished I'd go away, got what you was looking for

Now, it's me who they want, so you can go

And take that little piece of shit with you

I'm at a payphone, trying to call home

All of my change I spent on you (woo)

Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong

Where are the plans we made for two? (Yeah, yeah)

If "Happy Ever After" did exist (oh, yeah)

I would still be holding you like this

All these fairy tales are full of shit

Yeah, one more fucking love song, I'll be sick (yeah)

Now, I'm at a payphone

Well, the short story: the arrival of a baby late last year did mess up my schedule completely. The free time was/is difficult to find. :-)

Besides, I've switched almost completely the the Olympus M4/3 system. More to come... I hope.

This is a handheld image of a frog call made a couple of days ago during a holiday to Danube Delta.

View large

A trio of EMD standard cabs sits at the interchange between UP and Kennecott Utah Copper, located at Garfield west of Salt Lake City. All switching at the copper smelter and refinery in Garfield is contracted out to RailServe, hence the RSSX locomotives here.

GMTX GP38-2 #2662

RSSX GP9u #1590

RSSX GP7 #116

Garfield, UT

April 24th, 2023

Duluth & Northeastern 14 is on switching duty the railroad's base town of Cloquet, MN. 14 is now owned by the Sierra Railroad, acquired in 2022 from the now defunct Filmore and Western Railway.

9-21-1963

Photographer Unknown - Jacob Narup Collection

Switching tracks at Base Station for the Mount Washington Cog Railway.

The Tate Modern

York Rail GP15's 1535 and 1531 idle at York Transfer while the conductor sets the brakes.

MRL's Helena Local switches hoppers at the Graymont lime facility in Townsend on the 2nd Sub.

MRL 840 Local (Helena Local)

MRL GP9 #109

MRL SD40-2XR #252

Townsend, MT

May 4th, 2022

For this switcher Sunday, we're in Tulsa Oklahoma on May 22, 1980 and see an SW7 drilling the rear end of a freight that had come into Cherokee Yard from the east. This was a quick stop over for me on the way home from a year long work assignment in Texas. I was anxious to get home but Tulsa deserved a lot more time. Sadly, I've not been back.

Now switching BP Amoco Refinery

NECR 4049 accompanied by Bay Line 3018 and 2078 switch cars in the CSX interchange.

A recent derailment at the interchange set things back for the Bay Line so today was the day they had to make up for lost time. Unfortunately, making up for lost time in Dothan meant that the Hilton turn wouldn't run which was the main reason my friends and I were out here. Although we didn't get exactly what we had hoped for, I am glad we at least had the opportunity to see something operate out here.

Americus, Georgia

iPhone version of an earlier photo shot on film.

Under a bright blue Albertan sky, Cando rail GP9's 4018 and 4024 are seen switching out the vast paper mill complex in Hinton, Alberta. A very unexpected catch, the train just so happened to be running while I was passing through Hinton back in February of this year.