I made this broadside silhouette of German and Austrian electrics rolling east under wire while standing in a field on a frosty evening on the opposite side of the River Inn from Brixlegg, Austria.
It was January 13, 2006, and I was working with Fujichrome film. The sun was sinking in the west.
My goal was to place the locomotives against the textured Alpine backdrop for dramatic effect.
While counter-intuitive to conventional railroad photographic practice, placing the main subject in the shadow can be a useful tool. In this image the dappled shadows draw the eye to the lead locomotive making its standout more than if had been in bright sun.
On January 7, 1996, I was on a whirlwind winter ramble on the southside of Chicago with Mike Abalos and his friends.
At 1:55pm, we stopped to photograph Grand Trunk Western symbol freight 391 that had stopped near 103rd Street awaiting permission to continue its journey toward Clearing Yard.
Standing at the 103rd Street grade crossing, I made this telephoto view on Kodachrome using my Nikon F3T. A few minutes later GTW 391 resumed its westward journey.
Last week, I scanned this slide that had been stored in the original Kodak box along with two dozen other images from the same trip. This is part of my on-going organization and archiving of my slide collections.
Canadian National GP40-2L 9461 leads westawrd freight 391 near 103rd Street in Chicago on January 7, 1996. This scan shows the Kodachrome image full-frame. At the time of exposure, I didn’t leave much room for cropping.
It was frosty and cold at Christiana, Pa. when I set up my 3Pod tripod and composed this image. Amtrak Keystone 656 was just a couple of minutes away.
I had the Z6-III with the ‘Fast Fifty’ set at f1.4, which offers shallow depth of field. I focused on the ‘Christiana’ sign, which put the foreground in perfect focus and set off the background. The lead locomotive blurred a little as it entered my frame.
The resulting effect looks like a model railroad diorama.
I wonder if I’d exposed the photo just a little later if that might have improved the composition, or blocked the background buildings in such a way as to spoil the model railroad appearance.
Tracking the Light explores railroad compositions with an open eye!
A quarter century ago I exposed this view of an eastward freight rolling along the Deerfield River east of Charlemont, Massachusetts on the former Boston & Maine Fitchburg route.
Guilford Rail System operated a host of classic EMD diesels, most bought second-hand from the fleets of other railroads. I was fond of these machines, and I still am.
I aimed for a classic composition that would preserve the scene on silver halide. In an instant, the release of the shutter of my Rolleiflex Model T exposed a frame a Kodak Tri-X. Later I processed the film in time-honored tradition and later filed the negatives away in archival poyethelene sleeves.
A few weeks ago, I translated the image I made in January 2001 into a digital file. The other night I made some subtle adjustments to the file and scaled the image for presentation here.
I wonder what this image will convey to viewers in another half century?
My Rollei model T offered a square format, which presents an interesting way of composing photos.
In January 2002, I traveled from Dublin to Limerick by train, where I changed for the branch train to Ennis, Co. Clare. At the time, Irish Rail was still operating a short Cravens set with steam heat hauled by a lone 141-class General Motors diesel.
Upon arrival at Ennis, I made series of square photos of this quaint branch train on Fuji Neopan 400 black & white film. My intent was to preserve for posterity the train in the station.
I scanned this image using an Epson V600 scanner and performed some nominal digital processing to make the most of the black & white negative.
I wanted to feature three subjects: the old Pennsylvania Railroad station structure, the passing Keystone with Metroliner cab car leading), and the shiny new Subaru.
I faced some difficulties. There was a narrow shaft of light illuminating an area immediately beyond the station that was needed to light up the cab car. I was positioned on a old sidewalk which offered some elevation, but I’d reached its end, and so I couldn’t effectively back up any further without losing the elevation necessary to make the photo work.
Also, I only had my ‘Fast Fifty’ (50mm) lens, which restricted my ability to adjust the field of view, and I hoped to feature both the station and the automobile in their entirety, which limited space to the left of the building.
While I managed to capture all the essential focus points all in one image, my compostion is unbalanced and the front of the train is very close to the left side of the frame. Further complicating matters, the brighter illumination on the right-hand side of the station has the effect of drawing the eye to the right, away from the other central elements of the image.
It was bitterly cold at Strasburg when I made these photos the other evening. A fine crescent moon accented the cool sky. Cars idled during the quiet season make for solemn silhouettes.
Images exposed using a Nikon Z6-III with 50 f1.4.
f1.4 1/250th second, ISO 800.f2.2 1/100th second, ISO 800.
On the afternoon of 23 January 2005, I aimed my Nikon F3 with 180mm telephoto at an Irish Rail passenger train approaching Cherryville Junction in Co. Kildare.
A ten-year old Class 201 General Motors diesel led the afternoon Up Waterford that consisted of a set of Cravens. These rolling antiques were steam heated and nearing the end of their regular revenue service.
I captured this once-common scene on Fujichrome. The lush green grass and distant mountains making for a distinctly Irish landscape.
In those days, I regularly paid visits to Cherryville Junction. This offered a great place to picture Irish Rail on the move. I can’t recall the last time I paused at this bridge over the tracks. Much has changed in the last two decades and Cherryville isn’t as interesting to me as it was in those days. Yet, someday, I hope to return and make some comparison photos.
Norfolk Southern’s H28 was on the roll east on the New Holland Branch.
I arrived at my pre-selected location just as the lights began to flash.
My hope was to place the stream in the foreground to break up the scene while balancing the train with trees at the left. I was focused on my compositional ratios.
Beautiful over-the-shoulder morning winter sun made for excellent lighting conditions. I made a few digital images and exposed some color slides with the Leica M4.
When I downloaded the digital images, I discovered to my dismay that at the time of exposure I’d failed to notice the bit of red trash in the tree branches. Poor show!
The film remains latent. I hope the slides have better composition.
Tracking the Light explores the successes and failures of individual railroad images.
In recent months, we often rolled by nocturnal freights at Columbia or Washington Boro, Pa. Likewise, I’ve made numerous trips to the bridges at Safe Harbor, but rarely caught a train on the move.
If only we could just chase a train and beat it to the bridges.
After I made my exposures of Norfolk Southern unit coal train 632, we decided to follow it. It had a good roll-on and was making a steady 30 mph. By the park in Washington Boro, we were even with the locomotives, and with a clear road ahead of us, I zipped southward to Safe Harbor.
We arrived in time for me to set up my tripod, expose a few test photos and set my camera to catch NS 632 framed up beneath the enormous trestle that once carried Pennsylvania Railroad’s Atgen & Susquehanna Branch—a busy double track freight route in its heyday.
To stop the train, I set my Z6-III to ISO 64000, and adjusted my ‘Fast Fifty’ to its widest aperature (f1.4).
Afterwards, I processed the NEF Raw using PureRaw to minimize image noise. For point of comparison, I’ve displayed both the unprocessed NEF RAW file (with detail enlargement) and the post processed image (with enlargement).
I’m 89 percent satisfied with my results, but will need to try this again!
NEF RAW file before processing, displaying the effects of high-noise which is a function of using high-iso settings. (ISO 64000, f1.4 and 1/100 second shutter speed)Greatly enlarged portion of the unmodified NEF RAW image.NEF RAW file following processing with PureRaw to minimize noise and with Lightroom to adjust contrast, exposure and color.Enlarged version of the image following post-processing
For more than a century, the repetitious patterns made by lineside rows of poles carrying code lines were a characteristic of North American main lines.
Code lines carried signal information and other railroad communications functions.
By the late 1980s, railroads in the eastern United States were replacing code lines with more modern communications hardware, often consisting of bundles of fiber-optic cables that were buried line-side.
The old lines were being removed, which contributed a significant change to the railroad landscape and altered the way I framed up my photos. While the code lines sometimes interferred with images of passing trains, in other instances the lines provided perspective and scale, presented strong vertical lines that augmented composition, and lent an element of continuity between photos old and new.
On the morning of January 14, 1989, I braved the frosty weather and stood upon the old iron bridge that spanned Conrail’s former Erie Railroad line west of Dalton, New York in order to photograph Delaware & Hudson’s NY-10 (a double stack container train carrying Sealand boxes to New Jersey from the West). This used a New York, Susquehanna & Western routing to reach its New Jersey terminal and was led by a NYS&W SD45.
Working with my Leica M2 loaded with Kodachrome 25, I made these two color slides as the train passed. The wires are the true subject of my photographs, and I carefully integrated the codeline patterns into my compositions.
The slides were processed by Kodak a few days after exposure, but most remained in the yellow box that Kodak returned them to me until a few days ago. Finally, after 37 years in the dark, I scanned them for presentation here.
Tracking the Light examines the thoughts and techniques behind railroad photographs!
At Washington Boro, the signals were lined up for an eastward train, so we drove west to intercept it.
At Cola interlocking in Columbia, Pa., we waited. As the tell-tale distant roar of a heavy freight warned me of its pending approach, I made adjustments to my Z6-III fitted with 50mm f1.4 lens.
Soon, I heard symbol freight 632 call a clear signal over the railroad radio. This was an unit coal train originating in central Pennsylvania destined for Baltimore.
My exposure was set at 1/200th of second with 64,000 ISO. As the headlights came into view, I adjusted the aperture to f1.6 (from f1.4) to better capture the the detail of the lights.
As an experiment, in post post processing, I used two different systems to produce a comparison of noise suppression systems.
Below are three variations of the same NEF RAW file (all scaled for internet). The top is the un-processed RAW file that shows the high degree of noise of the photo right out of the camera. The second was processed with Lightroom’s ‘Raw Details’ and ‘Denoise’ options checked to reduce the effects noise. The third view was processed using DxO PureRaw4.
In this selection, I refrained from making cosmetic adjustments to the files.
NEF RAW file without noise suppression.NEF RAW File following processing with Lightroom’s ‘Raw Details’ and ‘Denoise’ options.NEF file processed using PureRaw4 to minimize noise and correct for lens defects.
On this day six years ago, I attended two-foot gauge Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington’s Grand Reunion event with photographer Wayne Duffett.
It was extremely cold that day, which resulted in stunning displays of effluence from the three narrow gauge locomotives at work.
Working with my FujiFilm XT-1 I made this back-lit photograph at the Top of Mountain siding near the north-end of the line.
Recently, I revisited the original FujiFilm RAF raw file and processed this using PureRaw4. Among other things, processing improved the image clarity. I adjusted the PureRaw DNG file using Adobe Lightroom in order to make the most of the data captured by the camera.
Below is both the processed file, and the Lightroom work window showing some of the file’s vital information.
Tracking the Light explores photography every day!
Well timed: I arrived at the little pond off Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pa., about a minute ahead of Norfolk Southern’s H28 local freight that was working east on the New Holland Branch.
The brush and grass around the pond are lower in the winter than other times of the year, and the water in the pond is still, which make for optimal conditions for photography.
On this morning, NS ‘Crescent Cab’ SD60E 6933 and a SD40E led the short freight. This eased through the curve approaching the Jefferson Drive grade crossing as the locomotive’s wheel flanges squeeled against the rail.
Lead locomotive 6933 makes for a nice reflection in the pond off Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pa.,Over the shoulder morning sun made for optimum conditions for traditional railroad photography.I set the lens on my Nikon Z6 to 24mm for this wideangle view. A moment later, I framed up a view to be expose on slide film.
In addition to a few digital images, I also worked with my father’s old Leica M4 rangefinder to made a few Ektachrome slides. We will have to wait to see those, as I still have another 30 or so slides left to expose. Back in the old days that amount of film wouldn’t get me through the morning, but these days it might last for more than a month.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography daily!
On January 16, 2010, I paid a visit to the Mid-Hants Railway in the UK.
I was relatively new to digital photography, having only acquired my first digital camera a few months earlier. This was a compact Lumix LX3. Originally, I anticipate using my first ‘Wee Lumix’ primarily for social photographs; snap shots of friends and family, and architectural studies of buildings in my travels.
However, not long after buying it, I experimented with the camera for railroad photos and found that I had a range of capabilities.
On this misty day visit to the Mid-Hants, I exposed dozens of images with my LX3. Although I simultaneously exposed in both RAW and JPG formats, in my early days I didn’t have advance image processing software, and so tended to primarily work with the in-camera JPGs.
Last night I decided to revisit my photos from January 16, 2010, and retrieve this selection from an old hard drive and processed the RAW files using DxO’s PureRaw4. This allows me to see the full image as captured by the camera, while correcting for a variety of lens defects. In situations where the camera’s zoom was at its wider setting this interpretation results in non-parallel edges to overcome barrel distortion and other defects.
Rather than crop the RAW images to rectangular format to match the JPGs, I’ve opted to show the full file which displays camera’s RAW capture that shows the whole field of view. This reveals detail at the edges of the image that has been hidden away all these years
The LX3 allows the photographer to set the aspect ratio at the time of exposure. This 5.1mm view was made using the 1:1 ratio.LX3 photo; 5.1mm focal length using the 1:1 aspect ratio.12.8 mm view made using the 4:3 aspect ratio.5.1 mm view made using the 4:3 aspect ratio.11.1 mm view made using the 4:3 aspect ratio.
Surprise! Gliding toward Harrisburg in the morning light west of the curves at Gap, Pa., was this unusual Amtrak extra.
To the untrained eye, this might seem like little more than a short keystone consist.
In fact, it was ACS-64 633 leading the track and catenary geometry test train. A special treat was Amfleet car 85999, dressed in the as-built 1970s-era paint. This curiosity of a half century ago was the former exhibit train cafe car. In the middle is a former Metroliner car 10005, followed by the Corridor Clipper car 10002 at the back.
Years ago, Conrail routinely assigned B23-7 1933 to its track geometry train. I wonder if Amtrak’s assignment of its 633 is a tribute to Conrail’s train, or if that was just a raw coincidence.
Conrail will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary in just a few more months.
As Amtrak Keystone 667 glided through Gap, I made a series of night photos aiming to stop the action and capture the pouring rain.
To do this, I used my Nikon Z6-III with ‘Fast Fifty’ and the ISO sensitivity racked up to 64,000. This resulted in a very noisy NEF RAW file. I imported the NEF file into PureRaw and processed the image to reduce noise and correct for other lens defects before converting the image into DNG file for final cosmetic adjustment using Lightroom.
The sequence below shows the series of changes during this transformation, including the final processed image.
This is scaled image was made directly from the original NEF RAW file without noise reduction or cosmetic processing. Computer screen shot of the PureRaw review window; the original NEF RAW image is at the left, the PureRaw conversion is at the right.Full frame image following PureRaw corrections and noise reduction before cosmetic adjustments.Lightroom work window showing correction sliders affecting contrast and exposure.Final scaled image following PureRaw and Lightroom adjustments. Notice that the noise in the sky has been minimized while retaining the effect of the falling raindrops.
Tracking the Light Shares Night Photography Technique!
From LED headlights to distant twinkling starlight, there’s a lot of contrast in this sequence of Amtrak’s westward Keystone train 651 passing Bird-in-Hand, Pa.,
I’ve been pushing the envelope of still photography at this location for several months. My goal has been to ‘stop’ the action of a relatively fast train using only existing light (no flash).
This goal has been aided recently by a very fast camera sensor (in my Nikon Z6-III), a ‘fast-fifty’ lens (Nikkor Z-series f1.4 50mm), and modern PureRaw image post processing that uses AI technology to make the most of photos exposed with very high ISO.
For this sequence, I mounted the camera on my 3Pod tripod (with legs carefully tightened to avoid any unexpected sudden downward movement). I used all manual settings.
Several minutes before the train came into view, I focused on the rails roughly parallel in the film plane to the front of the old freight house (on right).
As the train passed through the scene, I made subtle adjustments in exposure. After the lead engine passed me, I dropped the shutter speed from 1/320th of second to 1/200th to allow more light to reach the sensor.
Following conversion to DNG files using PureRaw, I made a host of selective cosmetic adjustments in Lightroom.
Tracking the Light Posts about railroad night photography.
The other night an unusually high dew point made for some interesting effects including a fine ground mist.
We had paused near Shelley Drive to watch Amtrak’s westward Keystone pass. This was in the common configuration with a former Metroliner cab control car at the leading end and an ACS-64 electric propelling the train from the rear.
The engine rolled by, its pantograph wire-contact resulted in a series of zaps (sparks) caused by electrical arcing.
Kris said, ‘Wow did you catch the sparks?’
Upon review, I saw that one of my images had recorded the flash as the engine trailed by.
In this photo you can see the arcing from the pantograph. Notice the reflection of the flash on the top of the locomotive.
Norfolk Southern’s H23 was approaching at the pace of a casual jogger.
I’d arrived at Greystone Road in Manheim, Pa., a couple of minutes ahead of the train.
I made a test photo of the old mill by the tracks in bright sunlight. Clouds rolled quickly across the azure sky. The chiaroscuro effect of sun and clouds made for a lottery of light.
As the train neared, the clouds obscured direct sunlight. But as the local began whistling for the crossing, the clouds thinned and in the distance the sun was out again.
Then as the lead engine nearly filled my frame, the clouds parted completely, bathing the train in brilliant sunlight!
Hooray!
In the middle of this slow-motion digital sequence, I also made a photo on Ektachrome with my father’s old Leica M4—you know, for the record.
On this December afternoon, Tracking the Light does just that!
In April 2017, I spent a night and a morning photographing trams in Milan, Italy, as I was researching for my guide on European rail travel.
On this trip I carried only two cameras; a Nikon F3 loaded with Fujichrome or black & white negative film (for the ‘serious images’), and my wee Lumix (LX-7).
These digital photos were made with the Lumix. Last week, I re-processed the Lumix RAW files using DxO PureRaw. I was delighted with the results!
I was aiming to make another photo of Amtrak at Hoover Road in Gap.
We were ahead of the train, but not by much.
I had just a few moments to get set up, and set up my 3Pod tripod. Complicating matters, based on the results of my earlier evening attempt at this location, I wanted to try my f2.0 135mm Nikkor lens that offers a slightly telephoto view.
I quickly took my Nikon Z6-III out of the bag and in near total darkness I began to change lenses. Unfortunately, the tripod plate for the 3Pod head blocked me from attaching the 135mm lens because of the lens’s protruding tripod foot. So, I needed to remove the plate from the camera, attach the lens, then attach and tighten the tripod plate to the foot on the 135mm. By this time there was an audible ‘grouch!’
Then, I started to attach the camera to the tripod, but I saw the bluish glare of the headlights of the rapidly approaching train, so I decided to abandon my tripod, and attempt to make the photo handheld. My ISO was set to 400! I needed 64000, so I quickly dialed in the higher sensitivity. However, I still needed to set the lens aperature ring to f16 in order to control the lens aperture using the camera controls. My shutter speed was too slow, and my aperture was set to f5.6, worse, I still needed to focus manually. The train was nearly full frame!
I focused, and released the shutter. The resulting exposure was too hot. I’d run out of time. . . damn . . .my shot was ruined! And then the tripod collapsed!
In my haste, I failed to properly tighten the legs. Fortunately, the camera wasn’t on the tripod, it was around my neck. I was saved by my haste to make the photo!
Below are versions of the failed image, showing it with and without PureRaw processing.
Over-exposed NEF RAW file without processing; ISO 64000.Over-exposed NEF RAW file following Lightroom corrections, but without PureRaw processing to reduce noise and correct lens defects.Over-exposed NEF RAW file following PureRaw processing to reduce noise and correct lens defects and Lightroom adjustments to exposure and contrast.
Kris suggested we take an evening drive to see if we could find a freight on the move.
In recent months, we’ve explored Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch, and based on the times we’ve caught eastward trains on the move, I thought Peach Bottom, Pa., might offer a good place to roll a train by.
The moon was nearly full and relatively high in the sky when we arrived. I parked near the public boat launch near the Susquehanna River, shut the car off, and listened . . .
“Do you hear that? We have a freight coming!”
What luck!
I set up my 3Pod tripod and attached my Nikon Z6-III with 1.4 50mm and made a few test photos as the distant roar became louder and more pronounced.
Test photo: Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch as seen by moonlight along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River at Peachbottom. Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 100.
After a few minutes, we saw the headlight of the approaching train.
My camera was set at f1.4, at 1/60th of second with ISO64000, and I made some trailing views. This appeared to be one of the Consol Energy unit coal trains and featured a mid-train DPU.
I focused on the grade crossing to make a photo of a former Conrail coal hopper. I think that it’s pretty neat that after all these years, Conrail-painted hoppers survive in service.
When I got home, I processed the NEF RAW files with DxO PureRaw to remove noise and correct lens defects.
Norfolk Southern unit coal train on Port Road Branch by the light of the moon; Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/60th of a second, ISO 64,000, NEF Raw file processed using PureRaw.Norfolk Southern unit coal train on Port Road Branch by the light of the moon; Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, 4 seconds, ISO 400, NEF Raw file processed using PureRaw.Norfolk Southern unit coal train passing Peachbottom on the Port Road Branch; Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/80th of a second, ISO 64,000, NEF Raw file processed using PureRaw.
Tracking the Light explores railroad night photography!
In the dark of a winter’s evening, I worked with my Nikon Z6-III fitted to a 3pod tripod to compose a scene near Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line—the former PRR electrified route connecting Philadelphia with the state capital.
Amtrak Keystone 645 had departed Parkesburg, Pa., and was only minutes away.
My challenge was trying to focus the camera in the inky blackness. I don’t trust the camera’s autofocus system in extremely low light, because I’ve found it has a tendency to ‘hunt’ if the the light changes suddenly, which can result in a photo that is completely out of focus.
Luckily, one of the features of the Nikon Z cameras is the ability to enlarge the scene in the view finder which makes it easier to focus manually.
By the time the headlights of the westward train began to illuminate the scene I was all set. As the train approach and passed me, I made this sequence of trailing images (the train was moving away from me) with the camera set to ISO 64000. I processed the NEF RAW files with DxO PureRaw to eliminate noise and correct for lens imperfections.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography at night!
Amtrak’s Parkesburg, Pa., station facilities are a curious anomaly.
The train service is very good, but the platforms are short and shelter is minimal, both representing surviving vestiges of another era.
But, in addition to its role as a passenger station, Parkesburg was once an important interlocking where Pennsylvania Railroad’s Atgen & Susquehanna Low Grade route connected with and the mainline. Portions of the junction remain as a hint at of something greater.
The other evening we paused at Parkesburg so I could document the atmosphere of this place in twilight.
I wonder what will become of these old station facilities? What will it look like in years to come?
Over the last couple of years I’ve paid a few brief visits to Lancaster Junction. This was once a significant divergence on Reading Company’s Reading & Columbia route.
Last week, after departing Manheim having photographed Norfolk Southern’s H23 local freight, I droved directly to Lancaster Junction ahead of the train.
Track speed on NS’s Lititz Branch is a little fast than a jog, so I arrived a solid five minutes ahead of the train. While waiting I met a local historian who showed me where the old station had once stood and other vestiges of this once fascinating place.
I’m thinking that Lancaster Junction might be a neat place to put on my reincarnated ‘Wee Reading Company’ which hopefully will begin to take shape in our basement.
Below are a few historical USGS topo maps the show the Junction at various times (1904 and 1990s).
Lancaster Junction, Pa, from a 1904 USGS topo map. Note the small yard on the leg of the wye heading toward Lancaster.This 1990s era map shows the now-abandoned alignment of the Reading & Columbia line toward Columbia, Pa. This section is now a rail-trail. The location of my photos below were taken from the area represented by the red-cross and circle on this late-era map. It is a place well suited to early afternoon early winter sunlight. Today there are no switches or sidings remaining at the junction and the station building are but a memory.
When the H23 began to sound its horn for the Auction Road crossing, I was all set with my Nikon Z6 and my father’s old M4 loaded with Ektachrome 100. A puffy cloud was threatening to darken the scene, but this cleared off by the time the locomotives loomed into view. With the digital camera, I made photos that capture the scene as much as the train itself, while the lone color slide was more about the locomotives.
I made this sequence of photos, gave the locomotive engineer a friendly wave, parted company with my new friend, and then plotted my course for the next place to roll by H23. The Ektachrome slide will have to wait for another day, as it will need processing.
As the train approached a puffy cloud was tickling the sun, but it cleared off by the time the locomotives walked by me.
As 2025 was nearing its end, I had a couple hours in the afternoon where the sun graced the sky.
With hopes of finding Norfolk Southern’s H23 local on the Lititz Secondary, I drove to the branch’s modern-day namesake, only to find that the train had gone.
Following the line of the old Reading & Columbia, I overtook the slowly moving freight near Manheim, and drove to intercept it passing the former Reading Company station, now preserved by the local historical society. Among other things, they display a PRR position light signal and a former New York Central System boxcar.
I arrived in just enough time to expose these images using my Nikon Z6.
The chase was on! More fodder for the recasting of the Wee Reading Company, or just photos of a passing freight? It is too soon to say.
I’ve been continuing my survey of former Reading Company lines east of the Susquehanna. This is more than merely a passive photographic exercise as I’m actively searching for scenes to incorporate in my next Wee Reading Company adventure.
Regularly Tracking the Light readers may remember the last run of the original Wee Reading Company in May 2023. That railroad now exists only in photos, although I saved all of the locomotives, rollingstock and structures, as well as salvaging as much of the track and timber as practicable for use in the new incarnation of the Reading in HO Scale.
In late Autumn, Kris and I paused at Reinholds Station on the East Penn part of the former Reading & Columbia route. This picturesque line has great modeling potential.
I exposed these views with my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens. The NEF RAW files were processed by Pure Raw and adjusted using Adobe Lightroom.
Tracking the Light explores vestiges of the old Reading Company!
New Haven Railroad FL9 2007 is seen working a westward passenger express through Stamford, Connecticut on June 28, 1958.
My father was on the platform to record the scene with his Kodak Retina 3C loaded with Kodachrome film. FL9 2007 was still a relatively new machine back in 1958.
On a visit to Cape Cod last year, Kris and I traveled behind 2007, (now Cape Cod Central 2026—dressed in retro New Haven Railroad paint),
I doubt that Pop could have imagined back in 1958 that 67 years later that same locomotive would still be hauling passengers on former New Haven trackage. Just think, 67 years earlier you could have witnessed a fast New Haven 4-4-0 steam locomomotive whisking an express train from Boston through Stamford. Not much chance of seeing that today.
However, the last time I saw an FL9 work under wire was in 2007.
After a whopper of year thanks to 2025, I am looking forward to a happy new year!
To celebrate, I’m posting this numerically appropriate Kodachrome slide that I exposed with my father’s Leica M3 rangefinder in Lowell, Massachusetts a long time ago.
