Sprinkles Off A Cake. It's a hot, humid morning in Chatsworth, California as Amtrak's northbound Coast Starlight, Train No. 14, tackles the grades of Santa Susana Pass less than an hour into its journey from Los Angeles Union Station to Seattle, Washington. On the rear of today's train are four private cars, which from left to right include the: "Stampede Pass," "Pacific Home," "Montana" and the venerable "Yerba Buena."
While today's passage of the four private cars certainly adds a splash of color to the normally stainless steel fluted sides of the Amtrak Superliners, a plentiful amount of other colors can be found above the eastern portal of Tunnel 27 that the train is seen entering in. Since the days of steam when GS-4 locomotives piloted the famous "Daylight" passenger train over these very rails, railroad photographers have ventured here to capture trains passing through the majestic rock formations. Unfortunately, the photographers are not alone. Many folks from the general public have taken to the makeshift trails on this side of the tunnel and most obviously, vandals have decided to leave "their mark" on the rocks here in the form of dozens of graffiti marks.
When I shared this photo with a friend he commented, "All the graffiti from that distance looks like someone spilled sprinkles on the ground while eating cake." I thought that was a much better interpretation of all the spray paint and thought the title of this photo should appropriately be dubbed, "Sprinkles Off A Cake."
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.