As we approached our station stop Lamy, New Mexico, I relocated from Silver Splendor’s dome, where I’d been enjoying the old Santa Fe mainline journey at the head-end of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, tothe car’s dutch doors to make photos of antique equipment stored line-side near the station.
The ability to photograph from opened dutch doors is a rare pleasure on modern trains.
In my youth, I’d spent hours soaking in the atmosphere in the vestibules of trains, making photos with my old Leica 3A.
Santa Fe Southern at Lamy, New Mexico.Santa Fe Southern at Lamy, New Mexico.Lamy station, New Mexico.
Amtrak station Lamy, New Mexico.
I exposed these modern photos using my FujiFilm XT1.
It had been more than 20 years since my last visit to New Mexico. This was my first by rail.
I was on my way east with Dave and Rhonda Swirk and Derek Palmieri of New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railroad, documenting Budd Vista-Dome Silver Splendor on its journey from Los Angeles to its new home in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
As we glided east at the head-end of Amtrak number 4 theSouthwest Chief,we met or overtook dozens of freights, many of them intermodal trains, on BNSF’s former Santa Fe Transcon.
Wow, BNSF sure runs a lot of freight!
Dave Swirk enjoys breakfast near Gallup, New Mexico. Exposed using a FujiFIlm XT1.View from Silver Splendor near the Arizona-New Mexico state line.BNSF westward freight near the Gallup, NM station .FujiFilm XT1.BNSF eastward freight as seen east of Gallup. Lumix LX7 photo.BNSF’s former Santa Fe has several long sections of split alignments, where mainline tracks are not adjacent. A westward freight can be seen off in the distance to the north of Amtrak No. 4. Lumix LX7 photo.BNSF westward intermodal freight. FujiFilm XT1 photo.BNSF westward intermodal freight. FujiFilm XT1 photo.Amtrak No.4 paused at Marmon, NM for traffic to clear. FujiFilm XT1 photo.
I exposed these photos digitally using my Lumix LX7 and FujiFilm XT1.
Part of the challenge of making photos of trains from the train is trying to compose while in motion of moving subjects. Not only does this make if difficult to level the camera, but it leads to motion blur and other potential defects.
Last week, I awoke to sunrise east of Flagstaff, Arizona riding in Budd Vista Dome Silver Splendor as it traveled east on Amtrak no.4, the Southwest Chief.
The luxurious 1956-built stainless steel dome is a classic car from America’s streamlined era.
It was on its way to a new home on the East coast after years being based in California.
The pleasure of traveling in a Vista Dome is enjoying its comfortable elevated panoramic view of the passing scenery. An added bonus on BNSF’s former Santa Fe Transcon is the unceasing parade of freights.
Sunrise on the Santa Fe east of Flagstaff, Arizona on November 18, 2018. Notice the headlight of an approaching BNSF freight.Sunrise on the Santa Fe east of Flagstaff, Arizona on November 18, 2018.Overtaking an eastward BNSF freight east of Dennison, Arizona. 90mm view.Rolling east at Winslow, Arizona. 90mm view from Silver Splendor.
These images were exposed digitally using my FujiFilm X-T1. Some of the photos were adjusted in post processing to compensate for the dome’s tinted glass.
Amtrak’s eastward Southwest Chief, train number 4, made a relatively long stop at Barstow, California, affording me time to explore and photograph historic rolling stock (displayed near the platforms) by the Western America Railroad Museum.
I find it strange to see once-familiar locomotives exhibited as static displays. In the 1990s, I regularly photographed Santa Fe’s FP45, such as number 95 seen at Barstow. Back then these were working machines. Today, 95 a decayed appearing vestige of another era.
Compare the static equipment—displayed like dinosaur bones to a curious public—with Budd Vista dome Silver Splendorin consist on the Southwest Chief.The dome is a functional piece of equipment on its transcontinental journey from Los Angeles to its new home.
Growing up in New England, I had a childhood fascination with Barstow, which I viewed as a treeless desert Mecca of all good things Santa Fe. Although I’ve photographed in Barstow several times over the years, this one short nocturnal visit was especially surreal.
All photos were made handheld with my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit.
I exposed these views using my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.
Key to my success was the high ISO setting (ISO 5000) and auto white balance setting that adjusted and balanced myriad artificial light sources.
Lacking a tripod, I positioned and steadied the camera on the half open ‘dutch door’ of private passenger car Silver Splendor as it was paused across from the Metrolink train storage sidings in Riverside, California.
My exposures were about 1/2 second at f2.8 (ISO 5000).
To make the most of the photos, I imported the camera RAW files into Lightroom and adjusted highlights and shadows to make for more pleasing final images.
November 17, 2018, Riverside, California.November 17, 2018, Riverside, California.
Saturday evening, November 17, 2018, Amtrak’s Southwest Chief—train number 4—made its scheduled station stop at Fullerton, California, its first after departing Los Angeles Union Station.
Budd Vista Dome Silver Splendor was in consist on its big trip east.
The dome was met by some of its California fans who waited trackside to see it off on its journey.
Silver Splendor was making the trek to its new home on the East Coast after many years entertaining travelers in the West.
Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, train no.4, pauses at Fullerton, California.Former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Budd-built Vista Dome on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief at Fullerton, California on November 17, 2018.Fullerton, California.A view East on the old Santa Fe at Fullerton. Seven hours earlier I’d been making photos from that footbridge.
I exposed these views hand-held using my FujiFilm X-T1.
Tracking the Light Posts Everyday, sometimes twice!
On November 17, 2018, I made this view of Metrolink train 662 eastbound on the old Santa Fe at Fullerton, California.
To make the most of the palm trees that line the platforms, I cross-lit the train, exposing from the north-side of footbridge over the line.
Metrolink’s white locomotive hauling a mix of white and stainless-steel cars effectively reflect light on the shadow side of the train, which make for a more even exposure and help balance the photograph by compensating for the otherwise inky darkness of the high-sun shadows.
These views are looking west . I used a telephoto lens that compresses the row of palms.
Some seven hours after I made this image, I was back at Fullerton again. Stay tuned for my nocturnal views from the same station.
One week ago, former Chicago Burlington & Quincy Budd-built Vista dome Silver Splendor (originallySilver Buckle) was positioned behind the baggage car on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, train number four.
This elegant stainless steel streamlined car was about to embark on a transcontinental journey towards its new home.
Amtrak 87 leads train no.4 waiting to depart Los Angeles on Saturday August 17, 2018.
Photos exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.
Last week, working with my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit lens, I exposed these digital photos of one of California’s most modern, and most impressive railway stations.
This is such an impressive looking building that I drove past it while I was trying to find it!
Slightly diffused mid-morning sun made for nearly ideal lighting to make the most of this facility.
Would front lighting make for a better photo?Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center is abbreviated ‘ARTIC’.Backlit diffused sun with overhead skylights made for a difficult exposure.View with a 12mm Touit lens.Footbridge to go from the station building to the Metrolink platforms.Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, train 1565, paused at Anaheim. 12mm Touit view.
Last Friday, November 16, 2018, as the sun dropped near the horizon and a layer of cloud and haze filtered the light, I repositioned myself from San Clemente Pier, northward to the Metrolink Station at San Clemente, California.
I selected my location in order to make photos of a southward, Oceanside-bound suburban train with the sun setting over the Pacific.
Working with my FujiFilm XT1 fitted with a 12mm Zeiss Touit lens, I exposed several sunset silhouettes as the train arrived onto the station platform.
To make the most of the sunset lighting, I exposed manually for the sky, allowing the locomotive and cars and other terrestrial objects to appear dark.
I was hoping to make a photo of one of Amtrak’s new Siemens Charger locomotives working the Pacific Surfliner.
I typically set my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera manually.
Most of the time this works well, as I gauge my exposures using the in-camera histogram. However, I’d become distracted immediately before the train arrived in the scene, and I grossly over exposed my sequence of photos.
Luckily, since I typically expose both RAW and JPG files I was able to work with the overexposed RAW image and correct for some of my exposure error using Lightroom.
Below are examples of the overexposed camera JPG and corrected RAW files, as well as a screen shot of the Lightroom work panel showing the position of exposure, contrast, and saturation control sliders into order to show how I successfully corrected the photo.
This is the unadjusted camera JPG which shows the degree of overexposure.This is my first version of the restored image, a Lightroom produced scaled JPG created from the camera RAW file. Notice how I was able to extract highlight detail all but lost in the Camera JPG above.My refined restored version of the over exposed photo.Here’s the screen shot of my Lightroom work window. Notice the positions of the adjustment slider controls and histogram.
This is what some might call ‘Fixing it in Photoshop’, although I used Photoshop’s cousin, ‘Lightroom’, rather than the classic program.
I exposed this vintage Fujichrome colour slide using a Nikon N90s in March 1999.
My reason for selecting Herne Hill was to picture the Eurostar in third rail territory on its run from Waterloo International to the Channel Tunnel. Catching this suburban train as it passed the junction was just happen-stance.
The old slam door cars are now more than a decade gone from revenue working, and to me this photo seems like a long time ago.
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian is Traveling.
Just a few views of Metrolink trains on the old Santa Fe Surf Line at San Clemente, California.
California evening sun, surf and palm trees make for a nice light in a pleasant setting.
I exposed these photos from San Clemente Pier last Friday.
Using an 18-135 zoom lens gave me the needed flexibility to adjust my field of view as the trains passed.
Metrolink train 641 at San Clemente.Los Angeles Metrolink train 641 at San Clemente, California.Los Angeles Metrolink train 641 at San Clemente, California.Los Angeles Metrolink train 609 at San Clemente, California.
The triple-track mainline at Fullerton, California is a great place to watch and photograph trains.
In addition to a steady procession of transcontinental container traffic, Amtrak and Metrolink passenger trains operate over the line and make stops at the old Santa Fe station.
Centralized Traffic Control with bi-directional signaling on all three lines allows dispatchers flexibility to route trains in either direction over any mainline track. There are crossovers immediately east of the station platforms.
The challenge of photographing from the pedestrian bridge is navigating the wire mesh. While my Lumix LX7 with its small diameter lens did a better job of getting through the fence, I opted for my Fuji camera because I wanted a longer telephoto lens to bring in the stack train which had stopped on the middle line waiting for a signal.
BNSF Stack Train at Fullerton, California. I made this view on Friday November 16, 2018 using my FujiFilm XT1 with a 18-135mm Fujinon zoom lens.I made this view on Friday November 16, 2018 using my FujiFilm XT1 with a 18-135mm Fujinon zoom lens.Trailing view of the eastward double stack at Fullerton featuring locomotives working remotely as ‘Distributed power’ at the back of the train.
On the afternoon of November 14, 2018, I exposed this view from the east bank of the Connecticut River looking across toward Windsor Locks as Amtrak’s northward Vermonter crossed the circa 1906 New Haven Railroad-built bridge.
To help balance the contrast and better retain detail in the sky, I used an external graduated neutral density filter made by Lee Filter.
This is a 0.9ND or three stops grad filter.
In addition, I adjusted the camera RAW file to maximize highlight and shadow detail, control contrast and improve saturation.
After arrival at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), I made my way to the Metrorail light rail station.
You have to take the LAX ‘G’ bus to get there.
Buying the fare took a bit of skill.
This photo was exposed in ‘Scene-mode, night photo’. It is a composite image created digitally.
Once up on the platforms, which are elevated high above ground level at the Aviation-LAX station, I made a few photos of passing trains using my tired and battle work LUMIX LX7. Then I boarded a Green Line train to change for the Blue.
On the morning of November 14, 2018, I made these views of Pan Am Railway’s EDPO (East Deerfield to Portland, Maine manifest freight) crossing the Connecticut River as it left it’s western terminus on the old Boston & Maine Railroad Fitchburg route.
This side-lit scene benefitted from diffused directional light and a textured sky.
FujiFilm XT1 set for Velvia color profile with 18-135mm zoom lens.FujiFilm XT1 set for Velvia color profile with 18-135mm zoom lens.
I exposed the photos using my FujiFilm XT1 and processed the RAW files to reveal maximum shadow and highlight detail while emphasizing the rich morning light.
Tracking the Light is on Auto Pilot while Brian Solomon is Traveling.
Tracking the Light aims to Post new material Daily.
Cover of the October 2018 Irish Railway Record Society Journal, photo by Mike K. Belshaw, IRRS collection.
The October 2018 Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society features my obituary to American photographer and author Jim Shaughnessy who passed away in August this year.
I paid tribute to Jim and his work, both in America and Ireland, while also explaining how I helped Jim publish his photography in the Journal. Jim was always delighted to be represented in this Irish publication.
A thumbnail view of my tribute to Jim Shaughnessy in the October 2018 Journal.The Journal did an excellent job of reproducing my portrait of Jim holding his last book ‘Essential Witness’, which features some his finest North American photography. Using a Nikon F3 with 50mm lens, I exposed this view on 35mm black & white film during a visit last December.
The Journal is published thrice annually and I’ve been contributing material for nearly 18 years.
This morning (November 14, 2018), I traveled with my old friends Paul Goewey and John Peters to make photographs of Pan Am Railway’s office car train.
The OCS began its run at East Deerfield Yard for its run down the Connecticut River Line to Springfield and Hartford Line toward Berlin and then to Plainville, Connecticut.
A gust of wind kicks up the dust at East Deerfield Yard filtering the back lit morning sun. Exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm zoom lens.Exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm zoom lens.
Normally the bastion of Pan Am’s well-kept FP9s, today the OCS ran with GP40s because of the need to have cab-signal equipped/Positive Train Control compliant locomotives on Amtrak’s Hartford line and related connections.
Exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm zoom lens.
I made these backlit photos in the morning from the old ‘East Deerfield Railfan’s Bridge’, a span soon to be replaced as the new bridge is nearing completion.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily and sometimes Twice!
Last night, November 12, 2018, my father and I paid a visit to the new Berlin, Connecticut station to collect a visitor from Amtrak 412.
The train was running behind the advertised, which gave me time to make a few photos of the well-lit modern facility.
Ground level view of the new Berlin, Connecticut station. I steadied the Lumix LX7 by resting it on the curb stones.Amtrak train 412 pauses to let off two passengers at Berlin. Wide-angle view with a Lumix LX7.Amtrak train 412 pauses to let off two passengers at Berlin. Slightly tighter view.Pan of the Amtrak P42 diesel working at the back of train 412.
I featured Berlin back in June at the time of the CTrail Hartford Line commuter train start up.
These photos were exposed using my resuscitated Lumix LX7. I worked in RAW and adjusted the files in post processing to optimize highlight and shadow placement, present more pleasing contrast, and improve color saturation.
Clear evening, northward freight, five units and a deck-girder bridge; working with my FujiFilm XT1, I made this broadside view at Three Rivers, Massachusetts of New England Central’s 611 on its return run from Palmer to Brattleboro, Vermont.
My Zeiss 12mm Touit is a special application lens. It’s very wide, very sharp, and free from barrel distortion. However, its necessary to keep the camera level to avoid line convergence as a result of the wide field of view.
Sometimes the classic view is too good to pass up.
The other day clear sunny skies led Mike Gardner and me to West Warren, Massachusetts to catch Amtrak’s westward Lake Shore Limited passing the old mills along the Quaboag River.
This is a scene I’ve often photographed.
Here I worked with my FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens with the camera set for a Velvia color profile.
Amtrak train 449, the Lake Shore Limited, as seen passing West Warren, Massachusetts in November 2018.
Irish Rail has two of it 201 class General Motors diesel painted in a simple livery; silver with a broad black stripe (plus yellow semi-circle upfront). These have been coined ‘raccoons.’
Although 231 had been working the Mark 4 sets on the Dublin-Cork run for several weeks, I was still momentarily puzzled when I spotted the down Cork approaching Mallow back in February 2018.
‘What’s this?’ I thought, expecting something green.
‘Ah! 231, of course.’
I always like it when I get something unexpected, yet if I had known this was approaching, I’d probably have positioned myself on the far platform.
Photos exposed digitally using my FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm zoom.
I made some exposure and contrast adjustments to this wide angle view to allow for greater detail and more balanced exposure on the shadow-side of the train.
A clear sky and low autumn sun begs for photography.
Yesterday, Mike Gardner and I visited Palmer, Massachusetts for lunch at the Steaming Tender, located in the old Union Station, where CSX’s former Boston & Albany crosses New England Central’s former Central Vermont.
Not a wheel turned. So after lunch, I ascertained that New England Central’s 611 was close. Off we went, driving north.
At Three Rivers we saw the freight crawling south through town and hastily set up our photograph.
Nothing fancy; this is just a traditional three-quarter view of a colorful freight in nice afternoon light with late autumn foliage. There’s something satisfying about that.
Exposed digitally using a FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens.
I exposed this Kodachrome 25 slide at the west portal of Tunnel 41 in a heavy snow squall. Lighting was low, so I used my f1.8 105mm Nikkor telephoto at its maximum aperture.
Southern Pacific bought the photo from me and in the early 1990s used a cropped version on the cover of the company magazine (the Southern Pacific Bulletin).
Unfortunately the original image received rough treatment during pre-press and was returned to me with scratches and dust imbedded in the emulsion.
A westward SP freight exits the wooden snowsheds protecting the west portal of tunnel 41 ‘The Big Hole’ on California’s Donner Pass.
Working with Lightroom, I’ve partially restored the image digitally.
On 19 May 2003, the sun was shining at Limerick Junction.
I made this view of Irish Rail 230 in Enterprise paint working an up-road bulk-bogie cement from Cork.
Using a Contax G2 rangefinder with 45mm lens, I exposed this view on Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO) . Key to my composition was the semaphore to the left of the train.
In 2003, Limerick Junction saw several weekday freights; today there are no revenue freight moves on this part of the system.
In recent weeks, Limerick Junction has been undergoing another major reconfiguration to install a platform on the south side of the Cork-Dublin line.
In addition to digital photos, I made a select few film photographs.
For me there’s something fascinating and compelling about putting a relic of former times on film. It’s just more real.
Miles from Dublin.
View from the viaduct.
Photos were exposed using a Canon EOS3 with 40mm pancake lens on Kodak Tri-X; and the film processed in Ilford ID11 stock developer mixed 1 to 1 with water for 7 minutes 30 seconds at 68F, then scanned with a V500 flatbed scanner and imported into Lightroom for final adjustment.
Is this what Robert Plant had in mind when he shrieked ‘Valhalla, I am coming!’ in Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song?
Yesterday evening, several of us met at Valhalla Crossing, the restaurant and bar in the old New York Central station adjacent to Metro-North’s Valhalla, New York commuter rail platforms.
It was my first time photographing here.
Late autumn foliage and a twilight glow gave the station a mystical feel.
No midnight sun here! (But the ‘ice and snow’ is on the way.)
These photos exposed digitally using my FujiFilm XT1. High ISO settings were required to make the most of low-light.
Here’s an archived digital view I made in the summer of 2011 at Smithton, Pennsylvania along CSX’s former Baltimore & Ohio mainline.
Bad luck, just as this eastward freight came into view, a fair weather cloud muted the afternoon sun. I made a sequence of photos with my Canon EOS 7D.
This is the un-manipulated camera JPG file, scaled for internet presentation. Notice the bluish color balance, the bleached looking clouds and sky, and relatively flat contrast on background trees.
Working with Lightroom, I re-worked the image starting with the camera RAW file. Unlike the camera Jpg which is compressed, the RAW file contains greater amounts of information than maybe immediately evident.
By making nominal adjustments in post processing, I was able to create a more pleasing photograph. I worked on the sky, locally bringing in highlight details in the clouds by moving the highlight slider control to the left, which scales back the relative brightness of the highlight areas.
On a global level (for the whole file), I brightened shadows, warmed the color balance, increased saturation and adjusted contrast.
Lastly, I focused on the train and made very slight (subtle) adjustments to the exposure by lightening and changing contrast.
For comparison, I’ve included both the unaltered in-camera JPG and two versions of the altered camera RAW file.
This is my first version of the adjust RAW file. I felt it was a bit too warm and still too dark, so I made further adjustments as seen in the my second version below.Here’s my second version of the adjusted RAW. I made a few subtle changes to improve the overall appeal of the image.
