Steam

This is another shot which captures the intersection of awe and archiving for me (and another favorite print on the wall).

If you haven't gathered, I'm a huge nerd. While I wouldn't class myself as a foamer, I do appreciate locomotives in most sizes and shapes and when I heard the Union Pacific Big Boy was coming to town, I had to go. Myself and a few friends went up to the whistle stop about an hour away and this Rockwell style shot was one of the better results. It was dusty, a little cold and absolutely worth it.

On the way home, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and realized the train was running alongside the highway. The only downside to seeing the locomotive at the stop was that it was largely static; breathing and firing, but not moving. However, we got ahead of the train and pulled alongside someone's land where there was an exit and ran to as close as we could.

I hate to be corny, but watching 4014 run at speed was poetry in motion. The sound of the drivers, the trail of water vapor, watching the running gear: I'll never forget that feeling.