Sometimes I can’t make up my mind.
I was poking about looking for abandoned railroads for one of my book projects. The book title is in hand. “Abandoned Railroads of New Orleans.” That would be great, except that most of our rail yards and tracks are fully working. Certainly, you can find abandoned railroad stuff here and there. But, not enough to make a book.
I did find one thing of serious interest. A working railroad turntable. It’s tucked in behind the offices of the New Orleans Belt Line switching yard. I didn’t think there were any in existence. Working or not.
Notice the word. “Working.” That doesn’t help my project.
I talked to my editor. I suggested that we broaden it to all of the state. He had a positive reaction. He wanted to discuss it with his colleagues because this book is one in a series. If we change the parameters, we change the parameters of all the books. Luckily, it’s the first book. The publisher can set the template anyway that he wants. Other photographers can work to my lead. I’m pretty sure they’ll be relieved. It’s hard to do this in one city unless the city happens to be New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Big railroad terminus cities.
Anyway.
The pictures. I was looking for trains. I know where they are. I don’t know where very many abandoned ones are. Same scene, developed and processed two different ways. I worked on the bottom one first. You know me. I can’t let something rest until I push the limits a little. Which do you like? Why? Do you hate one of them?
I like the clouds better in the first but the red “pops” in the second pic better. I can see why it’s hard to choose!
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Thanks for commenting. I’m starting to like the blue picture better because it feels a little more real. But, an hour from now… you never know.
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I like the blue sky! But both are great photos.
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Thank you. Very kind. Blue seems to work a little better.
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My husband is a retired railroad switchman and we tend to notice interesting railroad yards when we are traveling through some of the smaller cities. Sometimes we do see engines or boxcars not in service. Not sure if they’re abandoned, but they’re at least interesting. This does sound like a worthwhile project. There are a lot of rail buffs out there!
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Really? That’s very cool. I grew up riding trains from LA to NYC. That’s how we traveled in those days. I got to ride all the great ones. The Super Chief, El Capitan, The City of Los Angeles.
It’s a very good project. It’s a book. And, I actually get to make a little money chasing down a subject that I really like. I’m excited. I try to tone it down a bit when I write, but…🚂
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