When to railfan?

Submitted by David on Sun, 2005-12-04 22:51

I see to recall that there is a railfanning excursion in the works sometime in December. Someone December 17th is looking pretty good for me for a couple of reasons. First of all, my last exam is on the morning of the 16th. Secondly, it's also the day on which the christmas train is running through the canyon.

Comments

Darren

Mon, 2005-12-05 00:04

Yeah, I think that could work. It is a swap meet Saturday for Shena, but I assume we'd be taking some vehicle other than the Cavalier anyway. Not sure how the timing would work for the Christmas train, but we could definitly see about working it in.

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

David

Tue, 2005-12-06 19:28

Hmn... how might the Christmas train impact traffic levels? (just noting that this Saturday might also be a possibility if that might allow for more activity). Any idea how the the weather forecast for the canyon is for the next few weekends?

Darren

Tue, 2005-12-06 21:11

The Holiday train shouldn't impact traffic levels too severely. The forecast is decent for both of the next two weekends, but I don't know if I'd be able to go this weekend. I have to fix the spare tire storage on the Cavalier before I can go, and I'm not sure when I'm going to get a chance to do that. Wednesday is out because we have to go get tickets for our trip to Holland, Friday is a hockey game night, so I'm not sure when I'll get to working on the car.

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

David

Tue, 2005-12-06 23:29

Wow ... giving hockey priority over trains... what is this?

Darren

Wed, 2005-12-07 07:35

No, no...I'm giving hockey priority over pissing around trying to fit the spare tire into the car properly.

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

David

Mon, 2005-12-05 00:09

Rotundus actually pops up as the first result if you google for calgary railfanning guide. Have any of us actually railfanned Calgary itself in the past? (I know that Darren's done some stuff aruond Edmonton, but I don't recall anything in Calgary beforehand).

Darren

Mon, 2005-12-05 09:57

I haven't done anything serious in Calgary, but I have gotten a few trains and seen the Alyth yards and shops just driving through.

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

Darren

Thu, 2005-12-08 00:58

I'm planning to work on the car tomorrow evening in an effort to free up Saturday as a possibility. What would be the plan for wheels assuming Saturday works? Should I be throwing a day's worth of insurance on the little red beast again? Will post again tomorrow re: progress on the Cavalier. If all goes as planned it shouldn't take me long tomorrow evening to get that spare stashed.

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

Darren

Thu, 2005-12-08 19:32

Got the spare stashed nice and quick on the way home this afternoon, so I'm good to go for this Saturday. At this point the weather looks sunnier this Saturday than next, though next Saturday looks snowy.

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

David

Thu, 2005-12-08 20:12

I was just thinking that I probably should do some car shopping this Saturday - after all the lighting conditions in winter probably limit the ability to do this during the rest of the week (assuming that you're looking at private sales).

Darren

Thu, 2005-12-08 23:44

...most houses have lights on them, don't they? And there's always the Saturday after that. There are also such things as flashlights. You don't want me to have gone through all the effort to get the Cavalier fixed up for nothing, do you?

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

David

Fri, 2005-12-09 01:06

The problem with that would be that cars are often outside, although I suppose that they could theoretically be inside a garage or something. It's a little harder to take a look at then.

Darren

Fri, 2005-12-09 07:36

It's what's inside that counts, isn't it (under the hood). Houses have outside lights, don't they, usually in the area that a car would be parked. Like I say, take a flashlight!

I'm not crazy...oh, wait, nevermind.

David

Fri, 2005-12-09 15:25

In general though the better the lighting conditions, the more likely you are to notice things. Flashlights have a limited beamwidth, and there's also something to be said for natural lighting in terms of how it reveals things.