Trackster

You may recall that back in 2014, I often juxtaposed  canal&river/rail in photos like the one below.

This post was originally going to feature only photos of the river and canal from the rails, like the one below, but

then I decided to pair photos from the train toward the water with the opposite:  photos from the water toward roughly the same land area where the rails lay and the trains speed.

Train shots are difficult because of speed, coatings on the windows, trees and poles along the tracks . . .  but I’m quite sure a letter that begins “Dear Amtrak:  could you slow down, open windows, and otherwise accommodate the photographers” would not yield a positive response.

I hope you enjoy this attempt on my part.  And if you ever have a chance to ride Amtrak along the Hudson, Mohawk, and Lake Champlain . . . sit on the better side of the car; switch sides if necessary.

Here we’re on the Livingstone Avenue Bridge looking south and

here we are south of it, looking north.  Yes, that’s Crow, Empire, W. O. Decker, and Grand Erie passing through the open swivel.

Here’s the pedestrian bridge in Amsterdam

as seen from both vantage points.

The 1766 Guy Park Manor from a speeding train and

from the Mohawk River/Erie Canal, where post-Irene repair has been going on since 2011.   Here’s a photo taken soon after the unusual weather.

Schoharie Aqueduct from Amtrak,

a slow boat, and

the east bank of Schoharie Creek.

Little Falls onramp to I-90 from rail and

below.

The rail bridge at Lock 19 from the span and

from west of it at Lock 19.

And these all east of Utica I can’t pair, but decided to include here anyhow:  a dairy pasture,

a construction yard, and

a truck depot.

Maybe if I write that “Dear Amtrak” letter, I could just ask if the window could be cleaned a bit.  If you’re going to try this, take amtrak when the leaves are off the trees.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who embeds this post from “Good Morning Gloucester” to reveal a bit of my past . . . 1988.  Scroll all the way through to see a piece of shipwreck “treasure.”

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Go West 2 and 3

Legs 2 and 3 are West Point to Kingston, and then Kingston to Troy to lower the boat for clear passage through the Erie Canal.

Starting below, leaving West Point,

passing Buchanan 12,

HR Otter,

looking back toward Catskill,

meeting

Craig Eric Reinauer,

in awe in Coeymans seeing Eli (which I first misread as ELF) and

Ocean Tower,

 

passing port of Albany and BBC Vela,

seeing Slater in the morning light, and finally

after tying up at Troy, reconfiguring the boat for the Erie Canal.

Leg 4 starts at noon today as we head for a night in Amsterdam.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Hudson Downbound 2

To start part 2, I’ll go back upriver a bit to Esopus Island.  Craig Eric Reinauer with RTC 103 is anchored to the south.  Much of the Hudson has  associated with some unusual characters, both in fiction and in real life.  Esopus Island is no exception:  about a century ago it was the magical hideaway of Aleister Crowley.  My friend Mitch–Newtown Pentacle–wrote about him here.

Farther south is a place with a magical name but a quite mundane though necessary construction on it.  This is the current resident of Duyvil’s Danskammer Point, idled in litigation I think.  The Dutch called it “devil’s dance chamber” because they saw natives doing a ceremonial dance there by firelight . . .   A lighthouse and several brickworks also once stood here.

Looking back upstream . .  the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and Danskammer Point in the background.  Foreground is picnic boat Gem.  A Hinckley?

River Rose previously appeared here about three years ago.

Justine McAllister . . . I caught her the day before east- and then northbound at the KV buoy pushing RTC 120.  Also, three years ago I caught Justine towing the same barge on the Hudson.

Upbound off Cornwall . .  it’s Kimberly Poling, also a frequenter of both this river and this blog.

I’m not sure why so many large yachts were on the river the other day . . . off Bannerman’s Castle, location of a ceremonial swim a few months back, it’s Blue Moon.

Here’s Bannerman’s from the south side, juxtaposing the residence (left) with the warehouse.

I’ve yet to deliver on closeups of the residence, but here’s a preview.  The “picture window” serves to illustrate the interior for now.

That’s Bannerman’s in the background as Black Watch passes northbound.  Slope on the right is dauntingly named Breakneck Ridge.

The Hudson is truly loved.

Here a crowded Clearwater lowers sail in the Hudson Highlands.

Seastreak New York, usually shuttling south from the sixth boro, travels north when the leaves start to turn color.   Not pictured to the left is West Point.

Peak behind Bear Mountain Bridge is Anthony’s Nose, which I scaled back in April.

And finally . . . just south of the Bear Mountain Bridge . . . it’s another people mover usually associated with the confines of the sixth boro, Circle Line Queens, here assisting in leaf peeping.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

December Light 2

I first used this title a year ago . . . when I caught morning light in December here.    Solstice time for me . . .  I want there to be light, preferably the golden kind outdoors.  These fotos were all taken in less than 90 minutes.  Lynx was southbound,

as was Joan Turecamo, each on the far side of a barge.

Maersk Katarina and Soley-1 awaited on the hook.

Overseas Atalmar did the same, closer to the Staten Island side.

As the sun declined behind Staten’s summit, a last gleam of sunlight did its magic.

A fortunate building in Brooklyn appeared to catch fire as

sun set over beyond the Kills.

Craig Eric Reinauer headed north and

Barbara McAllister slowed up to remake the tow.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp, whose batteries run low in this season when there’s a need for light . . . .  If you’ve never been down at the Battery at sunset this time of year, it’s high time you treat yourself.