OK, this is a bit of a story...
It was a cold winter day, late in the afternoon in Edmonds, WA (about 20 miles north of Seattle). The sky is clear so I'll have good light right up until the sun goes down. I'm parked by the beach hoping for a train. Sat there for close to two hours - nothing.
I saw the northbound signal in front of me go green. At this time of the day, I'm sure that's for the afternoon Sounder commuter train. Not going out in the cold just for that.
The light continues to fade. Finally at about 4pm I decide to wait until 4:20. I figure by then if I don't see a train, it'll be about too dark to shoot.
At 4:20, I shut off the scanner and prepare to leave. I look once more to the north - and there is the headlights of an approaching southbound freight way in the distance. Just in time! It's several miles away, so it'll take 10 minutes or so to get to me.
So I get out of the car and onto the beach. I get some shots of the sunset, a ferry docked at the Edmonds dock and some seabirds having a block party in the surf.
At this point, I'm not sure I'll even end up with any good footage. Here's why.
The BNSF mainline is two tracks from Seattle up to Edmonds. It goes down to one track through the city, then right in front of me (at Milepost 18) it goes back to two tracks.
I know from experience that it is very common for southbound freights to come down to MP18 then sit there waiting for the northbound Sounder or Amtrak Empire Builder to pass before continuing on. Passenger trains have priority at this chokepoint.
I don't have much light left, so if the freight sits here for very long - I'm out of luck.
I hear the horn of the arriving Sounder train as it stops at Edmonds Station. That's a good sign. If the Sounder leaves before the freight arrives, hopefully the freight won't be left sitting for long.
The Sounder has Cab Car 303 leading, with SDRX 903 (F59PHI) pushing on the rear.
Shortly after they pass, the freight rounds the curve, moving slow with the headlight dimmed in anticipation of stopping at the MP18 signal.
She stops there for about 5 minutes until the signal goes green. Any longer and I wouldn't have got the shot. The camera makes it look much lighter than it was - it was really getting dark. The darkness makes for a grainy picture and plays havoc with the autofocus as well.
The southbound stack train was led by a leased unit, CREX 1204 (ES44AC) with a CSX loco behind.
Sometimes patience pays off - if I'd left 1 minute earlier I wouldn't have got this video!
CREX 1204 / CSX 595 / BNSF 4381
ES44AC / AC44CW / C44-9W