The Year in Review

Last year around this time, a fellow blogger posted his 10-favorite images of 2007 and challenged others in Observation Car, a discussion list of railroad art and literature, to do the same. So I did, but have since grown tired of the crabby atmosphere which permeates much of the discussion on that list. But it was a good exercise and I noticed a rather disturing thread in my selection. Seven of the 10 images were made right here in Fullerton, and I thought, "I need to get out more often." I also challenged myself to get more work published.

I'm happy to say that I successfully met those challenges. Here are 10 of my favorites from this year. Well, the first six months of the year. It seems that images 1–9 were all made prior to June 30, 2008! There's a good reason for that…the house! Construction in earnest began June 3, and I pretty much shut down the creative photography efforts for the next five months, shooting only progress images of the house construction, family events and assignments at work. But looking back, I feel pretty good about the images I made from January to the end of June.

Full Eclipse of the Moon, February 20, 2008. It had rained all day, and I had little hope of seeing the moon or its eclipse through the clouds. However, the sky began to clear just as the moon was rising, and I managed to catch the passage of Metrolink 608 approaching the platform in Fullerton right at the beginning of the eclipse's totality.

This image got published alright. As a two page spread in Locomotive 2008! It was used to lead an article on BNSF merchandise trains that run over the San Jacinto Industrial Lead to March Field. Many of those ObsCar guys would write this image off as a "crappy weather" shot, but in my opinion, the early morning low clouds hovering over the University Park area of Riverside, California give this image of the MBARJAC1-23 an edge it wouldn't have otherwise on February 23, 2008

Shot through a chain link fence in crappy weather. Enough to make heads explode on that list. This image hasn't been published, but it did win a Bronze award in the photography contest sponsored by the Center for Railway Photography and Art which was themed "A Sense of Place." I think this image certainly communicates a sense of the place which is the Alondra Blvd. crossing of the BNSF in La Mirada, Calif., on March 1, 2008.

A fan trip on the Sierra Railroad, March 9, 2008, found the California foothills green and the weather more than pleasant. The last photo runby of the day found nearly everyone lined up on a grassy hillside. Looking for something different, I headed for a nearby almond orchard where the backlit blossoms and steam went "electric" for me.

This is another image used in the article published in Locomotive 2008. The MJACBAR1-21 eases around a curve and down the 2.2% grade as it exits Sycamore Canyon in Riverside, Calif., on March 21, 2008.

Union Pacific train MWCDA (West Colton to Dallas Merchandise) rolls along side the Salton Sea on the former Southern Pacific "Sunset Route" on March 28, 2008.

Metrolink trains rest at the San Bernardino station on a Saturday morning, April 12, 2008.

Santa Fe steam locomotive, 3751 pulls a special train along the Pacific Ocean, under the historic Highway 101 overpass in Del Mar, Calif., on June 1, 2008. This turned out to be the very first image I had published in Trains magazine.

Ryan Humphrey and his son Max enjoy the passing of a BNSF freight as it rolls through Fullerton, Calif., on June 27, 2008.

My wife Amy and I relax inside our newly remodeled home on December 19, 2008. I can start thinking about doing photography again!

Get Your Kicks Here

Elrond signing books

My friend Elrond Lawrence can certainly relate to the birthing process I've experienced this year. He wrote and photographed a book entitled Route 66 Railway which is the story of Route 66 and the Santa Fe Railway in the American Southwest. Just as our house project was wrapping up, he was seeing the first copies of his book. Having worked on a book myself in a previous life, I can completely relate to the elation and relief which he is feeling.

Sunday, El's in-laws hosted an autograph party at their beautiful hillside home in Redlands. His wife Laura and daughter Kathryn were on hand, having contributed to the book themselves. It was a lovely event and I couldn't be happier for them and their superb achievement.

Kathryn, Laura and Elrond

Meanwhile…

Obviously, the house project is the foremost thing on my mind these days. However, I have tried to put a "spacer" post in between each one about the house. With about six weeks to go before we move in to the "new" house, it will be difficult to maintain that rhythm, because finishing the project is going to the only thing on my mind in the foreseeable future.

But there are other things going on to be sure. Saturday, Amy and I were returning from a Santa Ana College art gallery opening, exiting the SR91 freeway at State College Blvd. She said "look at all those balls!" "Huh?" I said. "There's a whole bunch of Union 76 balls on top of that building, haven't you ever seen them?" Honestly, in the hundreds of times I've taken that off ramp, I've never looked 90º to the right, I've been more concerned about the cars stopped at the end of the ramp.

Donco & Sons, Inc.

So we drove over to have a look. Sure enough, in the extreme southeast corner of Fullerton, is Donco & Sons, Inc., a signage and lighting company that was apparently the keeper of the Union Oil Company's classic orange ball signs which were all removed a few years ago, when Conoco/Phillips/Union Oil were all merged into a single entity that is now about to get out of the retail gasoline business itself. I kinda wish old man Donco had sent one of his sons up on the roof to rotate some of the signs into a more photogenic pattern, but it's still pretty cool.

Then this morning, I'm driving to work, listening to the aftermath of Sarah Palin's VP acceptance speech, my blood beginning to boil, hearing a bunch of right wing pundits try to tell me that running a state for a year-and-a-half that has one fourth the population of Orange County, constitutes the necessary experience to take over the helm of our entire country, if indeed John McCain who'd be the oldest man ever elected to a first term in office would do what comes naturally to many men that age. And I'm sorry to bring this up, but when did teenage pregnancy become fashionable amongst the Christian right wing? I know we're supposed to leave Mrs. Palin's family out of this, but perhaps she should keep her family out of the limelight for a while. Perhaps she could use her shtick to audition for the reunion episode of the Northern Exposure TV show.

But I digress. Let's try that again.

Then this morning, I'm driving to work, turn the radio down and pass under a freight train slowing for a stop at Fullerton Jct. It's 6:15 am. I know that Metrolink train 701 (Riverside to Los Angeles) is due at 6:18 and that train 700 (Los Angeles to Riverside) is due at 6:19. Might be worth parking the car and taking the camera over to the platform. One of the aspects of digital photography that I've come to appreciate is its ability to work well in the low levels of pre-dawn and evening twilight. Things like street lights, locomotive number boards and signals stand out, and for the first time in my experience it's possible to capture the real feeling of those moments.

BNSF 7510 West and Metrolink train 701 pushing away from the station.

Metrolink 700 pulls into Fullerton.

Metrolink 700 crossing from Main 3 to Main 1 at Fullerton Jct.

Meanwhile, back at the house, they start doing the roof today, and the drywall starts tomorrow. I've updated the the Construction Slideshow with a new finale. There will be a lot happening real soon, and I'll try to keep you posted.

Engineer Bill

Bill Stulla passed away on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at the age of 97. He was better known as "Engineer Bill" to kids who grew up in the Los Angeles area during the 50s and early 60s. He hosted an afternoon cartoon show on KHJ channel 9 seated with two young guests behind an American Flyer train layout. This Los Angeles Times obit tells the story quite well.

This video recalls the experience of watching the show precisely.

My appearance on the Engineer Bill show, 1959.

I watched this show religiously…until I was on it. The train layout that was so impressive on TV didn't even measure up to the one I had in my bedroom. I had asked for a refrigerator car in my letter, but instead was sent a Maine Central boxcar that was lettered on only one side. When we played Red Light, Green Light I kicked that little girl's butt, yet they gave her the same prizes that I had "won" moments earlier. Didn't seem fair to me. After being on the show, I never watched it again.

Forgive me Bill.

They sure don't make kids' shows like that anymore.

Gratuitous Grandson & Train Photography

These are eventful days around the Styffe household with house construction, weddings, birthdays, etc. The temptation, of course is just keep throwing up pictures of the construction, since that project has most of our attention these days. But I can resist temptation. Usually.

Still, life goes on. Quite nicely. We had a lovely dinner with friends, the Strapacs and Lustigs, hosted by Ted and Liz Benson in Newport Beach recently. It had been a number of years since the two older Styffe daughters had been with the young Benson ladies. Having bonded at an early age over their fathers' unusual shared avocation, they have each blossomed into lovely young women. Dads and Moms couldn't be prouder.

A week later came grandson Finn's first birthday and the ceremonial smooshing of the birthday cake. Finn did not disappoint in this endeavor. More Photos

Finally, just to keep myself centered, I brought my camera trackside this past weekend even though nothing particularly unusual was going on. But as often happens under such circumstances a nice image resulted, this one of commuters going off to work early on a Monday morning. More Photos

By the way, the house is still coming along well. The outside lath is nearly complete, the rough plumbing and electrical are signed off, and the drywall will start going up soon. 

Even from our lofty perch these days, things are looking up.

Sunday Detour

It didn't take long for my friend Ted Benson to convince me to join him for a Sunday drive to see Amtrak's Coast Starlight detouring over the Tehachapi Mountains while the Union Pacific did some bridge work in Santa Barbara on June 22.

Ted and I have had many memorable railroad photography trips together, but opportunities to do so in recent years have been elusive. Hundred degree temperatures and $4.75 gasoline weren't even going to get in the way this time. Naturally, we connected somewhat by accident early evening near Tunnel 2 while setting up to shoot the same train. After the day's light ran out, we rolled over to Antonio's in Tehachapi for a great meal and Cadillac margeritas and a chance to compare the joys of grandfatherhood.

The former Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) route through the Tehachapis is one of this world's greatest places to photograph trains. Much of the line is accessible with a little effort, and the line's frequent change of direction makes it possible to get suitable lighting nearly any time of the day.

However there has not been passenger service on the route since Amtrak took over the nation's passenger service in 1971. Since then there have been only a handful of opportunities to see or ride a passenger train on the route. This day was extra special since there would be a train running in each direction. Although it wasn't the highest priority, I did quietly hope to get both trains passing each other, and that opportunity presented itself at Caliente.

I was one sunburnt, worn out, old man when I drove up to the apartment at 8:45 Sunday evening. But the time, gas money and skin cells were well-spent.

View the photographs.

Full-Contact Foaming

Most people are aware that railfans are commonly referred to as "foamers." It's considered a pejorative term to describe someone who gets so excited about seeing a train that they foam at the mouth. I'll never refer to myself as a foamer, but when pressed on the matter, I might own up to the possibility of being one. I prefer "railroad photographer."

But last Sunday, I was a foamer. Santa Fe 3751, a steam locomotive built in 1927 (the same year my parents were born) was used to pull an excursion train from Los Angeles to San Diego and back. I carefully calculated the number of times I could catch up with, and photograph, the train. By the time train passed my camera at Torrey Pines, I had managed to catch it in 5 different locations.

This required a small amount of NASCAR-like activity on my part.

However, contemplating the return journey of the train, I decided to return to "railroad photographer" mode. Consequently, I carefully looked around the Torrey Pines Bridge and settled on a position that seemed to offer the most promise in terms of composition, light angle and historical interest. As news of the train's delayed departure from San Diego reached me, I began to worry that the light would deteriorate completely, no matter what its angle. I also began to question my sanity for waiting so long for a single image.

Finally, I heard of its departure at 6:05, and figured it would take 45 minutes for the train to reach my location. Just as I could see the train's headlight in the distance, the sun broke through the gathering clouds. The historic bridge and the locomotive's smokebox "went electric."

I'm glad I waited. But six hours for one photograph? I guess I'm still a foamer.

Images from the entire day

Catching Up

Working on the blog has taken a back seat recently to a number of things, mainly the home remodeling project which has gotten stalled by the City of Fullerton's bureaucracy, AKA the city's planning department. But more about that later…maybe.

On February 20, we were treated to a full eclipse of the moon. The moon is one of my favorite photographic subjects and this event allows moon photography at its most spectacular.

The eclipse was scheduled to begin at 5:45 pm local time and achive totality at 7:01. The area had been under cloud cover the entire day and I thought there would be only a slim chance of observing the event. Around 6:10, I was ready to give up and head for home. As I was driving along Walnut Ave. in Fullerton, I saw the illuminated outline of some clouds in the rear view mirror. I stopped the car, got my gear out and soon the moon rose out of the cloud bank to the east. The rest of the sky was clearing.

For nearly an hour, I watched the shadowed portion of the moon increase as it rose in the sky. Metrolink commuter trains came and went as I composed and re-composed to accomodate the changing relationship of signal bridge and moon.

At 7:01, Metrolink 688 rolled by on it's way to a 7:04 stop. The red ghost of the moon stood out in the sky with the near 1 second exposure .

And in case you're wondering, I didn't use Photoshop to enlarge or reposition the moon.

The Christmas Egg Scam

I should preface this to say that we had a lovely Christmas Eve service at church last night. A ladies quartet which included my wife Amy and her sister Luanne sounded like a choir of Angels in "The Star Carol" and the service ended with everyone joining hands around the candlelit sanctuary singing "Silent Night."

The actual Christmas festivities in our household came and went pretty quickly this morning. John, who had been up since 3:30am staring at the Christmas tree, tried to rouse us at 6:00 and was told to wait another hour. After that, it was a half-hour of flying shreds of gift wrap, shrieks of delight and the realization that we had only two eggs in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, I received a heads-up that there was a train in Riverside headed my way with a pair of those new Kansas City Southern "Southern Belle" SD70ACe's in the consist.

Knowing the local supermarkets were closed, I volunteered, "Honey, I'll go find some eggs, but it may take a while."

Don't tell Amy, but a dozen eggs were found at the Walgreens two blocks away…on the way home from Fullerton Jct.

Merry Christmas.

A Christmas Eve Story

It was exactly two years ago that I went down the local train station to watch the Southwest Chief roll into town. The weather was similar to today's here in SoCal, clear, pleasant, dry … nice, but hardly conducive to generating holiday anticipation. However the sound of the Chief approaching this station could do that. There are four grade crossings spaced out along the the mile to the east: Placentia Ave., State College Blvd., Acacia Ave., and Raymond Ave. The distant notes from the Amtrak K5LA horn that floated across the east side of the city made a pleasant introduction to the train's arrival.

Since it was Christmas Eve, I imagined that some of the people gathered on the platform were there to meet family and friends arriving on the train. That's always a nice thing to watch. For me, trips to the depot have been about people watching as much as train watching. As it turned out the woman standing closest to the tracks was one of those people. She was there to greet her daughter and infant grandson who she was about to see for the first time.

Considering the fact that I had seen my grandson for the first time the previous June, I had a pretty good feeling for what this would be like. I hung

around and observed the moment. 

This Christmas, I wish for you a moment as delightful as this.