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Fritzchen-26 â Delay In Block
Published: 2011-01-27 08:59:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 604; Favourites: 19; Downloads: 0
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Description
"VRE twenty-six, roger. Delayed in the block, approach next signal prepared to stop. Out"NORAC, Rule 504(b)
This marks the first photo I've taken to be accepted at RPnet.
VRE V36 F40PH (Ex AMTK 316 F40PHR)
VRE V03 RP39-2C (Ex CSXT 6569, NÊe C&O 3794 GP40)
N/B Manassas Train No. 326
NS Piedmont Division, Washington District, Burke Centre @ MP 21.5, Main 1
Nikon D90 DSLR
Nikkor 24mm f/2.8
24mm, 10/13s, f/5.6, ISO 200
Two-frame blended exposure, 2/5s and 13/10s.
Š Michael Mueller (Fritzchen | Fotografie). You may NOT use, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my permission. All Rights Reserved.
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Comments: 34
Tremendous shot - again, great lighting. very O.Winston Link
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Thanks! I've gotten the O. Winston compliments from a few others as well. 
But THIS shot was more luck than skill I think. I set up here a good 20 minutes before the train arrived to set my composition and exposure. Then I shivered in the cold waiting and finally got lucky when the train stopped in the perfect spot after what seemed like an eternity.
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Don't run yourself down - you make your own luck - you set your composition and exposure perfectly and your patience paid off - I reckon that's what separates the great photographers from the also rans.
There is an O. Winston Link documentary out there somewhere - must be at least some of it on YouTube - he set up hundreds of one shot flashbulbs strung across the countryside for some of his shots. Like you, careful and patient and, like you, worth it for the results.
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True, true, and thank you. I just don't want to get to that mindset of "hey, my work is perfect, there's nothing I could do better!" because there's always room for improvement in my mind. And besides, where's the fun in making it perfect every time? Then there's less reason to go back out and do it all over again.
Hmm, I think I might bring down Homeland Security on me if I tried that kind of setup around here. I'm hesitant to even use my on-camera flash sometimes, much less sit next to a camera & tripod for a half hour in the dark at the empty end of the platform waiting for a train.
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Very true, too; we should all strive to be better - you just start from a higher level than most!
Ah. Yes. Sorry; I forgot that you live in the land of the free
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Oh trust me, I didn't start out this way. My first 35mm shots were dark, fuzzy, and had the color balance of your typical "hey we're drunk at a party let's take pictures without flash and post every one of them online" sort of photo. Ya know, the primarily black photos, where there may or may not be something IN the frame?
You're tellin' me. I have to get a permit to use a tripod in DC on federal property... Which is basically everywhere.
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Yep; we've all got shots like that.
I got stopped from filming someone outside the Houses of Parliament a couple of years ago. I demanded that they call the police and they backed down. But... we're heading the same way; it's sad and pointless
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I get weird looks mostly. The problem in DC is, the people who stop you usually ARE the police, so it's more intimidating. I've been coerced into giving up a roll of film once, but that was before I knew better about what my rights are. Seems they actually have to have a court order for that sort of thing - which is one positive of this whole justice/injustice system we have in place here.
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Funnily enough, I found that a tripod was the best way to get candid shots of people. Once they stopped nosing around and got bored with you, you could be looking away from them and get the shot and they wouldn't notice they were in it (old 24mm lens good for this) so you got more relaxed and realistic shots.
The police don't always want to be photographed, though
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I have my SLR hanging on a neck strap, so with that and a manual focus lens (I use a 24mm as well actually) I can quickly guess a distance and shoot a quick burst and see what I get. I'll soon be getting Nikon's new 24mm (with AF!), so I hope this will be easier then - particularly with shutter speeds in low light.
Well, unless you get in their way or are doing something illegal, they don't really have any say in your photographing them. But I try not to appear like I'm actively watching someone just the same. I do seem to recall though that some places are making it "legal" to arrest you for photographing/videotaping police performing their duties. Not sure that's exactly constitutional, but since we're turning into a police state ANYway.
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On a bright day, I used to just set the lens at f22 and the focus to the maximum field by the lens markings. Made things v. easy but low light was tricky as you say.
I will say, most UK policemen are happy to be photographed.
Anyway, much of my stuff has not been scanned in and my dig SLR got stolen. I've put a few old bits on my gallery - let me know what you think.
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I've found that most days f/5.6-11 is the sweet spot for shooting. I shoot in manual anyway, so I can fire a test shot, adjust shutter/aperture/ISO, and then shoot away. All I have to do is compensate when I go to a brighter or darker area. Three of my four primes are manual focus too, so it takes more thought than just point and shoot. Hopefully my next investment in an f/1.4 prime will solve the problem of low light for me.
That sucks about your camera getting stolen. Not sure what I'd do with myself if that happened to me - my D90 is pretty much my life right now, not to mention supplementary income... Anyway you've got some great stuff in your gallery so far. I look forward to seeing more!
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I used to have a wonderful old FM2 - never let me down - all manual, all prime lenses. A big old Benbo tripod, too that would stay put in a hurricane. I got lured into temptation by the digital world, though and it definitely has its disadvantages. I need to start slowing down and doing things properly again. You've inspired me to get back to that.
Again, thanks for your comments.
Hope to get a D700 pretty soon and start again. The dear old D70s was nicked in Australia, at the end of a 3 month trip. Had over 800 pictures on the card and, of course, I hadn't downloaded them anywhere. I know there were some cracking shots there, too
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I've still got a manual SLR myself - Nikon's cheapo FM10. As cameras go, it's about as basic as they come. I've got manual shutter, aperture, ISO, focus, a bulb function, a mechanical self-timer, and a double-exposure feature I have yet to master (something like shoot the first frame, shift this lever up, then turn the rewind crank and shoot again? I'm horrible at it...). At least I have a basic - o + light meter and a split-screen viewfinder - I wish I had that in the D90.
Glad I've inspired you to get back to the roots of photography - I've found that's really where the fun is. Because, as I'm sure you know too, a computer can take a picture, but only someone setting everything just so can make art.
Ah the D700, the DSLR I've been ogling for a good year or two now. I'm currently investing in lenses until the D90 kicks the bucket (it's at 60% of its rated life time already). I'd be really tempted just to get the D7000 for its AI lens compatibility if I weren't expecting an update to the D700 in the next year or so. Wouldn't mind something more on the order of 14 or 15 megapixels too. 12.3 can tend to be just a bit too lacking in detail when I need to crop something or have things really crisp.
I've lost pictures like that too, so I feel your pain. Had a point and shoot digital with an almost full 1GB stick in it until it dove from my pocket into a small stream and fried itself. I was SO glad I'd also gotten some disposable 35mm cameras just in case that very thing happened...
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Know what you mean about the split screen viewfinder - you really know what's in focus with that.
Like you, I'm suspicious that Nik will produce an update to the D700. They usually update a camera just after I've bought it! The only thing that occurs to me is that they might put a 25 meg sensor in it and you lost the low light sensitivity which I love.
Decisions, decisions.
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And I didn't even know that myself until last year! 
I'm even more suspicious now that B&H has raised the price of the D700 another $100, making it now $150 more than it has been for a good year and a half. I don't see them making it quite that high resolution, but then again with the D3x being 24.5MP... Canon if I recall has been making a fair number of 18MP SLRs, so maybe they'll target that range, but I'm thinking somewhere more between 14-16MP would be the sweet spot for FX sensors. REALLY they need to be putting CCDs in their SLRs instead of CMOS chips so that the image noise can be better controlled for those of us using our cameras heavily for night photography. I know it's more expensive, but really, if you're already paying $2600 for a camera, what's another $200? Also, who (besides pros who actually print and such) needs anything higher than the 12.3MP that you get with the D90? The storage needs for someone who actually shoots heavily have to be ridiculous. A thousand pictures in RAW format for me fill up a 16GB card, and my shutter count is at 61,000... That's nearly a terabyte.
Sorry for the mini-rant.
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Don't apologise - good rant!
Yeah; interchangeable screens would be sweet. I guess it was a small market for them, though. Shouldn't affect the AF at all, I think.
I think the price rise is about the dollar dropping against the yen - we've had the same thing here. It's the D3x that bothers me - Nik tend to cascade the tech down, so the next obvious upgrade would be to put the D3x CMOS into a D700 and call it a D700s or D700x. That's not what I want.
Like you, I think CCDs might be the way to go. Better yet, why not interchangeable sensors for different conditions? Actually easier to do that than interchangeable screens, if you design the camera right.
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Yeah, I guess it wouldn't now that I look in my camera again. For some reason I was picturing the screen where the mirror is, and not where it ACTUALLY is just below the pentaprism. Silly me.
Well I hope the dollar goes back up then. Even the lens I'm eyeing went up another hundred this week. As for the D700, I'm rather hoping for a D800 or something similar, though as you say, a D700s or D700x is the next in line given their history. I've seen rumors of a D800, and even some "pictures" of it that I'd actually like to be real, this being one: [link] Says nothing as to what the sensor will be, but the ergonomics should be about right - not too small like the last few Nikon DSLRs, but not as huge as the D3 lineup. A few too many buttons going on up front though.
I'm willing to bet they don't ever make sensors interchangeable. Just think, if you can use a camera until its sensor fails and then just replace the sensor, why buy their newest camera body? They'd be losing money left and right to that. I for one would keep the D90, and swap the sensor for the D700/D3 CMOS, and put in the larger viewfinder while I was at it. Would probably only cost me $500-$1000 versus $2000 and up for the new body - an ideal choice for me, but not for camera makers.
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Oooh. Interesting pic of "the D800". Makes me want to wait and see even more, now.
Yeah; you're right of course. The only reason to upgrade these days is a better sensor - or your camera getting nicked
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moments after the ppt button was realesed those inside the cab could hear "sonuva B*&%#" ...
regardless to their troubles, this is actually very nice black and white
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Why troubles? Because of the delay in block rule? 'Cause that's normal for them to call out after every station stop, and I think also in the event of any other stop not due to an unfavorable signal indication.
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I thought it was because they were being held and that was going to make them late
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Nah, delay in block just means they had to stop for some reason, and there's a possibility that the signal aspect they had while entering the block may have changed, so they have to be ready to stop at the next signal just in case. That's my understanding of it at least.
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Well I learn more everyday 
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Just happened to find some more info on the Delay In Block rule during a semi-random Wikipedia excursion:
"February 16, 1996 â Silver Spring, Maryland, United States: The engineer of a MARC commuter train bound for Washington Union Station, either misses or ignores a stop signal and collides with outbound Amtrak train No. 29, the westbound Capitol Limited. The crash left 3 crew and 8 passengers dead aboard the MARC train. Three people die of injuries suffered in the impact; but the rest are killed by smoke and flames, the fire which may have been ignited by oil pot switch heaters. This accident lead to the FRA instituting the Delay in Block Rule, and also was a major impetus for the Passenger Equipment Safety Standards regulation (49 CFR Part 238)."
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When will everyone realize automation is waaaay better than an actual driver?
Vancouver b.c. has the worlds longest automated light rail system in the world... been there since the. Worlds fair in I beleve 1984 yet no train to train accidents ... sure I bet ppl have faallen onto the tracks and been hit but that's human at fault not the trains
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I could see that being the case some times in the presence of highly advanced systems with multiple fail-safes, but our technology isn't always as reliable as we'd like to think: [link] And you've gotta also consider that even if the system itself is flawless in its operation, there's always some idiot who will walk onto the tracks or some part of the train itself can malfunction (like a wheel fracture at Eschede) and then it's up to a computer to figure it out and stop the train before a crash.
Personally, I'd rather have a person driving my train, but that's just me - not saying there's not pros and cons to each, just that's my two cents.
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I believe the statistic is 1 % of vehicle (cars not trains) accidents are due to mechanical failure...
These. Trains I speak of are really safe though. Each set of cars can be added together to form 2,4 or 6 car trains. At peak times they will be running once every minute or so. However each trainhas an 80 ft buffer. So together they have a 160 ft buffer between trains
If a train is stopped at station and another train is approaching it will not break that. Buffer zone. To top it all off there is a monitoring center were people are watching the trains as a fail safe to all the technology
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We have that system (though not nearly as dense - that'd be freaky to see here) on the Metro in DC and it still failed and caused a collision. So while it works, I agree, it's a wonderful thing, but the engineer in me is making me look at all the possibilities for failure, and I don't like the image it's painting.
Just curious, with only 160ft between trains, how fast are they going? Seems like they've either got REALLY good braking ability, or they don't go too fast.
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Um the websit says top of 90kpm. Which without me doing too much math is about 55 mph but most times I'm on them I only ever see them about 25 mph and they do slow down if they might come close to th buffer of another train.... I remember seeing videos about it's safetl stuff... I smell a youtube search!
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