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This will be my first image post on this site. I was told that there are a number of train fans on this forum so I'll post this.
The train image was taken a few years ago in Yreka, CA. It's the Yreka Western Railroad train pulling out of the station. It was a chance encounter and I jumped out of the car and took a few quick shots. When I developed the shot with the software I had at the time I was unimpressed and the image languished in my archives. Many consecutive rainy days forced me into my archives to play with some old images. I found this one and developed it fram RAW using Lightroom 2 and CS4. This time I was able to separate the engine's smoke/steam from the background cloudy sky and the image took on a new life for me.
Sadly, the Yreka Western Railroad is not running today. According to its website, it suffered a number of setbacks and with the poor economy and reduced tourism the train is not currently running and the future is uncertain.
I should apologize for the name/logo in the lower right corner of the image. The provider I use to host my website recently modified the slideshow display to full screen. It looks great but with a screen print someone could obtain a useable image. Since my website is, in part, a commercial venture I didn't want to be in competition with my own images so I placed the watermark on my image to (for what it's worth) discourage piracy. To compromise, I put the watermark in a corner.
Yes, Moses Lake. I've run across a Nelson or two, but don't know any of them except in passing. I drove school bus in the Cascade Valley for 10 years and all the kids know me, so he might have heard of me, without the photography attachment.
Yeah, I am quite familiar with this old girl. I am friends with a few of her volunteers that keep me apprised of her cleanings, maintenance and progress on an almost daily basis, too.
She is sweet, but admittedly only my second favorite logger engine. My first being the McCloud 25. I want to buy her as soon I hit the powerball.
Bummers. Mr Forbis finally found a buyer? NOT FAIR!!!! I was saving up! LOL!!
Here is my shot of her as she was being put away after her last excursion run 11/08.
In fact, here is a gallery of my shots of nothing but the 19 and the 25. There is even a shot of me sitting on 25's sandbox as we took the hill on her last excursion run. I distinctly remember telling Malen I had dibs on her. What girl doesn't want her own prairie steamer?
Actually, if I won the Powerball I was going to buy the 25 for my boyfriend since he got his start driving for the McCloud Railroad long ago and really loves that railroad. It breaks his heart seeing what has been happening over the years.
Do you have any shots of the McCloud engines? Any of their SD's when they were in red/white?
I didn't start photographing trains until recently. I wish I had started earlier. I have a vew shots of train cars on the tracks in McCloud and one of the "Pumpkin Train" which they still run but it's not a steam train and not very aesthetic. None of the shots were good enough in my opinion to put in the train gallery on my website or the McCloud gallery for that matter.
I'm showing in the Brown Dog Gallery in McCloud and visit the town often when we are up there. I shot a lot of pics of the town for a lady who grew up there. She only bought one but I had so many pictures I built a gallery of McCloud shots on my website. I let local businesses use my images for free if it's for brochures to attract tourists or promote business. Small town American needs all the help it can get.
BTW, the town of Dunsmuir is a historic train town. It used to have quite a station there and a roundhouse which I saw once when I was a kid. There's not much going on there train-wise now but the town is proud of its train history. I'm in a gallery there called the Brown Trout and they bought a bunch of my train T-shirts with the words "Dunsmuir California". Here's what they bought: http://www.chucknelsonphotography.com/p485545084/e2eef769f The local galleries like images with a local flavor so I was hoping to market to that desire. I've sold a few train photos with local scenery in Dunsmuir.
You might try to catch the Pumpkin Train in McCloud next year in October...with the connections your boyfriend has you might get in some better places to get some decent shots.
Your train shots on the links you provided are WONDERFUL. Made me jealous of your inside track (a little train lingo there) but you took advantage of your access with excellent photography. Thanks for sharing those.
Let's hope some rich person infuses the Yreka Railroad with cash and gets it rolling again. If it rolls again I will be waiting with camera in hand.
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