Passenger Trains > "Sometimes, it just ain't meant to be..."

As promised in my earlier post, and thanks to some helpful advance advice from several sources, I headed out this evening to try and capture the anticipated private car movements on Amtrak Trains #50 and #30 eastward from Chicago. Because of its usually unobstructed and open sunlit view, I opted to catch #50 from the Roosevelt Road overpass just south of Union Station, where I thought the best vantage point would be to photograph the six PV's that were scheduled to be on the rear end. As you can see, while my plan was not too bad, the execution was something else entirely. #50 departed 15 minutes tardy, so instead of coming under the bridge during the usual brief lull in activity that surrounds the train's departure, it was being paced by an Aurora bound Metra train. Consequently, just as the private cars began to appear, the commuter train effectively blocked my view of them. Determined not to permit that to occur again with Train #30, I headed south to 18th Street, beyond the point where the BNSF route Metra trains turn to the west, greatly reducing the chances of being blocked by another train. So what happened? #30 departed 7 minutes late, then proceeded to STOP, in spite of clear signals beckoning the train onward, for nearly 30 minutes in the mostly inaccessible area between Roosevelt Road and my selected 18th Street location. Literally losing light by the second, I had little choice but to stay put, hoping that whatever was causing the protracted delay to #30 would be remedied, and the train would pass before all the light was gone. It finally did, but just barely. So here are the quite unsatisfactory results, with the hope that those interested in seeing just what PV's are heading east on the two trains will forgive the substandard quality of my photos.

Cheers,

aussiehinz


1-3. A rather massive Train #50, the "Cardinal," departs Chicago Union Station with 4 "elephant eared" P-42's and 19 cars, including six PV's on the rear end (there's one more behind the 5 that are visible that I did not capture because of my disgust in having been blocked by the Metra train). I suspect that a fair amount of the forward portion of this consist is destined to Beech Grove, and will be trimmed at Indianapolis tonight.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/12 19:32 by aussiehinz.

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4-6. Train #30, the "Capitol Limited," finally getting underway after having been delayed for nearly 30 critical minutes just beyond the St. Charles Air Line bridge visible in the background, heads south (east) with 3 units, the regular consist, and four PV's on the rear. By the time the train came by me, the light was all but gone, and the photos admittedly reflect that handicap. My sincerest apologies.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/12 19:31 by aussiehinz.

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Pics look just fine. You certainly get an E+ for Effort.

Damn late trains anyway!
I don't know what part of No.50 they will cut off.Looks like the first six or seven cars are the "Cardinal".
I can give you the names of some of the cars.Looks like Scottish Thistle,ATSF 50,Caritis so far.


Uncle Joe-Just east of Tampa

I can just imagine your camera trying to drag in every last photon to capture that last image.

Thanks for your efforts even with the disappearing light, they're appreciated. Not everyday you'll see that many PV's in town!

We always enjoy your great photos! Thanks for posting.

No need for apologies. You gave it your best shot and got some interesting documentation.

Thank you.

John Webb
Trinidad, CA

No. 30 stopped due to the lead locomotive (#101) having its computer go down and all screens go blank. After several attempts they got it all going again. It did the same thing in NE Indiana with the same results. Did OK all night until just east of Point of Rocks, MD where it did it again.

Dang! Thanks for the info. I figured something had gone haywire; the train was only a half mile out of CUS!

This whole parade happens again week after next with a large number of PVs leaving Washington DC on train 29 on Tuesday, Oct 2 and Wednesday Oct 3. Not sure which day 51 runs out of DC after Oct. 1 but it too will have a bunch.

Thanks for posting the photos!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/12 14:44 by MILW16.