Smokin' Joe

Here's a leftover I had from the CRIC layup:


A mostly covered Smokin' Joe. It's a shame it's mostly covered up by now, I like this guys work and I don't know if he partakes anymore. 1986.


One more Smokin' Joe I forgot about that my roommate took. This one was just on the IAIS line. Very faded, and might have to work on getting this one to come through more in the future.

More photos later.

Until then.

Roads Redux

Here's the two I was excited about in my first entry, just with more pop.


A close-up version of the Herby.


And you can clearly see the lines now on this old Colossus of Roads.

I plan on another update later tonight with pictures I took yesterday.

Until then.

CRIC Under IAIS

If you head west, the IAIS tracks eventually go over the Iowa River. Under this bridge is a layup for the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City line that goes to Cedar Rapids. Boxcars sit here for weeks on end, so I too a walk down there to see what I could see.

First though, here's some pictures from along the way:


VooDoo Pimp. That hat is familiar, right?


Heinder, Hopper, and Steamboat.


Dekalb?


Skull Roy.


Texican Gothic. I see this rarely, but when I do I enjoy it.

Okay, there were about 6 or 7 boxcars down in the layup. My hands were getting cold, so I didn't want to spend that much time fiddling with any settings, so what you see if what you get.


The Whistle Blower, an old Driftwood from '97, and I see that Rabbit a lot.


Snell Man. I have seen this person's work only a few times, but I enjoy it a lot.


One more Snell Man. A snell, for those of you that don't know, is a type of knot used when tying fishing hooks.


Stackabones. Any relation to Bagabones?


1987.


The Solo Artist. A few years old.


This guy always writes numbers inbetween the tracks that he draws. I still haven't figured out the significance of the numbers.


The Rambler. 30 years. There is another one on the other side of the same car, but most of it has been gone over by now.


VooDoo Pimp's hat.


Cthulu wizard?

Here are a few images from the walk back:


The Karate Kid.


J.B. King Esquire. Hahaha.


Hobo Stew. Sorry about the flash. I was running out of batteries and didn't want to waste anymore shots in case something awesome was ahead and I missed the chance to catch a photo...


...and this is what I could've missed out on. The Rambler of Baton Rouge. '99.


That's it for now. My roommate taught me how to edit photos about halfway through uploading these images, so the last half of pictures looks a lot better than the first half. I'd definitely like to make that old Colossus of Roads and Herby from the last update "pop", so I'll work on that for next time.


Until then...

Upper 30s, February Day

I have thought about doing this for a long time, and now I am.
Here's what I came across today:



I have seen this feather come through a few times.


Mr. Bass. Once in '84 and again in '99.


MT and CDD. MT must be pretty tall, because I always see it at least halfway up a car.


D-Rail.


Get food stamps and shop local to stimulate your economy. Nice.


This whistle once more, 4 months before the one above.


And once more.


The Solo Artist.


A dirty Solo Artist.


At first I would see this and think it was just random scratches on the side of a car. Then I would see it more than once or twice. VooDoo Pimp I believe.


Good question.


This is the only angle I could catch this worm in an apple at.


A very faded Colossus of Roads, my favorite boxcar artist. Brush Hogs Extinct.


This is the first thing I saw going down onto the tracks today, and it's what sparked my interest in starting this blog again. A Herby dated 1996? Maybe it's a fake, since Herby apparently died in 1995. If it's a fake, it's a rather convincing one. Maybe I just need to get my stories straight.


Well, that's it for now. I'm sure as time goes on I'll get better at taking pictures.