Priceless! All too often we try to crop out the people and the autos and similar "clutter" when we're photographing trains. It's not until a decade or more later that we wish we had included some of those period elements. Clean, scenic shots have their place. But there's no better time machine than a photo like this to remind you just how long ago 1978 really was. For me, a 1978 time machine shot would be a San Diegan gliding down the beach at San Clemente behind an SDP40F, or more likely a brand new F40PH, with an AMC Gremlin, Porche 914, and a couple of big Chryslers parked nearby, and some bikini babes with big Farah Fawcett hair waving at the engineer. Here in the Northwest, 30 years later, I've been making a greater effort to grab those pictures which include the farmers and their combines, the motorists waiting at the crossing, the railfans who will probably look a whole lot older the next time you see them, etc.