Railroad Monochrome

My husband went backpacking without me on Wednesday and Thursday. He had really fabulous weather for it, and I was envious. But I had work commitments. So I stayed home and went to work, while he went to the woods.

We are both movie lovers, and when I get an evening alone (well, not really alone, as that Tabby is always there!), I get ladies' choice on movies. I often pick a chick flick. You know the kind. Somebody falls in love. Sometimes somebody dies.

But I had enough crying earlier in the week, so I skipped the chick flick and the tears, and selected an action movie instead, one of my favorites: the runaway train flick Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.

The film is based on a true story - the Crazy Eights Incident - that took place in 2001 in Ohio. In the movie, the runaway train careens through northern and central Pennsylvania. If you look at the maps, they've even gotten some of the town names right, but they're all out of order: Emporium, Tyrone, Port Matilda.

Many scenes were filmed on rail lines in the State College and Tyrone areas, possibly even on this very track in the photo. As a fan and as one with railroading in my blood (yes, my daddy was a railroader for more than 40 years!) I found it interesting to read a few postings I found online about the film:

Ten secrets behind the making of Unstoppable
Film locations for Unstoppable
The trains of Unstoppable

The action gets pretty exciting for the final 20 minutes of the film, and for me, that's the best part. A bunch of dudes in pick-ups try to outrun the reckless train; a couple of dudes try to climb on and set the brakes. Coolness. So I watched the film once and then I backed it up and watched again, cheering each time, as they save the day!

Thursday morning, I was still all hopped up on trains. So I got my camera and I went to one of the local rail lines, and I took some shots, including this one. I almost always prefer railroad shots in monochrome, but not always.

A few years ago, my husband and I took an ill-fated October flaming foliage railroad trip. A local barn caught fire, and the firemen blocked the railroad tracks with their hoses, so our train had to turn around and go back. To get this shot, I was standing on a part of the rail line we were supposed to travel that day, but never did.

I was careful, of course, because walking on a railroad track is a fool's errand; you do it and you just might get hit by a train. So if you MUST walk the rails, be careful out there, pay close attention, and listen for the sound of rumbling on the rails and whistles in the distance!

Those tracks look empty now. But you just never know what might be coming down them next. It could be nothing . . . or it could be a runaway train!

The song to accompany this railroad monochrome shot is Blackfoot, with Train, Train.