I had been to the Texas State Railroad once before and had a little background information on where the tracks were and how accessible they were from the road. We were staying about an hour away, so the day was going to be a long one. Little did I know how long it actually would be. We drove down to Rusk and picked out some areas that I felt were suitable for shots. Of course the day we decide to chase the train, it was close to 90 degrees and about 90% humidity. It was hot! You got out of your car and within five seconds you were already soaked. We got to the station and I positioned myself to get pictures before it left. I was really excited because they were running a different engine than the one I had seen before. The train was ready to leave and Carrie and I raced to the next stop (which I almost missed because there are so many trees and it's just a dirt road).
I was surprised to see as many people as I did chasing this train. When we rode the train last year I don't recall anybody at the crossings except for maybe one area. That day however, was a different story. Although, there weren't hundreds of people like when I chased the 844, there were close to 30 people. It was pretty insane. We're trying to beat each other to the next crossing on a windy two lane highway. I think I left some skid marks on the road because we'd be going along and I'd see a road I wanted to turn and we'd somehow make it. Carrie held on for dear life, but we survived without any problems.
They make a stop in between Rusk and Palestine (the two depots) where they pick up a band of robbers. It's great fun for the kids and it allows people like me to get another shot of it as she pulls into a station. While I was running to get to the platform, I didn't pay attention to how far I was leaning over and how close the engine gets. Luckily I pulled back fast enough or the engine was going to have part of my face on it.
There wasn't a lot of down time waiting for the train, which made the day go faster, but when she pulled into Palestine Station we had plenty of down time. I didn't feel like sitting with the rest of the passengers as they ate their lunch at the station. So instead, we went back to Rusk to get the tickets for the night shoot and to scout places to eat in Rusk. Let me tell you, there wasn't much. You blinked your eye and you missed the whole town. Carrie didn't have a ticket to the night shoot and I planned to just have her relax at a coffee shop or some place until the shoot was over. I didn't want her sitting in the car for a few hours in that kind of heat, but there wasn't very many options. Then I found out that the shoot was from 8pm-midnight. I had to figure something out and fast. Thankfully we managed to convince the railroad to let us purchase a "day pass" that allowed her to stay with me during the shoot.
By the time we got that all sorted out it was time to head back to Palestine and chase the engine back to Rusk. It's harder to find the engine when you don't know where it is than just chasing it. Somehow we managed to find it, even though we had to wait in the car for what seemed like an hour. Even though we were under a tree and there was shade it was still very hot and it only seemed to be getting hotter. We caught up with when it dropped off the "robbers." Very thoughtful of them don't you think?
We chased her back into Rusk and waited for her to go to the shed. We had special tickets (along with half the train) to visit the shed where engine 201 was housed. This particular engine was running when we last visited. She is the oldest engine that they own. We had to wait to get into the shed and the cars lined up on the side of the highway. Many people passed wondering what was going on. What can I say? We're crazy people ;) The tour of the shed was fun, but it was boiling in there. I didn't think it could get any hotter until I was under the shed. We finished the tour a little before five and had three hours to kill before the night shoot. We knew what there was to eat in Rusk (nothing) so we decided to go back to Palestine and try our luck in that town. Although it was bigger than Rusk, there weren't a lot of options and we decided on a BBQ joint on the side of the road. It was cool and the food was hot (and probably some of the best BBQ I've had in a long time). We managed to kill more time, but I was antsy and Carrie told me we should just go. We were about a half hour early, but everyone had the same idea. When we parked, I noticed the license plate next to me said Colorado. Well what a coincidence; come to find out the guy was from Colorado Springs. Small world? My only complaint for the night shoot was that they didn't limit the amount of people who could participate. Let me tell you, cramming a bunch of people with camera bags, tripods, cameras and other gear, it gets pretty tight. As the night wore on more people left making it more manageable, but there were still a lot of people.
The way they positioned the train at the station required us to stand along the tracks in the long Texas grass. Since it was so hot, Carrie and I were in shorts, but there were a lot of people in pants. This didn't really concern me because a lot of the photographers here were older and didn't seem the shorts type. I felt bad for some because their shirts were soaked and you could see the sweat line. Despite it being in the evening it was still hot, and the humidity just didn't want to let go. This didn't stop us and we continued to jockey for position. I was trying to keep up, but I was still learning my settings on the camera and the two guys running the show didn't seem to want to help. I must say that I was a little upset about the two guys. I was paying them to provide the lighting and special effects for the shot, but I was not pleased that they got first pick of where they wanted to set up. This was the second time that they had done a night shoot with the railroad and I didn't think I should have to compete with the people I was paying. They didn't care if they stood in front of you as you prepared for the shot, or messing with the lighting while the shutter was open. Despite these set backs, I felt that I had success at the station.
After the station they took us back to the shed to take photos of the 201. They wanted it completely dark in the shed so they shut all the doors and blocked the light from the emergency exit signs. It was hot and stuffy and the sweat just poured off of you. I think I lost close to five pounds that night just from sweating. By now it was pushing 10pm and it still felt like a sauna. It is here that I feel I got one of the best shots of the night. You'll have to let me know what you think.
After the shed, they took us back outside for more photos of the 300. It was cloudy that night and in some of the photos it looked like it was morning because of the full moon. We took more photos but we still had an hour drive and I was getting tired. We finally called it quits around midnight and headed back. When we got back to our condo we had to wait 15 mins for the person at the security gate to stop talking to a cop. Upon getting ready for bed, we discovered that our legs were covered in bug bites. Mine seemed to disappear the next day, but Carrie's only got worse. She looked like she had gigantic welts all over her legs. When we came back from Texas mine came back with a vengeance. Come to find out we had been eaten by chiggers. Moral of the story: wear pants in Texas and don't wander through the grass in shorts.
Other than the chiggers and the really high humidity, Texas was a success. It helped prepare me for night shots and I even got a few photos of lightning which I will leave you with. The next train chase story is a doozy and probably the best one yet. Until then...
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