Alviso, California A.C.E. Train

Here's a shot I took in Alviso at at 6:14 am Wednesday September 19, 2007. This is Altamont Commuter Express train number one on it's way to the "Great America" station. The name of the station is due to the fact that it is located adjacent to Paramounts Great America amusement park. The station platform is situated beneath the Tasman Avenue overcrossing.

I set the camera to overexpose the shot. I wanted the streaks of light to show motion. It worked fairly well however I didn't have a tripod with me so there is a bit of movement that hinders the crispness. I'm going to try again in the next day or so. Next time I'll have with me a small tripod. I'm hoping to get a good impression of the signal lights without any bluriness or movement.

Sunnyvale CalTrain, Part Deux

This shot has a more pleasant feel to it than the previous "Southbound CalTrain at 45 Mph" post. Even though this is also a moving train shot, it has more vegetation and just looks more comfortable. The angle of the trees combined with the lines of the train and the blue tree-cropped sky have a nice flow. This was taken the same morning, Friday September 14, 2007 at the Sunnyvale boarding platform on the southbound side looking north around 9:45 am. You can just barely make out the Mathilda Ave. overcrossing at the rear of the train at this resolution. The guy with the bicycle on the left side of the picture in the passenger shelter is plucking a banjo. He showed up a few minutes after I got there. He didn't know too many different chords but it seemed a fitting soundtrack for railfanning that day.

Northbound CalTrain "Baby Bullit"

It's a rather crude video actually taken on my digital camera. It's a bit jumpy but it has an antique feel to it (just like the camera). This was taken Friday morning September 14, 2007 near the Fairoaks Ave. over crossing in Sunnyvale, CA.

Southbound CalTrain at 45 mph

At least I think it was about 45 mph. I was about four feet from the track when I took this picture. I was leaning on the fence that keeps the stupid people from stepping onto the tracks when there is an oncoming train. I was wearing a ball cap that day and had turned it around so the bill was not in the way of the camera. It was a good thing, too. The blast of air would have sucked it off of my skull had I been wearing it the right way. It's quite a rush to be standing so close to a train doing that speed! Taken Friday morning September 14, 2007 around 9:45.

Sunnyvale CalTrain

This shot was taken at the edge of the CalTrain passenger platform with the "Baby Bullit" engine number 332 speeding by with commuters on their way to or from work. I would have to estimate it was going at least 45 to 55 mph. This particular train does not stop in Sunnyvale in the southbound direction. Shot was taken about 9:55am on 9/14/2007.

For My Buddy Joe

This would be an extremely "inside" post. Probably greater than 96% percent of my readers (right Mom!) would not get the connection. That's o.k. though, I'm not posting it for them, it's for Joe. It seems ironic that the logo for the railroad line pictured below could have so much significance for my buddy Joe. The dollar sign purposefully portrayed in the text, seemingly created just for him! His blog address with the gambling reference of "dice shooter" in it, an email address he has with a reference to money. Quite the co-inky-dink, huh?



Oh, and you're welcome Joe, for all of the free promotion and links I just gave you!

At The Blossom Hill CalTrain Platform

On the way to Morgan Hill I caught a quick shot of northbound Union Pacific motive power waiting for the south bound Caltrain to pass. I wasn't back in my car yet before it pulled away. I get the feeling they were waiting for me to snap the picture first (yeah, right). Engines numbered 7698 and 7638 are new GE ES44AC's. UP 5402, 4359 and 5401, which may have been dead-heading, I haven't researched yet. They were pulling about a half mile of empty box and lumber cars as they sat idle at 12:30pm wednesday 9/12/2007.

To: Bay Area Municipality "Leaders"

From: Senator John Kyl (R-AZ), On So-Called Sanctuary Cities:

"Localities that fail to cooperate with DHS (Department of Homeland Security) in identifying criminal aliens in their custody may end up paying a steep price. They ensure that criminal aliens who could otherwise be deported, are released back into the community to commit further crimes, which they do at an astonishing rate. A Government Accountability Office study found that 55,322 criminal aliens were arrested a total of at least 459,614 times, averaging over eight arrests per alien. The Department of Justice expressed its surprise at the 'extremely high' rate of re-arrests for criminal aliens when it found that that 73 criminal aliens in a study group were arrested a total of 429 times. Localities that adopt 'sanctuary' policies, in an effort to be welcoming to both legal and illegal immigrants, need to consider whether such policies have the effect of attracting and incubating crime."

Amen, brother!

Choose Your Terrorism Munitions Carefully

If you were a terrorist would you try to maximize your limited supply of funds because you never know when the forces of freedom are going to sieze your "ass"ets? Of course you would. So...when purchasing your munitions, you would be wise to consider purchasing post WWII arms. Generally the condition of the munitions is questionable when they tend to malfunction in a rather irrepairable fashion. Aquiring your arms from a reputable source also extends the value of your terrorist dinar. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the energetic young terrorist in the video embedded below may want to have his Jihadi organization dues refunded. Or at the very least file a grievance.


Thanks to Mike K. for the video link!

Out Of The Closet

One thing I have always wanted to do since I was a kid was be an engineer. I think even now if I could make a go of it I would consider doing it. I've always been fascinated by trains. Not sure what an entry level engineer would make, but it's got to be an amazing job!


Construction on the new Benicia bridge, Benicia, California.