T.G.'s Photography Blog

LMX 8598, LMX 8532 and BN 5492 - McCook, NE Here we see Burlington Northern 5492, a GE built B30-7, as the third unit on a west bound train on Burlington Northern's Hastings Subdivision. The first two locomotives are lease units, LMX 8598 and LMX 8532, and both units are GE built B39-8E models. The train was passing by the McCook Amtrak station/Burlington Northern office building. At the time there was a pedestrian bridge over the tracks, which is where I took this image from. Today, looking on Google Maps, it looks like the bridge is gone. Today, this railroad line is owned by the BNSF Railway, due to the merger of the Burlington Northern Railroad and the Santa Fe Railway that was started in September 1995, and was officially completed in December 1996. This photograph is an oldie (at least for me) but a goodie in my opinion. The photograph isn't the greatest from a composition or technical standpoint, but the photograph's content is something that will not be ...

CP 5982 and CP 5776 - Gorham, IL Canadian Pacific (CP) 5982 and CP 5776 lead a trailer train under the old signal bridges at Gorham, IL. The train was heading north on Union Pacific's (UP) Chester Subdivision, and it would eventually make its way to the St. Louis area, via Dupo, IL. Both of these locomotives were built as EMD SD40-2 models . CP 5982 was built in January, 1981, and CP 5776 was built in February 1976. These signal bridges date from the days when this line was a former Missouri Pacific (MoPac) line, before the Union Pacific acquired the MoPac in 1982. While both of these signal bridges look to still be visible on Google Maps' satellite view, many of the old MoPac era signal bridges along this line are now gone. The signal bridge in the background (middle right of the photograph) is a cantilever type signal bridge . This train was a surprise, and quite a different sight from the standard parade of Union Pacific Amour Yellow locomotives that haul tra...

Union Pacific 2979 (an EMD SD40-2) and an unknown Norfolk Southern unit lead a trailer train south at mile post 10 on Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision . The train is approaching the DD Road crossing, just to the south of Interstate 255. In the background, the train is passing under the Interstate 255 overpass. From here, the train will continue south on the Chester Subdivision down into southern Illinois, passing through the town of Chester, Illinois, which the rail line is named for. After, continuing south from Chester, it will pass through Gorham, Illinois, where the Union Pacific's Mount Vernon Subdivision meets up with the Chester Subdivision. Eventually, the train will cross over the Mississippi River into Missouri, from Thebes, IL. Once in Missouri, it  will travel on into Arkansas, and most likely on toward Texas. Though, it could also have headed toward the Memphis, Tennessee area. About the image The image was scanned from a Kodak Ektachrome slide, us...

BNSF 9833 works as the distributed power unit (DPU) on an east bound coal train, while a Norfolk Southern train and another BNSF train wait their turn to roll through Birmingham Junction .  The BNSF's Brookfield Subdivision and Norfolk Southern's Kansas City District share tracks between North Kansas City, Missouri and Birmingham, Missouri. Way back when I took this image, Birmingham Junction was easily accessible. The last time I was there around 2013 or 2014, the access road, from which I took this image, was closed off and no trespassing signs were posted. This image was captured on Kodak 400 Royal Gold film and scanned on a Nikon Coolscan film scanner. The resulting scan was saved as a Nikon NEF RAW file, which was then post processed in Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe Photoshop. Photo taken: Spring 2001. Birmingham, Missouri.

BNSF 856 - Gooseneck - Kansas City, MO BNSF 856 leads a train off the Hannibal Bridge, and into the Gooseneck, as another train heads north out of the Gooseneck and onto the Hannibal Bridge. The Gooseneck is a short section of track, with tight curves that leads from the Hannibal Bridge to the West Bottoms . Not seen in the photograph is the Union Pacific's KC Metro Subdivision , which runs under the southern approach to the Hannibal Bridge, next to the Missouri River, about where the third autorack car is on BNSF 856's train. Gooseneck BNSF 856's train is entering the Gooseneck on Main 2 of BNSF's St. Joseph Subdivision, while the other train is on Main 1. The St. Joseph Subdivision's southern end is just ahead of BNSF 856, at the southern end of the Gooseneck. The Gooseneck itself is only about 2,000 feet long, when measuring from the southern end of the Hannibal Bridge to the Interstate 70 overpass to the south of here. The Hannibal Bridge and the ...

Urban Decay - Forgotten Door Back in 1992 I was in Detroit for a while. While I was there I got out and did a series of photographs based on urban decay . I went all over the city to various neighborhoods to take the photographs, however, I don't remember the specific places that I took them at. I remember taking this photograph of the decaying door along a street that was rather wide and was lined with a number of old storefronts, but as to specifically where in Detroit this doorway was I can't say. The series of urban decay photographs that I took was all done on Kodak T-Max 400 film. The processing was done using Kodak D-76 black and white film developer. I made a number of 11x14 size prints from these images, but I have only gotten a few of the negatives digitized. Photo taken: December, 1992, at Detroit, Michigan.

Urban decay - Window A decaying window in Detroit, Michigan, gives a framed view of an old blazer. This photograph was taken while I spent a little time in Detroit, and went around the city taking a number of images based on urban decay . Unfortunately, while I took a number of photographs for the series, I do not have many digitized yet. Photo taken: December 1992, at Detroit, Michigan.

March 13, 2004. Chicago, Illinois. A CTA Blue Line train heads east down the center of Interstate 90, at North Canfield Avenue. The Blue Line runs between O'Hare International Airport, downtown Chicago, and the Forest Park transportation center. Photo © Tom Gatermann

May, 1997. Cahokia, Illinois. Union Pacific 9293 (a GE C40-8) and five Cotton Belt and Southern Pacific locomotives sit with their respective trains at Airflite Drive. The lead Cotton Belt locomotive is St. Louis and Southwestern (SSW) 8049 (a GE B40-8). Behind SSW 8049 are Southern Pacific 8011, Southern Pacific 5103, and two other SP engines whose numbers I can't make out. The image was originally captured on Kodak Ektachrome film. Photo © Tom Gatermann.

UP 7881 - Chester Subdivision - Columbia, IL After having left Union Pacific's (UP) Dupo Yard, to the north of here, UP 7881 and an unknown CSX locomotive lead a manifest freight train south on UP's Chester Subdivision , near BB Road in Columbia, Illinois. In the far distance, another train was also getting ready to head south out of Dupo Yard . The image was originally captured on a 35mm Kodak Ektachrome slide. Photo taken: Winter 2004, at Columbia, Illinois.

SBD 3236 - Maplewood, MO Here we see Seaboard System (SBD) 3236 leading a freight west on the Union Pacific's Sedalia Subdivision through Maplewood, Missouri. The train is passing through Control Point (CP) D007 , which is just beyond the small bridge the train is crossing over under the engines. CP D007 is at milepost 6.9 on the subdivision. Sedalia and Jefferson City Subdivisions Today, the portion of the Sedalia Subdivision between St. Louis, Missouri, and Jefferson City, Missouri, has been renamed to the Jefferson City Subdivision. At the time this photograph was taken, the Sedalia Subdivision crossed the State of Missouri, between St. Louis and Kansas City. Now, only the portion of the line between Jefferson City and Kansas City is still named the Sedalia Subdivision. As of October 1995, this portion of the line was still named the Sedalia Subdivision, according to Union Pacific Timetable No. 2. About the photo This is an older photo I took on black and white nega...

UP 3985 - Buffalo, KS Union Pacific 3985 fills the cold winter sky with smoke as the Super Bowl XXXVIII Special heads north on Union Pacific's Coffeyville Subdivision, toward Kansas City, Missouri. The train would stay over night in Kansas City before moving on to its next stop on the return leg of the Super Bowl XXXVIII Special tour. Eventually UP 3985 would return home to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Union Pacific's heritage steam locomotives are based out of. About the image This image was originally captured on Kodak Ektachrome slide film, and scanned on a Nikon CoolScan 9000 ED film scanner. Conversion was done in Adobe Photoshop, using Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro. Photo taken: February 8, 2004, at Buffalo, Kansas.

UP 5021 - East St. Louis, IL Union Pacific 5021 (an EMD SD50) waits on the southern edge of Valley Junction waiting for clearance to proceed north. Notice the sign to the right of the train which indicates the different radio channels train crews are to use depending on which railroad they need to communicate with. Today the locomotive's identifying number has been reassigned to a newer UP locomotive, an EMD SD70M. Valley Junction is probably the busiest railroad junction in the St. Louis area. The Junction has three railroad yards, the biggest of which is the Alton and Southern's Gateway Yard. The Alton and Southern is a subsidiary of the Union Pacific. In addition to Gateway Yard, there is also the Kansas City Southern's (KCS) rail yard, plus a small yard sandwiched between Gateway Yard and the KCS yard. Photograph taken: April 17, 1997, at East St. Louis, Illinois.

Union Pacific's (UP) Challenger 3985 thunders through the small town of Altoona, KS., as it leads the Superbowl XXXVIII special . The train is heading north on the UP's Coffeyville Subdivision toward Kansas City, MO. After being on display in Houston, TX., during the Superbowl, the train is heading back home to Cheyenne, WY. Photo taken: February 8, 2004, at Altoona, Kansas.

ATSF 96 - East St. Louis, IL Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) 96, an EMD FP45, sits idle on one of the locomotive servicing tracks in the Chicago, Missouri, and Western Railroad (CM&W) yard. ATSF 96 is a cowl locomotive, which features a full width body behind the cab. Today this rail yard is operated by the Kansas City Southern. ATSF 96 was painted in Santa Fe's Warbonnet paint scheme. This image was scanned from a Kodak T-Max 400 negative and post processed in Adobe Photoshop, along with Nik Software's Dfine2 (to reduce the grain in the sky). The negative was originally developed in Kodak D-76 film developer. Photo taken: 1989, at East St. Louis, Illinois.

Mount Rushmore Recently I've been digging into some of the scans I have done of my old film images. This photograph of Mount Rushmore was taken during a family vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota , back in 1991. The view is looking through a tunnel on the Needles Highway. As you can guess from the sign, the tunnels on the Needles Highway are only wide enough for one car to pass through at a time. The image was captured on Kodak Tri-X black and white film. The film was either processed in Kodak D-76 or Kodak HC-110 film developer. Those were my two mainstay developers at the time. The negative was scanned on a Nikon ED9000 film scanner and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Photo taken: August 1991, near Keystone, South Dakota.

SP 214 and SP 8706 - Cahokia, IL Southern Pacific 214 sits in the siding, as Southern Pacific 8706 leads a manifest freight south on the Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision. This photograph was taken at Airflite Road , near Parks Airport, now called Downtown St. Louis Airport. SP 8706 and its train have just come through Valley Junction, which is about 1.5 miles north of this location, and is heading toward Union Pacific's Dupo Yard , though, Dupo Yard was not the train's final destination. This shot was taken about a year or so after the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific merger, which occurred in 1996. Both locomotives were owned by Union Pacific, but they had not been patched. This meant that the locomotives retained their full Southern Pacific paint schemes, lettering, and numbering. A patched locomotive is one that will still retain the former railroads paint scheme, but the current owning railroad's reporting marks or name has been applied to the locomo...