The weather forecasters were calling for increasing clouds yesterday, giving way to rain. When I got up Wednesday morning, I was greeted by some pretty sunshine, and not many clouds. So I figured I’d take advantage of the nice morning light, and shoot a little before heading into the office. I set my sights on Bound Brook station – it’s easy to get to, plenty of parking, and the angles are decent – what I’ve called the “low hanging fruit” of the area, so to speak. In the short time I was there I only caught three trains – one was a NJ Transit run, one was a stopped freight, and the other was a complete – and pleasant – surprise.
When I was walking out to the far platform I noticed a train stopped on the Lehigh Line – not ideal, but it’s better than open tracks and red signals. At least the light was nice for now – there were some thick clouds to the west. Only question was which track was he stopped on?
As I got out to the platform, NS train 19G was sitting on the far track – which was just fine. While walking through the tunnel I was afraid they’d be sitting on the near track, obscuring the view of whatever they were stopped for. Off to a decent start, I guess.
So I got one shot of 19G sitting there, with a trio of headlights in the distance. I guess that’s what he was waiting for.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113722]Now if the light would last…
Well, it didn’t. By the time the eastbound got to CP-BOUND BROOK (in talking to another visiting fan there Kevin, the symbol was NS 048), the clouds moved in, and the light faded quite a bit. But as usual, little details like that don’t stop me. Just up the ISO and keep shooting. A couple shots as the train approaches the interlocking
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113721] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113720]Then a couple as they approached where I was standing
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113719] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113718]But something looked odd with the cars behind the engine – they almost looked like passenger cars…hmmm….
With just the power visible, I got a couple wide shots of them rolling past (with Kevin in the frame). BTW, at this point, 19G got the green signal, and was beginning to pull west.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113717] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113716]Then as the power passed by, it became obvious what was behind the engines – it was the James E. Strates Carnival train! They’re on their way up to the show in Danbury, CT – kinda weird that as a resident of the Nutmeg State, I caught them here in New Jersey. Anyways, I snapped a bunch of shots as they passed, trying to show the different cars and trucks on the train.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113715] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113714] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113713] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113712] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113711] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113710] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113709] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113708] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113707] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113706] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113705] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113704]With the Strates train out of sight, it was time to turn my attention back to 19G as they were rolling past. I got one shot of them rolling past Kevin getting his video
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113703]And a pan shot of a couple covered hoppers, which look a lot like the loads the NECR pulls out of the AES Thames power plant in Montville, CT (this would make sense – I believe the fly ash they ship out heads to the midwest, I’m just not sure if it goes out on CSX or NS).
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113702]And finally one shot of an approaching NJ Transit train before I left.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113701]Not a bad 20 or so minutes at the station. Nice way to start off the day.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
