April 2017
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Interlude at the SBB Station in Lausanne.
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The trains arrive and depart in waves. Despite an aggressive schedule of passenger trains, SBB still has capacity to roll freights through. I made these photos digitally using my FujiFilm X-T1. The station consists of a classic stone faced building,…
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Rails along the Water—St. Saphorin, Switzerland.
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There’s something inherently attractive about a railway along water, be it a river, pond, lake or the sea. SBB’s line along Lake Geneva is a fine example of waterside running. Not only does the lake exhibit wonderful aqua hues, but…
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Colour in the Streets; Geneva’s Trams.
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Geneva, Switzerland has a remarkable tram network that has melded traditional routes with modern construction. I made this selection of photographs on my recent visit using both my FujiFilm X-T1 and Panasonic Lumix LX-7 digital cameras. When making tram photographs…
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Geneva Station—one week ago.
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Last week I visited Geneva, Switzerland where I made these photographs. For the station building, I worked with my Lumix LX7. While the SNCF train was photographed using my FujiFilm X-T1. Tracking the Light posts Daily.
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Roman Trams
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Well sort of. Rome is one of the world’s most pictured cities, yet rarely does its tram network feature in photos. So, on my brief visit to Rome I made many photos of its colourful urban rail-transit system. Where else can…
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Italian High Speed Train at Firenze; or, how to use your phone to find a location.
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Probably the best thing about the smart phone that I was coerced into acquiring is the interactive map. When in Italy, I found this map useful in finding locations. With a touch of the screen, my position was immediately located….
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Freight on the Italian Mediterranean Coast.
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An FS (Italian State Railway) articulated electric locomotive leads a northward freight at Framura on Italy’s Mediterranean coast. Using my Lumix LX7, I made this photo in the minutes before sunset in early April 2017. To make the most of the…
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Irish Rail at Cabra; Spoil revisited.
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A few weeks back I posted some views from the Old Cabra Road bridge where an Irish Rail ICR arrived on scene and partially blocked my view of the ever elusive spoil train. (See: Are Two Trains Better than One?)…
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Dark Alleys of Genova.
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Genova (Genoa, Italy) is an old Mediterranean port city, famous as the home of Christopher Columbus . (Facebook viewers will need to click on this post to see the full photo as FB has tends to crop vertical images to…
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Italian Challenges.
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It was a bright April 2017 morning when I arrived at Genova Piazza Principe. The station is scenically situated in an open area between two tunnels. The challenge of making visually impressive photos of Italian railways lies in finding ways to…
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Milano Centrale Revisited.
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I made my first visit to Milano Centrale (Milan Central Station) in February 2000. Earlier this month (April 2017), I revisited this amazing example of railway architecture and made these photos using my Lumix LX7. Recently, I featured Milano Centrale…
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A Century-old American Streetcar Design that still works Italian Streets.
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The Peter Witt streetcar is an example of an American design adopted by European cities. I featured the Peter Witt in my book Field Guide to Trains and Locomotives and Rolling Stock published by Voyageur Press in 2016. This is also…
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Milan Peter Witt at Dusk.
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It was a drizzly dusk two weeks ago (April 2017) when I used my Lumix LX7 to expose this image of a Peter Witt streetcar in Milan, Italy. With the Lumix set at ISO 200; my exposure was f1.8 at…
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Paris Gare de Lyon
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For my money Paris Gare de Lyon is the coolest station in France. Here’s just a few views from my brief visit earlier this month. All were exposed using my Lumix LX7. Film enthusiasts fear not! I also made some…
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SNCF’s TGV; Brussels to Milan
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A couple of weeks ago, I found good deal on-line for a 1st Class SNCF ticket from Brussels Midi to Milan via Paris. It was an early start from Brussels. I enjoyed some fast running, a quick change at Lille…
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RPSI Gone Retro.
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The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is naturally historically minded, obviously. But in this situation I’ve used a vintage 1930s Leica IIIa with period Nikkor 35mm lens to expose traditional black & white film. All of these photos were made…
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Bruxelles Central/Brussel Centraal (Brussels Central Station)
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Brussels Central Station features six tracks below ground, with an art deco styled station building above ground. It lies between Brussels two main termini; Nord/Noord (North) and Midi/Zuid (South). The incongruity in names and spellings is a function of Belgium’s…
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Underground, on the Surface, and on the Elevated: Trams in Köln.
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Just a few views from the lens of my Lumix LX7: trams on the roll in Köln during my recent visit. Köln’s extensive light rail network has endless opportunities for photographs. Over the years I made a few images, but…
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Köln Hbf—March 2017
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At the end of March 2017, I revisited the Köln Hauptbahnhof (main railway station). It was almost 21 years since I made my first visit here with my dad back in 1996. I was delighted to see that a few of…
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Portraits, engine photos and station-scapes with my Lumix LX7 on 8 April 2017.
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Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s Trip to Galway and Kilkenny—Part 2. More photos from my Lumix exposed Saturday 8 April 2017, on the RPSI’s The Marble Tribesman Diesel Tour that ran from Dublin Connolly Station to Galway via Portarlington and Athlone…
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EXTRA: Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s Trip to Galway and Kilkenny—Part 1.
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On Saturday 8 April 2017, I traveled on the RPSI’s The Marble Tribesman Diesel Tour that ran from Dublin Connolly Station to Galway via Portarlington and Athlone then to Kilkenny via Kildare. Irish Rail locomotive 081 in fresh gray and…
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Belgium’s Train World.
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Located adjacent to the SNCB lines at Schaarbeek (on the north side of Brussels), Train World is Belgium’s premier railway museum. I visited last week, having arrived by train from the Brussels suburbs. I’d bought my museum ticket in conjunction…
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April 1, 2017: STIB/MIVB Disney Tram.
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No foolin’. I photographed this Bombardier Flexity tram painted for the 25th anniversary of Euro Disney on the first of April. It was posed (actually just waiting to begin its run) at Brussels’s Schaarbeek terminus adjacent to Belgium’s Train World…
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Portrait view of Irish Rail 081 at Islandbridge Junction.
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On the morning of 27 March 2017, freshly painted Irish Rail class 071 locomotive number 081 worked the down IWT liner. I made the time to catch this from my often photographed location at Islandbridge Junction near Dublin’s Heuston Station….
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Irish Rail—Two Silhouettes.
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A couple of weeks ago I made these Irish Rail silhouettes on Stores Street near Bus Aras. The black & white photo was exposed on Ilford HP5 with my Nikon F3T fitted with a f1.4 50mm lens, processed in ID11,…
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Dublin Loop Line in Infrared.
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Here’s a few more views exposed on Rollei 35mm Infrared film. These portray Irish Rail’s Loop Line Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin. Tracking the Light is on Auto Pilot while Brian is traveling.
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A Forgotten Barrow Bridge—two views.
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Irish Rail crosses the Barrow at Monasterevin, again near Bagenalstown, and finally with a large bridge between Waterford and Campile near Great Island. Largely forgotten is the long closed bridge northeast of New Ross on the line that once went…
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Romantic Ruin—overgrown cutting near New Ross, County Wexford.
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This old railway right of way once carried the line that connected New Ross and Palace East, County Wexford (Ireland), a section closed in 1963. Tracking the Light is on auto pilot while Brian is traveling. See http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight
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Worcester Union Station—Worcester, Massachusetts.
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Do you remember when Worcester Union Station was a decaying ruin? I do. Thankfully the old station was restored in the late-1990s. I made this view on January 31, 2017 using my Lumix LX7. Tracking the Light is on autopilot…
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Why not include a bit of foreground to add depth and make a more interesting image?
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Too often railway images lack depth owning to a tendency to place all the elements of the scene near or at infinity (from the perspective of camera focus). Consider including closer elements to add a bit depth. Here the fences,…