Some Shots of the Michigan Central Train Station

 Since I had my drone with me, I figured it would be a good day to see if there was a train near the Michigan Central Train Station.  Especially with the sky looking the way it did.

There was a train there.  Unfortunately, it kind of gets lost if I try to frame it with the train station.  But still, I like this shot.

I tried to pull over to get more of the train.  Unfortunately, I think I had to pull back to get more of the station but I didn't want to fly my drone into anything, so here we go.

So I moved my drone to get some closeups of the train.

I think she was getting ready to go into the tunnel.  The tunnel is pretty close to here and I think that's why Maroun bought the station.

Just some other angles.

I kind of like this one.

I really like this one.

The Michigan Central Train Station

 After catching the other ships, I thought about going to the airport next but I wanted to make a slight detour.  I've wanted to catch this picture for a while.

They are getting close to remodeling the station, so I wanted to get pictures of it.

But I also wanted to get a picture of a train in front of it.  Even though the train is pretty much drowned out by the surroundings.

I decided to pull the drone down to get some closer pictures of the train.

I think I like this one.

This makes for a more or less normal picture of a train.

Pulling back a little bit.

Trying from another angle.

This one might be my favorite.

Another angle with the train.

The train is drowned out.

This is probably my favorite with the train.

And one more.

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.

The Michigan Central Train Station from the Air

 So I went over to Port Huron yesterday to catch a pair of boats.  I didn't realize that there was construction on I-94, so I got off I-94 at Livernois and headed to Michigan Avenue.  As I was approaching the train station, I noticed that there were several train cars backed up.  I figured that gave me the opportunity to get a picture I've been wanting for a while.

I tried to get this shot before but there was a Tiger's game and I couldn't fly my drone in the area.  I was hoping that there wasn't a game.

Turns out that there wasn't and I was able to fly my drone.  If I had gotten the shot last time, it would have been a Canadian Pacific engine.

This time, it was a Union Pacific engine, which is fine by me because they are fairly rare in this area.

It also gave me a chance to get some pictures of the train station.  Since Ford bought it, they have done quite a bit of work on it and it is starting to come back to its former glory.  I'd have to say that this building was probably one of the most famous in Detroit.  It also was a stark reminder of the decay that was Detroit.  For the longest time, it didn't even have windows.  Ford is bringing it back and I guess it can represent another rebirth of Detroit.

I was trying some angles where I could get the whole station in the picture.  This was probably the best.

Since the train was stopped, I had several chances to get the angle I wanted.  Apparently the reason why this station was bought in the first place was because the trains going to Canada had to pass by it.  I'm not sure how that worked for the owner though.

Looking off towards downtown.

A beam shot.

Another shot with the station.

Unfortunately, the track near here needs some work.

A Train Near the Michigan Central Train Station

After catching the ships, my mom wanted to see the graffiti in the area of the Michigan Central Train Station.  I figured it would be cool to go there because I wanted to see the progress of it and based on what I saw, it looks like they are progressing really well with it.

But what really caught my eye was the train engine parked in front of it.  I've always wanted this picture.  First, I tried a picture with my camera but I was too close, so I pulled back and got it.

Then I tried it from another angle, it was a little better but still not good enough.  I was hoping I could get a drone shot but there was a Tigers game going on and I was within a no flight area.  Oh well, maybe next time.

 

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.