Van Dorn Rail Porn

[Jimbaux is nothing more than a little boy inside, who cries out for attention, yet always tries to hide.]

Today’s song is truly a beautiful one, and so relevant too.  I realized in the last few days that even though I made an issue out of the tenth anniversary in May of the release of Staind’s Break The Cycle, I neglected to mention that that month was also the 10-year anniversary that Jimbaux got his first SLR camera!  It was a Nikon N80, and, thanks to digital photography, it would soon become obsolete, being replaced by a Canon Rebel in the summer of 2005.

So, we are also celebrating 10 years of quality rail porn from Jimbaux, brought to you in one form or another of the last decade, and we continue today with a look at the Norfolk Southern and the Virginia Railway Express at Van Dorn Street in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

Forget All The Things I Should Have Said

To begin today’s octet of pictures, I peek the new 70-200mm/f2.8 through the hole in the fence to get this shot.  Why the hole is there is a mystery to me, but it makes this shot possible without the fence getting in the way.

Just before I had gotten there, I had seen a pair of standard-cab EMDs and a caboose moving about the track, but they disappeared by the time I got on the bridge.

I Speak To You In Riddles, ‘Cause My Words Get In My Way

In this case, what has gotten in the way is part of the fence, which you can, unfortunately, see in the upper left part of this picture.

Yeah, it sucks.  I guess I should climb the fence.  Anyway, from what I’ve been told, the tank cars in the background are part of some ethanol facility.

I Can’t Take Any More Of This

So, what do I do?  I go to the other side of the bridge, look west, and pop off a shot like so:

I actually think this is about the best shot of the day, for some reason.  What about you?  What’s your favorite picture from today’s post?

I Want To Come Apart

Right about this time, I hear some radio chatter about an approaching VRE train, and I think that the local or yard job was working the eastern end of the yard too.

Neat, eh?  Look at the far end just to the left of the VRE train.  It looks like there is some torched-out EMD locomotive.  What is that?

Or Dig Myself A Little Hole

While I was shooting the above train, I got distracted by the sensation of someone walking behind me to the left.  After I shot the above shot, I took a look to the left and saw this:

There were several pedestrians walking as I stood up there.

Inside Your Precious Heart

Now, it’s time to refocus on the approaching train.  Jimbaux knows how to refocus for a shot in a hurry.

I believe the hoppers loaded with gravel to the left are for the state highway department or some sort of contractor for highway building.  I also think that the boxcar may be for newsprint for The Washington Post, but I’m not sure.

If I Talk To You Like Children, It’s ‘Cause I Don’t Know How To Feel

And, of course, a few seconds later, we have this:

I think that that really is a wrap.  The sun soon set.  However, I looked up in the sky and saw this:

I guess The Cajun Porkchop will like today’s post for many reasons.

But I Know I’ll Do The Right Thing, If The Right Thing Is Revealed

And revealed it shall be, my friends.  Thanks, Aaron Lewis.  Thanks, VRE.  Thanks, NS.

That’s enough for now.  Please remember, if you like what you see here on Jimbaux’s Journal, please join the Facebook fan page and encourage others to do so; the Facebook fan page is the best way to be alerted to site updates.

Good night.

Jimbaux