We took a trip to Chicago for spring break, to celebrate a birthday and to get away from the snow. Two nights were spent tantalizingly close a lot of rail activity. Unfortunately, as often happens on a family trip it was tough to get away for quality camera time. The morning I was going to get out early was a weather washout. We did take a short ride on the electric line down to Hyde Park for our visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. It was a fun way to avoid traffic and parking hassles. An outbound train pulls up to 55th St as we wait for our train to take us back to Millennium Park (Randolph Street Station). Although the results where thin photographically it was a great get-away and fun to check out this end of the old Illinois Central for the first time. March 12, 2019.

BNSF 7320 bears evidence of its Canadian pedigree while in service on the BNSF. The old 7300s looked good even if they didn't hang around the roster too long. On the approach to Winona Jct., WI, September 5, 2002.

D-loco R 144 and the line not electrified, nowadays it is.

Illinois Central 2508 hauls a train of bituminous coal. Originally intended to handle priority freight tonnage system-wide, the mountain-class locomotives were increasingly used in heavy coal service after the IC retracted steam power to its core coal region around Paducah on the Kentucky Division.

The 2508 is a model of the 4-8-2s rebuilt from USRA clone 2-10-2s by the Illinois Central's Paducah shops during 1937-1943. NAPM member Ted Richardson started with a Hallmark Models locomotive and made major corrections to a number of parts to match the IC prototype, including the pilot, smoke stack, sandbox, and cab windows. Other details were made by Ackert Industries from drawings Ted provided, making this model a very accurate representation of a 2500-class locomotive. Ted also painted the model. The freight cars are a mixture of Red Caboose and Life-Like models.

Photo by Ted Richardson.

Visit the HO scale club on-line at www.napmltd.com.

PCC 7077 on route Nº 55 at Gare du Sud / South Station.

Another train of tailings heads up the hill from Silver Bay to the dumpsite behind an SD18 and two SD28s. The trailing unit, 1233, would be destroyed in a collision two years later. October 10, 1998.

Wednesday, 28 December 2016

43303+43301 passes through Dawlish with the 0600hrs Arriva CrossCountry service from Leeds to Plymouth.

© Finbarr O'Neill

Back again. Another work session including camera and phone. By evening I could tell there would be more westbounds than my last visit. I walked over just on time to catch this manifest between tree shadows and cloud shadows. Fountain City, WI, July 23, 2017.

Little did I know at the time that this former warbonnet would wear red again only this time for the CN. Regardless, this gullwing Dash 8 looked right at home hustling a Z-train past the elevators at Cochrane, WI. June 7, 2006.

I think the most glorious view and most glorious pass I rode in the Alps Divide Ultra Challenge was L’Authion.

It was already on the third day. The day after the rain drenched Via del Sale. From Tende on the tarmac road lead south and down towards Breil-sur-Roya and from there up via a small tarmac ribbon up to La Maglia where it soon gave way to a great gravel / off-road track. Which led all the way up towards and then alongside just below the green grassy ridgeline with great views onto the blue mediterranean.

After quite a while it finally meets a small and quiet tarmac road again. It’s the circuit de la découverte de l’Authion. A small ring road coming from and leading back to the Col de Turini which we climbed to the highest Point of L’Authion at 2026 masl. From there I prepared for the descent and only after the next curve another, even more awesome view over all the Alpes Maritimes and the far coast line opens.

I hadn’t expected this at all! What a spectacular panorama. Top star rating!

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#AlpsDivide

#fromwhereIride

#ridewithaview

#bikepacking

#Colcollector

#weitradeln

#cycling

#Authion

#Seealpen

#AlpesMaritimes

Stickered for their old Pleasant Prairie destination, the aluminum coal gons continue to rack up the miles. August 10, 2024.

The ever reliable BR Standard 2 No. 78019 boiler ticket is due to expire soon. An overhaul awaits her but she goes out with a bang especially on the evidence of this photograph on her final gala appearance for a while. 78019 passing Kinchley lane with black clag being thrown out of her chimney. A fine achievement for her crew on such a warm day.

An empty auto repo train parallels traffic on busy US 90A southwest of Houston. The grading to the left was part of a just-started double-tracking project on the Glidden Sub that was finished in 2016.

ASPLDR 08 (Autos- Spring, TX to Laredo, TX, Reposition)

NS C40-9W #9035

UP SD70ACe #8558

Sugar Land, TX

August 8th, 2014

UP's Pocatello to North Platte manifest cruises down Sherman Hill on a beautiful evening in Wyoming.

This image seems to be a bit out of the ordinary for me, but I like it nonetheless. It was one of those shots that I took to just see what happens in the camera. In other words, I wasn't expecting much or trying to capture anything in particular. I might have even taken it without stopping my walk.

Sometimes I have the most fun and feel the most contented when I'm not thinking about composition or light or focus or all those other things that agreeably make a photograph a quality one. You know, the pics that get the most comments and faves. Heh : ) The quest for that photograph is a bit of a devil in disguise. For me, while I enjoy capturing beauty with a camera, that process can deprive (and possibly deprave) the senses, the essence, of me being outdoors.

But what do I know? Perhaps it is possible to simultaneously experience both conditions of joy - to be in the natural element while deftly photographing it. Instead of feeling discord amongst two varying priorities, maybe one could (or should?) realize that they can be congruous, maybe even augmentative. Again, I don't know.

However, I do know many others who claim photography graciously forces them to pay attention to the world around them. But can it eventually go to the other extreme? Can one become so focused on "the shot" that consciousness of the external world is forfeited in favor of an attempt at mastery of an instrument of luxury?

Obviously, I have some exploring to do.

(NS) 205 crosses the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland, OH. with (NS) Heritage engine Monongahela leading the way.

There were a number of warm spells during December but by the last day it was storming again. On our way home from some more holiday celebrations we followed the BNSF and the Mississippi. At Ferryville, WI this 3 unit set of light power was encountered as it made its way east. The new year is about as clear to me as this view across the wide river. Who knows what it will bring but we're one day in, no turning back. December 31, 2018.

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

GM 084 passes through XW 188, Newrath no. 1 level-crossing with 3 empty timber wagons on the 0755hrs wagon transfer from Waterford to Limerick.

Viewed from OBKW 144B.

Click here for a video of 084 running light through Ballybrophy taken in 2012.

© Finbarr O'Neill

As I often say during brown stick season along the river "I gotta get back here in October" was uttered as a westbound (GALNTW?) rolls by near Potosi, WI. April 8, 2016.

Spring time seems like a long way away at the moment especially with the dull and cold weather we are getting at the moment

The undergrowth is beginning to take over and indeed unless there is some vegetation clearance this picture will not be obtainable this year

Here we see GWR Turbo 2-car unit 165121 passing Malvern Common and about to enter Malvern Link station on 18-4-18

The working is the 1P27 1059 Great Malvern to London Paddington Great Western Railway service

55019 Royal Highland Fusiler rounds the curve at Kinchley lane on the Great Central railway. The Deltic was hauling a Loughborough-Leicester north service.

With the rail and ties laid on the new roadbed, piles of ballast now dot the right of way as work progresses on the addition of a second main to the Glidden Subdivision southwest of Houston. This 10 mile stretch would enter service in May 2016.

MEWEG 15 (Manifest- Englewood Yard [Houston, TX] to Eagle Pass, TX)

UP C44-9W #9671​

CSXT CW44AC #47

Stafford, TX

August 15th, 2015

PJCME2-29 flies by at 71 mph behind SD70ACe 8734.

Chester Subdivision milepost 17.59.

Fountain Creek Bridge at Fountain Road.

Fountain, Illinois, USA

4930 'Hagley Hall' 4-6-0 80079 BR 4MT 2-6-4T & 43106 4MT 2-6-0 pass Withington Herefordshire heading for Bulmers Steam Centre and then the next day Welsh Marches duties 25-2-83

As can be seen the line was still double track and the field to the left was used for growing hops

Turbo 166207 approaches Malvern Link having just passed Newland East level crossing on 30-3-21.

The working is the 2V66 1440 Bristol Temple Meads to Great Malvern service

Still retaining the FGW blue livery. All units have been repainted into GWR livery for some time now and you will not see a daytime Turbo in Malvern with all services from Bristol now terminating at Worcester.

Ref: IMG_9221 30-3-21

The scene south of Bagley shows the riot of color enjoyed along the Mississippi this weekend. October 18, 2014.

Alta Via del Sale. In torrential downpour. For the whole day from 9 am to nightfall.

It was Alps Divide Day two for me. This weather was forecasted, but the extend and intensity was extraordinary. And it’s not me saying this. This came from quite a lot of very experienced people. Even people living in the UK and in Scotland and who have participated in events like Silkroad Mountain Race. E.g. both @Jennytough and @nielcopeland said this rain had broken the scale.

And wow - I literally rode through rivers running across the trails. At times just one side, at times on both sides. And it was chunky. As usual, the photos don’t do the real roughness of the surface justice. It was no mellow riding. It wouldn’t have even on good gravel surface as I did 3.400 meters of climbing on that day. But indeed it was a constant search for rideable lines over the chunky trails. Right through the middle of the streams running down the trails or next to it.

As long as I was moving and moving upwards the temperature weren’t that much of a problem. But for the descending parts the wet body had few reserves. Still not at the halfway mark, after quite a bit of a descending part and still 20 km from the next rifugio (i.e. more than 2 hours away) I was shivering so hard once stopped. Luckily I found a small opportunity to pull out my puffy jacket under a bit of shelter and put in on under my rain jacket. It took a while to stop shivering after staring to move again, but I finally could comfortably „swim“ all the rest of the Via Sale. It took me until well after dusk, when the rain finally subsided a little above Tende but gave way to dense and wet fog.

This was quite the experience.

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#AlpsDivide

#whatevertheweather

#bikepacking

#weitradeln

#ViaSale

#Rain

a Northern 158 bound for Blackpool. This is the L&Y Calder Valley route at HallRoyd Junction. The photographer is facing Hebden Bridge, with Todmorden behind, and the tunnel is Millwood Tunnel. The unit is about to take the Copy Pit Line to Preston.

37190"Dalzell" Identified this.

After waiting for a local to clear the main ahead, the engineer on Amtrak train #2 has the throttle wide open to get back up to track speed at the east switch of Sugar Land siding southwest of Houston. In less than a year this wouldn't be a delay as the new main on the right would be fully in service.

While normally the eastbound Sunset makes its way through Sugar Land by 10 in the morning, today's trip has it more than 7 hours late due to a 4 hour delayed departure while holding for a tardy Coast Starlight in Los Angeles, plus the added delays from UP after having missed its slot across the Sunset Route.

If you look real close, you'll notice an FRA track inspection car between the locomotives and the baggage car.

AMT2 02 (EB Sunset Limited)

AMTK P42DC #10

AMTK P42DC #154

Sugar Land, TX

August 4th, 2015

The wrong way isn't always worth a shot but with some fall color it can be worth a look. Westbound stacks cruise through Hager City, WI. October 15, 2022.

It was a lovely evening for my annual sojourn to the old C&NW east-west mainline across northern Illinois. It also marked a year since I started shooting with the Sony a6700. The camera is probably still starter than me but I'm slowly getting a better feel for the controls and what it's capable of.

From IRM I dropped down to Elburn and made my way west. The coaling tower at DeKalb gets a lot of love but I've also long admired the witch's hat passenger station too. The 1891 Frost & Granger designed depot bears a resemblance to other C&NW landmark depots in stone and brick. Unfortunately the depot sits empty for now but is in good repair with the windows and doors securely covered. In 2025 Metra service only reaches Elburn, DeKalb is on the long-range drawing board yet the future is cloudy about if or when this classic will serve rail passengers again. August 10, 2024.

After a short wait headlights appeared to the west. In a nice nod to the C&NW heritage of this line the pair of SD70Ms were running left-handed through DeKalb with a short cut of local freight. The low afternoon sun highlights select elements of both the EMD and the idle passenger station. August 10, 2024.

When this river town was my home I'd regularly make the short walk to this spot after work. Car tracing was a thing back then. I would log on and trace 100 intermodal spine cars. Among that 100, a few would be on that days ZCHCSTP, ZCHCSSE or ZCHCPTL and have hit the scanner for La Crosse. I'd keep tabs on those cars until they'd pass the Winona Jct. scanner. Once they did it was time to head out the door. There was a little more variety back then and you could see more of the train wrapping around this curve.

Now I'm back painting and installing carpet in my old house between renters. Every so often I'll pull out my phone and take a look at the ATCS display for the (now all CTC) St. Croix Sub. At a glance I see what's happening and where. After a busy day things are getting quieter on the BNSF with a lone westbound making it's way out of North La Crosse. I go back to work for another half hour, check again and the train is going through Winona Jct. Time for a break. Just like old times I grab the camera and head over to the boat landing. Another glorious evening as folks relax on a patio and along the shore while a manifest rolls upriver.

Fountain City, WI, July 8, 2017.

Monday 04 August 2025: 2605/16 approaches Midleton with the 2015hrs service from Cork. The double track project work can be seen on the left of the train.

SOO 6622 rolls east through Brookfield, WI when EMDs ruled the roost on the CP roster. November 25, 1995.

SR Unrebuilt Pacific 4-6-2 34092 City of Wells comes off Ribblehead viaduct on 13-11-82

As can be seen quite a viscious wind was blowing from the west.

The usual Health and Safety laws were operating and no photographers were harmed - unless of course anyone knows differently

Today of course even preserved railways are ending their photographic permits with no right to roam

With the shutter just narrowly beating a cloudf*cking, a pair of Dash 9's take a manifest on the Sunset Route through Rosenberg. The equipment at the left was staged for the double-tracking effort on the Glidden Sub between Sugar Land and Missouri City, a little east of here.

Eastbound UP Manifest

UP C44-9W #9559

UP C44-9W #9523

Rosenberg, TX

September 19th, 2015

Somewhere in my collection I have an old CB&Q postcard that describes this route as "Among the vine covered hills". There are few places where this is still in evidence quite as much as the stretch north of Glen Haven, WI. The vines and trees haven't greened up just yet but it won't be long as a warm afternoon sun seems magnified by the placid waters of the big river. April 10, 2016.

The coal loads were the last train I would shoot here before moving on. Unlike the previous trains this one took the "old" bridge across the lake. This structure has seen a lot of work as part of this project with a lot of new components and the removal of the section of through truss towards the middle.

It was great to visit this bridge and see some movements. I've made four trips across it on the Empire Builder, all nocturnal (as the schedule dictates). I'm not sure why but I have a tendency to wake up from my slumber when crossing Lake Pend Oreille. The track sounds a little different under the car and a glance out the window reveals only a few distant lights twinkling over on the shore. In 2021 I tracked the journey by occasionally checking my location on my phone, day or night. My suspicion was confirmed when I my "dot" appeared surrounded by water on the way across the lake (inset). An interesting sensation for sure. September 5, 2023.

Class 25 D5185 is pictured departing Loughborough central on the Great Central railway. The 25 was hauling a service to Leicester north, and an interesting selection of diesel traction can be seen in the background. Two class 31's, 1 class 45 and a Deltic, all in full sun too.

While watching the remote job a train from the east pulled into the other end of Global 3. After that a westbound BNSF train was cleared across the diamonds. Somewhat belatedly, I decided to roll the dice on perhaps that train having a meet at Chana (travelling without ATCS insights). The light was getting nice but there was nothing to be found at Chana so I dropped back down to Ashton. I was pleased to find an approaching westbound as soon as I got back to the UP. The lead unit however was underwhelming. Murphy's Law dictates that with CN in my backyard, I would go to northern Illinois and find a roached out CN GE running on the UP. It makes me appreciate the decent EMD offerings of the Minneapolis Sub but come on.

With towering thunderheads forming in the west I wanted to nab this land barge manifest in good light. Keeping ahead of it I sought a shot west of Frankin Grove. As has been known to happen, I set up and waited, waited, waited. I wasn't far ahead of the train and was left to wonder if the train lost it's air or some similar tragedy. I walked back to the truck before seeing the headlight come into view. There was no problem getting back into position again with the train making not much above walking speed. There was no mechanical difficulty and an NS GE buried way back in the train as a second motor. Instead they were killing time with an opposing Z train coming east on the close track that will need to clear the plant at Nachusa so this guy can crossover to main 1 and continue the trip west.

I was curious if I'd ever caught the 2230 on the Minneapolis Sub. A quick search showed that I did see this once almost 10 years ago. Interestingly, the day I saw it was the day I took delivery of my truck, now all these years later I see it a second time, this time during my inaugural outing with the new camera. I'm not sure what that means (likely nothing) but I found it interesting. August 10, 2023.