The Friend Zone

[Lone Wolfe]

I loved the San Diego Zoo in '71 ... I bet its even better now.

The San Diego Zoo has really changed over the years. My late wife & I held annual passes because we enjoyed going there so much when we lived out in San Diego back in the 90's before moving back to the ranch in Texas.

I believe the last time we were there was back in early 06' when we went back to see her family for the last time before her passing? We made a weekend of the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland. I had to ride the little train that's just outside the zoo by the big carousel one more time before we headed back to Texas, lol. With all the medical issues I have today, I couldn't walk those hills at the zoo anymore if my life depended on it!

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

They have a bus that takes you all around for those that cannot walk it.

 

[Lone Wolfe]

They have a bus that takes you all around for those that cannot walk it.

That's right! I forgot about those busses and they have the double-decker ones where you can sit up top in the open air and ride. That would be cool to do! I may have to plan another trip to San Diego if I can ever get a grip on all these medical issues and travel again?

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

 

[Lone Wolfe]

Well, I'm a serious railfan so I like to go out and shoot videos to post on YouTube so my other railfan buddies can enjoy them but my primary doc told me to knock that off for a while until we find out what's all going on with me because... I go out in the boonies to get some of my footage and he doesn't want me that far out of town in case of an emergency situation and that has me really bummed cuz it's the only thing I had left that I was doing? WOW! I write really long sentences don't I, lol?

Anyway, here's a couple of videos I posted on YouTube of some BNSF trains about 45 miles from here where I like going. I shot these in Coleman, Texas.

BNSF Intermodal Eastbound in Coleman #6780, #6953. - YouTube

BNSF Westbound Military Transport in Coleman # 5358, # 4950 - YouTube

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

are you using a tripod? Looks cool!

 

[Lone Wolfe]

are you using a tripod? Looks cool!

Yes but, these trains are so huge and heavy, that they can shake the ground a great deal and make it difficult even with a good tripod? I have a professional tripod for the big film cameras like the news channels and TV media folks use and sometimes the trains still cause that to shake?

I tried using sandbags one time and it made the shaking worse believe it or not!

 

[Lone Wolfe]

The winds were really bad that day which is why the soundtrack sounds so terrible? I tried muffling the sound but it didn't work too well? The bottom video was taken just minutes after the top video as the bottom video train was waiting for the top video train to pass so he could use that track. There is a lot of action at that spot which is why I go there all the time.

Here locally, we're lucky to see two trains a week so that's why I go out of town to shoot my videos. They say our rail traffic is going to pick up but, it's going to be a while yet because they are just now upgrading tracks, replacing bridges and building completely new tracks & bridges in some areas locally. Those trains will come from the wye in Coleman where these videos were shot and those trains will then go to the Mexican border to carry freight into & out of Mexico. BNSF doesn't cross the borders from my understanding???

 

[Lone Wolfe]

This was my very first video I shot in the Coleman area and I screwed up cuz my car is in the corner of the frame so, you learn as you go, lol.

BNSF Intermodal Eastbound #6941 & #5175 in Coleman, TX - YouTube

In this video, you can see how bad the train shook the camera and it was on concrete and I was using sandbags to hold down the tripod. That train was well over the posted speed for that area of track?