On my favorite stretch of mountain railroad in the country, a former "Pepsi Can" P32-8BWH leads Amtrak's northbound Coast Starlight past the former location of Cougar siding on the ex-Southern Pacific Shasta Route in far northern California. The iconic chug of the Dash 8 leader breaks what had been a quiet and peaceful morning scene in the high desert, as the train blasts up the 1.4% grade to the summit at Grass Lake, just a few miles ahead. This was a very cool treat for me to see, as some of the first photos I saw as a kid of Mount Shasta were of matched Pepsi Cans leading the Coast Starlight in the mid 90's. The Pepsi Cans may be in "Phase V" paint now, but they are still one of the most unique modern passenger locomotives in my book. P32's are commonly seen as trailing locomotives on the Starlight nowadays, but not often on the point.
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.
