When the Scene Around the Train Changes

At 10:48a.m. I’m looking down the white pipeline as the MGA sits in the morning sun.

This sequence shows that if you wait a few minutes, things will change. Norfolk Southern No. 8025, the Monongahela heritage unit, recently paid a visit to Motor yard (where I work) for about two days.

It was leading an oil train that needed to be held out for a bit, so it was split into two parts and tucked away until called to move east.

Being the sitting duck that it was, I did several views of it next to the white tanks that made up the train and a few other views.

But there is only so much you can do photo wise after a point. To help add a little interest as I was shooting it in the afternoon, I noticed that the sky to the north was getting darker.

The forecast was for storms and it was looking like this prediction was going to come true. I did a sequence of photos showing how the weather changed around this train even if it didn’t move at all.

We normally shoot the trains moving through a stationary scene, but this time the train remained stationary while the scene changed around it, sometimes by the minute.

Article and Photographs by Roger Durfee

1:19 p.m.: The sun is shining brightly.

1:28 p.m.: I notice the sky getting a bit darker as the clouds thicken.

1:50 p.m.: No doubt about it, a storm is bearing down on me.

1:54 p.m.: I see a wall of water approaching. It’s covered the west end of the yard already.

2:12 p.m.: It’s coming down in buckets!

2:12 p.m.: Closer view of the downpour.

2:49 p.m.: The sun is back out already helping our MGA dry off.

2:55 p.m.: A roster photo.

And the next day we see the 64R departing after picking up the conductor at “CP Donut.”

Tags: NS Monongahela heritage locomotive, NS Monongahela heritage unit, Railroad photography, Trains in rain