Day 7: The Nevada Northern Railroad (part 3)

Another early start, these 5am wakeups are pretty rough! Headed on down to the railroad and found that our train for the day was already assembled and waiting; no dramatic shed-emerging shots today.

Steve Crise attempted to remake a photo from the original railroad, however the early morning sun and long shadows made this pretty touch. After a while the train headed on down to the end of the yard where the lighting was much nicer.

We did a bunch of shots here, and as it was still pretty early the steam plumes were pretty amazing.

Soon we hopped on our train and headed back up the line for some photos. Curiously, all the photos I like from this location are looking back on the train.

Once again we headed up the line to the tunnels, however by now the sun had gone behind some clouds so the lighting wasn't quite so pretty. A few us more mountain-goaty souls clambered up the snow again to get some high-shots, my favourite being the last.

Back in the yard again Mark demonstrated exchanging notes through a hoop; quite a clever system.

A few more around the yard shots while we swapped trains and locos and picked up a work train, complete with steam crane.

… and then we were off to the open desert again. This time we visited a new location with a very very cold stream and a lot of ice around the edges. Finding photo spots without breaking through was an interesting challenge!

 

   

Then it was time to go back to the yard. By now we were all getting a bit sleepy and since there was no one else in the cupola of the caboose, I stretched out and enjoyed the peaceful ride back to the station.

 

We then headed a little way up the first line again and took some photos at Lackawana Crossing, a cool name if ever there was one! I had fun playing around with an old "rustic" fence in the foreground; I had plenty of room here cos no one else wanted a fence post in their shot!

And a shot from the crossing itself, again with more foreground clutter…

And since the usual suspects were blocking up my perfectly framed shot, I improvised with Mark and one of the other Nevada Northern staff, as at least they were wearing suitable clothing…

We continued up the line a little bit further to a nice spot overlooking Ely.

Then I asked if I could get a cab ride, and "most certainly!" was the answer. So down the train I walked and into the cab I got!

Rode the train back down to the yard, which was great fun, getting to watch all the different things happening. It really is a full time job for all three of them in there, and they're in constant communication. They did a few runs around the yard and then it was time to put the trains to bed and say goodbye.

We had a small chat and thanked Mark very much for organising everything, then parted ways. A few of us went back to the shed to get some last photos. Lighting was a bit of a challenge with nothing but natural light, however Paulo had his flash and lit up the rotary snow plow for me, which turned out perfectly first time.

Rotary snow plow (the blade is taller than me!) / An Alco peeking out of the darkness

And then they turned on the lights and #93 came in to go to bed for the night.

And soon they were turning out the lights on us! One last shot from the street of the very attractive station:

That night a few of us met up for dinner, which involved me getting quite mixed up over directions, but eventually finding the right place. Dinner was an overflowing plate of delicious ribs, chicken breast, beany/soupy/gravy, and a stuffed potato. Way too much for me, but delicious all the same. Desert obviously wasn't going to happen, in fact I don't think I've had desert even once this trip. I shall have to have a catch up session when I return to NZ!

After dinner it was back to the motel to try and sort through some photos, a fairly futile effort, and then off to sleep. Long drive the next morning, off to Utah!