26:30 That’s where those steel coil trains go! I always see them at Chesterton, Indiana and always wondered where they go. Very informative! Well done!
Another informative video full of train action. Just loved it. There is a grade crossing near where I used to live that we always wished was a silent crossing. With 10 giant lights 4 gates and dinging bells there was no logical reason for horns.
Again, outstanding!!! Grand slam!! Love the new birds eye view , thanks to the drone, also enjoy the camera put on very near the track!! Keep up the excellent work! Thanks
Great video! You also mentioned the Sunset Route early in the video. You should totally do a documentary of that line. I live along the UP Dallas Sub, which is kind of on the same corridor that the Sunset Route runs on although it’s on the opposite side of the state from El Paso, and I think it would be very interesting to see a Sunset Route documentary of some sort. Love your videos! Keep up the good work!
Especially in the early mornings! The snow scenes between Porter and South Bend were particularly cold but probably the best day of the bunch in terms of scenery!
Really enjoying your videos. I'm a bit curious why trains get marshalled certain ways. In some intermodal trains there may be empty cars up front or in the middle of the train. It would seem like the possibility of the light weight at those locations could cause the light cars to lift through curves. Perhaps these mainline curves are subtle enough. I know this has happened up on former BC Rail trackage where empty centre-beams popped off the rails due to their location in the consist. The curves are probably much sharper through most of that line.
Why do NS like their locomotive centre lights on top? They have a nice livery, but IMO their horse-and-whiskers livery is the only livery here in North America that looks better with the lights like this. On wide-cab engines, all the other railways' liveries look much better with the centre light mounted on the nose. 52:40 That train is heading towards Southeast Michigan, as can be seen on one of those coal wagons showing a DETX reporting mark, indicative of DTE Energy. Also, were you having problems with the audio? I'm hearing an odd comb filter effect in all three of these videos.
Yeah I was working with a new audio setup when I made these and hadn't fully nailed things down. I've since dialed it in. Basically my Rode Microphone didn't play well with the camera unless I took the camera off automatic volume adjustment, and put it on a single setting. This applied to both field shots (hence peaking with horns) as well as when I recorded the narration. It's too bad I cannot go back and really fix these. I don't think it is too terrible, at least.
The steam locomotive at 5:50 is New York Central L-3a Mohawk #3001, the last surviving NYC Mohawk. 4-8-2 steam engines built for the NYC were called Mohawks because the NYC once ran along the Mohawk River.
Is that black contraption at 12:16 an automated switch deicer? It appears to have a gas regulator attached to a gas pipe emerging from the ground and there is a propane tank in the background.
Like the segment on the quiet zone in Mishawaka. Makes it pretty clear why local residents want them along a busy stretch like this. Anybody know the stats as to the difference in accidents at grade crossings like these in a quiet zone vs. same kind (no 4-quadrant gates) along regular zones?
When we would visit my grandmother and other family in Germany we often rode the trains or went to watch them. Oddly, as I recall, the crossings were either completely gated or just had cross bucks. I was amazed at how fast the European trains travelled. The crossing guard would lower the gates when one could just make out the mass of the locomotive. Even back In the 60's they all sported 2 and 3 headlights. Most had pantographs and seemingly travelled at the speed of light, occasionally a Krauss Maffei diesel hydraulic unit would smoke up the horizon --- as the American military convoys did on the Autobahn. My older cousins and I would stop and buy some fresh, hot pommes frites, and find a convenient place to watch the assortment of freight and passenger trains rush by.
Hey Alex! Great content here. This has definitely been one of my favorite routes to shoot over the past few years. Do you think I could take a few of these clips and make a little music video??
Do you have any videos in and around the Grayslake Illinois area? Or along the old Chicago- Northwestern line from Chicago to Milwaukee? Grew up in that area at the end of the Steam era.
Yes due to the realignment there at CP 421 that half-mile segment of the original mains was "abandoned". They were removed a short while after I shot that footage.
Alex; Hmm, only four comments including my own. Knowing how time-consuming and expensive it is for your out-of-pocket funding, I'm thoroughly surprised how well these documentaries/exposes turn out.
The RU-vid partner program really does make it possible for creators like us to do these things without blowing our wallets out. I seriously appreciate everybody's support, and I'm glad that my work is found to be enjoyable by others.
I love you videos but for The Quiet Zone isn't it better for the for the trains to honk their horns for awareness for people and drivers because without the horns people are more careless. So the public nuisance is more important I don't even think the gates and lights make any noise either if anybody could tell me why that regulation passed all over the country
The only good part of this video was the part where the train was going by, and the information. Only 54 minutes and 16 seconds of it is watchable. I wouldn't recommend watching it more than three or four thousand times.
