After a few usual delays and detours, mom and I got ourselves on the road and headed for Aunt Rhoda's in Grand Rapids.
We got off the highway at Brighton with the intent to follow the CSX tracks across the state. We had only gone a few miles before the flashers at the next crossing in front of us went off. Mom almost put the car into orbit trying to get up to the crossing, but we made it in plenty of time.
Being on the dark side sometimes adds drama to an image, although I don't think it worked too well in this case.
Situation normal - there was nothing happening in Fowlerville.
Clearly there is no continuity of archetecture on this line. I almost thought that there was nothing happening in Williamston, but a distant whistle kept me from getting back in the car.
Lo, and behold, it was another CP train. At least this one didn't have an old-style locomotive leading. I much prefer the Candy Apple red paint scheme.
Well, if this isn't a close crop, then I don't know what is. But actually, nothing was cropped. Darn slow shutter release on the 300D kept me from getting it exactly where I wanted it. Better luck next time, I suppose.
We continued to follow the line clear out to Grand Rapids, but never saw any other trains. This building, now apartments, was the former home of the Grand Ledge Chair Company in Grand Ledge. The real reason I wound up here was to attempt to photograph a CSX train crossing the Grand River from behind the building. Turns out the photo spot was totally choked with trees, really a winter shot. Next time I will have to find myself some climbing equipment and get myself into a better position. Of course, the other reason that I don't have a train picture here is that there were no trains running, but that's only a minor technicality.
After roaring through several towns that were tiny and insignificant, we wound up in Elmdale (Quite tiny and insignificant in its own right). Usually CSX keeps some work train equipment here, but today nothing was in the siding. I did, however, get quite a few good shots of the junk sitting around the station.
What's this? Why, it's a log, from a series of several I shot. When the trains don't run, I gotta find other things to do.
The logs in question were way out in the middle of a recently cleared farmer's field. I became frighteningly mired in the mud on three occasions and had to spend several minutes stamping around in the grass and ditch to get my shoes semi-clean.
And while we are going on the scenery kick, here are some sandhill cranes. Mom spotted them and I took the photos out the window. Not too bad for a grab shot!
Not bad for a day that was supposed to be overcast. We managed to avoid most of the cirrus clouds and got a few good shots. The return trip is tomorrow and the forecast calls for rain. This time I'm inclined to believe it.