Train-chasing in 2nd Gear

In an effort to keep you non-railfans from getting dangerously bored, I've tried to round up a few train pics that are at least somewhat interesting, photographically speaking. I found that I have more than a few, so I randomly selected nine for this post and I will upload more later. If trains just aren't your thing, hang in there. I'll be getting to The Cruising Years (MD, PA, VA, WV, KY) soon, and hopefully the lighthouses that follow will prove to be worth the wait. But first - the above banner photo is the meeting of two Conrail trains just about smack in the middle of the famed Horseshoe Curve, near Altoona, PA in 1995.

This set of Rio Grande light power was photographed as it followed the Amtrak train #5 "California Zephyr" into the Rockies west of Denver, CO in January 1987.

Where the railroad meets the sea - CSX #6577 (with the obnoxiously elusive #4253 hiding behind it) sits at Penn-Mary Junction in East Baltimore, MD in 1992. The gantry cranes in the background belong to the Port of Baltimore.

A rare switching operation at Point of Rocks, MD in the summer of 1991.

Significant more for history than for photographic quality, this shot of a westbound container train leaving Cumberland, MD in 1992 could not be duplicated today. The rails that branch off to the right (towards Cincinnati) are now single-track, the manual switch lines in the far upper right of the frame are gone (replaced by electronic relays), the steps of Viaduct Junction tower, from which I shot this photo (and the tower itself) are gone and there's now a big modern signal bridge situated about where the last engine is. "Progress."

Westbound freight laboring up the grade near Fairhope, PA in a misty autumn chill - 1993.

Westbound auto-racks crossing Thomas Viaduct over the Patapsco River, between Relay and Elkridge, MD - not far from Baltimore - in 1992.

Amtrak train #29 "Capitol Limited" blasts westward past Randolph Road with a couple of miles to go before its first stop at Rockville, MD in 1995.

CSX #6603, still in B&O paint, awaiting service at the Riverside Shops in Baltimore, MD in 1994.

Thanks for looking. Much more to come!