Nostalgia & History > Amtrak "Nostalgia"......?

I never thought I'd EVER "wax nostalgic" over Amtrak operations. This is in part due to my relatively late start in shooting slides, having missed their true "smorgasbord era", (as well as the halcyon days of the WP/BN "Inside Gateway" multi-colored lash-ups).

Thus, I can say this with 100% honesty. I am very glad that I shot these F40PH powered "San Diegans", a "little" over 22 years ago......

The photos were taken after heavy winter rains, filling the marshlands of the Soledad Valley, in the beautiful Torrey Pines State Reserve, just south of Del Mar, California.

Here is a Terra Server satellite photo of the area:

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=12&Z=11&X=595&Y=4553&W=1&qs=%7cTorrey+Pines%7cCA%7c

Thanks for looking back with me......

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

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Image 2......

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Bob, those are amazing shots! I don't remember the water that high ever, Wow...All I can say is Surf's Up! Steve

Neat shots, Bob. I'm curious about the first one where you shot directly into the sun. Did you use some sort of filter (other than UV), or just squeeze down the aperature ring on the camera (in the F16-F22 range @ 1/250s)?

Thanks for sharing these,

Rich

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Rich, I rarely used anything but a Nikon "Skylight" (1A) filter, and I deliberately underexposed the image, basing my aperature off the bright afternoon sunlight, (probably) at 1/250.

Take Care,

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

ATSF100WEST Wrote:
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> I never thought I'd EVER "wax nostalgic" over
> Amtrak operations.

Now, it there was a nice plume of coal smoke and steam emerging from the locomotive, obscuring the first power pole on the right, THEN I could wax nostalgic about a passenger train.

Notwithstanding the lack of smoke, even with or without Amtraks presence, that is one beautiful picture.

Nice job!

:-)

I recall early 70's Trains articles, first referring to "ubiqitous" SDP40F's, then, omnipresent F40PH's. They're not very ubiqitous anymore, are they?!?

Someday, people are going to get all excited when they see a "relatively rare" UP SD70M. And there will be internet notes about what train it is on, and how it may be one of your last chances to ever get an SD70M in action, and what have you. That day will be a LONG, LONG time away, probably after I've retired from the railroad, but, it will come. Same with the Amtrak Gennies. History always repeats itself.

I remember the water up that high, so high it was overlapping the pavement along Carmel Valley Road in front of the pizza joint we used to hang out at back before I got married and moved to Los Angeles. My folks lived up the hill behind the camera, and I used to paddle around the marsh there in an inflatable canoe during the mid to late 1970s. Winter 1981-1982 was a wet year, and a lot of those coastal lagoons were brim-full at high tide.

And now for that first picture . . . That one is a real keeper! I love the gradient in the sky away from the sun, and the hint of detail in the train. The whole thing has a lonely feel about it, very nostalgic. I've not seen any silhouettes (if I can spell the word) of yours before. Nice work.

- Kit