JUstDreamInparadise: Cane Trains

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Cane Trains

After Tai Chi yesterday I had decided that I would try and get some photos of the cane trains crossing a bridge. It should have been easy but I can assure you it's not. There is hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of train track criss-crossing the countryside and just as many bridges but only five locos. I started driving around and noticed some cane-train bins full of cane so I thought if I just sit here surely a train will turn up. Nupp! I waited for nearly an hour, but nothing. So I started making my way back into Mossman, and yes, you're right just as I turned a corner heading back into town, here was the train heading out! This was the order of the day for me. I went to a railway bridge across the South Mossman river that looked like a nice place to get a photo. I parked right beside the track and it would have been the perfect spot, but no, silly me had to go a little further down into the creek bed didn't I, and you guessed it. While I was driving down there a train rumbled over the bridge. I frantically grabbed for the camera and started shooting but alas, all those photos are blurred. The shutter speed was way too low! I quickly jumped back into the car, threw it into gear and started following the train that was making its way to the mill. Luckily the cane trains move VERY slow so I was able to make it back to the mill with plenty of time to set up my camera. By this time the rain was thumping down again.
Thankfully the rain stopped long enough for me to get some shots of the train approaching the bridge. I was getting very excited, and then, suddenly, the bloody train stopped. Right before it got to the bridge. It unhooked it's cane bins and then made it's way over the bridge minus it's load! Ah well. I will try again another day to get that perfect cane train photo.