Steam & Excursion > Railroad Days at Monticello

While Nickel Plate #765 was running between Joliet and Chicago, I stayed in more familiar environs this past weekend as the Monticello Railway Museum held its annual Railroad Days.  These scenes from the weekend feature three of the four operating locomotives with Southern Railway #401, Wabash #1189 and Illinois Central #8733.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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Now that was very spectacular footage . .  the 'over the camera' shots at the end were suprising . . you must have double checked the clearance and assume you were using a smaller size camera to prevent any damage. 

Well done  . .VOTD for sure!

Craig
mcmrailvideos.com

Well done, the family and I went on Sunday and had a great time like always

Mary, the going away shots, particularly the ones with the caboose have a timeless 'mixed train' look to them that evokes a strong recollection of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg.
Just fantastic photography -- especially the shot with the water tower in it. Completely captures the feeling of the railroad as something 'going places' in a tiny midwest town.
Love this set of videos! Thank you!

Thanks, Mary, for a very fine video of a first-class museum operation. I hope to make it there again soon.

Tom

spdaylight Wrote:
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> you must have double checked the clearance and
> assume you were using a smaller size camera to
> prevent any damage.

Here's pretty much what is used for these shots: a small (and fairly cheap) Sony Handycam and a Manfrotto mini tripod.  The tripod's legs spread nearly flat and extend to have a wide footprint in relation to it height.  With the size rail at Monticello, the top of the camera is around a half-inch above rail height.  With heavier rail, it's at or below rail height.

The first shots like this I did used a bolt the size of the tripod mount of the camera driven through a three foot piece of 1x6.  While that worked fine, it was hard to level and adjust for obvious reasons.  This particular tripod was a bonus thrown in with a large tripod I got online, and its suitability for this application was a happy accident.  I first tried this combination at Monticello last year, and it worked so well that I used it again with a doubleheaded run of 630 and 4501 last October.  Last month I got brave and tried it with Iowa Interstate #6988 at much higher speeds, and it was equally successful.

The long and short of it is that any train is going to clear it unless there is dragging equipment.  If that ever were to come to pass... well, it's not without reason that the cheapest camera goes in between the rails.

Why a small Sony and not a GoPro?  Simple.  The Sony allows the use of a telephoto lens as opposed to a fixed wide-angle lens.  As can be seen here, the telephoto compresses the image.  This makes it look like a tighter fit than it really is, and also makes the shot more dramatic.

I only use this setup when there is plenty of lead time before the train arrives, and there is usually 5 to 10 minutes of footage of nothing before the train comes into view.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/18 14:52 by MaryMcPherson.

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Thanks for the great coverage Mary. I've been to the outfit there several times and did see the 401. It's a wonderful operation with some unique equipment.

I am wondering: Does the operation of steam locomotive on a tourist railroad acutally boost ridership?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> I am wondering: Does the operation of steam
> locomotive on a tourist railroad acutally boost
> ridership?

I would think that varies.

When the Rio Grande Scenic parked 2-8-0 #18, any change in ridership was more than offset financially by running cheaper diesels (I got that from I.P. people).  I would expect the same story from the Grand Canyon Railway.  For both of those operations, the train ride is part of an overall package (i.e. scenery, music, etc.) and the locomotive up front is of lesser importance than the train itself.  Steam is not the main attraction for most.

What would be the difference to an operation where steam is in integral part of its character?  What would happen to ridership if Strasburg dropped steam?  Cumbres & Toltec?  I'd guess most operations are somewhere in the middle, but then I have no data to back that up.

All I can say is that I personally would not go out of my way for a diesel powered tourist line or museum, though if there is a vintage diesel running and I happen to be in the neighborhood I'll likely want to check it out.  Steam is my thing.  If I want to ride behind a diesel, all I have to do is go to work.  But then, I'm not the average market.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/18 18:40 by MaryMcPherson.

Fantastic, a great job of flming and editing what looks like a fun day.

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wabash2800 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I am wondering: Does the operation of steam
> > locomotive on a tourist railroad acutally boost
> > ridership?
>
> I would think that varies.
>
> When the Rio Grande Scenic parked 2-8-0 #18, any
> change in ridership was more than offset
> financially by running cheaper diesels (I got that
> from I.P. people).  I would expect the same story
> from the Grand Canyon Railway.  For both of those
> operations, the train ride is part of an overall
> package (i.e. scenery, music, etc.) and the
> locomotive up front is of lesser importance than
> the train itself.  Steam is not the main
> attraction for most.
>
> What would be the difference to an operation where
> steam is in integral part of its character?  What
> would happen to ridership if Strasburg dropped
> steam?  Cumbres & Toltec?  I'd guess most
> operations are somewhere in the middle, but then I
> have no data to back that up.
>
> All I can say is that I personally would not go
> out of my way for a diesel powered tourist line or
> museum, though if there is a vintage diesel
> running and I happen to be in the neighborhood
> I'll likely want to check it out.  Steam is my
> thing.  If I want to ride behind a diesel, all I
> have to do is go to work.  But then, I'm not the
> average market.


Just wouldn’t be the same at Monticello riding on the flatcar behind the Wabash #1189 or IC #8733. The sights/sounds and smell of Southern #401 make it a draw for me. My 7yr old said it was his favorite ride of the day and my 3yr old daughter seemed to enjoy it even though her hands were over her ears lol. We only rode behind #401 once Sunday but I made sure it was when it was leading the train back to the museum and not when it was pushing towards town so we could get the full experience.

Erik



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/18 19:39 by Spoony81.

Great video many thanks for all your TO photos and  videos, very enjoyable.
Being in the average market does not apply to a lot of people, thank you for joining us publicly. We hold informal unorganized, unpublished meetings near any steam locomotive in our area. And yes we are totally unorganized and very proud of it. 

SuperChiefDon

SUPER AWESOME VIDEO!.
Thank you for taking and sharing.
ALLEN

Mary...very nice work. Perfect, smooth panning. You made a very professional show with creative angles out of a simple day of running trains. Also, I like the locations that you chose. Very well done.

Very well done Mary.

Jim Barton

Nice. Does anybody have good pics or info on that tank car?

Posted from Android

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

ALCO630 Wrote:
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> Nice. Does anybody have good pics or info on that
> tank car?
>
> Posted from Android

According to the museum website that is GATX 509 built in 1965

http://www.mrym.org/roster.html

Spoony81 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ALCO630 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice. Does anybody have good pics or info on
> that
> > tank car?
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
> According to the museum website that is GATX 509
> built in 1965
>
> http://www.mrym.org/roster.html

Thanks. I'm looking for all the pictures and info I can find Because unless Tangent comes through a 4000 gallon tank might be a scratch building project.

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

ALCO630 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Spoony81 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ALCO630 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Nice. Does anybody have good pics or info on
> > that
> > > tank car?
> > >
> > > Posted from Android
> >
> > According to the museum website that is GATX
> 509
> > built in 1965
> >
> > http://www.mrym.org/roster.html
>
> Thanks. I'm looking for all the pictures and info
> I can find Because unless Tangent comes through a
> 4000 gallon tank might be a scratch building
> project.

Ignore the first picture on this page but the rest should help you

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rspicture.aspx?id=13492

Thanks, no such thing as too much information when planning a project.

Posted from Android

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

ALCO630 Wrote:
> Thanks. I'm looking for all the pictures and info
> I can find Because unless Tangent comes through a
> 4000 gallon tank might be a scratch building
> project.

These are the best I could find in my files.  The car was also used during the photo charter in May, but was buried toward the middle of the train.  These are the three photos that the car best appeared in, with that part of the image blown up to full size.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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