Times have changed since Norfolk & Western Train No. 4 The Pocahontas paused at Roanoke for passengers. My 1946 Norfolk and Western Railway timetable lists a 20-minute station stop, departing east for Norfolk at 10:55 a.m.
On our visit to Roanoke in March, we watched as an Amtrak Siemens Charger reversed its Amfleet consist into the comparatively new station platform. While a far cry from a streamliner hauled by an Norfolk and Western Railway J Class 4-8-4, at least Amtrak now serves Roanoke, following decades without a scheduled passenger train.
This consist departed as Train 66 bound for Washington D.C. and running overnight to Boston.
I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with a 24–70mm lens.
In early April, I had about 30 minutes to wait trackside along the Port Road Branch near the old Cola Tower in Columbia, Pa.
As the clock ticked down, my scanner had crackled a few times, which was probably an approaching train calling signals. About 28 minutes into my wait, I started the car to head away on my next errand . . . then I heard the radio, “clear signal Cola.” There was a train very close.
Moments later the crossing lights for Walnut Street began to flash. With little time to squander, I grabbed my Nikons and made my way to the tower’s shadow, where a couple of years earlier I exposed some nice photos in the glint light.
Just after 7pm, this Norfolk Southern loaded coal train passed me on its way from the coal fields to Baltimore.
It was a bright and sunny Sunday morning in Staunton, Virginia.
Kris and I paused briefly near the shops of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad.
This short line has on its property, an unlikely collection of antique locomotives. When I was a teenager, I would have been keen to find such an eclectic array of locomotives in one place.
I suppose I still am! Today, however, what fascinates me are the relative gradients of the trackage in this compact yard.
I made a few photos from the side of the road before heading off again.
Tracking the Light posts daily about railroad photography!
In March, courtesy of my old pal TSH, Kris and I visited the iconic Hotel Roanoke for lunch. I had the Reuben.
The majestic Tudor-style hotel is a relic of railroading’s golden age.
Roanoke was at the very heart of the Norfolk & Western, and for many years this grand hotel was owned and operated by the railroad. It is conveniently situated just a short walk from the former N&W station—now the O. Winston Link Museum (featured in my earlier post).
My father stayed here on one of his visits to Roanoke in the 1950s.
Today, while trains still pass along the main line just a short distance from the grand structure, the Hotel Roanoke is no longer owned or operated by the railroad.
Photosexposed with my Nikon Z6 III with 24-70mm Nikkor lens.
Tracking the Light Examines Railroad Photography Daily!
Standing essentially in the same spot, working with the same camera (Nikon Z7 II with a 70–200mm lens), I photographed Amtrak Keystone 658 catching the evening glint at Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In the first photo, I set the zoom lens to 140mm to include the electrical pylon and overhead high-voltage wires.
In the second photo, taken 24 hours and three minutes later, I photographed the same scheduled train. This time, former Metroliner cab control car 9646 was leading, a pickup truck was driving east on Jefferson Drive, I had the lens racked out to 200mm (cropping the pylon and wires), while an extra layer (or two) of air pollution tinted the sunlight more toward the red end of the spectrum.
For a few fleeting days in early April decorative trees blossom along Lancaster’s Jefferson Drive.
It is the third change of seasons that I’ve aimed to capture Amtrak passing the lush Spring trees.
This year, one of Amtrak’sold Metroliner cab cars in the new Phase 7 livery leading a Harrisburg-bound Keystone made for a constrast to earlier views.
Years ago, I studied a beautifully printed Japanese railfan’s magazine that presented compelling compositions of electric trains passing flowering trees.
Photos exposed using my Nikon Z6-III with 24-70mm lens.
I’ve often found that a place appears very different lineside compared to the view from the train.
On a rainy evening, we photographed Amtrak No. 50, the eastward Cardinal, plying the old Chesapeake & Ohio along Old Goose Creek Road between Staunton and Waynesboro, Virginia.
A couple of evenings later we rolled through in the same direction aboard the dome on Virginia Scenic Railway’s Blue Ridge Flyer and I had a complete different impression of this location.
All photos exposed digitally using a Nikon Z6-III with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom.
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography Daily!
On one of my early tours of the former Boston & Albany west end, Bob Buck chased an eastward freight from Pittsfield up the grade toward Washington Summit, Massachusetts. Near Dalton, Bob, Doug Moore, John Conn, and I piled out of Bob’s Ford van and watched the train crawl up grade.
I can still smell the creosote from the ties on that hot August afternoon.
Doug Moore will undoubtedly remember that later the same day, we were along the former New York Central Hudson Division when an Amtrak Turboliner blitzed by at more than 100 mph. In the heat of the moment, I enthusiastically suggested that Bob chase that train as well.
After all, he’d done so well catching the freight—why not go after the Turbo?
Kodachrome 64 with Leica IIIA and Summitar 50mm lens.
Having enjoyed our journey aboard Virginia Scenic Railway’s Appalachian Special from Staunton to Goshen, we decided to book another adventure—this time traveling east over the Blue Ridge on the Blue Ridge Flyer. (Same train set, different run).
Under clear blue skies, we boarded the Budd Vista Dome Shenandoah, with our seats upstairs in the dome this time.
Before departing Staunton, Kris and I watched Amtrak No. 51, the westbound Cardinal, work up the old Chesapeake & Ohio grade. It had been nearly ten years since I last traveled on Amtrak’s train over the C&O route.
One of the great pleasures of riding in a Vista Dome is the expansive view both forward and aft—especially when meeting opposing traffic.
Approaching the siding at Afton, we got a “white eye”—a lunar white signal aspect. This is a restricting signal.
“We’re in luck! Our train is taking the siding. I’ll bet there’s an empty coming against us.”
Where else on a short line tourist excursion train do you get a signaled meet with a 197-car freight?
At Crozet—named for the 19th-century civil engineer who laid out the route—we paused for the runaround, where our locomotive changed ends. On the return leg, we watched a Blue Ridge sunset from one of Budd’s finest cars.
Joining the main at Staunton.View of C&O’s Staunton station from the dome. It seems quite different than from street level.Meeting coal empties near Afton, Virginia.For me this was the highlight of the trip!Run around at Crozet. Returning to Staunton; the old C&O main climbing west on the right.
Tracking the Light Explores rail photography every day!
The GP38 was introduced the same year as me, which gives me a certain fondness for this EMD classic diesel. Amtrak’s GP38-3s represent an upgrading of old GP38/GP38-2 models to more modern standards.
In March, I was visiting with my friend Doug Scott on the station platform at Newark, Delaware. We heard a distant whistle and after a while and unscheduled train approached Davis interlocking (east of the station) on a secondary track. This was an Amtrak maintenance-of-way move carrying a Loram ballast cleaning train and some freshly shopped Amfleet cars.
The train entered the mainline, pulled up to the station and stopped in front of us to change directions. This was a nice surprise. Leading was Amtrak GP38-3 744 wearing fresh Phase 7 paint. It was the first of this class of locomotives that I’de seen wearing Amtrak’s latest interpretation of its classic livery.
The locomotive, now 54 years old was built new for Penn Central as its 8032 in 1972. Gosh, it is an antique!
In addition to this selection of digital photos, I also exposed a few slides, and in fact finished off the roll of Ektachrome the I’d loaded into my dad’s old Leica M4.
A lot of Amtrak color in this photo; GP38-3 744 holds on the mainline as an eastward (northward) Regional train zips by with ACS-64 642 at the back. This was painted to support America’s Veterans.
Tracking the Light Explores Photography Each and Every Day!
The former Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad station in Staunton, Virginia, is a classic structure set in a tight location.
The old C&O main line—now operated by short line Buckingham Branch, which hosts Amtrak, CSX, and the Virginia Scenic Railway—is situated on a sharp curve, pressed against the rocky base of a hill that rises south of town. The street side of the station is bordered by cobblestones and faces a collection of historic buildings characteristic of Staunton’s downtown.
The station was designed by T. J. Collins and built in 1902 to replace an earlier structure.
Using my Nikon Z6-III with a 24–70mm lens, I made this selection of photographs in the late afternoon during the first of several visits to the station in late March. The high-contrast, directional light emphasizes the textures of the brickwork and cobblestones.
I’ve arranged the images below in the order in which they were exposed.
At 9am, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, my third railroad photography class of the Spring season convened at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa.
I had enthusiastic participants. Following a brief introduction, by Museum Director Pat Morrison, I gave a concise 15 minute slide presentation, and we adjourned to the Museum to make photographs.
To make use of the fine Spring weather, initially we all went outside into the yard to photograph the locomotives and rolling stock on exhibit there, and to observe construction of the new roundhouse that is being built toward the west end of the Museum’s grounds.
Afterward, we returned inside, where Pat and I spoke with participants. I answered questions and made a variety of photos.
Among the benefits of the class is that we can take down some of the steel barriers to allow for unobstructed photography of key exhibits. In addition, Pat opened up several locomotives for exploration, photography and for use as viewing platforms.
I discussed photography, cameras and technique with many of the participants, while exposing dozens of photos using my Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras.
Among the lenses I worked with was my old Nikkor f2.0 135mm ‘defocus’ prime telephoto.
Although I’ve made dozens of visits to the Museum, everytime I go, I make different photos, and that is one of the points of the classes: ‘learning to see.’
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.0 135mm prime telephoto-focused manually.Roundhouse construction.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.0 135mm prime telephoto-focused manually.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.0 135mm prime telephoto-focused manually.E44 detail.Museum Director Pat Morrison with GG1 4935. Exposed with Nikon Z6-III with Nikkor Z-series 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.0 135mm prime telephoto-focused manually.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.0 135mm prime telephoto-focused manually.Exposed with Nikon Z6-III with Nikkor Z-series 24-70mm lens.
We boarded Virginia Scenic Railway’s former Western Pacific California Zephyr Budd Vista-Dome at Staunton. Kris had booked us tickets for Adults-Only Dining, so we were seated at a table in the lower level of the art deco–style classic passenger car.
This trip was aboard VSRy’s “Alleghany Special,” which operates west over the former Chesapeake & Ohio. We departed as advertised and made a reverse move up to the C&O station before heading west.
Our car-hosts, Mike and Liz, took great care of us. I sampled some of the local craft beer, including The 6th Lord from Basic City Beer Company, as I made notes on lineside locations.
This journey was completed in just three hours.
I noted portions of the former right-of-way before the railroad was relocated in the 1950s to improve curvature and gradient.
Our meals were served on the westward leg of the trip.
At Goshen, Virginia the locomotive ran around the train, and we reversed direction on the main line.
Among the scenic highlights was an 1890-vintage truss bridge along a parallel road. A couple of days later, we returned by road to inspect the bridge.
Upon arrival back in Staunton, we spent a couple of hours wandering around town.
What a neat way to experience Virginia! We were so impressed that we booked tickets for another VSRy journey while still on the train. More on our second trip in an upcoming Tracking the Light post.
I spent the day working my way west from Rochester, New York following the former New York Central ‘Water Level Route’.
By early afternoon I’d made it all the way to Erie, Pa.
Among the photos I exposed in Erie was this panned view of a Conrail Trail Van trailer rolling across the diamond with the former Pennsylvania Railroad. If you look carefully, you can see in the distance Norfolk Southern’s former Nickle Plate Road bridge over the PRR line.
After exposing my photos, I drove all the way back to Rochester.
Leica M2 with 50mm f2.0 Summicron lens; Kodachrome 25 slide film.
Tracking the Light Explores Conrail on the 50th Anniversary of its commencement of operations!
My photo of former Conrail GP30 2233 appears on the cover of the April 2026 Friends of the Railroad Museum Milepost, a glossy publication published by and for the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
This image is timely, since April 1st marked the 50th anniversary of Conrail assuming operations of bankrupt Northeastern railroads (Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna, Reading, Lehigh Valley etc).
This also nicely coincides with the topic of my next Railroad Photography class at the Museum, which will focus on equipment displays relating to Conrail and its precursors.
The advertisement for the class reads:
“Railroad Photography: PRR to Penn Central to Conrail with Brian Solomon” will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, from 9 AM to 11 AM, at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The cost is only $25.00 per person. The class size is limited to 25 individuals and is designed for beginning photographers ages 18 and over.”
August 9, 1988: Boston Line milepost 81, east of Palmer, Massachusetts.
On this day, I spent the afternoon with a Conrail maintenance-of-way gang as they were undercutting the old Boston & Albany mainline where Route 20 crossed the line.
They were working with a large undercutting machine called the ‘Dirt Devil’ which used a chain-driven excavator to remove material from below the tracks. This was necessary to allow to improve vertical clearances for double-stacks and covered tri-level auto racks.
Exposed on Kodak Tri-X black & white film using my father’s Rolleiflex Model T.
Someone might ask, ‘why didn’t you make color photos?’
Who said I didn’t?
I made both Kodachrome and Tri-X photos of the Dirt Devil crew. All have withstood the test of time.
Tracking the Light Looks Back on Conrail on the railroad’s 50th Anniversary!
Kris booked our Virginia Scenic Railway tickets online days before we arrived in Staunton, Virginia.
As previously covered on Tracking the Light, we visited the Virginia Scenic Railway’s new Staunton station on the evening before our trip.
On the morning of our trip, we arrived with plenty of time to spare, giving me an opportunity to photograph both the equipment and the surroundings using my Nikon Z6 III and my father’s old Leica M4 (loaded with Ektachrome 100). We visited the gift shop, located in one of the restored 50ft boxcars and I bought a beer glass.
While we waited, a Buckingham Branch local freight worked up-grade on the former Chesapeake & Ohio main line. Before long, our train would reverse out of the station and follow the freight up-grade.
More on our train ride in the coming days!
Tracking the Light visits the Virginia Scenic Railway!
We arrived in Staunton, Virginia, under sunny skies.
On our list of things to do was a trip on the Virginia Scenic Railway, the passenger excursion affiliate of the Buckingham Branch Railroad, which operates this portion of the former Chesapeake & Ohio main line.
Shortly after arriving, we visited the VSR’s new station facilities, located a short distance west of the old Chesapeake & Ohio station. Here, we found VSR’s “pocket streamliner,” as well as a freshly painted Buckingham Branch display train that serves as the gift shop and public restrooms for passengers.
I took the opportunity to make a variety of images of the Buckingham Branch GP16 diesel on display, along with photographs of the other equipment.
The next morning, we returned for our VSR excursion over the former C&O. We were not disappointed…stay tuned!
Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III.
Tracking the Light explores the old Chesapeake & Ohio!
May 13, 1984: I was four weeks away from graduating high school. On that day I traveled with Bob Buck and met friends on the ‘B&A West End’ (Conrail’s former Boston & Albany climb over Washington Hill).
At Middlefield, Massachusetts the deep chug of big General Electric diesels alerted us to a westward freight.
Working with my Leica IIIA fitted with my dad’s 21mm Super Anglon, I exposed this series of black & white photos.
The Super Angulon was a favorite lens, but best used judiciously. Another key to the success of these photos was my film choice : Kodak’s Panatomic-X.
Rated at ISO 32, this super fine grain black & white emulsion offered super sharp images and wonderful tonality. The difficulty was its slow speed. It was really only practical on very bright days.
Looking back at my many photos made in the early 1980s, I wish I’d used Panatomic-X more often, rather than my preferred film of time: Kodak Tri-X (rated at ISO 400). If I’d had the resources, I sould have had multiple cameras with different types of film in each. Oh wait . . . I think I had another camera that day . . . and it was loaded with Kodak Ektachrome 200.
Those slides are for another post on another day.
Conrail had just ten GE C30-7s, locomotives 6600-6609, and in the the 1980s these were often assigned to the Boston Line. In mid-1984, the railroad began receiving its order for fifty C30-7As. Where the C30-7s had 16 cylinder engine that feature a louder heavier sound, the C30-7As, used a 12-cyldiner engine, and I believe were fitted with more effective sound emissions controls, which muted the sounds of their exhaust. The three C30-7s working this heavy westbound shook the earth at Middlefield that morning nearly 42 years ago!
In the 1980s, I’d often photograph Conrail on the former Erie Railroad west of Hornell, New York on the main line to Buffalo. This was a scenic line that retained its pre-Conrail character, where classic US&S upper quadrant semaphores still protected train movements and the old code lines remained in place.
At that time, Conrail retained the Erie’s directional double-track arrangement, normally operated in the current of traffic under rule 251. However, the traditional eastward track (No2) was only maintained to 10mph, while the westward track (No1) was maintained for significantly faster speeds.
If an eastward train wasn’t facing opposing traffic, the distpatcher in Hornell could issue orders (and in later years a Form-D) to allow the train to use the westward main in the eastward direction in order to speed its progress over the line.
As a young photographer, I much preferred finding a through freight plodding along at 10mph, since this would allow me to more easily follow it in my car and get just about all the angles I wanted without having to drive too fast. An eastbound train on track 2, also typically meant that there were westbound trains close by, which made for added interest.
On May 7, 1988, I was following Conrail’s BUOI led by SD50 6801. Clear skies and Professional Kodachrome 25 (PKM) loaded in my Leica M2 were a great recipe for making color photographs.
At 8:30am, I made this photo of BUOI near Swain, New York. On this day, I stayed with the train for many miles. The Kodachromes from that adventure have been part of my collection ever since and this photo has been published in various places over the years.
I remember the final days of March 1976, when, my father brought me— at age 9—trackside for a couple of days to witness northeastern railroading before Conrail absorbed operation of most of the large railroads in the region.
Twenty-three years later, he and I spent two days along Conrail’s former New York Central lines in eastern New York state , documenting the railroad’s final days.
Working with a Canon EOS borrowed from the manufacturer for review, I exposed this telephoto view of westward TrailVan train TV79 on the Water Level Route near Tribes Hill, New York.
Canon EOS with 100-400mm zoom, Fujichrome slide film. Exposed near Tribes Hill, New York on May 29, 1999.
In April 1984, on one of our countless rail-photo excursions together, my father and I paused to photograph this set of Conrail locomotives near the former Lehigh Valley Oak Island Yards in Newark, New Jersey.
GP30 2175 caught my attention, as I always admired the unusual semi-streamlined cab that characterised this EMD classic diesel.
Although I have a number of Conrail GP30 photos, this is one of the few images I have of a former Reading Company unit, which today makes it special, since I embarked on a project to re-imagine the Reading in HO-scale several years ago (presently in hiatus while I embark on more Reading research).
Conrail’s early years were an exciting time for me. I don’t think Pop was as impressed, but he brought me to many neat places across the east to watch and photograph Conrail, which was the greatest show around at the time.
Kodachrome 64 exposed with a Leica 3A fitted with 50mm Summitar lens.
Today, one of Conrail’s GP30s is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Old 2233 will be one of the topics of my next class on railroad photography at the museum, scheduled for April 14, 2026.
On November 12, 1987, I drove my 1973 Plymouth Scamp along the backroads from Scottsville to Salamanca, New York. Early that afternoon I caught Conrail’s OIEL east of town, making its way west on the Meadville Line—the former Erie Railroad main line running from Hornell, New York, to Meadville, Pennsylvania.
In its heyday, Salamanca had been an Erie division point, home to a large railroad station and a significant yard. By the time of my visit, however, the town was only a shadow of its former glory. Even so, simply seeing the place fascinated me. I wanted to see more of the old Erie Railroad to the west, so I followed OIEL.
SD50 6822 was in the lead. West of Salamanca, near Steamburg, I made this panned photograph from Route 17. My Leica M2 was loaded with Kodachrome—great for bright, sunny days but difficult to work with on a dull one. My exposure was f2.0 at 1/60 of a second. The wide aperture contributed to the corner vignetting in this image.
What sticks in my mind is that my car radio was playing “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” by George Harrison, from his latest album, Cloud Nine, which had been released just a few days earlier.
Scan of Kodachrome 25 slide.I made a variety of subtle changes using Adobe Lightroom to improve the appearance of the original photo. I wonder how these changes will translate after WordPress photo compression.
I made it as far west as Jamestown—that’s where my map ended. There was no GPS or Google Maps in those days. The Erie dipped down into Pennsylvania beyond that point. It would be another twenty years or so before I finally traced the line over its full distance between Jamestown and Meadville, but those are stories for another day.
I’ve previously posted to Tracking the Light some of my favorite photos exposed on this day on the former Pennsylvania Railroad at Bennington Curve.
In this view, exposed in the early morning light, a set of GP40s lead an uphill train. The roar of the 16-645E3 diesels was intense and it made for memorable drama.
Conrail was really busy railroad in those days. In addition to parades of eastbound and westbound freights, there were light helper moves and a few Amtrak trains.
In 1987 my choice film was Kodak T-Max 400, then a relative new emulsion. After more a year of work with T-max, I returned to using older emulsions such as Kodak Tri-X, which I felt produced better results. However, modern scanning techniques have allowed for pleasing interpretations of this almost 40 year-old negative.
My friends and I were set up at the rock cut that in part comprises the location known as ‘Twin Ledges’ situated on the east slope of Washington Hill. This was the former Boston & Albany main line, operated by Conrail as its Boston Line.
The trees had just a leafed out on May 24, 1987, when I made this image of a laden Conrail BAL (ballast) extra ascending the grade behind a consist of GE C30-7As.
Long after the train had squeeled through the reverse curves, we could hear its locomotives chugging west toward Washington Summit near Hinsdale, Massachusetts.
Conrail was a class act that made for countless photo opportunities.
Fifty Years after it commenced operations,Tracking the Light takes a fond look back on Conrail!
On this day 50 years ago, Conrail commenced operations on the newly formed network of railroad lines largely created from the bankrupt ruins of traditional Northeastern railroads.
In August 1986, I made this sunrise view of a Conrail C30-7A at West Springfield, Massachusetts on Kodachrome 25 slide film.
Between 1976 and 1999, I made thousands of photographs of Conrail operations, machinery and people.
