Ticket To Ride

Three Week Photoshoot

Actually it happened this way.....After checking out all the potential locations to shoot photos of Calgary's light rail transit trains, this location located on the elevated section of the west leg of the LRT system is in my mind the best spot on the entire system in the city of Calgary.

Now after first laying eyes on this location, I realized it was going to be challenging to capture the image I had in mind, as there is no way to approach this location on foot or with a vehicle without putting one's self where you shouldn't be.

Over the course of two weekends, and in particular Sunday mornings when the traffic on bordering Bow Trail was light, I would sit at a vantage point about a 1/2 kilometer or so to the west of the location in my truck where I could watch when the westbound train left the Sunalta station located further east of the location, and then time the train to see how long it took for the train to reach this elevated S curve.

I determined that the best spot to shoot the image was from an elevated section of Bow Trail where an off-ramp drops down giving access to 12 Ave and Crowchild Trail located beneath this elevated section. At the time I shot this image, a construction sign had been previously placed exactly where the ramp branched off of Bow Trail notifying drivers of the on going construction in the area.

On Sunday morning when I chose to photograph the train with light snow in the air, and sitting in my truck at the vantage point overlooking the west leg of the LRT system as on the past two Sunday's, I waited until the westbound train left the Sunalta station, and I then proceeded onto Bow Trail with my truck, making my way down to the location of the temporarily placed construction sign located between the ramp and the driving lanes on Bow Trail timing my arrival to coincide with the arrival of the train.

Arriving at the spot with moments to spare, I nosed my truck up against the sign, turned on the 4 way flashers, then grabbed my camera and shot this photo out of the open window of my truck as this Siemens S200 with 2421 "The Mask" in the lead negotiates this elevated S curve, on its way to the next station.

Expand the photo for a closer look.....

light rail transitcommuter trainsLRTSiemens S200train stationsrailsThe Mask