An Update of the Thompson Building

I don't remember if I mentioned on here but the Thompson Building caught fire a couple of years ago.  I think at that point it got a new owner.

The new owner has been in the process of restoring it.  I think it was supposed to open this year but as you can see, there is still some work to be done. It looks pretty nice though.

Catching the New Amtrak Engine

Today I decided to catch the Wolverine.

 I heard that they introduced new engines for the Wolverine a couple months ago.  Since I haven't seen the Wolverine in a while, I decided to catch it today.

 The locomotive in question is Siemens Charger SC-44 and it is built in Sacramento.

 The first production unit was introduced in March of 2016.  It was designed to have a top speed of 125 miles per hour and meet current EPA standards.

 The engine is powered by a Cummins 16 Stroke Diesel engine which produces about 4,000 horsepower.

 The first revenue units were used in 2018.

 These units were introduced earlier this year and I'll have to say that I like their looks.

One more shot as the Wolverine moves away.

A Brief Stop at the Airport

After catching my ships I decided to make a brief stop at the airport.

 The first plane that I caught was a 757.

 In particular, the 757-300.

 This plane was coming in from Fort Lauderdale.

 I love this version of the 757.

 I love the way the clouds look in the back of this picture.

 I decided to head over to the other side of the airport.

 This American Airlines 737 was coming in from Dallas Fort Worth.

 I like the American Livery too.

One more shot before moving on.

The Block Stops for Fuel

And this is the ship that I was interested in catching.

The Block was returned from Lorain, Ohio.  It is very rare that she visits this area, so I had to catch her.  Sadly, I was shooting almost directly into the light, so my picture wasn't the greatest.

Catching Up With the Westcott

Since the other ship I was hoping to catch had to stop for fuel, I decided to head down to Riverside Park.

 It has been a while since I've caught the Westcott in action as I don't head down to Riverside that often.

 The Westcott heads out to greet the Clarke.

 She gets a little closer.

 Turns around to face forward.

 She pulls up alongside the Clarke and the Clarke drops whatever is going to be used to deliver stuff.

 With a blast of her horn, she starts to pull away.

 She peels away.

 And heads back to the dock.

She heads my way after making her delivery.

 The flags flying in the winds.

In case you care, her zip code is 48222.

One more picture.

A Cessna Flies Over

Sometimes I will see stuff flying over Belle Isle.

This is a Cessna 182 that was built in 1966.  I think it was flying out of Detroit City Airport.

The Livingstone Lighthouse

Since I was at this part of the island, I decided to take a picture of the lighthouse.

I think this is still an active aid to navigation.  I think it is also the only lighthouse that is also a memorial.  It serves as a memorial to a gentleman that was President of the Lake Carriers Association.  In his time as President, he implemented many things that would improve the safety of shipping on the Lakes.

The Philip Clarke Passes Detroit

Last Sunday, I saw that another ship would be passing by Detroit, so I decided to head down there.

 Before catching that other ship, I saw that the Philip R. Clarke would be heading downbound.

 I like catching the Clarke but then again, I like catching of the ships that look like her.

 I think she was on her way down from Calcite and heading to Toledo.  If that is the case, she would have been carrying a load of stone.

 I don't think she heads to a part of Toledo where I can get good pictures though.  With the blue sky, it was a perfect day but a little on the cold side.

 She passes the Windmill Point lighthouse.  This is where she makes her final turn for heading into the Detroit River.

 This was the first time that I've been on the rocky beach of Belle Isle in a while.  It was nice but the water was too high.  I had to look around before finding a good spot.

 She finishes her turn for the river.  It's amazing, it seems like it takes ships forever to get to this point but once they are here, they pass pretty quickly.

 Another shot of the Windmill Point lighthouse.

 One of the things that I like about this part of Belle Isle is that you can get a view of the ship without anything in the background.

 She starts to enter the mouth of the River.

 And you start seeing the outskirts of Windsor.

 Unfortunately, I didn't have too many shots here as I was starting to get into the sun.

 One more shot before she gets too far into the light.

 The other ship I was hoping to catch had to stop for fuel, so that meant a trip down to Riverside Park.  I arrived in time to get this shot.

 The MacArthur Bridge in the background.

 More of Belle Isle in the background.

 If you look to the right of the picture, you can see the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon.

 A shot of Windsor in the background.

The Clarke passing under the Ambassador Bridge with the Westcott delivering supplies.