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.

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.
 

Messing With the Drone in Durand

 So on Saturday I decided to head up to Shiawassee again but then I decided to make a stop in Durand first.  I wanted to give my drone a shot there.

It was a little tougher this time because there were some stuff that I needed to worry about.  Across the tracks from where I launched was some power lines.  I don't think I want to find out what happens if my drone runs into though.   Fortunately, the train was pretty close and I snapped this shot.  From this angle, the train station almost looks like it is laughing.

The train got a little closer.  I might end up cropping this picture as there is too much dead space.

And the train almost passes the depot.

 I wanted to catch the depot from a different angle and I kind of like it from here.  Next time, I'll have to try to get the engine in the picture.

Next Stop Durand

So after heading east on M-46, I thought that maybe I could go through Shiawasee.   So I headed to M-13 and then headed south to get to the Shiawasee Game Reserve.  When I got there, I found out that it was still closed for flooding and I turned around.  I continued south on M-13 to get to Durand.  Even though I got a picture of train in St. Louis, I was hoping that I could get some in Durand.  If I did, that would be great.  If I didn't, I had some pictures so the day wasn't a total bust.

 As I was getting ready to leave, I heard the sound of a train leaving the yard that is close to the station.  I think this particular train is a local train.  It was pulling some cars out of that yard.

 It turned to head east on the main line.  I thought it was going to do what they usually do when they leave this yard.  Head down the track a little bit and back in to pick up some new cars.

 Sadly, I was almost shooting into the sun, so the light wasn't the most ideal.  I still think I got some decent pictures of this engine.

 One thing nice about this spot, is the ability to get different angles.

 Like with other vehicles, I like the quarter shot.

 It continued down the track.

 This is the new color scheme for the Huron and Eastern trains.  Like I said, I think they are owned by a different company but I'm not sure of its name.

 So anyway, the train headed east on the track and got past the signal and started to back in.  It was backing in on the track that crosses to the front of the station (kind of).  It makes for a picturesque shot, so I headed over there.  It helped that it was way out.

 the lighting was better for me over here.

 And always remember that when you see one of these signs, there might be a train in the area.

 So it was backing into the other track.  I'm not sure if it was taking these cars to store over there.

 The light was just about perfect for this.

 So  I got a few different angles.

 And it looks like it about to jump out and attack.

 As I was leaving, I saw a train approaching the area, so I turned around to head back to the station.  I barely was able to get some pictures because it was moving at a pretty decent clip.

 I wish the wires weren't above.

Like everything else, I'm not a face of stern shots but I do like this one.