A Train Waits Outside of Durand

 After getting pictures of the Tregurtha, I decided to head up to Shiawassee.  I almost gave up as traffic was horrendous.  I had to take a detour when I got near Royal Oak because of construction.  When traffic stopped just outside of Auburn Hills, I almost turned around.  It just turns out, it was just someone on the side of the road.

When I got to Shiawassee, I found out it was closed.  Since it was nearby, I decided to head down to Durand.

I didn't see any trains passing the station.  When I looked at the lights nearby, they were all red, which I think means nothing was coming.

I didn't want to wait around or  nothing, so I decided to head home.

As I got just outside of town, I saw a train that was stopped.  I figured there was an engine attached.

Sure enough, there was and it was also fortunate, that there was a spot nearby where I could safely pull over.

After getting some pictures with my regular camera, I decided to use my drone.

Unfortunately, I was shooting towards the sun but the pictures aren't too bad.

Up and over.

I kind of like this one.  I think the truck was holding a replacement crew.

Probably my favorite.

Catching a Train

 I ended up taking a different way home tonight.  I decided to avoid most of the freeways going home.  Somehow I ended up in some of the same places though.

As I got off I-69, I saw train tracks ahead.  I also so a person with a camera, so I assumed that something was coming.  It turns out that I was correct, except this train had to wait for the other train that was about to pass.

This train was coming from the west but it wasn't moving very fast.

I kind of like this shot.  I might have to seek out this spot again.

The signals.

She's about to pass.

She passes.

Approaching the other train.

The two trains pass.

This was from another spot.  I couldn't get out fast enough to catch it though.

Whereupon I Catch a Train Too

 Since it is a train station, I was hoping to catch a train.

It wasn't long before I got my wish.

There is a Canadian National Depot not too far from here.  I think it used to be an Illinois Central depot.

As Illinois Central is now part of Canadian National, it had to be a Canadian National engine.

It was pretty cool to see.  If only there were a canal here, I could get my trifecta.

Sound advice.

A Train Passes Through Royal Oak

 A couple of years ago, my friend bought tickets to the Gordon Lightfoot concert.  It was supposed to happen sometime in 2020 but that was before COVID hit.  I don't remember how many times the concert was rescheduled.  It finally looked like it was going to happen and the Gordon Lightfoot broke his wrist.

Well, on Sunday, it finally happened so my friend and I went up to Royal Oak to catch it.  As we were waiting to go to the show, this train passed by.  I didn't have my proper camera with me but I was able to get a picture with my cell phone.  It's not too bad of a picture, although a little blurry.

A Brief Stop at Durand

 While I have been remiss at updating my blog, I haven't been terribly remiss at taking pictures.  I haven't minded taking pictures but I haven't really felt like posting lately.  I was going to try to get pictures of ships last Saturday but I missed my window.  I wanted to get pictures of something, so I decided to head up to Durand.  The weather in the morning wasn't terribly cooperative and that was part of the reason.

There wasn't much wind, so I decided to bring my drone up too.  It was kind of cool to get the drone out although I wish I could have taken pictures of ships.  Oh well.

It wasn't long before I saw my first train.

It was a pretty nice day and the sun was shining.

Unfortunately, it gave nasty shadows for the drone.

Another angle of the station.

And then another train appeared.  The lighting was better for this one.

I really wish I know the different types.

It was carrying Auto Racks.  I think it was heading to the GM plant in Lansing.

Another angle, I kind of like this shot.

And one more.

This train kind of snuck up on me.  If you look in the window, you can see the train from the last shot.

But I did catch some drone shots of both.

Another one.

And the third train.

Some tractors.

I had some battery left, so I decided to take some pictures from around.

A GT caboose.

From slightly higher.

Another overall shot of the Durand station.

A Trip to Durand

 I wanted to play around with the drone today and there wasn't much coming down the river, so  I needed another subject to photograph.  I was thinking about heading to Fostoria or Deshler but decided against that and then I figured I would head over to Durand.  With the train station there, I can get some nice background for my train shots.

So upon arriving, I check the train board that they have.  They have a computer monitor set up that shows the signals on the lines leading into Durand.  If you see red in a spot, there is train in that block.  Green says that the train has green signals.  After seeing it a couple times, you can kind of figure out the layout.  I didn't see much of either when I got there, so I decided to get some pictures of the station and stuff around it.

Getting a shot from above.  I'm learning that certain things don't work when you take the drone too high.

A view that I don't normally get with my regular camera.

This caboose is across the tracks from the station.  I think it was used for Operation Lifesaver which is the organization that educates people about train safety.  Their main slogan is, "See tracks, think train".  It is a pretty good mantra because even tracks you may think are abandoned may have a train when you least expect it.

I can get some views that I wouldn't normally get with my camera.  I wouldn't try a picture where I am standing on the track because I don't want people to say, "Well, he died doing what he liked...even if he was an idiot".  So this is the engineer's view of the signals.  I didn't realize how bright they were from this view.

A view of the station with the crossing. 

Another set of signals they have for the track to cross into the north-south tracks.

Another angle of the caboose.

Another shot of the station from high up.  I would have tried to get more of the layout but then I heard a train whistle.

So I set my drone up where I wanted to get pictures and I took a couple shots with my normal camera.  I kind of like how this one turned out.

I like this one even more.

And then I switched back to the drone.  I'll have to say this is my favorite train picture taken with the drone so far.  I've discovered I don't need to take it so high with trains.

I would have liked this more if it shot a fraction of a second sooner.

Some of the cars.

The end of the train.

I flew the drone over to get a closer picture of this sign.  I don't know why, but the sky looked pretty cool.

I took a gander at the board again and it was empty, so apparently I was only getting one train today.