The Swartz Covered Bridge

 As I was heading down to Marion, I noticed a sign for a covered bridge.  Since I was interested in catching trains, I figured I could catch it on the way back.

The bridge was built in 1880 and added to the list of National Historic Places in 1976.

It is a Howe covered truss on County Road 130 near Marion.

I decided to take my drone to get some different angles.

The normal angle.

I wish the tree weren't in the way.  I would have liked this picture.

I had to be careful over the river.  The river is the Sandusky River which eventually empties into Lake Erie near Sandusky.

From the other side.  I kind of wish there were more color.

One more shot.

Apparently, there are a couple more covered bridges in this area, I will have to look them up to get pictures.

Seeing Marion, Ohio

 A couple of weeks ago, I saw a posting on Facebook about Marion, Ohio.  It was a picture of a train and a pretty good one at that.  I ended up looking it up and I saw that it wasn't too far.  So last Sunday, I went over there to check it out.  It looked pretty cool but it rained the whole time I was there, so I couldn't get any pictures because it was a nasty rain and pretty much soaked me the second I got out of the car.

So I decided to head back down there yesterday.  It was misting but it wasn't too bad in parts of the day.  I at least got to check it out.

An old Eire and Lackawanna Caboose.  The control tower is behind it.  That used to be the tower that would control the area but it was moved over and shortened a bit.  Apparently there is a working signal board still in it.  I didn't go up into it.  Next time.

There are three sets of tracks that surround the depot.

This one used to be a C&O line.

And it is still occupied.

Another view of the tower.

The station is pretty neat looking.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good angle on it.

You can go inside and there is all sorts of train memorabilia.

I looked at my B4UFLY app and saw that it was clear to fly my drone here.  So I did.  The tower from on high.

I was able to move my drone around to get angles I couldn't otherwise get.

Another view of the station.

Another view of the tower.

The track on the left is a CSX line and I think it comes from Fostoria.  The track running across the picture is another CSX line.  The line on the right is a Norfolk-Southern line.

A view of Marion.  It is like many towns in the Midwest in that it has seen better days.  It looks better than some of the other towns I've been through.  It is the home of President Warren Harding.  There is a pretty cool memorial to him.  I saw it last time and I'll get pictures on another day.

Looking up at the CSX line.  

It wasn't too long before a train appeared.

Another shot of it.

Another angle of the station.

Had to get a picture of the tower with a train in it.

As I was leaving town, I saw this train.

It was waiting for a clear signal.

If you look carefully in the back, you can see an old coal tower.

I messed with different angles.

And I took my drone up.

The stopped train gave me the chance to try different angles and different heights.

From the other side.

I kind of like this one.

A little higher.  I'm not sure I like it this high, the train seems to get lost in the terrain.

As I was getting ready to leave, the train started to move.

It was pretty cool.

I don't think I've ever noticed this much smoke from one before.

It was misting and that kind of messed with my pictures.

It gets up to speed.

And then it starts to pour on the smoke.

Not a fan of stern pictures usually, but I like this one.

And this one.  There was train coming up but I didn't think I would see it with this train.

All in all, I enjoyed Marion.  I might have to get there earlier, apparently.  Someone I talked to said there were more trains in the morning and later in the day.  The afternoons usually have a loll.  I still saw a couple of trains, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Next time I go, I'll have to check out some other places.

The Dix Avenue Bridge

 As I was recovering my drone, I decided to get a picture of the bridge.

The Dix Avenue Bridge is a bascule bridge and is similar to many of the bridges in Chicago.  In fact, it was built by  the same people.  This bridge was built in 1927 by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company of Milwaukee, WI.  With the demolition of the Fort Street bridge, this is the last of this type of bridge in Michigan.  I think they are going to be doing work on it soon.  I hope they don't do what they did to Fort Street.

Waking Up to the Sykes

 Last Saturday night, I saw a friend post a picture of the Blue Water Bridge from the Sykes.  So that prompted me to look up the Sykes on Marine Traffic.  Sure enough, she had just passed the Blue Water Bridge.  It was around midnight, so I figured it would be around 7:00 A.M. for her to enter the mouth of the Rouge River.

I set my alarm early because I had hoped to catch her.  I didn't sleep well and I figured I had a little more time to catch her so I slept a little longer.

I checked a couple more times and then I decided to go out.  

It's not often that I get to see the Sykes and after seeing my pictures, I'm glad I went out.

I think she was coming over from Burns Harbor with a load of coke.

Coke is what they use in the blast furnaces and it comes from the processing of coal.

After she delivered the coke, she ended up loading iron fines for her return trip to Burns Harbor.

Like I said, the Sykes is not a normal visit on this side of the state.

But the company that owned her was bought by Cleveland Cliffs.  They also bought the steel mill, so she might be over this way more often.

Since I didn't get over early enough to use my drone at Fort Street.  I decided to use it here.  I love te shadows in this picture.

I was trying to get an angle where I wasn't looking into the sun as much.

I like this shot.

I ended up shifting the drone around.

She didn't have a tug this time, so it was a little slow going for her.

But it gave me a chance for different angles.

Which meant different lighting.

I switched back to my other camera for a bit.

If only I'd gotten a train in this one.  If you look up in the sky, you can see a Spirit Airlines airplane.  You can also see the moon.

I love the reflections.

She slowly backs into the slip.

Like I said, it was a little slower this time.

One more shot with my regular camera.  But I like it.

And then I switched back to my drone.  I was trying from a lower angle than normal.

Catching her as she backs in.  I love this spot for pictures because of the background.

The water is a nice blue.

A bow shot.

But I think I like this angle more.

Another shot.

Another bow shot as she gets into her slip.

I love the industrial setting.

She's lined up.

And she starts to back up a little faster.

I didn't stay after this shot.  I had other things to go to.  I wasn't able to catch her as she left though.