This Time Of Night
When we came up to the range, I knew one of the shots I wanted the most was a good pacing shot along Route 7 of classic power in motion. As luck would have it, I got just what I wanted.

CN U717 departed Fairlane at the tail end of golden hour, fresh taconite steaming away. We had chased this very train north earlier in the day, but now we had a second opportunity to run alongside it, which we gladly took. Light was falling fast as BLE909 / IC6260 / DMIR408 got underway, and we very quickly became the only car left on the road as we followed them down south. This time of night (or day, depending on your definition) can be absolutely perfect for pacing, as the diminishing light makes it easier to slow down your shutter speed and capture the motion of the train. It worked out brilliantly here.

Hearing the rebuilt EMDs, still in Bessemer orange and Illinois Central black, throttle up while lugging the couple hundred axles of short and loaded ore cars was nothing short of a real treat. It's not often back home that we get to hear classic EMDs work really hard, making this that much better. It wasn't our first BLE motor, but it was our first - and really only - Deathstar we got to see in light.

Pacing is a dangerous stunt, involving hanging out the side of a car to get the best, widest angle views, but it's hard to say it's not worth the effort. Thankfully, Route 7 was empty while we followed U717 towards Kelsey, which is why we were able to do it so easily. It also greatly helped to have someone else driving! Talk about a lifesaver there.

A nice long pace was a wonderful way to end the day to say the least! 
trains railroad railroadphotography railways rail ble bessemer ironrange missabe sd40t3 sd45t2 sd403 illinois illinoiscentral illinoiscentralrailroad emd pacing pace u717 minnesota snow dusk