ryan05.htm

Date: 01/21/05
Nostalgic PLA Equipment Move Part 5 - Street Running In The Square
Author: espeeboy

Now to the good part - mainline running. What better way to start off this short trip than with some street-running through Oakland's own Jack London Square. Wet reflective asphalt, dark background skies and sunlight foreground subjects. Lucky timing I guess. Might have been a little nuts with us couple dozen railfans mobbing on to Embarcadero Street last minute, trying to not get in eachother's shots and then all taking off again for the next photo spot. Familiar territory for me and somewhat practiced since I do most of my shooting straight from the inside of my truck "Pinky". This allows me a speedy jumpstart to the next photo location.

Anyway, was a lot of fun to see the reactions of railfans standing streetside or actually in the street all through "Da Square". Even more fun to see the non-reactions of regular people not caring about they probably saw as just another normal everyday train!

On a related note, Harry "tracktime" Wong nabbed a now famous photo-of-the-week (posted on another nameless website http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=90651 ) while standing next to me here. A big congrats to Harry!

It all started back a little further back at Adeline Street alongside West Oakland Yard. Train slowed down to a stop at a red hold signal at CP Maggie. Perhaps about a twenty minute wait. Some time to chit chat among other familiar railfans up there on that bridge. Kept looking over my shoulder at the cloud breaks blowing in from the bay...

...and yes, the sun was finally came out! I believe God actually shined down on us Oakland railfans at the right time that morning. KUDOS to the big man above for the nice timing.

An Amtrak employee at the new Oakland facility stops by and shows some interest in this flashback retro train.

After the somewhat long wait I decided to go back to my truck for a minute to change digi-cam batteries AND SURE NUFF' HERE CAME THAT TRAIN! A quick run back to that side of the Adeline Street bridge nabbed this last second shot.

Down on the ground again, we are on super familiar grounds at CP maggie at the Market Street grade crossing. I like how the morning's showers set the "movie like" atmosphere for us. You know how Hollywood for some reason always wets down all of the streets in almost every movie car chase scene...

Okay, name the railfans...

Happy railfans I might add. I think they are all T.O. members...

"Your're on Candid Camera!"

Photo line at "The Square".

Hmmm, Howard's taking video of Dan Furtado taking video of Howard's train .

Interesting shot with the railfan posse back on the chase!

Passing the Amtrak Jack London Square station. Note the nice SP Sunset Heralds still on the pedestrian overpass...

At CP Strong.

Nice hack shot of my buddy Mike's Cotton Belt Caboose.

Going away shot under the I-880 at East Oakland Yard.

Bad photo getting on the I-880 but this is where Lou got his train moving - well a little better . Ya can't do much with 30mph top restrictions.

And what the heck, the first real freight train meet with the inbound MWCPD.