Photo Credit: Nathan Chidester
To
see an arriving train from the track side of the La Plata Station, go
south of the tracks onto the BNSF property with the tall microwave
towers and select a spot on the grass or snow to shoot toward the northwest.
Check with Julie (1-800-USARAIL) or use the Amtrak
App. for the exact
arrival time giving yourself enough time to get into position.
From this position, you will not be able to board the train nor help
anyone board because you are blocked from the station by the train, so
say your Goodbyes before crossing the tracks at the Owensby St.
Crossing.
As you can see below, you have choices as Amtrak arrives from the
west. You can shoot the locomotives west of the station (photo 1
below), the locomotives with a view of the public section of the
station and the passenger's waiting (photo 2 below), and the final
photo, the locomotives with the east end of the station. This
final photo shows the size comparison between the locomotive and the
station and makes the locomotive look much bigger.
Photo Credit: Carl Morrison
Photo Credit: Carl Morrison
Photo Credit: Carl Morrison
Another location, on the south side of the tracks, is in Owensby Street itself.
Ben Myers shot these photos from a vehicle parked behind the
signal arms that come down when a train is arriving. From this
location, you can shoot, at eye level, the station before the train
arrives, the train approaching from the west, and the train as it
leaves town past the Lookout and TrainParty.com's building. These
photos were taken on at a later date than those above and below.
Since you cannot see the station when the long Amtrak train is
making its stops - one for the sleepers and another for the coaches,
another photo opportunity is of the best looking car on the train, the
Sightseer/Lounge Car. The following shot is at street level. There
will be no vehicles to worry about while you shoot from the street or
the berm since the train is blocking the crossing.
La Plata Amtrak Station Photo Credit: Ben Myers
Wide shot of the Amtrak Station, new sign on the right, MFA buildings on the left. Photo Credit: Ben Myers
While you are awaiting the
Amtrak's
arrival, you might see BNSF vehicles pass the station. (That is
me, Carl, in the red jacket.) Photo Credit: Ben Myers
Amtrak No. 4 arrives, taken with a telephoto lens Photo Credit: Ben Myers
The entire No. 4 on the left, the station in the center, La Plata, MO, Station
sign on the right Photo Credit: Ben Myers
Amtrak No. 4 hiding the station Photo Credit: Ben Myers
Amtrak No. 4 Stops at this
position for passengers to load or unload. A good opportunity for
a shot of the Lookout with a telephoto lens, taken from the south side of the tracks from Owensby St.
Photo Credit: Ben Myers
The same shot as above, but with a wide angle lens (or zoomed out)
showing the train on the left, the Lookout, the Brown St. Bridge, and
TrainParty.com on the right.
Photo Credit: Ben Myers
From the same street location, look to the east and the Amtrak train stretches out toward the Lookout and Brown St. Bridge.
This location might
provide a nice panoramic photograph for a cover photo on your Facebook
page. This view does not start with the locomotive first, but with a
passenger train the cars are important also so this is the view looking
east:
Photo Credit: Carl Morrison
With a zoom lens, from Owensby St.
you can catch a closeup of the locomotives with the Lookout, Brown St.
bridge, and Hwy. 63 bridge.
This train was unique in that it had 3 Genesis locomotives. Bob
Cox, the La Plata Station Caretaker, says they were probably
taking a disabled locomotive somewhere else along the line. In the consist on this day has to be the worst looking baggage car in the system.
Photo Credit: Carl Morrison
On the north side of the track, during Southwest Chief's stop in La Plata, Nathan had
moved to the east side of the station, to a snow drift next to Owensby
St.
He took the following photos from that snowdrift. Here he has converted the digital color photograph to black and white for a nice photo.
Photo Credit: Nathan Chidester
