Baltic Cruise - St. Petersburg, Russia - 2

Hi, Our second day in St. Petersburg began with a visit to Catherine's Palace and grounds.  We were met as we left the bus by a band,

and then another one at the palace gates.

The palace, like the Hermitage, is huge and

richly detailed.  That yellow stuff that looks like gold is actually 24 carat gold.

Detail continues inside

again with the liberal use of gold.  This is one of the reception rooms.

There are about 1/2 dozen dining rooms, each with its own china.

This blue unit is part of the central heating system in the Palace.  It is original.

Also, there are many decorative objects sitting on furniture, such as these vases.

One of the rooms contained a period musical instrument.

This statue represents Catherine the Great.

In one room the walls are covered with art.

Unlike the Hermitage, Catherine's Palace has extensive grounds.

This building was, and probably still is, used for meetings.

This was the music building.  We were given a short performance inside after which the performers offered CDs for sale.

After lunch we visited the gardens surrounding Peterhof (built by Peter the Great).  The gardens are known for their fountains.  Amazingly, the fountains work using gravity, not pumps.  We did not go in this palace so only exterior views can be shown.

There follows numerous views of the fountains and some of the gardens surrounding the palace.

These fountains were interesting because they only operate when someone or something passes in front of them, in this case the running little boy.

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Day In North America

Hi, Saturday, September 29 was Day In North America for Railroads Illustrated Magazine.  On that day readers were encouraged to go out and photograph during that 24 hour period and then submit their 3 favorite photos to the magazine.  Friend Jim Beck accompanied me on this outing.

I decided to spend the early part of the day on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and then head up to Baltimore.  Our first stop was Bowie, MD.  The track taking off to the left is CSX's line to Morgantown and Calk Point, MD, locations of large power plants that receive coal by the train load.

The first train up was the Silver Meteor from Florida at 8:00 AM. 

At 8:27 AM Northeast Regional train 152 blew through.

Leaving immediately we got down to Seabrook, MD in time for me to photograph Northeast Regional Train #121.

We moved north to Halethorpe but neither of the 2 southbound trains we were expecting showed up.  From a call to friend Bill Kalkman I learned that CSX was very busy so Jim and I joined him at Hollins Ferry Road where we photographed L033.

As one track was out of service for a grade crossing replacement about a mile north of Hollins Ferry Road we had enough time to move north to Ridgely Street in Baltimore, on the other side of the work area, to photograph Q370.

We were surprised by Q703 southbound but I was not happy with the photo.  After lunch we shot this train headed for Riverside Yard at Baileys Wye.

Jim and I then decided to check out the Baltimore Street Car Museum while Bill went over to the east side of town.  The museum had 3 cars running.  The first one we saw was this open car built by Brill in 1902.

This PCC built by Pullman Standard in 1944 ran second.  Both cars are sitting on the turning loop next to the museum building.

Finally, their Peter Witt built by Brill in 1930 ran third.

This single truck car was sitting outside the shop.

The Peter Witt is on the turning loop at the far end of the line.

After photographing the streetcars we began our trip home with a stop at St. Dennis.  Unfortunately, nothing ran but we did run into friend Dale Jacobson.  It was an enjoyable day.  Thanks for looking.