Inbound KY Derby OCS on a Sunday Morning

[E.M. Bell]

Its funny that as photographers we go through life praying for days with no clouds and perfect sun, and most of the time dont get it.  Then on the other hand, there are times when clouds or fog are a good thing, and you pray for  those conditions, and DONT get it...today was a prime example of that. 

The Louisville District of the Central Div runs almost perfectly East/West except for the extreme East end of it,  meaning that most times of the year, Eastbounds are what you want to shoot given the position of the sun.  With the inbound Derby OCS running towards Louisville  this morning, it would be coming out of the sun the whole trip, hence the wish for a cloudy day...fog...anything to filter the sun!!  Alas, the day dawned clear and cool, so I knew my options would be limited.  Luckily I know the area well enough to know where the track twists and curves enough to get some sidelight, and in a couple of places, nose light for a Westbound.


The day started at 0400 with a call from a buddy up North saying the train was out and running from Cincinnati and making dang good time.  I already had the cameras ready to go, tripod ready, and I was out the door about 0430 headed for the Wye at Danville (KY) .  The train arrived around 0510 and a fuel truck got right to work on the power while the crews swapped out.   For the next hour, I had it all to myself in the stillness of the Boyle county morning.

Lead Unit 4270 looks like a ghost from the past as Southbound 175 sneaks up from behind providing a little light.  Even in the dark, there is no mistaking that classic F unit outline...modern power doesn't even come close!!



A soft silhouette of that EMD bulldog nose during the crew swap. 



Shortly before the 955 departed the wye, A Northbound 116 left Danville and slowly passed them on #1 track, providing me with some good light.  I had been wanting to shoot these things at night since they appeared on the scene last year, and my hunch  off that a NB would light them up was right...getting up early payed off. 





DID YA HEAR IT????? The crack of dawn at West Talmage KY as 955 gets ready to take the hole to meet Two Eastbounds. 



The OCS sat in the siding at Talmage for about 45 minutes, allowing the sun to get up a little more.  I chose a spot just down the road from my house for what would be the only "good light" of the day.  Here, 955 passes through Salvisa KY at 0720





I hustled on West to Waddy, and met up with Linton and Alex Moss near the firehouse.  By this time, the sun was high enough to pretty much ruin this shot, and I made up my mind that I was done..no use wasting the gas for more backlit shots.  It WAS worth the drive to to Waddy though, just to stand at the top of the hill and listen to those 4 F units drag the train up Waddy hill in #8 throttle...Sunday morning coming down...indeed..

[alxmoss1992]

Hey Emmett,
Yea man thanks for the call. Also your photos are good. Mine didnt turn out good at all. But I did meet up with Charlie Buccola at Simpsonville and took some shots of it at an overpass. Im kinda disappointed my photos didnt turn out...But I still have next week!

[Chris7092]

Very nice, especially those night shots!

Chris
K8CRQ