May 23, 2015; Clear Morning on the old Boston & Albany.

May 31, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

I’d learned via Facebook that it was Railroad Illustrated’s annual ‘Day in North America.’ The day dawned cloudless and bright, and while I had a full schedule of events for the day, I opted to make the most of the first part of the morning.

I’d stopped into Palmer, where I’d found a couple of New England Central locomotives in the yard. Then opted to travel up the Quaboag River Valley.

This landed me at my familiar spot in the old Warren, Massachusetts yard. My knowledge goes back a good long time. While there’s not been a switch in the Warren ‘yard’ in my lifetime, although I can recall when the line was double track, and the old Warren Crossovers were around the corner to the east.

Way back in the day (and that day was more than 60 years ago) Warren was served by a local freight. Go back even further and there was really quite the complex of tracks at Warren.

Now a carwash occupies part of the property. Yet the old passenger and freight stations survive, and someone has put some effort into fixing up the windows in the passenger station.

I contemplated all of these things while patiently waiting for a wheel to turn.

Then the phone rang . . .

Doug Moore, a loyal Tracking the Light reader (and sometimes proofreader and fact checker) said to me, “there’s an eastbound piggyback train through West Warren, it should be to you shortly! I’d seen your car parked there by the station.”

Hooray for good information! (Thanks Doug).

Without a moment to waste, I sprung into action, made my test photos, when the train roared into view, I exposed these photos with my Fuji X-T1 (and also a super-wideangle view on Provia with my EOS 3).

An eastward CSX intermodal train, probably Q012, approaches Warren. Exposed with a Fujifilm XT1 digital camera.

A closer, more traditional view from the same location. Exposed with a Fujifilm XT1 digital camera.

The Boston & Albany yard may be gone, but the mainline lives on.

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MBTA Green Line Revisited.

May 30, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

Some of my earliest memories of the Green Line and the Boston Museum of Science

Much has changed since the days when I used to stare in wonder at Boston & Maine 3713 on display out front of the museum while trains of 2-3 old PCCs hummed along the elevated structure across the street.

In mid-May 2015, Pat Yough and I went for a Green Line spin to Lechmere and back, stopping over at the Science Park station for a few photographs.

Boston's Science Museum is on the left. Exposed digitally with a Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon 18-135mm lens — Boston’s Museum of Science is on the left. Exposed digitally with a Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon 18-135mm lens

In-bound Green Line train near the Science Park station. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera. 18-135mm lens.

Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera with Pat Yough's 32mm Carl Zeiss lens with Fuji X-mount. Sharp! — Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera with Pat Yough’s 32mm Carl Zeiss lens with Fuji X-mount. Sharp!

Roughly the same angle of an outbound Green Line train exposed with my Lumix LX7. — Roughly the same angle of an outbound Green Line train exposed with my Lumix LX7 with offers a wider view than the 32mm Zeiss lens.

The steel-girder elevated that once extended toward North Station was replaced years ago by a new tunnel with a steep ramp up to the concrete-faced elevated that still passes the museum.

Lechmere looks much the way that I remember it.

Some places never seem to change . . . and then one day all of sudden they are unrecognizable . That day may be soon approaching. Afterward memories fill the gap where photographs leave off.

Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera. 18-135mm lens. — Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera fitted with a 32mm Carl Zeiss lens with Fuji X-mount.

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Battle of the Lenses! Zeiss versus Fujinon; with an MBTA PCC as Test Subject.

May 29, 2015 brian solomon 1 Comment

Now, is this a fair comparison? Pat Yough lent me his Carl Zeiss Touit f1.8 32mm lens to test on my Fuji X-T1. So I made two similar photographs at the same spot of successive MBTA PCCs at Cedar Grove (first stop west of Ashmont).

A more conventional comparison would have taken a more scientific approach by perhaps mounting the camera on a tripod and photographing a static subject with constant light.

And that would be a good test, its true. But that’s not what I was going to do.

Lens in hand (or more precisely, attached to my Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera), I wanted to see what the lens could do as a working tool. How does it handle? How quickly does it focus? What is the color like? Does it seem sharp?

I was comparing it against my ‘catch all’ Fujinon Super EBC XF 18-135mm zoom. At the moment this is the only lens I have for my Fuji X-T1 and I’ve been using it for just about all the photos I’ve made with the camera.

First I used my Fujinon lens of PCC 3262; then 8-minutes later the Zeiss of PCC 3260.

Exposed using my Fujifilm XT-1 with the Fujinon 18-135mm zoom lens set at 25mm. Exposure f5.6 at 1/500th of a second. ISO 800.

This is the view with the same camera, but using testing Pat Yough's Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm lens (with Fuji X-mount). Exposure f3.5 at 1/500th of a second. — This is the view with the same camera, but using testing Pat Yough’s Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm lens (with Fuji X-mount). Exposure f3.5 at 1/500th of a second. ISO 250 (Notice that was was able to use a much lower ISO with the Zeiss lens, which in theory allows for better image quality, although at this small size, it would impossible to tell.)

While the 18-135mm is a great lens, it has two drawbacks. It’s bulky and relatively slow (f3.5 –f5.6 depending on the focal length). The Zeiss lens by contrast is lightweight and very fast.

But the really important point of this exercise is the end photos. Which is better overall?

The Fujinon image was made with a slightly wider focal length. Well that’s the advantage of a zoom-lens, right, the ability to adjust the focal length on the spot.

However, one of the unspoken advantages of a prime lens (a fixed focal length lens, such as this Zeiss 32mm) is that it forces the photographer to work within the limits of the given angle of view. Sometimes this makes the photographer (me) work a little harder when composing the photograph.

I found the Zeiss to be fast-focusing, very sharp and it provides excellent clean color. On the downside, the field of view is slightly narrower than I like.

Using the Zeiss 32mm on the Fuji camera reminds me a lot of my old 50mm Leica Summicron (which owing to my use of it with a traditional 35mm-film Leica M, provided nearly the same field of view as does the Zeiss on my X-T1.). The 50mm Summicron always seemed a bit too narrow, but the results I got from the lens have really stood the test of time.

What do you think?

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Amtrak’s Confusing Coincidence or Numerical Harmony?

May 27, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

I phoned Julie—Amtrak’s automated agent, as you do when you’d like to know if a train is running on time. Amtrak 448, the Lake Shore Limited was a little more than an hour late leaving Springfield.

Dennis LeBeau, Wolfie the dog, and I waited at the bridge in East Brookfield, Massachusetts east of CP64. I said, “448 left Springfield 40 minutes ago. It’s about 25 minutes to Palmer, so it ought to be between Warren and Brookfield by now. We should be seeing a headlight in a couple of minutes.

Brookfield is milepost 66 on the old Boston & Albany. There hasn’t been a station there in my lifetime. East Brookfield is at the east end of long tangent, which provides lots of warning for eastward trains.

Dennis looked west, “There’s your headlight, just like you said.”

I wandered back and forth on the bridge trying to find the most suitable angle. Ultimately I settled on this spot to the north of the mainline. All things being equal, I wish I’d brought my Fuji X-T1; this would have made a nice 135mm view to bring in the green trees and track-ladder in the distance.

Exposed with my Lumix LX7 at f1.7 1/800th of a second, ISO 200 at 7:16pm on May 20, 2015.

Engine 48 was leading train 448 at CP 64. Got all that? Great! Too often, I have to explain the fundamental difference between an engine number and train number.

To the uninitiated this seems like a trivial difference. But to those in railroad operations it could be life or death.

Really it’s a question of hardware versus software. The locomotive is the hardware, the train is a service. Today engine 48 leads 448, but tomorrow it will lead another train with another number. On the timetable, everyday train 48 and train 448 are combined as one between Chicago and Albany. And there’s the confusing coincidence. Train 48 and locomotive 48 are different; one being a service, and the other an engine.

Nice light on engine 48, no?

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Boston’s Time Machine. Step back 30, 40, 50 years!

May 26, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

In recent years I’ve been making annual visits to MBTA’s Mattapan-Ashmont Red Line extension. This quaint relic of urban transit is a throw-back to another time.

Thanks to the wisdom and historically minded MBTA, this continues to host restored PCC cars wearing classic period paint. (today, we might call it ‘heritage paint’ but I don’t know that I approve of that term).

Back in June 1978, I visited this line with my father and exposed my first roll of Kodachrome 25 (prior to that I usually used K64 or Ektachrome).

Twenty years earlier, my father had made his first visit to the line. The cars then were double-end former Dallas PCCs, but painted nearly the same as those featured here.

Capen Street in May 2015. Streetcars like this one have been prowling Boston's streets for more than 70 years. Lumix LX7 photo. — Capen Street in May 2015. Streetcars like this one have been prowling Boston’s streets for more than 70 years. Lumix LX7 photo.

Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens.

The other day, Pat Yough and I spent an overcast afternoon photographing the antique PCCs. These are great vehicles to travel in and make for intriguing subjects. For me it brought back memories of living near MBTA’s Riverside Line in the early 1970s when PCCs were still the rule on that route.

PCC seen from a PCC. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with Carl Zeiss f1.8 32mm lens.

If you haven’t seen it, John Gruber and I authored a compact book titled Streetcars of America published by Shire that features on the cover a freshly painted former Dallas PCC near Cleveland Circle.

This is also available through Amazon.

Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens at Capen Street near Mattapan.

PCCs pass at Central Avenue, Milton. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens.

Mattapan loop. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens.

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Subterranean Lumix Views

May 25, 2015 brian solomon 1 Comment

My Lumix LX7 with its f1.4 Leica Vario Summicron lens is another fun tool for making photos in the subway. It sure beats my ancient old Leica 3A hands down.

Park Street Station was bright enough so that even back in film days I could get passable photos of paused PCCs in black & white. But these days with the LX7 I can make very publishable handheld views in color.

Using the digital camera in the subway allows me virtually instantaneous feedback. I can check color balance, sharpness, exposure and composition on site. No longer do I need to unfurl wet negatives from stainless steel tanks to find out that I missed my exposure by half a stop.

Of course while instant feedback allows me to make adjustments to the exposure on-site, it does take away some of the thrill of anticipation.

I’ve found that subway images, like most night photos, require a manual exposure override of about a 1/3 to 2/3rds of a stop to compensate for specular highlights (caused by overhead lights and the reflections of same off shiny surfaces such as metal encased columns and enameled station signs).

Red Line station at Park Street in Boston. Exposed using a Lumix LX7 digital camera. ISO 200 f1.5 at 1/50th of a second.

In other words, I’ll set the Lumix to the ‘A’ (aperture) mode, then dial in + 2/3 overexposure with the toggle wheel. When I don’t make this correction the images appear too dark coming out of the camera. While I can adjust for this in post processing, I’d rather optimize my exposure to allow for the most amount of detail in the RAW file.

Does all that sound too complicated? By making this nominal exposure compensation to lighten my photos in camera, the resulting images will ultimately require less work on the computer and should be easier to use on the printed page.

The photos display in this post have not received post-processing, except for scaling necessary for internet presentation. Here: I have not modified exposure, color balance, contrasts or sharpness.

MBTA ticket machines at Harvard Square. The glint off the metallic surfaces and screens can result in underexposure. Red Line station at Park Street in Boston. Exposed using a Lumix LX7 digital camera. — MBTA ticket machines at Harvard Square. The glint off the metallic surfaces and screens can result in underexposure. Exposed using a Lumix LX7 digital camera.

Green Line station at Park Street in Boston. Exposed with a Panasonic Lumix LX7.

The mix of filtered skylight and artificial lights would have posed a difficult color-balance situation with film. No problem for the LX7, just use the 'auto white balance' feature. Ashmont Station. — The mix of filtered skylight and artificial lights would have posed a difficult color-balance situation with film. No problem for the LX7, just use the ‘auto white balance’ feature. Ashmont Station.

Station sign at Ashmont. Lumix LX7 photo.

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Boston’s Red Line—Hooray for Digital Photography!

May 24, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

Way back, in the dim past of my formative years in photography, I’d travel the Boston subway Leica 3A in hand and try to make photos.

My camera skills were rudimentary, my spelling was atrocious, and trying to make photographs underground with Kodachrome film really wasn’t the most practical approach to making successful images.

But that didn’t deter me, and I’d try anyway.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had an occasion to regularly ride Boston’s Red Line subway. But, in the interval I’ve discovered that one of the advantages to modern digital photography is in the realm of subterranean urban rail imagery. (Digital spell chek helps greatly with the words too.)

Park Street Station, Boston. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 fitted with Carl Zeiss f1.8 32mm lens.

The other day Pat Yough lent me his recently acquired Carl Zeiss f1.8 32mm lens. This fast sharp piece of glass combined with the excellent sensor on my Fuji X-T1 is an ideal combination for making subway images. Here’s just a few.

So where in the 1970s and early 1980s, I’d made dark slides and thin black & white images, today the photographs at least properly exposed!

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Tomorrow: Underground with a Lumix with some valuable tips!

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Southern Railway—Atlanta—May 1985.

May 23, 2015 brian solomon 1 Comment

It was 30 years ago today, on May 23, 1985, that I exposed this photograph of a Norfolk Southern freight at Atlanta, Georgia. Although the NS merger had occurred a few years earlier, the old Southern image still prevailed.

Exposed on 35mm Kodak black & white film with a Leica 3A fitted with a 50mm Elmar. Notice CocaCola’s hi-rise office in the distance. It was this landmark I was trying to feature. I didn’t have a 90mm lens, which is really what I needed to make this image work. — Exposed on 35mm Kodak black & white film with a Leica 3A fitted with a 50mm Elmar. Notice CocaCola’s hi-rise office in the distance (peaking out over the warehouse, above and right of the locomotive). It was this landmark I was trying to feature. I didn’t have a 90mm lens, which is really what I needed to make this image work.

This is a cropped view of the same image to roughly approximate a telephoto view. Thankfully the old Leica lens had razor sharp optics.

I was impressed by the hi-hood GP50s, such as those pictured running long-hood forward. In my book, Southern’s SD45s were even more impressive. The locomotives were clean, sharp looking and well maintained. By contrast, the Seaboard System with its collection of inherited locomotives seemed like a poor sister in tattered clothing.

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Photographic Tip: Using a High Speed Motordrive to Improve Your Photos

May 22, 2015 brian solomon 3 Comments

One traditional school of thought when making photographs is capturing the ‘decisive moment.’

This moment is arbitrary, but in theory it is the instant in time when the elements in the composition are at their optimum relation to one another.

When I work with my old Rolleiflex to photograph moving trains this is a good philosophy. I’ll carefully consider all the elements in the frame, and wait, with shutter poised, until the train is at its optimum point, and ‘click.’

Some time later, often days or weeks later, I’ll process the film. Maybe I got what I was hoping to capture, maybe not.

Such is not the case with my Fujifilm X-T1. The relative cost of exposing one digital frame versus a dozen is inconsequential as compared to film. While the ability of the camera to make a burst of images rapid has completely altered the way I consider my compositions and expose photos.

I’ll still study the scene and look at all the elements. Typically I’ll make a few test photos to check sharpness, exposure and how different focal lengths alter the scene.

But when the train arrives, instead of exposing one photograph, or in the case of my old slide camera a few ‘motor drive’ dupes, I’ll might make a burst of images all the while adjusting my framing to subtly alter the composition. More is better, right?

Then after the fact I can decide which image I like best. I can erase the rest.

Below are five similar views made within seconds of each other. These portray an Irish Rail perway train working the quad track in suburban Dublin. Operation of this particular train is sporadic, and making photographs of it require knowledge, planning and patience.

When it finally came into view, I wanted to be sure I made the best possible photo that shows the train in its environment. Which one do you like the most?

First in the sequence. In total I made nine similar images. Only five are displayed here, including the last. Among the features of the scene: the ‘ghost station’ in the distance; the quad track line; the road to the left of the line’; old and new mileposts on either side of the line (of which the milepost on the left has been cropped out of this view); and the construction of building going on in the distance.

The train is ever so slightly closer. But this image is essentially the same as the first. I can erase one of these without any loss.

Here the train is noticeably closer. It is now slightly off center, which is probably better since it makes better use of the space. I can always crop in on it to tighten the overall composition, but I would rather avoid that.

4 DSCF6377 — Here I’ve turned the camera slight to the left, which includes the new mile post, but crops the station.

This is the last of the digital photos. The train is at its closest. But now the 'ghost station' is cropped. Maybe I didn't need to include that anyway? This view accentuates the side of the train more than the distant views and the track panels are more evident. — This is the last of the digital photos. The train is at its closest. But now the ‘ghost station’ is cropped. Maybe I didn’t need to include that anyway? This view accentuates the side of the train more than the distant views and the track panels are more evident. The buildings in the distance have been cropped out as has the horizon. The lighting polls are more prominent, which make for an interesting element. On the downside the locomotive is more centered. I probably should have had the camera slight more to the right, which would have moved the locomotive off-center and included more of the railcars behind it.

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North Yorkshire Moors Railway—9F in Steam.

May 21, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

On April 10, 2011, I was rolling along behind class 9F 2-10-0 92214 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

This wonderfully preserved British Railway really captures the spirit of a secondary mainline as it would have been decades ago.

Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with a 28-135mm set at 135mm. f5.6 1/320 second, ISO. With image stabilizer switched 'on'. — Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with a 28-135mm set at 135mm. f5.6 1/320 second, ISO 200. With image stabilizer switched ‘on’. The early season growth on the trees in the distance has the effect of making them appear blurred.

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Alexandria, Virginia—May 20, 1985.

May 20, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

It was 30 years ago this morning that I exposed this black & white photo of a northward Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac piggyback train at Alexandria, Virginia.

RF&P was among the railroads melded into the CSX system.

Exposed on Kodak black & white film with a Leica 3A fitted with an old 50mm Elmar with non-standard f stop setting. Among the other challenges of using this lens was its lack of modern color coatings. However, it was a very sharp piece of glass. — Exposed on Kodak black & white film with a Leica 3A fitted with an old 50mm Elmar with non-standard f stop settings. Among the other challenges of using this lens was its lack of modern color coatings. However, it was a very sharp piece of glass.

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Pan Am Southern at East Portal—A view back at winter.

May 19, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

It was back on January 12, 2014, when I made this view of Pan Am Southern’s symbol freight EDMO (East Deerfield Yard, Massachusetts to Mohawk Yard near Schenectady) in the Berkshire hills at East Portal.

Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.

To make these photos, I temporarily co-opted a mound of snow and ballast to gain added elevation for a better view of the bridge.

The famous Hoosac Tunnel is across the road behind me. Soon the train will enter its murky depths.

I’d followed the train on its ambling journey upgrade from East Deerfield, This is another age old tradition for me, dating back to the early 1980s.

Back in the day, the challenge would have been to stay with the train to Mechanicville, New York. “To the River!” As we’d declare. (The Hudson, that is).

Pan Am 616 leads EDMO at East Portal. Exposed digitally with a Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.

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Tracking the Light’s Top Posts and Some You Missed!

May 18, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

When I reviewed my latest statistics I was surprised by the results. The top five most viewed posts were neither those that I’d worked the hardest to produce, nor those the I thought might draw the most interest.

What didn’t surprise me was that my clever titles are most often lost in the mix. The blunt ‘THERE YOU GO’ headings generally do better.

So much for subtlety. A rose by any other name basically goes unnoticed no matter how sweet it smells!

The seven most viewed posts:

1 recent-images-of-dublin-ireland

2 tracking-the-light-news-flash-photos-of-philadelphia-schuylkill-river-bridge-derailment

3 sperry-train-at-islandbridge-junction-on-august-30-2012

4 streamliners-at-spencer-photos-by-brian-solomon

5 tracking-the-light-special-post-palmer-hobbies-now-open

6 panasonic-lumix-lx100-review

7 railway-photography-tips-to-improve-your-odds-the-basics

Here’s five posts I wished you’d seen, but statistically you missed. Like a post? Please share it!

1 times-square-shuttle

U2 went there a few days ago and it went viral; Tracking the Light visited and; crickets.

2 running-numbers-springfield-massachusetts-on-a-sunday-morning

So much for betting on clever titles.

3) ghost-of-the-lackawanna-daily-post/

Cool title, cool photo, great information, check it out! (shameless plug, I know, but hardly anyone paid attention before).

4) daily-post-irish-rail-wellingtonbridge-county-wexford-december-2005/

Ah come on, it’s like the beet, man.

5) philadelphia-a-view-from-a-canoe

Hey, what’s da matter, yous got a problem with boats or something? Eh?

I exposed this image at dusk on Fujichrome slide film using my Nikon F3. The low angle afforded by my seat in the canoe, I was able to make the most of the surface of the river without getting wet.

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Main Street, Richmond, Virginia—October 2, 2005.

May 17, 2015 brian solomon 1 Comment

I was on a personal tour of Richmond hosted by my friend Doug Riddell. This was aimed at making photographs, while exploring some history of the area and the nuts and bolts of real railroading.

We paused at Richmond’s Main Street Station to make this photograph of an Amtrak train bound for Newport News. Hoppers roll by on an adjacent bridge.

I was intrigued by the technological contrast between the Genesis diesel-electric and the old Budd-built baggage car behind it. Now, ten years later, Amtrak is replacing its old baggage cars with new cars.

Exposed on Fujichrome with a Nikon F3 with Nikkor f2.8 24mm lens.

The old baggage were among Amtrak’s last heritage equipment inherited from the private railroads when it assumed passenger operations more than four decades ago.

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Making Better Photographs—Learning the Light: Four Phases of Sunset

May 16, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

The other day my brother sent some brilliant sunset images from Philadelphia. I commented, ‘nice drop-under’, and this led to a conversation about sunset light.

‘You should make a post about that’. And so here we are.

I’ve quantified sunset into four phases. There may be more. And in fact, sunset isn’t really so-divided, but rather one continuous changing of light. But recognizing these four phases can allow you to be in position to make better photographs (and that’s really what I’m trying to convey).

Too often, I’ve been traveling and just before the light reaches its optimum, I’ve found myself out of position.

As the sun sets, the quality of light is altered by clouds, air-pollution, and the horizon. Sometimes a lack-luster sunset in one of the early phases wll blossom during a later phase. Or vice versa.

Watch the sun and clouds and be patient.

My four phases of sunset are:

1) Sun above the clouds
2) Sun behind the clouds
3) Drop-under (sun below the clouds)
4) Afterglow (sun just beyond the horizon)

Phase 1. As pictured with an eastward Conrail doublestack train at Elkhart, Indiana.

Phase 2: As seen with an Irish Rail overflow cement train at The Curragh, County Kildare just after 10pm back in 1998.

Phase 3: 'Drop-under' as seen with Shiprock in northern New Mexico in August 1991. — Phase 3: ‘Drop-under’ as seen with Shiprock in northern New Mexico in August 1991.

Phase 4: Looking west on 18th Street in San Francisco.

Phase three, drop under is the often the best, yet most fleeting and unpredictable element of a sunset. This often occurs on an otherwise cloudy evening, when for a moment the sun as it nears the horizon will illuminate clouds from below.

The drop-under effect is accentuated when there is a thick layer of air-pollution as the combination of particulates and gases in the atmosphere bend the light toward the red-end of the spectrum.

The bottom line: if you want to make better sunset photos, don’t abandon your photography too soon. Find a suitable location and wait for the light.

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Tracking the Light Looks Back at Bayshore—Two Photos.

May 15, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

Often it’s the details that make a difference. In April 1991, I made a few photos at Cal-Train’s Bayshore platforms near the San Francisco-end of the old Bayshore yard.

By that time the yard was but a ruin—a vestige of another era. Southern Pacific’s operational presence in San Francisco, still its headquarters at that time, was a shadow of what it had been, and diminishing.

What caught my eye was the old wooden speed-restriction post with Southern Pacific written on it. Here was tangible evidence of the SP at Bayshore.

Pan photo exposed on Kodachrome 25 with a Nikon F3T fitted with a Nikkor f1.8 105mm lens.

Shallow depth of field helps emphasize the front of the locomotive and the Southern Pacific sign. Photo exposed on Kodachrome 25 with a Nikon F3T fitted with a Nikkor f1.8 105mm lens. The image might have been a little more effective if I exposed it a moment later, when sunlight would have been on the sign. Undoubtedly that was my intention, but I couldn’t have known if I caught it until after the slides were processed.

I made a point of featuring the sign in this pair of photos of passing Cal-Train ‘Commutes.’ Interestingly, these Cal-Train F40PHs were the last locomotives delivered with the classic SP ‘full lighting package’ which included headlight, white oscillating lights, a red oscillating light, and class lamps.

Pan photo exposed on Kodachrome 25 with a Nikon F3T fitted with a Nikkor f1.8 105mm lens.

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Amtrak RDCs at Meriden, Connecticut—February 1979.

May 14, 2015 brian solomon 1 Comment

Here’s a pair of photos from the archive. It was a bright and clear winter day, when my father and I intercepted these Amtrak Budd RDCs working the New Haven to Springfield shuttle.

At that time, the Budd Cars (as I knew them) were standard equipment on the Springfield run. I have many fond memories of riding the RDCs.

Exposed with a Leica 3A with 50mm Summitar on Kodachrome 64 color slide film.

I’m glad I have these slides, but I wish I’d made many more image of the old Budds. A few of the RDCs survived into the mid 1980s.

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View of the Hudson River Valley with Bear Mountain Bridge using a Telephoto Lens.

May 13, 2015 brian solomon 1 Comment

Back on October 30, 1999, Mike Gardner and I were on photographic expedition of the lower Hudson Valley. We were set up near Fort Montgomery on the west side of the river waiting for a northward CSX freight.

As is often the case on the Hudson, the action often seems to be on the far side of the river, regardless of which side you’re set up at.

Soft afternoon sun filled the Hudson Valley, a bit of glint graces the locomotive on the Poughkeepsie-end of the consist. I was using Fuji Provia100F color slide film. — Soft afternoon sun filled the Hudson Valley, a bit of glint graces the locomotive on the Poughkeepsie-end of the consist. I exposed this image on Fuji Provia100F color slide film.

Using my Nikon N90S with 80-200mm Nikkor zoom, I exposed this image of a Metro-North train working the old Hudson Line and framed it with a central portion of the famous Bear Mountain Bridge.

Which element has the greatest interest? The passenger train, the Hudson, or the disembodied bridge span?

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SNCB at Schaerbeek—Film and Digital.

May 12, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

Why limit yourself to one media, when you can use two? Enjoy the best of both, go nuts.

Or, as the case maybe, slip across the street for a glass of Jupiler at the Le Cheval de Fer (The Iron Horse).

That was my call any way. I visited Schaarbeek/Schaerbeek at the end of March.

Restored railway station at Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek in Brussels, Belgium. Exposed with a Lumix LX7.

Schaerbeek is a large station in suburban Brussels. Out front is a tram terminus where modern Flexity trams gather between runs. The station building is a classic, and just recently restored. The railway themed pub is nearby and in sight of the station.

This bizarrely adorned tram was paused at the Schaerbeek tram terminus. Where was it going? I jumped on and went for a spin. An hour later I was a Lancaster. Didn't look like Pennsylvania to me, but hey! (By the way, that's Le Cheval de Fer to the right of the tram.) Lumix LX7 photo. — This bizarrely adorned tram was paused at the Schaerbeek tram terminus. Where was it going? I jumped on and went for a spin. An hour later I was at Lancaster. Didn’t look like Pennsylvania to me, but hey! (By the way, that’s Le Cheval de Fer to the right of the tram.) Lumix LX7 photo.

SNCB is the Belgian national railway and it runs a lot of trains. While most trains don’t stop at Schaerbeek, there’s no shortage of action. In just a few minutes, I’d caught a variety of equipment passing.

Since I had three cameras and sunlight, I made the most of my brief time at this railway nexus.

Before long, pictures exposed and beer consumed, I was rolling along through cobble stone streets on one of the aforementioned Flexity trams.

Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek station exposed on Provia 100F with a Canon EOS 3 fitted with 40mm pancake lens. Slide digitized with a Epson V600 flatbed scanner.

Detail view of the station exposed with my Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.

Detail made with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.

At the north end of a station platform I exposed this classic view of a Class 27 SNCB electric leading a passenger train. exposed on Provia 100F with a Canon EOS 3 fitted with 40mm pancake lens. Slide digitized with a Epson V600 flatbed scanner.

Trailing view exposed digitally using my Fujifilm X-T1 camera.

Where are we again? Fujifilm X-T1 photo.

Another Class 27, this viewed from under the old station canopies. Fuji X-T1 photo.

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Steam, Sun, Mist and Film: RPSI 461 at Bray Head, Part 2.

May 11, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

Exposed on Fuji Provia 100F using a Canon EOS-3 with 40mm pancake lens. Exposure calculated with the aid of a hand held Minolta Mark IV light meter. And yes, I hiked all the way around the head with all that equipment including my digital cameras.

Why film? A few weeks back, I posted some views I exposed digitally of locomotive 461 emerging from the sea mist at Bray Head. See: Steam, Diesel and Electric at Bray Head on Easter Monday.
This was Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s annual Dublin-Wicklow Easter Eggspress, which ran on Easter Monday, April 6, 2015.

I wrote in my earlier posting:

Despite clear skies and warm spring weather, wafting sea fog made for challenging photographic conditions.

Shortly before locomotive 461 emerged from the tunnels near Brandy Hole, a cloud of fog rose to add a bit of atmosphere.

The mix of stunning scenery, wafting fog and bright sun made for a spectacular backdrop for the annual special.

While I made a sequence of digital photos with my Fujifilm X-T1. I was also poised with my Canon EOS 3 with 40mm pancake lens loaded with Provia 100F (color slide film). I reserved film for the most dramatic angles. Last week the slides were returned from the processing lab (Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas see: www.dwaynesphoto.com/) and I’ve scanned the slides for presentation here.

As the photographer, I feel that these images are the best of my morning’s efforts.

Some people may ask, ‘If you have a digital camera, why do you still use film?’, others may inquire, ‘If you have a perfectly good film camera, why did buy an expensive new digital camera?’

Each mode of making photos has its strengths and weaknesses. I routinely exposed photos both using film cameras and digitally.

When I get a really nice scene on a bright sunny day, I often put it on film (and I may exposed a digital image as well). In that way I get the best of both worlds. I can’t think of a good reason why film and digital photograph should be mutually exclusive, especially since they complement each other nicely.

My color slides from April 6, 2015 are now also digital images, thanks to my Epson V600. If we have a slide show, I’ll project the slides the old fashioned way.

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Union Pacific near Portola, California May 10, 2008.

May 10, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

Seven years ago today, I exposed this photograph on Fujichrome slide film while working on my book Railroads of California (Voyageur Press, 2009).

Union Pacific on the old Western Pacific seen May 10, 2008.

This appears on page 58. My original photo caption read:

Union Pacific SD70M 4772) works east on the old Western Pacific on 10 May 2008. Railroad enthusiasts have long praised the WP’s Sierra crossing because of its easy access to parallel Highway 70. This view was made from a pull off on Highway 70 east of Portola, California. Alternative angles on the same spot are available from the old highway below.

As it turned out my final caption as published in the book was more elaborate.

Related to this image, although not specified in the caption is today’s date: May 10^th.

This is a significant day for American railroading. On this day in 1869, the famous golden spike ceremony marked the joining of Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads at Promontory, Utah, an event signifying the linking of east and west.

Also on this day in 1893, New York Central & Hudson River Railroad engine 999 made its legendary sprint across New York state where west of Batavia, New York it was reported to have hit 112.5 mph, a figure that was often claimed as a world speed record.

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National Train Day Special Tracking the Light Posting: Amtrak 449.

May 9, 2015 brian solomon 2 Comments

Today, May 9, 2015 has been deemed ‘National Train Day’.

My participation with this event was to mark the passage of Amtrak 449, the westward Lake Shore Limited.

So, with this in mind, a little while ago I positioned myself along Route 67 east of Palmer, Massachusetts at a time-honored location along the Boston & Albany route. (Time-honored = I’ve made photos here many times before).

Here was my test photograph exposed at 2:37pm. An hour and five minute later Amtrak 449 finally past my location. — Here was my test photograph exposed at 2:37pm. An hour and five minutes later Amtrak 449 finally past my location.

What I’d hoped would only take a few minutes, soon extended into an hour. So it goes when waiting for trains, even scheduled moves.

This was my first view of one of Amtrak’s new baggage cars.

Amtrak train 449 seen east of Palmer, Massachusetts at 3:42pm on Saturday May 9, 2015. Exposed with my Fujifilm X-T1 Digital camera.

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Looking back at Rochester; or CSX K644 with DM&E SD40-2s in the Shadow of Kodak.

May 9, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

On August 21, 2010, some friends and I caught this loaded CSX ethanol train symbol K644 working eastward past the Amtrak station at Rochester. In the distance is the old Kodak tower.

On August 21, 2010, CSX K644 rolls through Rochester, New York on the former New York Central mainline. Exposed digitally with a Canon EOS 7D.

This scene, exposed less than five years ago is now completely changed:

Amtrak is preparing for construction of its new Rochester Station.

Last week, my friend Otto Vondrak sent current images from Rochester of the old New York Central era canopies being dismantled; the classic cast iron ‘Rochester’ sign having been removed for safekeeping.

At the time I made this digital photo, I also exposed a single frame of Ektachrome slide film. It was my last roll of Ektachrome, and my last frame in the camera, and it seemed doubly apropos; to make my last Kodak slide in Rochester, and of a pair of Iowa, Chicago & Eastern/Dakota, Minnesota & eastern locomotives painted in colors remarkably similar to those use on the old Ektachrome film boxes.

I’m holding back that slide for future publication.

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Chicago Metra at Roosevelt Road with a Summer Sky.

May 8, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

I used my Nikon F3 loaded Fuji Velvia 100F and a 24mm Nikkor Lens to expose this view of an outbound Metra train headed toward Aurora.

I’ve found that a wide-angle lens is a good tool for making use of an impressive sky.

An outbound Metra MP36-3C departs Chicago Union Station on June 22, 2004.

Here, I’ve offset the Chicago skyline with the old power plant at right. The skyscrapers help put the clouds above in relative perspective. By placing the theoretical horizon near the center of the frame, and thus keeping the camera body near level, has allowed for these buildings to remain on more or less on a perpendicular line with horizon.

If I’d aimed slightly more skyward, the nature of this 24mm lens design would skew the visual perspective and the buildings would seem to fall away from the film plane.

The bright blue and white paint on Metra’s MP36-3C nicely mimics the sky above, while the black band on the body of the locomotive emulates the width and tone of the Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) both of which help make for a more unified composition.

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New England Central’s safety cab GP40-2Ls; four photos from May 1, 2015

May 7, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

The names and the paint have changed, but the machinery?

Back in Central Vermont days in the 1980s and early 1990s, it was common enough to see in Palmer, Massachusetts run-through Canadian National GP40-2L locomotives (some people prefer the alternate designations ‘GP40-2W,’ ‘GP40-2LW’ take your pick, I don’t mind).

Fast forward a few decades: Canadian National is no longer ‘national.’ New England Central has replaced Central Vermont, and New England Central has passed through a series of corporate ownerships. Today, the railroad is part of the Genesee & Wyoming family, making it one of more than 110 lines world wide under this orange and yellow flag.

New England Central 3039 catches the morning light in Palmer, Massachusetts. This old engine has been working for more than four decades. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1. — New England Central 3039 catches the morning light in Palmer, Massachusetts. This old engine has been working for more than four decades. Exposed digitally with a Fujifilm X-T1.

Tight view of the Canadian-style safety cab on 3039. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1.

Yet, despite all this, after more than 40 years on the move, some old former CN safety cabs GP40-2s (NECR 3015 is now listed on the cab as a GP40-2CU) still routinely work former CV rails in Palmer.

I wonder if I have photographs of these very same locomotives in Canadian National paint?

On evening of May 1, 2015, a northward New England Central freight crosses the Palmer diamond with locomotive 3015 in the lead. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1. — On evening of May 1, 2015, a northward New England Central freight crosses the Palmer diamond with locomotive 3015 in the lead. Exposed digitally with a Fujifilm X-T1.

1/60th of a second makes for a subtle panned view of NECR 3015 in Palmer. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1.

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Old Kate Shelley High Bridge Boone, Iowa.

May 6, 2015 brian solomon 2 Comments

At dawn on June 9, 1996, I was set up near the west end of the old Kate Shelley Bridge. Mist clung to the valley floor as the sun painted the sky to the east.

Across the cornfield to the west I could hear an eastward Union Pacific freight blowing for highway crossings, the roar of its locomotives gradually getting louder.

Exposed on Fujichrome Provia 100 film using a Nikon F3T.

I opted for this semi-silhouetted view. My subject is the bridge; the train is meant to be incidental. Yet the train makes the photos more interesting, and the couple of Conrail engines in the large consist of locomotives provide added interest for the keen observer.

This was little more than a year after Union Pacific had absorbed Chicago & North Western.

A decade later, UP began construction of a new bridge here using a modern structure. I imagine that the scene is much changed today.

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CSX Intermodal: The Chase.

May 5, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

The other day, I was on Main Street in Palmer, Massachusetts near the Day and Night Diner (where I’d just finished breakfast), when I saw an eastward CSX intermodal train approaching the Palmer diamond.

Fuji X-T1 photo of Palmer's Day and Night Diner on May 1st, 2015. — Fuji X-T1 photo of Palmer’s Day and Night Diner on May 1st, 2015.

In the lead was a 4700-series SD70MAC. Since in recent times, CSX’s safety-cab General Electric locomotives have dominated the scene on the old Boston & Albany route, I was keen to make a photo of this comparatively unusual leader.

Now, I’d been away for a while, so for all I knew, the 4700s had been leading every day for the last month. Or, it may have been the first time over the line since I was here last. Hard to know, but why take a chance. Plus it was as good as excuse as I needed for a time-honored chase up the Quaboag River Valley.

But would I make it? Intermodal trains can be nimble and tend to have a high horsepower per ton rating. There’s a speed restriction across the diamond, and I thought, if I moved quickly, I might be able to zip east toward Warren for a photograph.

First I had to navigate three traffic lights in Palmer. The first two I made without problems, but the third stabbed me. Soon, I was heading out of town on Route 20, but reasons beyond my understanding, the car in front of me dawdled.

I was even with the locomotives and gaining quickly by the time I’d reached ‘Electric Light Hill’ (where the right of way of the projected Grand Trunk line to Providence was graded to cross the B&A—a point so known for the nearby electric substation opposite the tracks).

At this point, the engineer should have opened the throttle to ‘run-8’ and been charging for the grade up the valley. By rights, I would have lost the race at that stage, unless I was willing to ignore the posted limit.

As it turned out, there was no need to consider such transgression of highway safety. The eastward train had begun to slow down. I surmised that it might be stopping at CP79 for a meet with a westbound.

A pair of CSX GE's lead a westward carload freight passed CP79. The eastward intermodal train would have to wait. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens set at 135mm. — A pair of CSX GE’s lead a westward carload freight past CP79. The eastward intermodal train would have to wait. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens set at 135mm.

Kudos to the dispatcher in Selkirk! It was a very tight meet. At the field near CP79 (where the long controlled siding that began at CP83 ends), I spotted a westward train and caught a photo of it from across the freshly greened fields. Yet, my primary subject never had to stop.

This meet gave me the extra couple of minutes I needed to reach Warren with ample time to park, adjust and set my camera and compose my images.

Eastbound at Warren. Just like back in the day when Bob Buck would photograph Boston & Albany's Lima-built Berkshires working eastbound tonnage. Well sort of. — Eastbound at Warren. Just like back in the day when Bob Buck would photograph Boston & Albany’s Lima-built Berkshires working eastbound tonnage. Well sort of.

It’s a chase I’ve done many times over the last three decades. It helps to know the railroad. All was quiet in Warren that day, save for the roar of the train.

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Remembering the Golden West

May 4, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

It was August 1992 and Southern Pacific had just recently introduced the Golden West branding on some freight cars. I was on my way back from work with a free roll of Agfachrome 50 slide film and I made these photos at SP’s South San Francisco yard.

It’s hard to resist fresh paint and so I made a variety of detail shots.

At the time I was managing an E6 color film processing machine for a photo studio nearby, so the next day I ran the film through the soup and mounted the slides at home.

Back then I only used E6 films for ‘supporting’ photographs and extra shots. Anything that I deemed really important, I exposed on Kodachrome 25.

What I recall about the Agfachrome was that it had a decidedly reddish bias as compared with K25, but was less contrasty.

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Visit the Tracking the Light Archives

May 3, 2015 brian solomon 4 Comments

Since Tracking the Light began in summer 2012, I’ve composed more than 900 individual posts. All of these may be accessed via the Tracking the Light archives listed on the homepage.

In the archives are hundreds of photos, stories and information about railway photography.

There’s about four books worth of material in the archives.

To reach the June 2013 Archive click here. Poke around and explore.

Dublin LUAS tram backlit near the Red Cow stop in April 2005. Exposed on Fujichrom Sensia 100 with a Nikon N90S fitted with a Tokina 400mm lens.

Wisconsin & Southern’s westward freight L464 hits the a highway crossing near Deansville, Wisconsin on June 1,4 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.

Amfleet carriage. — Amfleet II rolling east. Exposed with a Lumix LX-3

Chicago at night — Union Station as viewed from Roosevelt Road. Exposed with my Canon EOS 7D with a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens at f2.8 1/40th second. Camera was firmly mounted on a tripod.

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Classic 1980s: Bangor & Aroostook Boxcars Roll Through Springfield, Massachusetts.

May 2, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

I exposed this black & white photograph on December 31, 1986. An eastward Conrail freight was rolling through Springfield (Massachusetts) Union Station.

I intentionally selected a relatively slow shutter speed to allow for motion blur.

Today, the scene has completely changed.

What to me seemed like a timeless scene back in 1986 is now a much dated image.

The buildings behind the freight cars are gone. The old 11-storey Hotel Charles was demolished decades ago, while in December 2014, the long closed baggage rooms and signal tower area of Springfield station were cleared away as part of a pending redevelopment of the facility.

Exposed on 120 size Kodak black & white negative film using a Rollei Model T with 75mm Zeiss Tessar lens. Exposure calculated with a Sekonic Studio Deluxe handheld photo-cell.

Even the old 50-foot boxcars are rapidly becoming scarce. This once standard vehicle is being supplanted by more modern cars with larger capacity. Anytime you see an old-50 foot car on the move (or waiting in the yard) it is certainly worth a photograph or two. Don’t wait.

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Canadian Pacific on the Hudson at Dobbs Ferry, New York.

May 1, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

It was back on May 23, 2007, when fellow photographer Pat Yough and I waited on the east shore of the Hudson River for the passing of this northward CP Rail freight

Pat suggested this location because it offered a nice view of the New York City skyline.

If you look carefully you can see the Empire State Building and George Washington Bridge among other landmarks.The goose on the water is an added bonus.

The sunlight was waning, but we were rewarded with a pair of General Motors SD40-2/SD40 diesel-electrics roaring along the old New York Central Hudson Division in the final glow of a spring evening.

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Railway photography by Brian Solomon