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General Category => Chat room => Topic started by: RhB_HJ on February 24, 2013, 09:08:45 PM

Title: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on February 24, 2013, 09:08:45 PM
Nah, not the 1:1 stuff; the 1:87 stuff on that l-a-r-g-e layout. Today I'll take my P&S cam, for those times in between when I'm waiting for clearance.  ;)  :)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on February 25, 2013, 06:21:17 PM
It was interesting, but running a manifest that has setouts and lifts along the way sure didn't leave a lot of time for the railfanning. That and motive power quitting, sheesh it was just like the proto.  ??? :o ???
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: kimbo on February 26, 2013, 12:37:35 PM
I feel cheated!  ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 29, 2013, 12:51:59 AM
Yesterday was railfanning day - high time since even the software knows that it has been more than four month!  :o :o

Left at 06:00, got back at 22:00 i.e. it was a "double shift". At the tailend was this bit

http://vimeo.com/71207285

I gave the engineer the thumps-up when they left "Thompson", he was pretty disgusted with what happened. I could tell from the exchange between the crew and RTC in Calgary.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 29, 2013, 02:02:01 AM
Hmm. Too bad! And one of the originating crew was a cute blonde :^) I think I read somewhere that one shall not p*** off members of the fairer sex. Something to do with dying alone and horny at the age of 70 (max). Hehehehehe...
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 29, 2013, 02:18:59 AM
The blonde isn't doing the maintenance on these engines. My story since 1969, when running diesels alway run one extra, chances are you'll need it.  ;) ::)
They are shaving  things pretty close, extra tonnage and sharp calculation of the HP required. It was funny listening to the conversation between RTC and the crew. There were sveral "I'll check back with you in a moment" on the RTC end. When the engineer said that one engine wouldn't make it the rest of the way including pushing the "dead horse"I seem to remember that someone asked "Are you sure??"

Why would he be, he's just the engineer.  ::) ::) ::)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 29, 2013, 02:47:08 AM
Ya think the lunk-head on the RTC  end will ever get a date with her? Nooooot too likely! :^)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 29, 2013, 08:01:39 PM
While waiting for the partially disabled train a Westbound came down the canyon.

http://vimeo.com/71259601 (http://vimeo.com/71259601)

Earlier that day farther up in the Canyon I caught two Eastbound trains, a short CN Intermodal

http://vimeo.com/71263680 (http://vimeo.com/71263680)

and a DPUed CP coal empty

http://vimeo.com/71269627 (http://vimeo.com/71269627)

The first train on Saturday was the grain unit train that was just leaving Geddis when I got there. 180º and back to Ducks.

http://vimeo.com/71274523 (http://vimeo.com/71274523)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 29, 2013, 11:55:47 PM
Two more, but that's it until Friday when I get another 5Gig of upload space.

From the Kamloops pedestrian overpass

http://vimeo.com/71282473 (http://vimeo.com/71282473)

And this one across the Nicaomen bridge

http://vimeo.com/71289992 (http://vimeo.com/71289992)

The short of the long story? Even the short trains are kind of long for a layout, eh!?!
Precisely the reason I picked a specific railway, a specific era and a specific portion of that railway.  ;) ;) :)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 30, 2013, 12:39:43 AM
Today it was the Swiss trying to destroy public confidence in the railroads. Pretty soon I'm going to start to look closely at airlines as the source of the issues. Or maybe they're retaliating against the railroads causing air crashes? :^)o
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on July 30, 2013, 05:40:47 AM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on July 29, 2013, 11:55:47 PM
Two more, but that's it until Friday when I get another 5Gig of upload space.


The drought is over.  I thank you....
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 30, 2013, 05:55:37 AM
You're welcome, I was getting withdrawal symptoms. Too wet or too hot; it's not easy being a railfan. ;) There's a long weekend coming up with plenty of yahoos out on the road. OTOH the cops will be out, too, that could help.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on July 30, 2013, 05:48:49 PM
I do have two comments (well, one comment and one question).

1.  "A bear and a train" was a misleading title.  I expected to see to see them both in the same frames (preferably without any track kill).
2.  In the car trip on the Transcanada highway, there were a number of overpasses that had no roads leading up to them.  I assume those were animal crossings?

I gotta get a life....  :-[
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 30, 2013, 06:00:44 PM
1. It's general practice in the media. ::) :P  ;D
2. Yes, the TCH is fenced through large portions of the National Parks, which somehow still doesn't prevent elk from getting into the road corridor.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 30, 2013, 06:53:35 PM
Mike, I don't know about Connecticut, but in Ohio we have any number of animal overpasses. They put them along the interstates to try to keep down the number of car-deer incidents. Sometimes it may even work, although it doesn't seem to cut down on the number of reported accidents. I guess I'm thankful it's not elk, caribou, and bears that are the intended opponents.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 31, 2013, 02:12:34 AM
The forecast is for 81º on Thursday, sun and cloud. The plan is railfanning. It's a long weekend coming up, I'll get out there before the wild hordes on Friday.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on July 31, 2013, 02:24:06 AM
Quote from: Jeff on July 30, 2013, 06:53:35 PM
Mike, I don't know about Connecticut, but in Ohio we have any number of animal overpasses. They put them along the interstates to try to keep down the number of car-deer incidents. Sometimes it may even work, although it doesn't seem to cut down on the number of reported accidents. I guess I'm thankful it's not elk, caribou, and bears that are the intended opponents.


I don't know of any in Connecticut.  But it's as HJ sez....  Our deer (no elk here) don't even know to look for the deer crossing signs to know where they should cross the highways....
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 31, 2013, 03:50:15 PM
Speaking of that, I recall hearing some lady complain about that very thing on a radio talk show. She was complaining about the waste of taxpayer money putting up all those signs that the deer were ignoring anyway...

A faked recording? Unfortunately, I'm not at all sure. Once in a while I watch a show called Love It Or List It and some of the things I've heard people say leave me willing to consider that lady's complaint real, at least. It's also made me very(!) wary of ever buying any house over 20 years old :). I've seen things like a house that had no support for the front wall and roofs so rotted that you can push them up with one hand.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on July 31, 2013, 05:55:40 PM
My favorite roadside sign published by our DOT is one that says "Permitted Loads Prohibited" on the approach to many of the bridges.

Actually, what sounds like a complete contradiction makes sense: vehicles carrying loads that require special permits, (e.g., explosives), are prohibited from using the bridge.  Other states' signs make more sense.  They signs say "Hazmats prohibited" - which, I guess, means those vehicles that hazn't mats are okay.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 31, 2013, 06:41:28 PM
The one I love is rolling past the signs that say "Caution - Bridge may be icy" on a day on the hotter side of 95F.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on July 31, 2013, 07:56:36 PM
I believe it was two years back when they had a funny item on the radio. Everyone who has driven through a National Park knows that the speed limit is max 90kmh. Clearly posted and repeated. Our neighbourly people from Alberta tend to take that as a recommendation and on Hwy 93 there are a lot of straight stretches through Kootenay NP.
The RCMP nails those guys on a regular basis, impounding the cars on the spot out in the middle of bear country. Sooooo the mayor of Radium Hot Springs felt that was no way to treat her temporary residents, bad for business. ;D ;D ;D

Frankly, I couldn't believe it. She must be just as dense (or denser!) as the speeders.  And you guys thought deer didn't obey the signs? Well people don't pay attention either. Oh the worst speeders last Saturday, with some interesting situations, were the women. No idea where they were going, but they sure were hot.  ::) ;D ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on July 31, 2013, 08:14:49 PM
"but they sure were hot.  ::) ;D ;D"

Tsk, tsk! I didn't think you were interested in anything that doesn't have at least 4 wheels and some rail... :)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 02, 2013, 05:47:13 AM
Trying to beat the crowd getting on the road? Didn't quite work, there were times when getting in and out of the flow was "interesting". But lots of good video and friendly train crews.  ;)  :D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 02, 2013, 09:02:55 AM
I await with baited breadth.

(Yes, that was deliberate.  I know that refers to worms on wide hooks, and not excitement - unless worms on wide hooks get one excited, I suppose....)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 02, 2013, 12:33:11 PM
Yeah, I saw quite a few people who were fishing in the lakes and rivers. And then there was the RCMP fishing for suckers, very neat radar setup at a Park Entrance info booth with plenty of people taking it as a temporary Park Pass checkpoint - either that or they were just in a hurry.  ;D ;D :o

While I couldn't avoid the heavy traffic, I avoided the rain and the thunderstorms. At least until I was back in the Okanagan; branches, shrubbery and other fine stuff on the road. It must have been interesting, too bad I missed it.  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 02, 2013, 10:21:47 PM
Leftovers from last week

River rafting and trains
http://vimeo.com/71587039 (http://vimeo.com/71587039)

Another coal empties
http://vimeo.com/71599608 (http://vimeo.com/71599608)
There were two coal empties following each other, wondered how that would fly farther east.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 03, 2013, 03:39:36 AM
The first at 09:30 yesterday

http://vimeo.com/71602983 (http://vimeo.com/71602983)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 04, 2013, 06:27:24 PM
The same potash train coming through Salmon Arm

http://vimeo.com/71635105 (http://vimeo.com/71635105)

The plan was to follow it to Revelstoke .... however  .... CP 9591 East was stuck behind CP 8501 East. Which in turn was stuck at the swing bridge (officially a Drawbridge) at Sicamous, from where I chased it to Glacier - summit of the Rogers Pass line.

http://vimeo.com/71650758  (http://vimeo.com/71650758)

BTW they were in Notch 8 coming through Greely, having a good run at the hill!

Waiting for 8501 East, 8733 West snuck up on me. Didn't expect him to come down the hill, since the chatter was about the gates in the tunnel being opened. Hmmm.

http://vimeo.com/71683637 (http://vimeo.com/71683637)

Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 05, 2013, 04:39:34 PM
From drought to flood!!!!  :D :D :D :D

(I still gotta get a life but a flood will do, in the meantime. :( )

Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 05, 2013, 06:29:03 PM
I'll get out there as often as possible - weather and other projects permitting. Friday is the " official" railfanning day, but that can change in a flash when I look at the weather forecast or consider the potential traffic on a given route.  ;) :)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 07, 2013, 02:42:46 AM
This is what's left of a big coaling tower in the western side of Youngstown, OH. The area is the approach to several (closed) steel mills and a couple of much newer industrial plants (probably automotive). That spot has what is the most complicated and interesting track arrangement I've ever seen. A lot of it is gone now, as they rip up the old yard(s) and reuse the old right of way to lay out new track.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 07, 2013, 02:52:02 AM
I've heard of cars flipping on their side when they derail, but this is the first time I've seen a coaling tower (not to mention the track and the earth itself) flip on *it's* side.  That must have been a heckuva derailment.

I'm glad they got it righted between pics.... ;D ;) :)

(Added by edit:  I just noticed that, judging from the pic numbers, it rolled over between pictures, not the other way....)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 07, 2013, 02:57:33 AM
Ooooh, I figgered I'd push it over, for those who are not so talented with photo software... :D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 08, 2013, 02:35:55 AM
SWMBO called from town "I'm stuck at the library because the train is going by", I still had to shower etc. but man was I out of this place in a flash! The Train was the second to last of the outfit that went into receivership. One more next week but I figured what's on the chip is on the chip. Besides I had a nice chat with the engineer while they were switching one of the big plywood plants. Then I hustled off to the "perfect" spot and waited for a good long while. but it was worth the wait. Five GP8s dragging eighty cars up a substantial grade.
Of course it was hot! About 90ºF and I'm sure a bit warmer in the sun where I was sitting - under an umbrella.  :P  :P
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 08, 2013, 08:17:18 AM
Pictures at 11?
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 08, 2013, 02:24:19 PM
He didn't say he took any :)  He's obviously your typical European train spotter...
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 08, 2013, 03:32:41 PM
Yeah right.  ::) ::)
Why would I shoot pictures if I can shoot video, eh?

BTW I'm seriously considering to get a second HD camcorder which (supposedly) also delivers 20meg stills and can do U-stream.  :P :P
Naturally I can also excerpt stills from my other camcorders, but 20meg sounds really High-Class. ;D ;D

The downside? I missed a whole day of work in the garden.  :( :(
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 08, 2013, 03:40:57 PM
I forgot, Train-Spotting came up the other day out along the line. I gently pointed out to the gentleman that Trainspotters are interested in every single car number, engine number and who-knows-what-all.
I'm interested in: trains, interesting locations, different angles and nice scenery to go with it. If one would like - and after due consideration - I could also serve fries with that, but so far people like the train videos just fine as served.  :P ::) ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 08, 2013, 08:17:29 PM
Oh, you take fine videos. The trains themselves (with the exception of the engines) are just plain insomnia cure medicine. Such is today's world of unit-trains :[ . Thank goodness for the Good Old Days! There were things to watch, even on this side of the Atlantic. I remember when the first Conrail U23-B's moved into our area for use as road switchers.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 08, 2013, 09:14:52 PM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on August 08, 2013, 03:40:57 PM
I forgot, Train-Spotting came up the other day out along the line. I gently pointed out to the gentleman that Trainspotters are interested in every single car number, engine number and who-knows-what-all.
I'm interested in: trains, interesting locations, different angles and nice scenery to go with it. If one would like - and after due consideration - I could also serve fries with that, but so far people like the train videos just fine as served.  :P ::) ;D

Talk is cheap.  Links to video matter....  :)

First rule of train-spotting:  Talking about train-spotting is like talking about fishing.  If you didn't capture it on film, it never really happened.  ;)

But then, unlike Jeff, I gotta get a life before I use this one up....
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 08, 2013, 10:10:29 PM
Just for you Mike (and all the subscribers of my Channel on YT)
KPR -- The Last Hurray?? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga7KWgKyxsY&feature=c4-overview&list=UUogmG1qLwzIIiCFETgRJ7Bw)

80 cars in that consist, count them!  :P :P
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 09, 2013, 12:50:35 AM
And a glitch in the video.
http://youtu.be/Ma_0H4pbDWM (http://youtu.be/Ma_0H4pbDWM)
Today I'm having "fun" between YouTube, Facebook and Cyberlink. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 09, 2013, 06:03:24 PM
No.... I didn't count the cars.  I'd started to twice before the grade crossing and you cut those scenes before the entire train passed.... :(

BTW, doesn't the engineer know how to signal for a crossing?  It's two longs, a short and a long - not three longs.  (The *only* signal I actually know.)  I guess, with only one more trip, it's probably too late to mention it to him (or her), huh?

I really, really need to get a life. (But it could be worse... I could have rerun the crossing segment once I knew I'd see the entire train pass).... ???

(BTW, thanks again for helping me kill time until I get one.)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 09, 2013, 07:46:18 PM
Don't feel too bad, Mike, the horn signals change per country. It used to be per railroad, but the AAR changed that as trains became able to travel cross-country.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 09, 2013, 11:08:16 PM
Quote from: Jeff on August 09, 2013, 07:46:18 PM
Don't feel too bad, Mike, the horn signals change per country. It used to be per railroad, but the AAR changed that as trains became able to travel cross-country.


That hadn't occurred to me, so I checked.... And Canada's nationally mandated horn signal for a crossing (http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/railsafety/rules-tco93-163.htm) is ..... two longs, a short, and a long.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 10, 2013, 12:14:16 AM
:-) Ok, I can go along with that. Still, we don't really know what he was blowing that horn at. I suspect that any engineer who didn't complete the warning until AFTER he passed the crossing should have some explaining to do... So... Anyone for seagulls or Humboldt's Squids on the track?
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 10, 2013, 12:15:31 AM
Soooooo what's your point?  :P  :P  ;D  ;D  I don't believe that some yahoo would say "I didn't hear him, I didn't see him and he moved much too fast!"  :D  :D :D

BTW I finally broke down and I'm compiling lists of what I uploaded where and what still needs to be uploaded to YouTube.  ::)  ::)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 10, 2013, 12:25:08 AM
Ah, the point was that the warning horn sounded well past the crossing, so what we heard may not have been the crossing warning (2xlong, 1xshort, 1xlong). Lacking a wide view, we can't really say what it WAS about.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 13, 2013, 01:00:34 AM
Well, this is how it works in the videos I shoot: what you see is what you get i.e. while I have a second camera and I could do p-i-p, it's not gonna happen.
BTW great day on Saturday; 04:30 til 22:00, lots of good stuff. Some of it is already up at http://vimeo.com/hjmueller, with plenty more to come, some of it even from the previous shoot.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 13, 2013, 01:58:21 AM
Always good to see your pix. Hey, some day you should try model railroading for a hobby :) :D :)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 13, 2013, 03:12:58 AM
Hehehe
I have a rather full life; enough hobbies to keep things very interesting and balanced. At times a bit hectic but never boring.

Three of today's comments on my videos:

QuoteCool video, I love you're videos! thumbs up!

QuoteThe rocky mountaineer is a magnificent train thank you for this vid

QuoteNice job and congrats on 100 videos!

Looks like some .... ah, never mind.  :P :-X :-X
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on August 13, 2013, 03:18:51 PM
I happen to agree with the comments :) I wish that there was more going on in my area. About all one can find is a daily tramp freight of 2 - 6 cars that runs between here and a town or two further into the sticks. Once in a long while I can watch a 30 car train of covered hoppers, mostly during harvest time. The biggest issue is trying to find out when something is going to happen before it does. Getting to the right spot can take a while. The best place for spotting a heavy train is an 8 mile hill that is so far away from roads that there aren't even any farms along the line.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 13, 2013, 04:33:34 PM
Nice to see I'm not the only one who needs to get a life.



Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on August 13, 2013, 09:07:17 PM
snicker, snicker!  :P  :P

About all that rock and the ballast and the lack of pictures ..... when I signed up for the forum I also added the links in the footer.
For those who are quite nosy; you go to my hobby website, on the home page it lists IP and webcams. The IP cams require a password, if you're that nosy send me an e-mail or PM. It's that simple.  :D  :D  :o
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on August 13, 2013, 10:15:11 PM
hj,

I've seen the web cam pic - even located your neighborhood from one shot across the lake (don't worry, Google resolution wasn't good enough to find a yard full of nothing but rocks, trains and a film studio where you can edit your back yard trains onto CN tracks up and down the Fraser River.  My only question is how you got a green screen big enough to put behind 1:1 scale, 80 car trains).

I also seem to remember a video of your actual trains running.

But if you think I'm gonna let the facts stand in the way of a good story, guess again....  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 04, 2013, 04:40:35 PM
Went down the valley with our German guests to the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. Perfect day!

First video coming off two different cams, the Sony is PAL and combining that with the NTSC off my Panasonic is not too bad, as long as it isn't on TV.

http://youtu.be/TDPKAM_5x_g (http://youtu.be/TDPKAM_5x_g)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 06, 2013, 12:08:34 AM
Tomorrow morning we'll be off on a six day trip through the mountains. Except for one bit between Jasper and Lake Louise it's always along the railroad.  8) 8) 8) :P
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on September 06, 2013, 12:23:04 AM
You'll have to prove it.... You know how (unless you have some old footage you haven't posted anywhere, yet....)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 12, 2013, 07:05:44 PM
We're back! Lots of fun, good weather, lots of trains .... and ..... I bought an additional Panasonic HD cam - naturally the batteries from the older model will fit this one, too.
If I play it right I'll be providing selected videos for railfan tourists.

Also bought a ......
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 13, 2013, 05:22:01 AM
First two of many

http://vimeo.com/74419576 (http://vimeo.com/74419576)

http://vimeo.com/74426758 (http://vimeo.com/74426758)

Six days in a row is almost like ..... ah never mind! ;) ;D ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 14, 2013, 03:44:27 PM
I'll be out there today, relaxing according to my own schedule. Right now the weather is absolutely phantastic, not so good starting Monday. That means I'll get to editing tons of video.  ;)  ;)

Some interesting encounters along the "Mueller's dumb luck" routine.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 01:19:42 AM
The rest of the first day on the circle tour

http://vimeo.com/74582263 (http://vimeo.com/74582263)

http://vimeo.com/74589038 (http://vimeo.com/74589038)

http://vimeo.com/74596512 (http://vimeo.com/74596512)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on September 17, 2013, 02:51:26 AM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 01:19:42 AM

http://vimeo.com/74596512 (http://vimeo.com/74596512)


At the risk of stealing Jeff's job nit-picking (just sayin' what he says his job is), the video says it's Via Rail #1 heading east, but the caption says it's Via Rail #2 which would be heading west).  Luckily, I suspect the video is correct.

Next long trip is gonna be The Canadian whole hog and the Rocky Mountaineer triangle - Gold service the whole way - right after I win the lottery jackpot......
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 04:25:40 AM
Quote from: Mike from CT on September 17, 2013, 02:51:26 AM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 01:19:42 AM

http://vimeo.com/74596512 (http://vimeo.com/74596512)


At the risk of stealing Jeff's job nit-picking (just sayin' what he says his job is), the video says it's Via Rail #1 heading east, but the caption says it's Via Rail #2. Luckily, I suspect the video is correct.

Next long trip is gonna be The Canadian whole hog and the Rocky Mountaineer triangle - Gold service the whole way - right after I win the lottery jackpot......
Actually it's the Westbound #1. ;) :) The text has already been corrected.

If you win that jackpot here is a nice opportunity   http://www.uniqueestateforsale.com/index.html (http://www.uniqueestateforsale.com/index.html) The trains are perfect for "older" people.  ;D :P ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on September 17, 2013, 04:55:40 AM
Serious question for the only person here who'd have a clue....

Is it better (more scenic through the Rockies during daylight hours) to take #1 westbound or #2 eastbound?  Or doesn't it matter?  [I ask because we screwed up taking the Empire Builder westbound.]

I'm getting serious about (at least large portions of) this trip, winning the lottery or not.  I spent 18 days circumnavigating the US on Amtrak (with a couple of layovers), so I know what I'm getting into.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on September 17, 2013, 05:15:25 AM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 04:25:40 AM
<snip>
If you win that jackpot here is a nice opportunity   http://www.uniqueestateforsale.com/index.html (http://www.uniqueestateforsale.com/index.html) The trains are perfect for "older" people.  ;D :P ;D

Piffle, it's only $3.5 million.  For that I can get (and modify) a private 1:1 scale rail car to Amtrak standards and ride 1:1 scale trains around the entire country continent for a couple of years, instead of miniatures around a mere 19+ acres.  Probably even get a second car to house an N-scale layout on those trips.  (Anyone have plans for a roughly 70'x10' space?)

As for "older people", I saw your birth year, young 'un....  :P :)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 05:25:06 PM
Quote from: Mike from CT on September 17, 2013, 04:55:40 AM
Serious question for the only person here who'd have a clue....

Is it better (more scenic through the Rockies during daylight hours) to take #1 westbound or #2 eastbound?  Or doesn't it matter?  [I ask because we screwed up taking the Empire Builder westbound.]

..........

#2 Eastbound; while you miss the good views through Fraser and Thompson Canyon, since the train leaves at 20:30 and gets to Kamloops at 06:00, you at best get the section between Spences Bridge and Kamloops as day breaks (but only in late June and early July). But you get all daylight between Kamloops and Jasper; a bit more after the service stop at Jasper going out to Hinton. After that it is "on to the prairies".
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on September 17, 2013, 09:24:20 PM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on September 17, 2013, 05:25:06 PM

#2 Eastbound; while you miss the good views through Fraser and Thompson Canyon, since the train leaves at 20:30 and gets to Kamloops at 06:00, you at best get the section between Spences Bridge and Kamloops as day breaks (but only in late June and early July). But you get all daylight between Kamloops and Jasper; a bit more after the service stop at Jasper going out to Hinton. After that it is "on to the prairies".

Thanks.  And I'll get the trip Vancouver to Kamloops (or vice versa) during the day on the RM -sooner or later I *am* going to do that loop, as well.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on September 29, 2013, 08:48:36 PM
Thursday was a perfect railfanning day.

http://vimeo.com/75668226 (http://vimeo.com/75668226)

It was also inauguration day for my new Panasonic HC-V720 camcorder. In the above video listen to the echo in the second clip in the canyon east of Ashcroft. If Jeff had any doubts about the official crossing signal routine in Canada that should fix it.  :P :P
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on October 03, 2013, 02:23:20 AM
It probably gets bumped unless the weather smartens up in a big way. Would be nice to get some early morning fog, then turning to sunshine. Here's hoping!  :D :D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 03, 2013, 07:27:41 PM
Sunday 2013/12/01 was railfanning day. Canadian National Railway decided that they will be running the service on the Okanagan and Lumby Sub. They had KPR - a now defunct/bankrupt shortline - run it for a few years.
CN had to do a lot of work on the RoW before resuming operations. Anyway Sunday was the first CN train coming back to the Valley. Video to follow!
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Jeff on December 04, 2013, 12:39:46 AM
Much better day, no doubt, than Metro-North had in the Bronx this weekend. Since I know the line and that track personally, I can tell everyone that NOTHING should be traveling 82 mph there except the sound of the horn. They will probably take the engineer out and shoot him with the other Thanksgiving turkeys, as is proper.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 04, 2013, 07:48:04 PM
He was in a daze.  ::) :o  :-[

Anyway, no casualties on our trip. 

http://vimeo.com/80961236 (http://vimeo.com/80961236)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 10, 2013, 04:01:10 PM
It has been so cold for the last 5 days that I made time for video editing, stuff that dates back to September .... sunshine and warm days.

https://vimeo.com/hjmueller/videos

Anything newer than the CN 3027 trip.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 14, 2013, 05:45:26 PM
I upload to Vimeo and YouTube, Vimeo is 1080p.  Anyway here's the meet of two long Intermodals at Lake Louise.

http://youtu.be/T2v5UMiBk60  (http://youtu.be/T2v5UMiBk60)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 17, 2013, 02:56:16 PM
Sunday/Monday was railfanning time, BIG time! Sunday chasing the CP Rail Holiday Train between Spences Bridge and North Bend — 48.7 miles for the train, a bit more on the road since one can't turn on the spot to be in the right shooting position. There were about 10-12 people chasing in quite a few vehicles. Knowing the "good spots" came in very handy.  ;D ;D
Monday was back to the usual freights — due to track maintenance it was only eastbound traffic, but approprietly on the line the Holiday Train used the day before while running against the traffic. Main actor: a 152 car Coal empties along 100 miles of rail through Fraser and Thompson canyons. Video coming up.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 17, 2013, 11:11:08 PM
I'm just starting on editing the Holiday Train. Ok so I decided that this was the year for "Down the Canyons", but it sure looks odd without the snow. Oh well! ;) :-\
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on December 18, 2013, 10:12:48 AM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on December 17, 2013, 11:11:08 PM
I'm just starting on editing the Holiday Train. Ok so I decided that this was the year for "Down the Canyons", but it sure looks odd without the snow. Oh well! ;) :-\

STOP PRESSES!!!!!

There are *two* holiday trains run by CP.  A Canadian one (that runs from Montreal to Vancouver) and a US one that covers much of the midwest before returning to Saskatchewan to "summer over".  Model Railroader's Video Plus (paid subscription req'd) has video of the US one, with bits and pieces of the concert in Milwaukee and interviews during an on-board trip from Milwaukee.  Except for one scene of it running through a crossing at night, somewhere outside of Madison, HJ's video from last year was better (and cheaper to watch).

Trivia 101 from the interviews:  The locos used on each train are the same each year, but they do regular service the rest of the year.  I know ya'll wanted to know that....
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 18, 2013, 03:59:24 PM
 :P :P :P

You know how it is, MR can't possibly afford a shooting budget like mine.  :P :o ;D ;D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 19, 2013, 01:47:34 AM
OK, here's the 2013 edition of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.

http://youtu.be/7yl7MxSYIEE (http://youtu.be/7yl7MxSYIEE)

Chased it between Spences Bridge and North Bend; west of North Bend the rain started and it was dark anyway. Overnight I stayed in Hope and Monday I chased more trains. More videos coming up.
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: Mike from CT on December 19, 2013, 02:11:38 AM
Quote from: RhB_HJ on December 19, 2013, 01:47:34 AM
OK, here's the 2013 edition of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.

http://youtu.be/7yl7MxSYIEE (http://youtu.be/7yl7MxSYIEE)

Chased it between Spences Bridge and North Bend; west of North Bend the rain started and it was dark anyway. Overnight I stayed in Hope and Monday I chased more trains. More videos coming up.


Didn't take long for someone to claim copyright infringement (at least in "my country") and block your video, HJ..... :(
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 19, 2013, 05:21:48 AM
It's the background music, YouTube warned about that. However the Vimeo copy is just about ready and .... usually better quality in any case.

QuoteYour video may include a song owned by a third party. For example, this might be a song playing in the background or someone performing a song.

To hear the matched song please play the video on the right. The video will play from the point where the matched content was identified.
Your video is blocked in some countries.

What is kind of funny, 2009, 2011 and 2012 all have background music in addition to the onstage performances. I guess that was then and this is now.  ;)   ;)  ;D   
On another note, this is the first time I maxed out my 5G upload space on Vimeo to 99%.
OK here's the one on Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/82254107 (http://vimeo.com/82254107)
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 20, 2013, 05:53:10 PM
Monday was "Freight day"

http://youtu.be/VHlUAlk-XoY (http://youtu.be/VHlUAlk-XoY) Chasing it up the canyons.

http://youtu.be/OCwi2-iUwEg (http://youtu.be/OCwi2-iUwEg) Crew change and Roll-By of a grain train at North Bend.

Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on December 25, 2013, 12:26:05 AM
Towards the end of the year I do a lot of tidying e.g. move the accumulation of uploaded video to an external drive. To get some room on the main drives.  ::)  ::)  ;)
BTW since we got that Smart TV I can also do better quality control. Much easier to see what can/could/should be handled in a more pleasing fashion. That leads invariably to "New Years resolutions" e.g. always write down the mile locations while shooting. For some (strange  ???) reason viewers want to know.

And then I clean up my extensive AR folder, too!  :o :D
Title: Re: It's railfanning day
Post by: RhB_HJ on October 11, 2014, 06:08:43 PM
Sunday 2014/10/05 was a SUPER day. Perfect weather and lots of trains. Result: 15 videos from Thompson Canyon. Check them out at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheOldRailfan (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheOldRailfan)