The prospect of being able to photograph NS's Savannah & Atlanta
heritage unit leading 20K on a day filled with ample sunshine and only a few
clouds to contend with, Tuesday held lots of promise. Not knowing when 20K would
be passing down the Lehigh Line, my day started out at Bloomsbury, NJ. First up
was 22V with its colorful COFCs made even more colorful by morning's sun at 8:42
AM. Next up would be 20W at 9:06. After its passage, a phone call informed me
that 20K was still in Harrisburg. That call served as my cue to leave in order
to get a few errands done before returning track side later in the day. As 20K
headed east, I felt Stanton Station would be the best location to take advantage
of the sun. Finally, around 2:10, I heard the sound of 20K blowing its horn for
a crossing. Prior to it's arrival, a cloud partially covered the sun and I
thought "Great I wait here for close to two hours and now get lousy sunlight!"
Never did I think that the camera would take a sabbatical on me just then.
Unfortunately when 20K got in sight of my viewfinder, the camera malfunctioned
and didn't go off! When I pressed the shutter button again moments later, my
camera worked fine. As a side note, some guy tried to beat the Stanton
Station crossing guard but didn't! The gate landed on his SUV's roof and when he
backed up, it ended up bending the gate. His explanation was "...those gates
came down real fast!" I did call it in to NS. As my consolation 'prize', the
22V made at least the morning worth while for me to be track side. For that
crossing gate and me though it just was not our day.
