Some photos of my railfanning around the East Bay 2011

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Itsed65

Well-Known Member
I was hanging out in Emeryville after work this last Thursday and caught some guest help from the Midwest at the lead of a UP "dirty dirt" train. Cool seeing some different power in these parts. It had been raining for most of the afternoon, but luckily for me (and my camera), it stopped in time to grab these shots.

Heading slowly from Oakland to hold at a signal just east of the Emeryville Amtrak depot to hold for passenger traffic
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Looking toward Berkeley from Emeryville
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Amtrak California with the green, pushing its way toward its next stop in Berkeley
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Close up of the big GE
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Holding at Emeryville
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NM_RailNut

Member
Looks like KCS was paying off horsepower hours owed to UP; those units usually don't show up on other roads unless they're running through on certain trains. It do break up the monotony, though.
 

Abilene Ks Railfan

Active Member
Looks like KCS was paying off horsepower hours owed to UP; those units usually don't show up on other roads unless they're running through on certain trains. It do break up the monotony, though.

Great pics!

I've not seen any KCS power lately,but I have seen a few FXE, and NS units on UP trains out my way
 

Itsed65

Well-Known Member
A few close ups...

I'm almost emabarrased to post this one. This is one of the first shots I took two years ago with my (then) brand new 40D and kit lens (EF-S18-55mm). Not having used a digital SLR before, I didn't know what I was doing, , and if I could do it again I am sure my shots of this beauty would be a lot better. I used one of the automated modes, and most of my shots were total garbage. But I digress..., on April 23, 2009, UP 844 came roaring through Pinole.
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Ex Cotton Belt GP40-2 near Martinez
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Amtrak California F-59PHII in Hercules. The blue towers in the backround are a drawbridge over the straight entering the old Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo California. There is abandoned track all over the place out there. If anyone watches "Mythbusters" they film stuff in the drydocks out there frequently.
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Another F-59 sitting cold at the Sacramento depot. In the background you can see the decaying unused Southern Pacific shops. The California Railroad Museum is a few hundred yards away from here and really is a must see if you are ever in the area.
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Street running in Jack London Square, an SD70 leads a stack train down the street while I eat lunch at an outdoor Mexican restaraunt.
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Since I plugged the California State Railroad Musem: SP AC-12 class cab forward. You have to see this is person to appreciate its size.
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Itsed65

Well-Known Member
Cool shots! Would be cool to see a cab forward operating again!

Yes it sure would, especially climbing through the snow sheds on Donner! This is a "picture of a picture" of just that from the museum
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It has been pouring rain here in the bay area, but I still took a couple today while out and about. Caught some on the spot maintenance going on from a hardware store parking lot today. A pair of California Northern NRE 3GS21B-DE getting some attention in Davis California. It was hard keeping the lens dry getting these.
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Eastern Railfan

Ferroequineologist
I'm not sure why I haven't commented on this thread yet, but you have some outstanding photos here. You've got a great eye and you seem to keep a nice mix of angles. Looking forward to more!
 

Itsed65

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure why I haven't commented on this thread yet, but you have some outstanding photos here. You've got a great eye and you seem to keep a nice mix of angles. Looking forward to more!

Thanks! With better weather and longer daylight hours coming, I hope to get out a lot this coming Spring. :D
 

Itsed65

Well-Known Member
Yet another rainy day today, and not much happened while I was parked at one of my ususal spots on the water in Hercules. I did catch the weekend lite power move which interestingly had an ex SP MP15DC switcher in the consist. These were taken at pretty much maximum zoom while raining with my Sigma "Bigmos" 150-500mm lens so the quality is not the best, but I'm still pretty happy with the results.

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I wouldn't mind knowing someone with a backyard by the tracks like that, although I don't know if I would want to live there.
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I actually shoot from along the black fence in this photo when it is dry, but there is no way I would take my chair into that grass in the rain!
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Itsed65

Well-Known Member
Still pretty ugly weather this week in Northern California, so no really good photo ops. Here are a few from last month when it was a bit more dry.


BNSF genset NRE 3GS21B switching at the new Honda auto loading facility at Pt Richmond CA
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Low wide angle of Capital Corridor at Pinole CA
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Zephyr coming at the same spot in Pinole
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Zephry going...only a few more miles til the last stop at Emeryville
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While waiting for some trains to come by I was taking some pictures of my car, and of course, the second I get set up, along comes a train....
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Itsed65

Well-Known Member
Did you ever have one of those days, that no matter how, when you found the perfect spot for a westbound train, 4 eastbounds would come by instead? Or if you are on one side of the tracks everything will come by on the other? This is a collection of trains shot from either the wrong angle, wrong side of the tracks, going instead of coming, or right into the sun, etc. :rolleyes:

Empty stack train through Pinole CA taken right into the strong afternoon sun. Had it been westbound, the sky would be a pretty blue full of puffy clouds.
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Operation Lifesaver loco shot from the wrong side of the tracks...
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I got this light power move group going instead of coming. I tried to beat them from Emeryville to Pinole and if I had arrived 2 mintues earlier I could have made it over the grade crossing and set up and it would have been perfect!
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This one, the station platform lights are in the way
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I almost made it for this one, it is still too close and heavily cropped to get a reasonable shot. It was originally taken in portrait thorugh a fence. Had I 60 more seconds I could have got a much better wide angle of the whole train. This is an auto stack going through Emervyville from the port of Benicia. This same group of locos plus one more returned light to Martinez later in the afternoon.
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Itsed65

Well-Known Member
Nice pics!

Thanks!

Spring finally sprung this weekend in Northern California, and it was a great opportunity to take the camera out and about around the east bay area.

I caught this one on my way to another location, and the wierd quality is becuase I shot it through my dirty windshield while wating at the crossing. Notice the California Poppies (they are wildflowers), the state flower, blooming in the median as the Richmond Pacifc drags a large string of empty hoppers to the UP interchange track for pickup.
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A short sting of autoracks being pulled by a single GE, with a DPU on the backend through Emeryville
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Another GE bringing up the rear
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Empty statck train ripping through Martinez
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Meanwhile, on the OTHER railroad in my area, a set of four running light through Franklin canyon. I am thinknig about cropping this one for a different compistion, but for now...
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The grass is actually this green, I have not touched the saturation. It will be like this for another month or so before turning brown (or golden, as we say in the golden state).
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Four locomotives, three different paint schemes.
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thanks for viewing
 

jkinzel

Member
Again, another stellar group of photos. The BNSF photos are actually spirit lifting with the green fields and filtered sun. We had a little sun on Saturday along with strong winds, Sunday no wind, no sun and no rain, yet, it comes in tonight for three more days.:( Not complaining, just a little short on vitamin "D". :rolleyes:
 

Itsed65

Well-Known Member
Again, another stellar group of photos. The BNSF photos are actually spirit lifting with the green fields and filtered sun. We had a little sun on Saturday along with strong winds, Sunday no wind, no sun and no rain, yet, it comes in tonight for three more days.:( Not complaining, just a little short on vitamin "D". :rolleyes:

Thank you very much. Yeah it was a great Saturday, and the weather even seemed to get better on Sunday as we hit 80 degrees. I have a bunch more photos to go through and post process that I will hopefully get to this week, including a pair of BNSF geeps; one each in warbonnet/blue and yellow. I finally found a decent spot to steak out the BNSF mainline. :cool:

We do have more rain in the forecast though :rolleyes:
 

jkinzel

Member
I keep telling my wife that maybe we shouldn't complain about the rain so much because by July this place, Western Washington, could be a tinder box. The weather has a way of balancing it's self out, even it is with extreme swings in seasons. All I really want is a few nice days at the tracks.:D
 

Bill Anderson

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the photos of Franklin Canyon. A friend of mine pointed out that we haven't had a sunny day up here since 2/28, where "sunny day" is defined by the weather folks as a day where the sun is out for at least 70% of the daylight hours.
 

pilpro

New Member
Great shots! I live in the area (El Cerrito) and I never have time to get some quality track side time in. Thank you!

Paul Z.
 

nman281

RRF Helper
You've got a quite a nice selection of shots right here! I love the angles, composition, framing and the colors. Hope to see more from you.
 




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