Great shot! The first thing I thought was I hope you didn't get sprayed by that! Hope you and your camera are undamaged. :) Every time I look at your images, it makes me want to get a DSLR. The lighting range you capture is very impressive.

The loco dosen't hiss steam at the front. It hiss steam in rear.

The spray wasn't an problem, very little of it thankfully, though it had oil in it which required a bit of fast work with a microfibre cloth to remove.

And thank you on the kind words.

DSLRs are pretty awesome, I know I really enjoy this camera. The images do get tweaked a bit though to get the dynamic range more like what my eye saw when I shot the image.

Sighs.
Makes me long for my own dslr too! Ive all but given up on film wayy too pricy anymore.At least untill I get my darkroom settup!
I second the comments on center of attention, angles and contrasts. Always awesome to see your picks!

I love the Shay. One of my all-time favorite locomotives. The Dixiana Shay is a real beaut. Great shot here, too. I had SP Daylight #4449 come through my town last year, which was awesome since I love trains.