Harvest season and golden hour along the Chilli - September 25, 2021 in Mazon and Verona, IL

It is Saturday, September 25th, 2021 and, after eleven hours on interstate highways, we find ourselves back in the state of Illinois, a year and some change removed from our previous excursion. Ahead of us lies a week to do as much railfanning as we can, and a vast venue far from home to do so in. As my dad checks us into our hotel, I sit trackside under a clear blue sky in the small municipality of Mazon, roughly sixty-six track miles from the heart of Chicago along BNSF’s Southern Transcon. Temperatures sit comfortably in the upper sixties and lower seventies with light breeze, a positive indicator of the weather to come throughout our week in Illinois.
Intro, Mazon Depot (0:00)
Train 1: WB autorack (0:45)
Train 2: EB intermodal (4:47)
Train 3: EB intermodal (9:50)
A meet is near inevitable (10:10)
Train 4: WB intermodal (11:59)
Three DPUs, including a "Fakebonnet" Dash 9 (13:26)
Remainder of train 4 (14:14)
Verona Rd., Verona, IL (16:21)
Train 5: WB intermodal (17:58)
Sunset in Verona (21:22)
Harvesting at dusk (24:37)
Train 6: WB manifest (28:11)
Train 7: EB intermodal (33:37)
Fireworks (39:20)
Train 8: EB manifest (40:12)
Train 9: WB intermodal (44:26)
Another meet? (44:42)
Train 9 barrels down the line (45:16)
The other half of the would-be meet emerges (47:48)
Train 10: EB intermodal (49:54)
Another set of lights appears to the east (53:42)
Train 10 wraps up and disappears into the dark (53:49)
Train 11: WB intermodal, and a reminder of home (54:38)
Train 12: EB intermodal (1:01:29)
DPUs (1:06:02)
Train 13: WB intermodal (1:06:40)
Final words (1:11:55)
My camera setup:
Canon EOS Rebel SL3 body - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 lens - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
RØDE Stereo VideoMic Pro Rycote microphone - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Magnus VT-4000 fluid head tripod
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
This video was edited in VEGAS Pro 19. All footage belongs to and was recorded by myself. If you would like to use excerpts to pair with your own work, feel free to ask in the form of a comment or email.
Thank you for watching, as always!
-Nic

[@TBS_Railfanner]

45:18 My favorite train has to be this one, it has a beautiful 2nd gen k5hl, its lights are super bright at night, and you can hear its train horn from a distance ❤❤❤

[@1829entertainment]

Next time you’re in Illinois, let’s go out on the chilli together.