Chasing the Pere Marquette 1225.

I was going to head down to Deshler, Ohio yesterday.  That was until I found out that the Pere Marquette 1225 would be making a trip from Owosso to Clare.  I was kind of waffling about wanting to go because I don't like dealing with some of the people that are found at these sorts of things.  There were a couple of spots that I wanted to check out, so I didn't really chase it so much.

 I started in Carland because I wanted a shot of the train as it passed the grain elevator.  Sadly, there weren't too many spots where I could obscure the sun.  That of course meant there were only certain spots that other people could stand.

 I'd heard that the train was going to be going to Clare with the tender in front.  I wasn't sure what to make of it because part of the reason for doing this is getting shots of the engine itself. 

 I kind of like the dramatic effect of the smoke but that is offset by the tender being in front. 

 I do like this shot though.  It would have been cooler if the engine were facing the right way though.

 A couple of years ago when I first ran across the Pere Marquette heading to Clare, I mapped out the route it would take on google maps.  I found that there was a spot where it would cross a river in Mount Pleasant.  I also found out that it was part of a park, so I didn't have to worry too much about interference.  I ended up waiting alot longer than I expected because apparently they had some issues with the train.  I was kind of surprised because there weren't too many people at this spot and I think it was a pretty nice spot.  I will have to try it out next time the train makes this run.

 Next I headed up to Clare.  They were celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the train and they were also announcing the renovation of their train depot.  This group of people had this old car.

 Apparently the reason why they were running the train backwards was so that they could switch it forward and come into the depot the correct way.  There was also a group of people that was keeping at least one spot clear of people.

 It made for some nice photos because the sun was in the right direction.

 Didn't even have to worry about the people clearing out the people from the front.

 A shot of the engineer.

 Of course, there's always that one person.

 But for some reason, I don't mind this person.

 Not too bad of a side shot.

 The crew doing some work on the engine.

 The almost frontal shot.

 the quarter shot.

 when there are too many people, sometimes you try for different shots.

 A shot of the headlight.

 And the boiler plate.

One more shot of the engine from an oblique angle.  I was entertaining the idea of sticking around to get shots of it as it returned.  I wasn't sure when they were going to do that since they were running late coming out.  Besides, I had a feeling it was going to be crazier.