Why am I drawn to railroad tracks?
Apr 26, 2017 14:12:59 #
Maybe, just maybe it has something to do with stories - stories about Casey Jones, the man who always brought the train in on time; or John Henry, the steel-driver for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Or maybe it's the songs sung by singers like Johnny Cash, Boxcar Willie, Willie Nelson, Jim Croce, and others.
They sang songs about the Wabash Cannonball, The Cannonball Express, the City of New Orleans, and the Rock Island Line. Other's wrote or sung about the Orange Blossom Special, the California Zephyr, and the Marrakesh Express. As a kid I didn’t have a clue as to what the Marrakesh Express was until Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
Yep! It’s the stories and the songs; and the way it used to be; and the memories!
They sang songs about the Wabash Cannonball, The Cannonball Express, the City of New Orleans, and the Rock Island Line. Other's wrote or sung about the Orange Blossom Special, the California Zephyr, and the Marrakesh Express. As a kid I didn’t have a clue as to what the Marrakesh Express was until Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
Yep! It’s the stories and the songs; and the way it used to be; and the memories!
Apr 26, 2017 14:29:22 #
Crichmond wrote:
Maybe, just maybe it has something to do with stor... (show quote)
Love it! Fantastic photograph. I really love railroad tracks and train songs too.
I wonder, did Judy Collins ever ride on the Marrakesh Express (too)?
Apr 26, 2017 14:31:19 #
lamiaceae wrote:
Love it! Fantastic photograph. I really love railroad tracks and train songs too.
I wonder, did Judy Collins ever ride on the Marrakesh Express (too)?
I wonder, did Judy Collins ever ride on the Marrakesh Express (too)?
I don't know? I totally forgot that! And just saw one of her old vinyls at the coffee shop, just yesterday.
Great catch! Thanks!
Apr 26, 2017 14:34:27 #
I know what you mean. I live next to Galesburg, IL with tracks leaving town in seven directions and 150 trains per day in and out of the BNSF hump yards. Mostly I try to avoid trains by knowing where all the bridges and underpasses are located. ;-)
Nice photo.
Nice photo.
Apr 26, 2017 14:35:02 #
Very romantic but maybe it's because they make composition of a picture easy with parallel lines going to a vanishing point. Watch out taking pictures on tracks are dangerous and may be illegal. LoL I have a backdrop I use so I don't have to go out on tracks.
Apr 26, 2017 14:37:53 #
WB9DDF wrote:
I know what you mean. I live next to Galesburg, IL with tracks leaving town in seven directions and 150 trains per day in and out of the BNSF hump yards. Mostly I try to avoid trains by knowing where all the bridges and underpasses are located. ;-)
Nice photo.
Nice photo.
Seven directions! 150 trains per day! Now that is a challenge!
Thanks for sharing!
Apr 26, 2017 14:42:53 #
steve03 wrote:
Very romantic but maybe it's because they make composition of a picture easy with parallel lines going to a vanishing point. Watch out taking pictures on tracks are dangerous and may be illegal. LoL I have a backdrop I use so I don't have to go out on tracks.
I grabbed this shot while crossing the tracks to access another subject. As I paused to shot, my companion likewise warned of possible trains on the track.
Thanks for the comment!
Apr 26, 2017 14:45:33 #
Crichmond wrote:
Maybe, just maybe it has something to do with stor... (show quote)
Nice picture.
Yes, trains are romantic and I belong to a Railway Museum in the operations department (we run the streetcars and trains giving rides to the public). That said, you are aware it is illegal to be on the tracks posing for or taking pictures etc. You are supposed to cross quickly or it is trespassing. Twice I have rounded a blind curve and found a photographer with tripod on the tracks so concentrated he didn't notice the streetcar coming - streetcars are not stealth vehicles. We have the same problem with the main line trains. Thank God we are usually operating at low speed and have never failed to be able to stop in time. But when working as Conductor I have fallen because I was walking the aisles when the emergency brakes were applied because someone was on the track. We have had passengers get minor injuries from hitting the frame of the seat ahead of them when the brakes went on.
OK, I typed too slow.
Apr 26, 2017 14:47:23 #
steve03 wrote:
Very romantic but maybe it's because they make composition of a picture easy with parallel lines going to a vanishing point. Watch out taking pictures on tracks are dangerous and may be illegal. LoL I have a backdrop I use so I don't have to go out on tracks.
I'll photograph tracks from where a road crosses the tracks, so as a pedestrian it should be safe and legal, especially in a city where the sidewalk goes right up to the tracks. Going out on a trestle could be very deadly!
Apr 26, 2017 15:01:47 #
Apr 26, 2017 15:02:10 #
lamiaceae wrote:
I'll photograph tracks from where a road crosses the tracks, so as a pedestrian it should be safe and legal, especially in a city where the sidewalk goes right up to the tracks. Going out on a trestle could be very deadly!
Apr 26, 2017 15:05:36 #
[quote=lamiaceae]I'll photograph tracks from where a road crosses the tracks, so as a pedestrian it should be safe and legal, especially in a city where the sidewalk goes right up to the tracks. Going out on a trestle could be very deadly![/quote
I saw a Video about how dangerous just crossing tracks can be and how fast trains really are and how fast they come up on you. Here on Long Island we have lots of trains and a number of people are killed each year crossing tracks at even intersections. Be careful
I saw a Video about how dangerous just crossing tracks can be and how fast trains really are and how fast they come up on you. Here on Long Island we have lots of trains and a number of people are killed each year crossing tracks at even intersections. Be careful
Apr 26, 2017 15:06:22 #
[quote=steve03][quote=lamiaceae]I'll photograph tracks from where a road crosses the tracks, so as a pedestrian it should be safe and legal, especially in a city where the sidewalk goes right up to the tracks. Going out on a trestle could be very deadly![/quote
I saw a Video about how dangerous just crossing tracks can be and how fast trains really are and how fast they come up on you. Here on Long Island we have lots of trains and a number of people are killed each year crossing tracks at even intersections. Be careful[/quote]
I saw a Video about how dangerous just crossing tracks can be and how fast trains really are and how fast they come up on you. Here on Long Island we have lots of trains and a number of people are killed each year crossing tracks at even intersections. Be careful[/quote]
Apr 26, 2017 16:31:45 #
Crichmond wrote:
Maybe, just maybe it has something to do with stor... (show quote)
I think it is that you always wanted to be an engineer on the railroad or a conductor that yells "All Aboard'
Apr 26, 2017 16:36:15 #
PixelStan77 wrote:
I think it is that you always wanted to be an engineer on the railroad or a conductor that yells "All Aboard'
LOL What a wonderful thought!
Many a little boy, back in my era, dreamed of cowboys and Indians, or fighter pilots, or army, and yes train engineers. Imagination! What a wondrous thing!
Thanks for the thought!
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