Trains of Edmonds, Washington

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My son and I had been photographing trains and birds at Brackett's Landing North the previous day . Another photographer asked me to pose for a photo as I was going back to the pickup. I think it gives me that professional photographer look. ;)

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Thursday afternoon my son and I visited Haines Wharf, one of the city's newest parks.
http://edmondswa.gov/visit-a-park-text-15/parks-map/haines-wharf-park.html

From the viewpoint and parking at street level, the park offers a near view of the tracks looking down....

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and a far view of the tracks looking south.

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I set up the super telephoto package (7DII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter) and the wide angle package (5DIII + 24-105L wide angle zoom) to get shots of the afternoon passenger parade. Preceding the passenger parade were two northbound (tt/east) freights.

The first freight rounds the bend.

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and passes the park. Look in the upper left corner past the tall, narrow tree in the foreground. The end of the train has not yet cleared the bend.

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But it had two rear DPU's, one of which was a BNSF Warbonnet.

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I missed the first Sounder rounding the bend, but caught it at the park.

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I was more vigilant and caught the second Sounder rounding the bend. Sometimes you can hear the trains whistling for downtown crossings and sometimes you can't.

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Two Sounders on the North Sound route now have the new control cars.

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I waited until after 5:30 but the Empire Builder never showed.
 
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Saturday morning (7-14-18) was one of Puget Sound's lowest tides of the year; so low that people can walk under the Edmonds ferry dock. Service on some other runs to the north is temporarily suspended because the water is too low for the ferries to dock. I took some wide angle shots of a southbound (tt/west) passing Sunset Ave. to illustrate the super low tide.

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That evening my son and I went to the marsh to photograph birds. The Chicago bound Empire Builder (Amtrak #8) was three hours late and had two units.

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A southbound freight had a BNSF War Bonnet as the trailing unit.

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Super telephoto closeup. The Santa Fe War Bonnet is one of the oldest diesel paint schemes in North America. It will be a sad day when the last one disappears under the orange & green Swoop.

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Monday afternoon (7-16-18) my son and I went back to Brackett's Landing North for photos of birds and trains. BNSF and Sound Transit have launched a campaign to discourage people from walking on the tracks.

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I followed a southbound (tt/west) freight with the 7DII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x telephoto zoom. I was surprised there was not more distortion from the heat waves.

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My son took some wide angle shots of the meet with the 4:30 Sounder to show the very low tide.

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I finished up with more photos using the super telephoto package.

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It has been sunny and very warm (for here) this week. The Omaha Posse would feel right at home. :cool:
 
A Geep was the trailing unit of a southbound (tt/west) Thursday evening (7-19-18). The model number stenciled on the sill says it is a GP39-2. The distinctive dynamic brake blister reveals it started life as a GP30.

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The Diesel Shop lists BNSF 2752 as former Southern 2532. If I recall correctly; Southern GP30's were high-hooded, so it received a new cab and low hood when it was rebuilt/upgraded.
 
A five car Sounder special bound for a Seattle Sounders FC soccer match at Century Link Field ("the Clink") rolled past Sunset Ave. Saturday morning (7-21-18). I took these shots with the 7DII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter for Itsed65 effect.

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Later that evening, a northbound (tt/east) freight rolled past the marsh with several older units in the consist:
1871 (SD40-2, Pasco Hump)
1866 (SD40-2)
3026 (GP40E, a rare Cascade green unit)
333 (GP60B)
2085 (GP38-2)

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I recently purchased a used 2x III teleconverter from Kenmore Camera. I traded in my series II TC, which I never used because the images were soft.

The new/used TC can combine with my 5DIII + 500L telephoto lens for a reach of 1000mm. Substituting my 7DII with its 1.6 crop fame sensor gives me an effective reach of 1600mm. That may sound impressive, but some of the new, high end mirrorless cameras have 62x lenses, which give a reach of 3200mm without having to tote around a heavy telephoto lens, tripod, and dSLR camera.

Thursday afternoon (7-26-18) my son and I went down to our usual hangout at Brackett's Landing North. I used the 7DII + 500L telephoto lens + 2x III TC, while he used my 1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom to photograph trains. It was sunny and warm (by Puget Sound Region standards), but the breeze off the water made it very pleasant.

A southbound (tt/west) freight pulled up in time to be stuck waiting for the afternoon passenger parade.

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My son took conventional shots of the meet with the 5:00pm Sounder.

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While I took some Itsed65 shots with my new super-duper telephoto setup.

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These distant photos will turn out better on overcast days without heat waves.
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Next up was the Chiccao bound Empire Builder (Amtrak #8), which was on time. Earlier in the week #7 arrived in Edmonds 9 and 1/2 hours late.

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There are not many days of the year warm enough to where you would want to get into Puget Sound without a wet suit.

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We took photos of the 5:30 Sounder, then went home.

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I am very pleased with the 2x III teleconverter and anticipate using it regulaly with the 500L telephoto lens for bird photography.
 
We are having our third or fourth consecutive California summer of warm sunny days with little or no rain. I won't complain because it is not as hot as the real California summers experienced by Itsed65, as humid as those endured by the Omaha Posse, or as hot and humid as those suffered through by USSHelm.

The resulting smog and haze buildup produces dramatic sunsets. The most popular place in town to view the sunset is from none other than Sunset Ave. Legal parking is at a premium near sunset. The trick is to arrive early and hope your bladder holds out until nightfall.

Sunday evening (7-29-18) I found an empty spot neat the low part of the street that offers the best photo angles of the tracks. I came primarily to photograph the sunset and birds, but a northbound (tt/east) freight accommodated me just as the sun was about to set.

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Other sunset photos without trains can be seen by scrolling down page 8 of this thread on Bob's other website.

http://www.pnwphotos.com/forum/index.php?threads/sunsets-of-edmonds-wa.7935/page-8
 
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I returned to Haines Wharf Park Monday evening (7-30-18) while my son was at tennis lessons. Shots were taken with the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 2x III teleconverter and the 7DII + 16-35 wide angle zoom.

The head end power of a southbound (tt/west) passes the park.

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Stretched around the bend.

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Rear DPUs pass the park.

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Headend power approaches the curve. Edmonds-Kingston ferry in the background.

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Rear DPUs approach the curve.

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