I was doing some post-processing work on my photos in preparation for upcoming blog post about the National Train Day events in Los Angeles a week ago and I came across this photo. Something just doesn’t seem right about it.
Our savior, so to speak, declared that he was certain the San Diego Steam Special II would be stopping at “Poinsettia” for servicing which will take about an hour. He also said that the Santa Fe 3751 would be performing a series of run-bys at that location as well!
“Really?” I exclaimed as I gave Dan a raised-brow glance. “Let’s see where Poinsettia is,” I said as I pointed the man towards my truck.
I pulled out two books - one was the PSV’s Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America and the other was Delorme’s California Atlas & Gazetter. We walked inside the Del Taco and proceeded to discover where the station called Ponsietta was located compared to where we were.
It turns out that it was about 10 miles south of our present location in Oceanside. The man gathered his family, hurried them outside, packed them in his car and headed south towards Poinsettia.
Dan, meanwhile, had purchased us some food and we soon followed the man and his family south.
I discussed our options with Dan as we negotiated the heavy traffic on the freeway. We both agreed that it would be in our best interest to forego the notion of going to Ponsietta to shoot the run-by and servicing. We reasoned that there would be plenty of people already there waiting and the shots would be littered with people.
Rather, we opted to use the time consumed by the servicing and run-by to locate a nice position in front of train or south of Poinsettia. As we sped south we listened carefully to my radio receiver tuned to the frequency for the railroad channel used in that area. Our new found expectation was validated as the signal strength of the transmissions from Santa Fe 3751 as the engineer called out signal indications became stronger and stronger. We were back in the chase!
Eventually the traffic waned at, you guessed it, Poinsettia Drive. Clearly we made a good decision by continuing further south now that we were once again ahead of the train.
Totally unfamiliar with the territory that we found ourselves navigating through, we exited the freeway at Leucadia Boulevard, two exits further south than Poinsettia, for no other reason than it afforded us more time to find a photogenic location to make our final shot from.
We traveled south on Vulcan Drive and followed the right-of-way. We approached any area where the track entered a sweeping curve that looked promising. For better or worse, we decided to make our last stand here. It turned out to be the Coaster Encinitas Station.
One aspect of chasing in unknown territory is that you could be just a mile from the most perfect spot ever and not even know it. That could be true today as well. I opted to make the best of the location we had found and parked the truck. We gathered our gear and made our way onto the closet platform.
Dan reconnoitered a few other possible locations by walking around a bit. Eventually we stayed where we were. Once in position, video cameras securely mounted to a track side sign post and still camera slung around my neck, we waited.
And we waited.
While we waited some more, we chatted with a few of the other spectators that had also stopped at the Encinitas Station to see the 3751 blow by. The folks were friendly and we all shared information as it became known. All totaled we waited about two hours for the train to arrive.
During this time we were fortunate enough to have several standard trains pass through or make a stop at the station. With each passing train I took several shots to keep an eye on the changing light conditions and get a sense of the location’s track speed.
Here are two shots that I took while we waited:
A Coaster train makes it’s scheduled stop at the Encinitas, CA station while we ait for the 3751 to show up.
Having been issued a slow order while passing the San Diego Steam Special II at Poinsettia an Amtrak Surfliner gathers speed as she blows through the Coaster Station in Encinitas, CA.
After each train passed I reviewed that shots, (I love digital!), and altered the settings accordingly. I decided that I was pleased with the location and had great lighting when we initially arrived. No, two hours had passed and the lighting had shifted to the other side of the tracks. Being a fan of shadows, I thought it would complement the whiteness of the steam and smoke so we stayed where we were.
Eventually, the radio crackled with the sound of the conductor of the 3751 calling out “Highball 3751!” This meant she was on the move again. About 10 minutes after that we heard the distant rumbling and then a distinct steam whistle sound. “Here she comes!” I shouted.
As the noise became louder, the folks gathered along the platform with us began to cheer. Odd, I thought initially, but now I see how appropriate that was because we each had a story to tell about our own private chase and it became clear that it all was not to be in vane.
The crowd of “fans” that dotted the platform with all of their camera gear and tripods attracted a lot of others who knew nothing that was about to happen. Mostly they were locals who appeared to be living that “carefree existence” typical of the southern California beach scene.
Soon the relative calm of this station, with it’s great view of the ocean and comfort of a cooling on-shore breeze would be tossed askew with the majestic sound of man’s ability to harness the wild. Steam pure and simple.
As she rounded the bend, I took careful aimed and waited as long as I dared. I pressed the shutter:
The Santa Fe 3751 leads the southbound San Diego Steam Special II into a curve in Encinitas, CA on May 1, 2010
I am pleased with the result. I like the blur which contrasts with the sharpness of the rear of the locomotive and accentuates the length nicely. Also the steam and smoke created a shadow as well.
Here is the video of the train’s passing:
In a mere fraction of a fraction of the time it took to arrive, the train was gone - and so was our chase. Dan needed to get home and we had been fortunate enough to get another chance to capture this awesome scene thanks to an unknown man at a Del Taco, so we took our little victories and headed home.
The end.
Update on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 10:04PM by
Joe Perry
Here is a photo of Dan (right) and I taken by Siobhan & Stacy at their Amtrak “tweetup” at the National Train Day event in Los Angeles on May 8, 2010.
The face of history, the face of progress - the Santa Fe 3751 waits at Fullerton, CA for passengers to board the San Diego Steam Special II on May 1, 2010
As I pulled away from the Fullerton Amtrak station parking lot, I began to estimate an approximate meeting location for both Dan and I and the 3751. Ultimately we decided to meet at the Junipero Serra Road in San Juan Capistrano, mostly because it was the closet point at which our paths converged. However, it turned out to be rather fortuitous for us with respect the 3751 as well.
After meeting up with Dan we both needed a break to stretch our legs and devise a strategy for the upcoming day’s chase. After a quick soda break we hopped into my rig and located a street that paralleled the railroad tracks and right-of-way. We began to search in earnest for a decent location with ample scenic elements to complement the 3751 as she rolled by at speed.
We did see a great location that was set back from the road a good piece and afforded that “woodsy” appeal that is rare in the coastal region. It appeared to be accessible from a bike path that transversed the location. We looked for a decent and “approved” parking location but none was to be had.
The lack of parking, combined with my concern about the amount of time it would take for us to get back to the truck and then head off after the 3751 again, convinced me to not try to get “that” shot.
Instead I used my trusty Tom-Tom GPS to gain an appreciation for other opportunities. Just then I saw it! I quickly remembered that this was also a location I identified as a “possible” location during my initial route planning activities with Google Maps from my desk. It was a road which turned out to be a driveway for an assisted living center which bordered the right-of-way.
I found a parking spot and we realized that we were not alone. Soon we were joined by at least three other “chasers” who also parked and scampered up the slight embankment on which Dan and I had taken up as our photographic position.
One of the gentlemen commented “You looking for the train?”. We affirmed his question with a healthy response to which he replied that he had “heard it pass my house in Santa Ana and I just had to come out and see it! So I raced after it. Why wasn’t there anything in media about this?”
I thought, good question. I had known about the run since last year but I have my finger on the pulse of all things rail-related. Was there not conventional media coverage? “I saw an article in the LA Times,” I retorted.
“Yeah, I saw that but nothing in the local paper, I mean” was his reply.
Just then I heard another guy shout at us, “You guys gonna shoot? You can stand anywhere in front of the sign but not where you are now because you will be in my shot.” I looked behind me and noticed a thin man perched on the side of the slope leading to the creek that the tracks crossed right where we were.
I asked him for clarification about which area comprised his shot and he gave me two areas to stay out of. As I was considering my remaining options I heard someone yell “Here she comes!”
“No way!” I shouted. I hadn’t found “my shot!” I took the thin man’s viewing angle into account, after all he was there first, and ducked in behind a tree sure to be out of his shot.
I pointed my camera down range towards the hustling steam engine and quickly discovered that my options were going to be limited given my location and my angle to the rails. I was essentially left with a long glass head-on shot from a distance so that the train would not entirely fill my frame.
I quickly composed a composition and thought to myself, “This guy is moving!”.
Moving he was. It was a dead straightway and he was probably doing track speed. In no time at all he was gone and left nothing but the vacuum of the train, the sound of motion, and the sheer excitement of having just witnessed the event!
I had fired off three shots in short order. Here is the best of the three:
The Santa Fe 3751 leads the southbound San Diego Steam Special II through San Juan Capistrano, CA on May 1, 2010
It was far from ideal but that is the way it goes. This is especially true if you are shooting in unfamiliar territory. Had I scouted out the route or if I was more familiar with the area I might have had time to set-up for and attain a killer shot. I had no one to blame except myself.
Not nearly as fast as the 3751 scooted off to the south, Dan and I rushed back to the truck. Parked in a fashion to afford a quick get away, I fired up the truck and then we were off chasing her again.
We were filled with excitement as we turned the corner and accelerated up the on-ramp to the southbound Interstate 5 freeway. Much to our chagrin, we were greeted with some heavy traffic. It turns out the “tarball” of fellow chasers and the general commuting public has almost brought our vital thoroughfare to a crawl.
Bummer! I made my best efforts to get ahead of the traffic by bobbing and weaving - probably pissing some folks off in the process, sorry - to no avail. I pulled out the crystal ball of traffic flow, Google Maps on my iPhone and it showed no relief in sight. The one saving grace of seeing the red “clogged” representation on the Google Maps display was that it offered a realistic approximation of the head end of the San Diego Steam Special II as she flew, unimpeded, southbound towards San Diego.
After much discussion and effort our on part to make progress, it quickly became apparent that there was no way we were going to keep up with her, let alone get in front of her for some shots.
So finally at Oceanside, CA, we opted to see if the Pacific Coast Highway, US 1, would be our saviour. Once again our hopes were dashed as we faced even more traffic and stop lights. I decided to cry “Uncle.” The chase was over. We had a good time and a good run but the railfan gods were just not on our side. And besides, I was hungry!
We passed a Del Taco restaurant and I convinced Dan to stop and get some grub. After we parked we took a moment to console each other on the loss and brag about the little victories we had along the way. Our level of excitement started to wane as our appetites grew.
Just then we were approached by a man accompanying his family. He inquisitively asked “You guys chasing the train?”
“Actually,” I replied in a losing tone, “we were chasing her but not anymore. The traffic is just horrible.”
“Not so fast,” he gleefully added. “There’s still a chance to catch up with her.”
Amtrak, 
