How often do you see a C.N. unit on the point of a westbound manifest in Merced, CA?  I've been railfanning all of my life and this was a first for me.  This photo was taken at Merced, CA, at the "R" Street grade crossing on Sunday, January 16, 2005.  I first caught this train at Lingard, about 20 miles east of Merced, but realized that a better location and photo was needed.  My motto is "Safety First," so I simply drove the 65 MPH speed limit and headed to the west end of Merced, where I knew a decent location awaited me.  Dispite the fact that I drove ahead of this train, I only beat the train to this location by about 30 seconds.  But, it was worth the effort, as you don't see many Canadian National units on the point of an eastbound freight at Merced, not to mention a SD-40, which is a 30+ something old antique...  Details?  Film?  Kodacolor 100, f5.6 at 1/250th, shot using my old Canon AE-1 35mm camera, before I went digital.