15_the_circle | 1967 meets 2007

[OT from cottage renovations]

my last-ever trip to corporate HQ in New Jersey was as bittersweet as the name of this cottage. the one consolation reliably attendant upon each of these journeys has been going there and back on the train, particularly the return. the latter not just because of the chance to make it safely home from a place for which I have no fondness, but also because of the high volume of trains to be seen. as noted last June the afternoon rush is worth watching and the Metropark station is a prime viewing location; time spent on its platform before boarding a westbound train was always the high point of these trips.

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

here's a fleeting instant, frozen in time; the curve just W of the station has a 90 mph slow order and yesterday afternoon this train sure as [colourful expression] wasn't doing a fraction less than that as he came zipping through. according to the timetable it would have been no. 647 on its way out to Harrisburg PA, running a few minutes behind schedule.

this image was rejected by a certain rail photography site as underexposed, but I was pleased with the juxtaposition of the ex-Metroliner car (on its second rebuild and still plying the Northeast Corridor 40 years after it entered service -- the red arm of the pantograph and some roof detail of the electric locomotive pushing from the rear can be seen over the coaches) while Boston-bound Acela Express no. 2166 is stopped to work the station on the other track. the other appealing aspect was how the catenary (verdigris coloured overhead electrical wiring) tilts outward around the curve: it provides color balance against the rusty overhead structure, airily tracing the curvature of the track below.

a few seconds later ...

rounding the 90mph curve

now this is a crummy shot, one I wouldn't think of submitting anywhere, of no. 647 whipping around the curve. the lighting and focus were [excrement] but once again the overhead wiring details provide contrast and catch one's interest, though it might be necessary to click through to the full size image for the detail to come through.