Passenger Trains > A couple of the 110 MPH Michigan Trains

Like everybody else, I have different ideas on what I want to see when watching a video of passing trains. Some people want to see the entire train, others only want to see what's on the front and what's on the rear. I lean more to the second group. I like to see the locomotives and the first 20 to 25 cars. If there's going to be anything odd in the train, it's usually near the head-end, or on the tail-end.

I got a couple of the Amtrak 110 MPH trains on Saturday, August 16, 2014. And after editing them down some, I came up with two different videos, the long one, and the short one.

The first train is Amtrak #359 West AMTK 26 AMTK 36, at 6:44 P.M. The second train is Amtrak #364 East AMTK 35 AMTK 127, at 7:16 P.M.
Both videos have both trains in them.

These were both taken at the same crossing: County Road 665, MP 162.95, Lawton, Michigan.

The long one starts from when the gates begin to lower and ends after the train has cleared the crossing. It's 1 minute, 53 seconds long.
The short one starts when the whistles begin to sound and also ends after the train has cleared the crossing. It's 32 seconds long.

I think they came out pretty good, although next time I need to pan a little more to the left when shooting the west bounds at this crossing. It's not like you can yell "Cut" .... and do it over again and again.

Any thoughts on what you like? The long or short versions?

Ron

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They are both GOOD.

Agree both are excellent. I prefer just a second or two of lead time before the train appears in the scene. Anything longer and the scene ends up being too long. Often I see videos where it seems like one waits forever for the train to be more than just a spec in the distance.

Nice job on both.

I concur with andersonb109 regarding long lead times. As a rule of thumb, I think about three seconds before the whistle starts would be about right. Also at the end, I like to hear the sound of the train fade off into the distance, not necessarily totally, but at least a significant part of the sound. As a rule of thumb there I might use five seconds after the train has passed unless it is a slow lumbering train with DP units, then maybe a little longer.

With passenger trains, I always like to see the whole train. With freight trains, I also always like to see the whole train unless it is moving really slowly in which case cutting out a portion in the middle is fine with me. In general, I would say if it takes more than a couple minutes, then cutting out part of the middle of the train is desirable, unless there is something particularly unusual or interesting about the train. I always like to see the end of the train though and again I like to hear the sound trail off before moving on to the next train. It is part of the train watching experience!

You did good, Ron!!!!

the first video provides me with info that the second one doesn't ... at 52 seconds in the vid the crossing is already in activation and the gates start to go down and at 1:37 the train enters the crossing so it looks close to 60 seconds for crossing protection ... that's a whole lot of protection time ... i also like the sounds of the horns from the start when a train is out of view then it just comes whizzing by ...

nice vid ... not working on the NEC anymore I miss the sound of wheels running over 100 on rails altho I only have to go across the river to get my fix which I haven't done in a while



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/14 14:19 by Out_Of_Service.

I am a fan of the Short version for the first train because the train and the crossing are both out of frame so I was just waiting for something to happen for the first 37 seconds. I like the long version of the second train. You get to see how far out the crossing activates and it puts into prospective just how fast that train is moving.

Great Work
5524

I like the second one more. "Tighter". I do like to see the whole train in videos though.

Start the first.... then while waiting, start the second video!

Exciting back to back runbys.

Glad to see Amtrak (USA) make some progress though there is something
strangely unsettling about watching a diesel running over 100 mph,
especially on a single track right of way.

A maglev would've been better! Off the ground and much quieter.

Thanks for sharing!

/Mitch

Mgoldman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Glad to see Amtrak (USA) make some progress though
> there is something
> strangely unsettling about watching a diesel
> running over 100 mph,
> especially on a single track right of way.
>

Haha, been doing it for years between Albany and Schenectady! :)

Nice job, Ron, I like the first, just because the crossing start is so long.
How many feet from the crossing start to the crossing? Just wondering....
it used to be the crossing start was fixed for twenty seconds of warning
prior to the locomotive entering the crossing .... at least here. That meant
that the crossing starts were 1/3 mile as the '400' passed through town
at 60 mph.

SR2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How many feet from the crossing start to the
> crossing? Just wondering....

Well, I found a conversion chart that shows 110 MPH to be 161.33 feet per second.

#359 - The first train.

Gates are down for 29 seconds before the whistle sounds, then about 9 seconds until it is on the crossing.
About 38 seconds from the time the gates start until it's on the crossing.
So the gates start down about 6130 feet before the crossing.

#364 - The second train.

Gates are down for 37 seconds before the whistle sounds, then about 9 seconds until it is on the crossing.
About 46 seconds from the time the gates start until it's on the crossing.
So the gates start down about 7421 feet before the crossing.

Just as information:

This section of track is almost dead straight for what seems like about 10 miles. But it's on a slight grade up hill heading west. Not much, but it's obvious from looking off to the west that it's climbing.

East bound trains would have a little extra momentum, on the slight down grade, and of course the west bounds would be a might bit slower, not much, but it could make a small difference.

There are only 3 road crossings within the village of Lawton:
North Nursery Street, MP 160.15
North Main Street/M-40, MP 160.65
Walker Street, MP 160.88

From County Road 665, MP 162.95, Lawton, Michigan, where these were taken, you could see a headlight coming for at least 4, maybe 5 miles.
And from the same crossing looking toward the east, the tracks curve a little to the north at about MP 158. So you get a little shorter time to be ready.
This is CTC through here and the signals - BRIGHT LED lights - will light up when the Dispatcher has lined a train through this area. Also, there is a passing track on the north side of the Main Line between CP 160, North Nursery Street, Lawton, and CP 161, just out in the middle of the country.

Also, there has been an Amtrak Track Gang working through here for almost a month now. They leave their machines and equipment on the Welch's Siding, off of the passing track, right in the middle of Lawton.

They replaced a whole bunch of ties and smoothed it out. There was a slow order through here the last time I was out here, but it's not on now!

Thanks a lot for the nice comments on the videos.

Ron



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/14 21:26 by Ron.

Very Very Nice!

Would be a very good idea to STOP ON RED! Great videos! I enjoyed them both!

Tiger

Thanks for the look, and here's some unusual praise -
thank you for using the same transition effect.
I loathe the 'my uncle edited my wedding video' that employs 35 different transitions.
...Lorenzo

567Chant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the look, and here's some unusual praise -
> thank you for using the same transition effect.

Thanks!!

I found one that I liked. Like opening a door in the direction the next train is coming from.

Ron

Very nice videos, but I'm skeptical they were going 110 MPH.

Mike Bannon
St Catharines, ON

Well..... 110 MPH is 161.33333 feet per second. And 6 cars and two locomotives, about 680 feet long. And if they go past a spot in one of the videos, that you can use as a mark, in less than 5 seconds.... They are doing all of 110 MPH.


161.33 x 4 seconds = 645 feet.
161.33 x 5 seconds = 806 feet.


Ron

Love the Doppler effect ! More, please.

I'm a little late to the game here, but I like video edits where there's a lot more lead time. It's kind of like... waiting for a train. I enjoy the building anticipation.