Chasing the "Polar Express"

So on Saturday,  I decided that I was going to chase the Pere Marquette 1225.

 Although they don't call it the Polar Express, I will.  It is the train they used as the model for the movie.

 I will have to admit, it is pretty cool to catch a steam engine and I think it was cool enough that day that I got a good amount of steam.

 I started my day in Owosso because I kind of like the pictures from this particular spot.

 The train is still moving slow enough that I get a few different angles.

 You can see a few people in the background.

 One more shot before moving on.

 I headed over to Carland next.  That is my favorite spot to catch the train.  It is also many other people's favorite spot.

 There was an incident here a couple weeks ago where a person had the pocket of her coat ripped off by the train.  They had a sheriff here this weekend.  He was keeping people away from the tracks.

 You really shouldn't need a sheriff to keep you away from the tracks.  They are dangerous and I'm sure the folks who run the Pere Marquette don't want to kill someone.

 Anyway, I was pretty happy that the Pere Marquette was there this weekend.

 It gave me an opportunity to get some decent pictures.

 And I think I really like this one.

 I couldn't pass up the diesel engine.

 Next I went over to Ashley.  That is the town they have set up to be their Christmas Village.

 but I was mainly interested in the steam engine.

 I kind of like the angles here too except for the fact that I was piratically shooting into the sun.

One more shot of the engine.

And a shot of the engineer.

 As the train passed, I had the chance to get a couple of shots of the diesel engine.

and one more before leaving.