Every once in awhile when among friends, ideas get hatched...most are never acted on (and that is probably a good thing if you have friends like mine)...then, you have those ideas that take awhile to make happen, but its worth it when you do.
Just such an idea was hatched between Butch (The Tunnel Man) Adkins and myself a couple of years ago, and this past weekend it came to be. 2 years ago as we hiked through the old CNO&TP tunnels #3 & 4 (to shoot trains on the Bridge over Lake Cumberland from a different perspective) I made the comment we need to get out on the water sometime and shoot the East side of the bridge, as there was no good way to access that side besides on the water. . It would have to be in the early morning before the sun got around to far, and would be an angle we had never seen before.....seemed like a good idea!
Fast forward to last Friday morning and I was trying to figure out something to do for the weekend. After a couple of quick text to Butch, he had a rental boat reserved (a really nice Pontoon boat at that...more than we needed but the smallest they had) and we agreed to meet at the Burnside Marina at daylight the next morning. Morning came, and there we went, casting off and heading out onto the Lake. It was a PERFECT morning...noting but sun, just warm enough and no fog.
The only concern I had was the trains. While the CNO&TP is always busy, there can be some slow parts of the day. I knew we should have a few of the usual morning Northbounds, and after a slow start, the trains started to roll. We managed to shoot 4 in the limited time we had the boat rented for, plus do a little exploring as well. By the time we split the cost of the boat and fuel 2 ways, it had cost each of us a grand total of $25 per train....an expensive photo op, but the result was well worth it! The afternoon was spent shooting stuff the usual way, and all said, it was a great day! I can honestly say that now have shot that bridge from just about every conceivable angle..
Here are a few low res samples. Be sure to check them all out in full size over at this link >>>> http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/cnotp2nd2015 (http://www.pbase.com/kd4jsl/cnotp2nd2015)
04/11/15
Northbound 216 crosses The Cumberland River Bridge after a quick crew change at Burnside, KY This was the only train we had a nice reflection with...the wind would soon take care of that calm water
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Northbound TripleCrown 264 starts across the bridge, close behind 216.
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A surprise to us...a old codeline pole still stands on the hidden side of the bridge, complete with insulators! This is the only one of these I have ever noted still up on the CNO&TP
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Northbound TripleCrown 264 crosses the Lake in perfect light.
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Butch enjoys the view as 216 crossed the Lake..
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Later in the afternoon, Southbound 46G heads through Flat Rock and then Revilo,Kentucky with a shiny new Ace on the point, and the IT 1072 trailing
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Train 229 climbs out of the Cumberland River Valley after swapping crews at the Burnside depot. The train is seen here just South of Tateville, KY
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These shots came out great!!!
Excellent! Your money was not wasted! 8)