For decades, I’ve paid visits to the Connecticut Trolley Museum (at East Windsor) during their Festival of Lights, when they operate vintage trolley cars at night under a tunnel of electric lights.
In 1983, the museum used one of my Ektachrome slides for a postcard.
The other day, Kris and I paid a brief visit to the museum, where I made a few digital photos, as well as an Ektachrome slide or two for posterity.
The photos below were exposed digitally using my Nikon Z7-II (with 24-70mm lens) mounted on a 3Pod tripod. I still have another 31 slides to expose on the Ektachrome before I’ll send the film for processing.
Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 24mm, f4.0, 3 sec, ISO 64Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 52mm, f4.0, 4 sec, ISO 64
On a recent visit to Port Clinton, Pa., I made this photo of Reading & Northern SW8M 803. This antique EMD switcher is well worth photographing.
End-cab switchers were once common on American railroads, but in recent decades the type has become increasingly scarce.
This particular locomotive was built in 1951 for the Lehigh Valley, and according to R&N, it once carried the number Lehigh Valley 270. It survives on the R&N roster along with other vintage examples of EMD’s end-cab switchers, and is among several operational examples of former Lehigh Valley switchers remaining in Pennsylvania.
Exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-Series zoom lens.
Norfolk Southern’s local on the Lititz Secondary rolled along at a jogging pace.
I’d previously scoped out a few angles from West Lexington Road at Limerock in Lititz, Pa. When I arrived, the the short train was coming into view. I had ample time to make these images using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens
All were exposed as RAF Raw files, then converted into DNG format using Iridient X-Transformer. This software makes more effective use of the Fuji Raw format. Working from the converted files, I made adjustments to exposure, contrast and color balance using Adobe Lightroom, and then produced scaled output for digital display here.
We called into Port Clinton on a Sunday afternoon where we found a pair of Reading & Northern SD40-2s switching out a freight. Near the west end of the yard the railroad has erected a replica of a Hall Disc signal.
Born in the Victorian-era, the Hall Disc signal was one of the earliest varieties of electrically actuated ‘automatic’ signals. This simple signal displayed just two aspects, and was assigned to variety of applications on many different railroads. Boston & Albany was among one of the first to use Hall Discs in automatic block service.
Among the many railroads that employed Halls were: New Haven; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Lehigh Valley; and Chicago & North Western.
The Reading was among the last railroads to install Hall Discs, and was famous for its late use of this unusual type of hardware, which continued in the 1950s. Several of Reading’s Hall discs have been preserved, including one that is prominently displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
I’ve made a variety of exploratory trips along the former Reading Company’s Reading & Columbia line, but until last Thursday, I had not had the opportunity to photograph a train in motion.
Working with my FujiFilm XT-1, I set up at South Penryn Road in Manheim, Pa., to catch Norfolk Southern’s local freight on its way to Lititz. By using a very low angle, I was able to better show the wheels on the rails. This perspective gives a visual separation by allowing you to see the grass on the far side of the train.
Track speed is very casual, so I had no difficulty getting ahead of the train for more photos on this pastoral and rarely photographed portion of the old Reading.
Photo exposed in RAF Raw format using a FujiFilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens. The raw file was converted using Iridient X-Transformer and then imported into Adobe Lightroom for post processing adjustments which include a mask to improve detail in the sky.
In the course of my photography, I have places that I return to again and again. These are the places that are accessible, but more importantly yield results. And, most significantly, despite many visits, the results are not just satisfactory but varied.
Add Esbenshade Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania to that list. I first photographed at this place in 1996.
Below are my most recent efforts from this crossing of the Strasburg Rail Road as sunset— just a few weeks ago.
Not every railroad photo is the result of a complicated quest.
On a sunny Sunday, we paused at Dunkin’ Donuts in Norfolk, Mass., for coffee. I noticed when I looked across the parking lot, there was clear view of the old New York & New England main line from Boston to Franklin—today the route of MBTA’s Franklin Line.
On weekdays the lot would be filled with cars, but on this day it was empty. Hmmmm . . .
So, while waiting for the coffee to be prepared, I checked the MBTA app on my phone. Lucky me, outbound MBTA train 2703 to Forge Village was only minutes away! I brought the coffees to Kris who was waiting in the car, and grabed my Lumix LX3.
Below are my results.
I offer two versions of the same image that reflect fundamental differences in postprocessing (detailed discussion for another post).
Lumix RAW file processed using DxO PureRaw4 software and then imported into Lightroom for postprocessing adjustment.
Among the many railroad themed attractions in Strasburg Pa., is the National Toy Train Museum. (https://www.tcatrains.org/museum/)
I love antique toy trains, so on a cloudy Saturday a few weeks ago, Kris and I paid a visit. This is a neat place and if I’d been fifty years younger, I wouldn’t have willing left!
What I find fascinating is the wide selection of railroad equipment that toy train manufacturers have focused on over the years.
On display is everything from early electric locomotives, and Union Pacific’s Pullman-built diesel streamliners of the 1930s, right up to relatively modern machines including Amtrak’s Genesis diesels.
The sun clung to the western horizon as Strasburg Rail Road 475 worked the short grade at Carpenters.
Rich red-orange light glinted off the passing train as skeletal trees stood by as stark reminders of summer seasons past.
Today, it’s hard to go wrong when making photographs at sunset, a task made is easier with digital cameras that allow you to adjust sensor sensitivity with the spin of a dial.
Low light photography posed greater challenges in my Kodachrome days.
A dull winter sky prevailed at Limerick Junction, Co. Tipperary on 13 January 2006. Paused at platform 1 was Irish Rail 210 on a Cork-bound set of MarkIII carriages. A sister 201-class sat with a new MarkIV set in the sidings. The Mark IV was the vision of the future.
As far as I was concerned all of this action was a sideshow to what turned out to be Irish Rail’s final sugarbeet campaign. In truth, I was waiting for NIR 112 to run around its train to complete the laden beet run from Wellingtonbridge, Co. Wexford to Mallow, Co. Cork.
The end of the sugarbeet was just weeks away, but that is a slide for another day . . .
Fujichrome exposed using a Nikon F3 with 180mm Nikon lens. My shutter speed was 1/60th of a second. It really was pretty dull.
Rich evening sunlight made for extraordinary conditions to photograph Strasburg Rail Road’s steam locomotives at work on its popular Santa’s Paradise Express trains.
Kris and I timed our arrival at Cherry Hill Road to neatly coincide the scheduled meet between trains on the siding at Groffs.
Although there was no snow, the show of steam and smoke was a testimony to classic seasonal railroading at its finest.
Working with digital cameras allowed me to adjust the ISO setting as required to make the most of the passing trains.
The next schedule sequence was even more rewarding, with an even more impressive show as the sun scraped the horizon. . . stay tuned!
New England Central 4067 idled under sodium lights at Palmer, Massachusetts. This was my first opportunity to capture images of this relative newcomer to Genesee & Wyoming’s New England Central operations.
I made these photos handheld at 4000 ISO and 12,800 ISO, respectively.
The former is adequately sharp with nominal pixelization. The later is excessively pixelated, but is better than no photo at all.
NECR GE Dash8-40CW at Palmer, Massachusetts; Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 4000 ISO.NECR GE Dash8-40CW at Palmer, Massachusetts; Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 12,800 ISO.
Autumn leaves cover the tracks, reminding me of the season past. Before me rests a mass of steel supported by two dozen wheels where is placed to greet visitors to Scranton’s Steamtown.
This machine is an example of the famous Big Boy; an enormous locomotive built by Alco for Union Pacific to singly ascend Utah’s Wasatch range with a solid train of perishable traffic in tow.
Between 2013 and 2019, sister locomotive 4014 was famously restored to service by Union Pacific. Meanwhile, old 4012’s boiler has sat silent for more than 65 years.
How can I capture the majesty of this silent giant without feeling pang of sadness; nostalgia for a time I never knew?
The maze of trackage in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area has always fascinated me.
No less than eight railroads once built into this anthracite rich region. While coal ceased to be a primary source of revenue decades ago, numerous lines remain as a legacy of this once intensive railroad traffic.
Kris and I followed Reading & Northern’s Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion. Not far from Pittston, I pulled over at the location known as ‘Bloom’ where tracks remain on two levels, and here I exposed this series of photographs.
I can only wonder what this place may have looked like in decades gone by. I was delighted that only minutes passed from the moment of my ‘discovery’ until the passage of this train. ‘King Coal’ is Reading & Northern’s round-end observation car on the tail end of the excursion.
On the evening of October 28, 2024, I paused in the car park at the Strasburg Rail Road to make a few test photos with my Nikon.
J-Tower was lit for Halloween.
Earlier in the evening while attempting some long time exposures, I’d accidentally set my Nikon Z7-II in a ‘mode’ and my results were something other than what I’d expected.
A bit of systematic fiddling with the camera restored the settings to where I’d needed them to be for a nocturnal time exposure on a tripod.
This image was exposed at f4.0 for 30 seconds (at ISO 100), the lens focal length was set to 52mm. I adjusted the NEF RAW file in post processing to make the most of the sky and tower.
For 15 years, Islandbridge was my Irish home. On my daily walks around Dublin on my visits during that period, I’d often pause at the location known as ‘the Box,’ which overlooks Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station .
This selection of photos spans from 2005 to 2019, and portrays each of the four ‘Enterprise’ General Motor 201 diesels. While all of the 34 201 class were named for Irish Rivers, these original four Enterpise diesels carried Irish River names that had been previously applied to Great Northern Railway (of Ireland)’s respective VS-class 200-class steam locomotives— engines that had also worked Belfast-Dublin Enterprise trains.
General Motors locomotives 206 (River Liffey) and 207 (River Boyne) are owned by Irish Rail, while 208 (later 8208, River Lagan) and 209 (8209, River Foyle) are NIR locomotives. Regardless of ownership and paint, these 201 class would work various Irish Rail trains as well as Enterprise services.
Although an esoteric theme, I felt this would be neat way to portray these locomotives from this once-favorite location.
17May2005-River Liffey (having just crossed its namesake)10Feb2019—River Boyne7 March 2018 River Lagan running light.River Foyle leading a liner on 7 November 2011.
A Sunday morning in early November found us at Pittston Junction, Pa., to watch the departure of Reading & Northern’s diesel-hauled Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion.
It was a lovely clear day and as a C5M transport plane circled overhead, I took a few moments to photograph both the passenger excursion and a pair of EMD switchers idling in the yard.
In addition to the flurry of pixels allocated to railroad photography, I also made a lone color slide, which at this moment in time remains latent (unprocessed) on my desk.
It was the afternoon on 7 April 2007. Up and down trains on the Dublin-Cork mainline were converging on Irish Rail’s rural station at Ballybrophy. I stood poised on the old iron foot-bridge with a Nikon F3 loaded with Fujichome and fitted with my Nikkor f2.8 180mm lens.
The up-train passed first with Irish Rail 205 leading a set of Mark III carriages. Notice that 205’s driver had switched off the headlight to avoid blinding his counterpart on 204. Seconds later 204 raced by in the down direction.
I referenced the photo of 204 on Monday’s TTL and I thought I’d run it again here, although it was previously featured. http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/last-light-of-an-april-day/. You can see the back of the up-train in the distance. Both trains were hurtling along at 90 (+/-) mph.
I’ve always admired the contours of Alco’s Century-Series diesels.
We arrived at Steamtown in Scranton, Pa., as the sun was on the western horizon—late sun on November day. A set of Delaware-Lackawanna’s antique Big Alcos were catching the rays near Bridge 60.
In the mid-2000s, I traveled on some of these iconic diesels as part my research for various book projects. Those photos were all exposed on color slide film. By contrast the images presented here were all made digitally using my Nikon Z7-II. (However, for the sake of continuity I also exposed a few Ektachrome slides here.)
D-L C-636 No. 3642 was originally a Penn-Central unit, and later served as Conrail 6792. In the mid-1980s, I recall seeing Conrail C-636s among hundreds locomotives stored in the Selkirk, New York deadlines. I’ll need to go back to my black & white negatives and see if 3642 (nee 6792) was among the locomotives I photographed there.
I was looking for a suitable photo of Irish Rail class 201 number 204.
Initially, I selected a view of the locomotive racing downroad at Ballybrophy. However, as I was preparing the image in Lightroom, I though that it looked a bit too familiar. I wondered if I’d presented it on Tracking the Light previously.
Tracking the Light is approaching its 5000th post. While I have a pretty good memory, I’ll admit that I cannot recall the details of each and every post. Much in the same way that I don’t recall the details of each cup of tea that I’ve had on every morning for the last 12 years.
When I began searching the archives, I found the photo of 204 in question. ‘I thought so!’. I’d published it back in 2018!
Instead, I’m presenting a view of Irish Rail 204 racing downroad at Kildare in the last rays of sun on 6 April 2002. I’d spent the day photographing Irish Rail. And of the photos that I made, this one seemed among the least remarkable.
An Irish Rail 201 class diesel leading a set of Mark II carriages was hardly noteworthy in 2002, but the light was nice, and I always try to make the most of a passing train. Today, I’m happy that I took the time to preserve the scene for posterity.
Summer 1998—my first of that season in Ireland. My impressions of the country were cemented during a brief impressionable few months that began in February and ended in August.
During that time, someone said to me ‘In Ireland we don’t do seasons, but the days are longer in summer.’
This August day was memorable. The sun remained out most of the day. Denis McCabe and I followed the Waterford Line, stopping to visit signal cabins along the way. At Bagenalstown, County Carlow (a town officially known in Irish as Muine Bheag) we paused to photograph the ‘afternoon down Waterford.’
This arrived with a fair tatty looking class 201 diesel, number 203. That summer the locomotives were not regularly washed and most of them were looking rather rough. Irish Rail 203 was only four years old at the time and wearing its as-built General Motors livery.
Working with my Nikon F3T with 24mm lens, I exposed several Fujichrome Sensia color slides of this classic diesel from my perch on the up platform.
For many years I’ve been using this photo as my screen saver on the laptop that I use to write all of my Tracking the Light posts. I thought it appropriate that I share the image.
A few weeks back, I was conducting my research at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Before my appointment to review literature from railroads of the past, I wandered across the street where Strasburg Rail Road’s former New York Central SW8 8618 was switching out a passenger consist.
I have a fondness for black EMD switchers. When I was about five, my father bought me a Lionel NW-2 painted for Santa Fe—black with the railroad’s classic logo. That small engine, no 623, is presently beneath our Christmas Tree, where on command it leads a short consist on a figure 8.
On several occasions I have discussed Irish Rail’s most elusive 201 class diesel. Of the 34 201s built by General Motors, I found that old number 202 was the most difficult to find.
By contrast, in my years photographing trains in Ireland, some of the other 201 class seemed to present themselves at every opportunity. Of these, 215 and 234 come to mind.
In summer 1998, I made this rare trailing view of Irish Rail 202 running light under wire at Killiney. This photo features the locomotive’s non-standard number font which existed at one-end of the double cab diesel.
Exposed on Fuji Sensia (ISO 100) with a Nikon F3T.
On a brief visit to Hollidaysburg in late October, Kris and I stopped by the Everett Railroad yard where we found Everett’s former Lehigh Valley EMD switcher number 126 catch the midday sun.
This was among the prewar EMC switchers that Lehigh Valley sent back to EMD in the 1950s to be remanufactured into ‘new’ locomotives.
According to the Everett’s website, this locomotive was built as a NW1 in May 1938 and returned to EMD for remanufacture in 1956. Afterwards it was described as an SW9M. It served Conrail, and later a variety of owners. The Kiski Junction Railroad of Pittsburgh repainted the locomotive into Lehigh Valley colors prior to Everett acquiring it a few years ago.
During my researching an article on Philadelphia’s Silveliners for Classic Trains Magazine, I found an EMD ad from June 1958 that features Lehigh Valley’s 123 and 125, locomotives similarly remanufactured about the same time.
This was a coincidental find, as the ad appeared on the backside of the same page as the Silverliner article. I scanned the ad in two sections and then rejoined them to the best of my ability using EazyDraw and Lightroom.
The challenge of this exercise is that I was working from an old bound volume of Railway Age and this wasn’t conducive to scanning on a traditional flatbed scanner. Portions of the ad were hidden by the gatefold.
Incidentally, Lehigh Valley 124 that was rebuilt as part of the same program also survives and this works for the Landisville Railroad near Lancaster, Pa.
Irish Rail’s EMD-built class 201 diesels made their debut in 1994—30 years ago.
On the evening of 27 April 2006, a few miles from the top of Ballybrophy bank, I made this Fujichrome color slide of the class leader wearing a fresh coat of paint as it raced download from Dublin to Cork.
Exposed on Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO) using a Contax G2 rangefinder with 45mm Zeiss lens.
Late autumn foliage and clear bright sun offered near-perfect photographic conditions.
It was a few days after my birthday in October. We arrived at Underpass Road near Mexico, Pa., as a NS freight was rolling through.
Using the ASMtransit.docs ap on my phone (https://asm.transitdocs.com), I calculated that Amtrak number 43 wasn’t far away. And we only waited about 10 minutes before the Pittsburgh-bound train came into view.
I made this photo using my Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mmm lens.
Not every photo comes easy. Since moving to Lancaster, Pa., Kris and I have crossed the New Holland Branch on Greenfield Road countless times.
It was here that we first saw an NS train on the branch and on several occasions have photographed eastward trains.
I’d often eyed this as a location for a returning westward move, but never had the planets align perfectly. On a previous trip, I did managed to catch a westward train, but we were late arriving and my angle was not what I’d hoped to get.
So, on that Friday in early November when we followed the freight west from Leola, I was keen on trying to intercept it crossing Greenfield Road from the classic angle.
FujiFilm XT-1 with 16-55mm lens, ISO 200.
Score this one to persistence (with a wee bit of good luck).
Sometimes when the future presents itself the sensation seems surreal.
We spent the daylight decorating for the holidays. This was something that Kris and her mom always enjoyed.
As evening encroached, we decided to go for drive. There’s comfort in the familiar. So, I navigated our way to Blackhorse Road where we have often watched the Strasburg Rail Road.
The sun had set, but the blue glow of dusk hung in the western sky, reminding us of days gone by.
