A better day to ride than chase. There are some days when I think I should probably have my head examined for flying all the way from Boston to Atlanta to chase a train. This happened to be one of those days. For years, I had enjoyed looking at other photographers' images of Southern Locomotives 630 and 4501 on the Summerville Specials out of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. And over those years, I've resisted the idea of going down there to chase because: A), I don't enjoy chasing, B), I don't know the local roads and C), I much prefer the charter environment, where the train takes me to the photo locations. Finally, after years of wishing for a charter and not getting one, I bit the bullet and elected to try my hand at chasing a Summerville Doubleheader....and of course, the weather went completely down the tubes.
On this particular weekend, an early season nor'easter swept up the east coast, bringing heavy rain, gusty winds and cold temperatures....even deep down in Dixie. Here, you see TVRM's Summerville Special, with Southern Consolidation #630 and Mikado #4501 on the point, as they charge through tiny Noble, GA on the southbound run to Summerville, GA.....in a soaking rain. As I struggled to keep my camera (and myself) dry at the various stops, I couldn't help but look at the passengers as they passed by me, all of whom seemed to be having a much better time than I was. This was definitely one of those days when I probably should have stuffed the camera back in the bag and taken the ride instead.
Oh, and it gets better. After spending an entire weekend in Dixie with virtually no sun, I flew home to New England....only to find my house with no power for the next two days! That same nor'easter had really done a number on the Boston area.
For the train and storm chaser. Trains with thunderstorms, dark clouds, rain, lightning, hurricanes - tropical storms, funnel clouds, storm light, rainbows, and snow storms.
