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louis capwell

louis capwell

trains, photography, etc.

Posted on April 14, 2010December 29, 2011 by Lou Capwell

West Virginia

Earlier this spring, I went to West Virginia with a few friends to shoot some trains and drive some back roads. Here are the photos.





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Photos

capwell posted a photo: A few weeks ago, we moved the two Washington DOT Talgo sets from Seattle to their eventual, final resting place of Anaheim. Moving twenty-six hand-built, incredibly complicated cars a long distance- longer than they'd gone in a good while- was not without a few pitfalls, but we eventually got them over the road in a little over two days. Of course the sights along the way were spectacular, as we followed the route of Amtrak's Coast Starlight, and I tried to tell the story of this funeral procession on rails as best I could. Here's the uniquely patterned glass that anyone who has ridden a Talgo set will immediately identify. Set against the sun setting in the Pacific, on its last ride before an unkind demise, these cars really showed their true colors to me. Wall panels cushioned with Spanish cork, Talgo-emblazoned lamps in the diner, the spectacular fiber optic-lighted map of the Pacific Northwest's coastline in the bistro cars' ceilings- these weren't ordinary railcars, and we won't soon see something this thoughtful on American rails again. capwell posted a photo: An eastbound Three Rivers, complete with MHCs, a heritage 10-6, and a string of Roadrailers on the end, passes under the 254 signals in Lilly. capwell posted a photo: A Conrail SD70 leads a snow-covered westbound manifest past Mack Truck on the west side of Allentown on a frigid winter day in December of 2000 capwell posted a photo: More than 150 ex-Conrail SD50s ended up in Pittston, facing various fates from rebuild, to scrap, to resale. I don't remember much about this shot except that it was humid, summer, we hiked in to get these photos, and I ran out of film. Weren't those the days. capwell posted a photo: A westbound NS manifest, Emmaus. Those B-36-7s weren't long for the NS roster, so it was fun to see this leading. Looks like this was springtime, judging my 21 year-old artsy low angle. capwell posted a video: boat full o' trains, summer 2017 capwell posted a photo: 2020 has been pretty stupid, but I rode a lot of bike this fall which was nice. Through a series of hilarious events, I ended up with the barn find bike of all barn find bikes- a hand-built, lugged, Dura-Ace and Gran Compe-laden 1981 Schwinn, which is light, fast, and very easy on the eyes. I've ridden it up quite a few Hoosier hills this fall, and it was definitely a bright spot in this otherwise completely useless year. capwell posted a photo: A few weeks ago, we escorted the two remaining PPCs still at the grove to their new home in sunny Texas. Here, the Sonoma Valley and Santa Lucia Highlands reflect (see what I did there?) on their time spent in Indiana, as they await movement to Amtrak's Indianapolis Union Station where they'll join the westbound Cardinal to Chicago. capwell posted a photo: Of course we have the baggage car that’s covered in graffiti, but as far as Amtrak bags go you’d be hard pressed to find a nicer one- 1955 stainless ACF, originally built for the Santa Fe, it’s now Railexco 1269, retaining its Amtrak number. capwell posted a photo: A southbound Indiana Southern local, passing through scenic downtown Spencer, the Owen County seat. more...
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