Monthly Archives: October 2022

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Eastwood Station on the 501

Friday, the musical duo Eastwood Station visited North Conway where they performed live for Conway Scenic Railroad’s guests, made live appearances on the radio, and recorded scenes for video featuring a song about Maine Central steam locomotive 505.

505 was famously destroyed in a boiler explosion 95 years ago.

I arranged for Eastwood Station to record on locomotive 501, a surviving sister to the ill-fated 505, which presently resides inside the North Conway Roundhouse.

A glint of sun illuminated the cab for a few minutes making this photo possible.

Exposed digitally using a Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera fitted with a 24-70mm Z-series zoom.

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Maam Cross Details and People

Kris and I agree that the highlight of our Irish visit was the adventure to Maam Cross.

This heritage railway in progress captures the spirit of rural Irish Railways.

What makes this railway special is its attention to detail, comradery of the participants, and its setting in remote windswept landscape that embodies the West of Ireland.

These are just a few photos from our wonderful visit two weeks ago.

See: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2022/10/28/adventure-to-maam-cross/

https://www.connemararailway.ie https://www.facebook.com/connemararailwayman/

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In the Shadows of Crawford Notch

Must all great rail photos be bathed in sunlight?

I’ve asked this question before. While it is nice to have bright sun, often I find the best photos are in the shadows where light and dark contrast to produce a moody image that tugs at something deeper.

Last week after arranging the photo runbys at the famed Willey Brook Bridge, I walked to the headend of the train while the passengers were reboarding. Here the 470 Club’s freshly painted F7A diesels were deep in shadow with the mass of Mount Willard looming above them.

I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens and adjusted highlight and shadow areas in post processing.

For me these were among of the best photos of the day. They capture the rugged scenery of Crawford Notch from perspectives rarely pictured.

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Adventure to Maam Cross

Two weeks ago, Kris and I made a trip to Maam Cross, Co. Galway.

Taking Irish Rail from Dublin to Galway was the first leg of our journey.

My friends working on the Midland Great Western restoration project at Maam Cross, invited and encouraged us to make this bold trip.

From Galway we caught a bus that traveled across the Connemara to the windswept crossroads at Maam Cross, where we set out on foot to reach one of Ireland’s most interesting preserved railways.

LX7 photo at the Maam Cross bus stop.

There we were greeted by the lads working to transform a portion of the old Clifden Branch into Ireland’s most scenic railway excursion.

Shortly after arrived we were greeted by wind, rain, hail, sun and a brilliant rainbow.

We visited the new signal cabin, were given a private train ride, and were able to inspect the progress on this ambitious new preserved railway.

I made these photos with my Lumix LX7 and Nikon Z6.

Noel Enright gives us the signal to depart!
Kris gets a lesson in interlocking operations

https://www.connemararailway.ie https://www.facebook.com/connemararailwayman/

More to come soon!

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Willey Brook Bridge

One of the photographic highlights of last Saturday’s 470 Club trip was the stop at the famous Willey Brook Bridge in Crawford Notch.

To accommodate the train’s passengers, I helped organize two photo runbys at this iconic location.

Since several passengers asked to photograph from the ‘sunnyside’ of the bridge, I walked them across the tracks and called the train into position for the second runby.

I made this selection using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens, and also exposed several color slides using a Nikon F3 film camera.

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Wind & Rain at Galway Station.

Kris and I arrived at Irish Rail’s Ceannt Station in Galway shortly before the rain.

And boy did it rain!

After a walk around the town (taking time to purchase an umbrella) we returned to the station to shelter from sudden and rather violent shower.

I made these three photos with my Lumix LX7.

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Boston & Maine F7s at Hussey’s Field

The first official photo stop on 470 Club’s Autumn 2022 trip (operated by Conway Scenic Railroad on Saturday October 22, 2022) was a photo runby on the Conway Branch at Hussey’s Field in Conway, NH. [I was responsible for the train schedule and assisting with organizing the photo stops.]

I chose this location for the first photo stop because it offered ample space for all the train’s passengers to spread out; provided good lighting for an eastward (northward) morning train; and was largely free from shadows, and distracting background elements.

This was the only photo stop on the former Boston & Maine Conway Branch. The other arranged photo locations were all on the former Maine Central Mountain Division

I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.

More photos from the 470 Club trip to follow in the coming days.

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DART at Dublin Pearse.

Dublin’s Pearse Station, formerly known as Westland Row, is credited as the world’s oldest city railway station in continuous use.

This has served as a passenger station since 1834 when it opened as the Dublin terminus for the Dublin & Kingstown Railway.

The balloon style train shed was built many years later.

While traveling around Dublin earlier this month, I arrived at Pearse with an aim of photographing the trainshed following extensive works to repair it. The last time I’d visited Pearse was back in November 2019, nearly three years ago.

I made several photos of passing DART suburban electric trains under the shed using my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera.

Then, I spotted an old friend and we caught up over a few pints at a nearby pub, as you do.

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470 Club Annual Trip—F7s at North Conway

Saturday, October 22, 2022, Conway Scenic Railroad operated the annual 470 Club autumn charter.

This year the train was assigned the club’s pair of former Boston & Maine F7A diesels Nos. 4266 and 4268, which are painted in the classic General Motors designed maroon and harvest gold livery.

I was asked to draft the trip schedule and assist with arranging photo stops for the train on its journey.

I made this group of photos of the F’s and the special train at North Conway using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens

During the course of the day, the special ran to Conway over the former Boston & Maine Conway Branch, and then west over Crawford Notch to Fabyan, New Hampshire on the former Maine Central.

The weather was outstanding with ‘wall to wall’ sunshine from dawn to dusk.

More photos to follow over the coming days.

View from the cab of 4266.
f22 1/60 sec at ISO 200, lens set to 24mm. The small aperture allows for the sunburst effect.

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Broombridge

Honestly, it sounds like the sort of place where you’d find a witch!

In truth, its the convergence of Dublin’s LUAS, Irish Rail’s suburban service, and the the Royal Canal.

I’d traveled on the LUAS Green Line extension from the Dublin City Centre to the end of the line. Soft afternoon sun with fluffy clouds allowed for myriad angles of the trams and the railway.

I had a tight connection of less than ten miutes from the time I stepped off the tram until the train for Pearse Station arrived.

During this interval, I used my Nikon Z6 to make a few photos. There’s nothing like a footbridge to provide needed elevation.

Broombridge, Dublin, Ireland.
Note the footbridge to the right of the tram.
There are relatively few places to get good views of the tops of LUAS trams.
An Irish Rail 29000-series CAF built diesel railcar approaches its station stop at Broombridge. The old Royal Canal is to the right of the railway.
Broombridge offers a convenient transfer point between the LUAS and Irish Rail.

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Enterprise at 75-Belfast to Dublin! Seven photos.

Kris and I traveled from Belfast to Dublin a week ago Wednesday (12 October 2022).

This was our third of three Enterprise journeys on our Irish travels.

Since 2022 marks the Enterprise‘s 75th year, I though it was appropriate to include some of celebratory signage at Belfast Lanyon Place and Dublin Connolly Station.

Photos exposed using my Lumix LX7.

First class seating on the Enterprise.

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Belfast’s Glider

In 2018, Translink introduced a new bus service using stylized articulated buses called Gliders.

The short version is that the Gliders are buses that look and sound like trams (complete with LUAS Citadis like ‘bong bong’ warning signals), but operate on the road.

While Kris and I were walking around Belfast last week, I made of number of photos of the stylish Gliders on the move through the city streets.

I have to admit, that while I’ve photographed the Gliders, I still haven’t traveled on one.

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Great Victoria Street Station

Kris and I walked around the corner from the Europa Hotel in Belfast to make these views looking down from Durham Street on to the NI Railways platforms at Great Victoria Street Station.

This shows the station in transition. The new Belfast Transportation Hub is under construction in the background. See:

https://www.translink.co.uk/Better%20Connected/Belfast%20Transport%20Hub

Exposed with a 24-70mm Nikkor zoom lens set at 70mm.
Exposed with a 24-70mm Nikkor zoom lens.
For this photo I used an adpater to attach my vintage manual focus, Nikkor f2.5 105mm prime lens to my Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera. This classic lens offers a lightweight telephoot travel option. It can be used on both my film and digital Nikons.
Although focusing manually takes practice, the lens is extremely sharp and works well on the Z6 body.

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Titanic Belfast

Last week Kris and I visited Titanic Belfast. This museum tells the story of Belfast, its role in ship building, and the most famous ship built there—the ill-fated Titanic.

The musuem is housed in an unusual-shaped purpose-built building.

I made a variety of photos of the building and its stories.

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NI Railways to Titanic Quarter

A week ago, Kris and I traveled from Belfast Great Victoria Street to the Titanic Quarter Station in order to visit the Belfast Titanic museum, located on the waterfront near the the famous Harland & Wolff cranes.

I made these digital photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. I also made a few Ektachrome colour slides with a Nikon F3.

During our month-long visit to Ireland, I’ve been exposing both digital and film photos as part of the record of our honeymoon, and as a continuation of the photography of Ireland and its railways that I began back in 1998. 

Great Victoria Street Station, Belfast.

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Dublin-Belfast Enterprise

Last week Kris and I made three journeys on the joint Irish Rail-NIR Enterprise service that connects Dublin and Belfast.

The first was from Dublin Connolly to Drogheda. The second from Drogheda to Belfast Lanyon Place, and the third was our return from Belfast to Dublin.

These six photos were made during our northbound journeys.

This year the Enterprise marked its 75th year of service.

First Class seating on the Enterprise. Lumix LX7 photo.
There I am! Lumix LX7 photo by Kris Sabbatino.
Tea on the Enterprise. Lumix LX7 photo.
201-class locomotive 207 River Boyne approaches its Drogheda stop leading the Belfast-bound Enterprise. Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. Nikon NEF file was cropped and adjusted using Lightroom, then converted to JPG for presentation. And, yes, it was about to rain at Drogheda.
Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
Generator van on the Enterprise at Belfast Lanyon Place (formerly Belfast Central). Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.

I made my first trip on the Enterprise back in February 1998.

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Boyne Viaduct at Dusk

On my list for photographs for this trip to Ireland was the famous Boyne Viaduct at Drogheda.

Last Saturday evening, Kris and I walked to the river from the Scholars Townhouse Hotel, and were delighted when a set of Irish Rail class 29000 railcars rolled southward over the bridge.

It was in the ‘blue hour’ just after sunset. To stop the action, I set the ISO on my Nikon Z6 to 8,000. This allowed for a shutter speed of 1/160th of a second at f4.

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Up ICR; to Dublin and Beyond!

Last weekend, Kris and I traveled from Cork to Drogheda via Dublin on Irish Rail.

The first leg of our journey was on an Irish Rail InterCity Railcar from Kent Station to Dublin Heuston.

I made most of these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens.

For better internet presentation, I made adjustments to shadow and highlight detail, while refining color balance, color temperature and overall contrast.

f2.5 105mm lens with Nikon Z6 digital camera.
Irish Rail ICR Kent Station, Cork. Exposed with a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series lens.
View of Irish Rail 215 from an ICR.
Irish Rail ICR Kent Station, Cork. Exposed with a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series lens.
Irish Rail ICR Kent Station, Cork. Exposed with a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series lens.
Irish Rail ICR Kent Station, Cork. Exposed with a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series lens.

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Irish Rail Mark 4 in the Evening.

Last week we paid an evening visit to Kent Station, Cork, to witness the departure of Irish Rail’s Mark IV to Dublin.

The lighting was mixed. My white balance on my Nikon Z6 was set to ‘auto’ which provided a good starting point. I didn’t want the balance to appear too neutral and negate the mood of evening.

I made a variety of small adjustments to the Nikon’s NEF RAW files in Adobe Lightroom to preserve the character of the light, while retaining highlight and shadow detail in what was a very constrasty situation.

Irish Rail class 201 number 221 works at the back of the train.

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Taking a Spin to old Queenstown (Cobh).

Last week, Kris and I traveled from Cork Kent Station on Irish Rail’s 2600-series railcars to Cobh—the town formerly called ‘Queenstown’—a place well-known for its role in Transatlantic transportation.

Among other things, Queenstown was the last port of call for the ill-fated Titanic, which sunk 110 years ago.

The old railway station building now houses the Cobh Heritage Centre.

I made my views with my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera. Kris made the photo of me at Cobh station with her Fujifilm XT4.

Nikon Z6 with Z-series 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Z-series 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Z-series 24-70mm lens.
Exposed using a FujiFilm XT4 digital camera.
Doodles in training at Cobh. Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm.
Cobh Heritage Centre. Nikon Z6 with AI f2.5 105mm lens.
Cobh Heritage Centre.
Cobh Harbour. Nikon Z6 with AI f2.5 105mm lens. Exposed for highlights.
Nikon Z6 with AI f2.5 105mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with AI f2.5 105mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with AI f2.5 105mm lens.

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The Passing Trains at Glounthaune

Kris and I stopped over at Glounthaune on the way from Kent Station, Cork to Cobh.

This is a familiar station to me, and over the years I’ve exposed many photos here.

I made this selection during our 15 minutes between trains using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. The tide was out and we spotted a pelican among the other seabirds near the station platforms.

At Cobh, we found a photo on the wall that shows how Glounthaune looked in the 1960s when it was called Cobh Junction.

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Chetwynd Viaduct at Night

The other evening, we paid a visit to the abandoned Chetwynd Viaduct that spans the Cork-Bandon road in County Cork, Ireland.

This was a spur of the moment visit. I was not carrying my tripod. However, through the magic of modern digital photography, I was able to make a few images of this unusal bridge.

These were made using my Nikon Z6 handheld with f4.0 24-70mm lens with ISO set to 51,200. The results are a bit grainy (pixelated), but amazing considering the scant amount of available light.

For another view of the Chetwynd Viaduct, see my post from 2015:

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2015/06/14/railroad-publishing-fiction-three-stories-from-the-trenches/

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Evening on the Cobh Branch.

Thanks to our friends in Cork, the other evening Kris and I made a few photos of Irish Rail’s Cobh Branch near Cork’s Kent Station.

It had rained (and rather hard at that) before the clouds cleared for some intense evening sun. These were great conditions for photos.

Irish Rail’s 2600-series diesel railcars have been working the Cork-Cobh run since my first visit in 1998, but now these are on borrowed time.

I made these digital photos using my Nikon Z6. I’m curious to see how my Kodak Ektachrome 100 slides will turn out.

It was beginning to rain when I made this photo of 2600-series railcars arriving on Plaform 1 in Cork. Within the hour the skies had cleared.
Less than an hour after the above photo, I made this view of an arriving train from Cobh.
Good ol’ 2616 at Kent Station, Cork.
Cork-bound train from an overhead bridge.

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Kent Station, Cork—10 photos

Our visit to Cork, included a tour of Kent Station, conducted over the course of serveral days.

Over the years, I’ve often featured this Victorian-era gem on Tracking the Light. It is unusual for its sharply curved train shed.

I was impressed by the frequency of passenger trains serving the station. There is a steady procession of trains to and through the station with regular departures for Dublin, Cobh, Mallow, Middleton, and Tralee.

I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.

Our visit to Cork, included a tour of Kent Station, conducted over the course of serveral days.
Our visit to Cork, included a tour of Kent Station, conducted over the course of serveral days.

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Mallow at Dusk

Kris and I took a spin out to Mallow, Co. Cork. Upon arrival we had a chat with some friends and I made a few photos in the twillight glow of evening.

Back in 2005, I spent several evenings at Mallow documenting Irish Rail’s movement of sugar beet.

For these photos, I worked with my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens, white balance set to ‘auto’.

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Dublin to Cork

On Monday, 3 October 2022, Kris and I traveled on Irish Rail’s 1200 Dublin Heuston to Cork (Kent) train.

It was a typically dull day with showers and occasional sun across the Midlands.

We had First Class tickets and traveled in Coach A of a five-piece ICR (InterCity Railcar).

At Cork we were given a warm and very special welcome by Irish Rail.

Heuston Station.
Self portrait with the Nikon in Coach A on the way to Cork.
Cork’s Kent Station upon arrival on platform 4.
The arrivals/departures board at Cork had a special welcome for us!
Cropped version of the above photo.

I made these photos of the trip using my Nikon Z6.

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Spin to Howth

Sunday evening Kris and I took a spin to Howth and back on Irish Rail’s DART from Connolly Station.

I made my first trip to Howth on the DART back in March 1998. On that visit I made photos with a Nikon F3T loaded with Fujichrome Velvia.

For Sunday’s visit, I worked with my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm zoom, while Kris made photos with her Fuji XT4.

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Irish Rail’s Connolly Station

Yesterday, I made this photo of an Irish Rail ICR (InterCity railcar) paused at Platform 4 at Dublin Connolly Station.

It was a comparatively quiet Sunday afternoon and dull outside, but the soft lighting made for a perfect time to portray the modern diesel railcar in the Victorian-era railway station.

Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series Nikkor zoom.

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LUAS at Night.

The other night Kris and I went for a spin to The Point Depot and back on Dublin’s LUAS Red Line.

As it happened the tram we traveled upon was one of the Sky television advertising trams that I featured in yesterday’s post.

Photos exposed using my Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera.

LUAS at the Four Courts in Dublin.
LUAS Sky television advertising tram at The Point in Dublin’s docklands.

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