Western Railroad Discussion > Marine Railfan

So your're in the Marine Corp. You like trains. So once in a while, when you see one, you just have to go down and get close.  It's easy, I've done it (That's another story).  To slow down, you 'dirty up', like this guy.  His angle of attack indicator shows him a little flat for a carrier style landing, but he's getting a good view.  South Seattle.

Ed

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Nice! part of MCRD San Diego boot involves going up north to Camp Pendleton for a month. Oh how I wished I could get on one of those trains going by and get the hell out of there. I saw lots of trains in my four years in the Marines. First at Pendleton and again when I was stationed there. A couple times at Ft Sill. Lots of them on the back side of Twentynine Palms and several times in Iraq including one rolling by us the first day of the invasion.

Semper Fi!

Given the proximity of the aircrat to terra firma, I suspect the pilot may have eyes not on the train but on what lies in front of him...
Nice pic!!

Billio:  of course you are right, but it's fun to ..........

Ed

That's a neat shot.  My Dad's trains would ocassionally get buzzed out in western Kansas (UP)---sometimes broadside and sometimes right over the top parrallel to the tracks and get the landing lights flashed at them.
Brian Stevens

billio Wrote:
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> Given the proximity of the aircrat to terra firma,
> I suspect the pilot may have eyes not on the train
> but on what lies in front of him...
> Nice pic!!
Looking for that meatball!!  Excellent composition.
Many thanks from a corpsman who proudly served with the Marines.

Pacific5th Wrote:
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> Nice! part of MCRD San Diego boot involves going
> up north to Camp Pendleton for a month. Oh how I
> wished I could get on one of those trains going by
> and get the hell out of there.

Great shot.

I'm also a Marine railfan. I remember seeing Amtrak (or something) running up & down the coast when I spent the month at Pendleton during boot. Sure was pretty at night, all lit up against the black ocean. And, like you, I wished I was aboard and heading home.

Oddly enough, I saw more trains than women during those 12 weeks! Got to see trains several times a day at Pendleton and heard them often at MCRD San Diego. Only saw one female... for 3 months... 

I was stationed at MCAS New River in North Carolina. My barracks was alongside the abandoned RoW of the Atlantic Coast Line and there were remnants of rail if you knew where to look. Next door was Camp LeJuene and it was on the end of a NS branch. It was a rare thing to see any rail action.

Semper Fi

 

Jason Rose
Spring, TX
Rio Grande Explorations

Heartfelt thanks to you, Pacific5th, hogantunnel, and Jason Rose, and all the rest of you whose names I do not know, for your sacrifice and devotion to our country.

C.L. Dillon, Green River, WY

Roger that, Moose.  Ed, great shot.  That F-18 is dirty all right, gear and full flaps.  Used to do that in T-38s.  I think we had that conversation when we met each other at the Oregon Coast Scenic a few years ago.

NYCMan.....yes, we did.  Was great to meet you, sir.  Thanks for remembering.  Wish I could get down there more, used to have a house in Gleneden Beach.  Take care.

Ed

VFMA-232, Red Devils.

Pacific5th Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice! part of MCRD San Diego boot involves going
> up north to Camp Pendleton for a month. Oh how I
> wished I could get on one of those trains going by
> and get the hell out of there. I saw lots of
> trains in my four years in the Marines. First at
> Pendleton and again when I was stationed there. A
> couple times at Ft Sill. Lots of them on the back
> side of Twentynine Palms and several times in Iraq
> including one rolling by us the first day of the
> invasion.
>
> Semper Fi!

For all The US Marine's out there, here is a photo of a USMC GP 9 , that I took photo's of at Camp Pendleton, Ca  Nov 1999.

But don't go to Camp Pendleton looking for this GP 9 , like Many Marine's, It retired and moved on to The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo, Ca



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/16 16:34 by miralomarail.

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Oh ra and Semper Fi. Remember watching NS switch the warehouses at Camp Lejune about '82, '83.

Fritz in MD