Passenger Trains > Project 432: How It Works

I can't control the sunrise time, weather, or the train's on-time performance, so it's always a bit of a crap shoot trying to figure out the best spot to photograph number 27 in, and around Ritzville. 

Nonetheless, I do have a system, and here's how it works:

1. Before going to bed at night, I check the train's performance at Whitefish. If it's within about an hour of being on time, odds are good for an on-time departure from Spokane in the morning.

2. When my alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m., first thing I do is check the Amtrak app to see what time Amtrak reported number 27 departing Spokane. It's scheduled to depart at 3:49 a.m., and takes 70 minutes to reach downtown Ritzville. Amtrak's reporting of the departure time is sometimes Lucy-goosey. A 3:49 departure doesn't always mean the train has left the station.

3. I check the Amtrak status map to see where the train is. It only updates every 10 minutes or so, so it's an estimation at best.

4. As I'm getting ready to head out the door I check ATCS to see if I can pinpoint where the train is, and other traffic on the line.

5. I live five blocks uphill from old U.S. 10. When I get to the bottom of the hill I decide whether to turn left, or right, based in part on what the sky looks like, and the stuff I learned from steps 1 through 4.

6. This morning, number 27 was running 25 minutes late out of Spokane, so I turned right and headed out to North Hills Road. That's about 8.5 miles east of downtown Ritzville. At this time of the year, this close to the solstice, the sun rises on the left side of the tracks as I face east. Before long, sunrise will be on the other side of the tracks.

7. By my calculations, I still have a few minutes to wait, and the light looks like it will be nice.

8. I have ATCS running on a dedicated computer at my house, and I have a VPN set up so I can quickly look at the screen using my iPad. Since ATCS doesn't run on a Mac, or Apple's iOS software on an iPad, I use the Windows app to access the machine at home on the VPN. 

9. ATCS this morning showed the train at the west end of Sprague, which isn't all that far, so I get my camera ready and select a spot to wait. There aren't a lot of trees or other obstacles at North Hills Road, and I can see the train approaching from miles away.

10. Presto — The train comes into my viewfinder at just the right moment, with the sweet, morning light which makes getting up at 4:30 worth it.

I snapped this morning's photo at 5:17, which is 13 minutes after sunrise.

Tomorrow is another day, and we'll see what it brings.




 

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That is an amazing shot!  Thanks!

VERY nice! Thanks for the details on "How It Works!"

Nice job, Mr. Peabody!

-Sherman

That image, as a glint shot, is easy on my eyes.  Many others I want to squint when I see them.  Thanks for your work...