Author of more than 50 books on railways, photography, and Ireland. Brian divides his time between the United States and Ireland, and frequently travels across Europe and North America.
We only had a few minutes to wait after arrival before we heard this westward train approaching French’s Hollow. One of CSX‘s SD70MACs leads. The train is on the older (and closer) of the two bridges. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens set at 75mm. Exposed at ISO 200 f5.6 1/1000th of a second. (I chose a very fast shutter speed because of my broadside angle to the train).
CSX’s Selkirk Branch, the old West Shore Railroad (New York, West Shore & Buffalo), is part of the busiest rail-freight corridor in the Albany area. This line is the primary westward link from the sprawling Selkirk yard; freight to and from Boston Line (old Boston & Albany), River Line (former West Shore to northern, New Jersey), and Hudson Line (former New York Central Hudson Division) plus Albany-area terminal traffic all uses this route.
Saturday, May 18th promised to be a bright day, so Mike Gardner and I aimed for French’s Hollow, where the old West Shore crosses Norman Kill. This section of line features a New York Central-era grade separation, built to allow the traditional eastward main to fly over the westward main, thus minimizing the need for conflicting movements of freights coming in and out of Selkirk.
Decorated auto rack passes over Norman Kill. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
In a wet season, Norman Kill can be a raging torrent making for nice waterfall below the twin bridges. However, it’s been unseasonably dry, and the waterfall was little more than a trickle.
The north-south orientation of the Selkirk Branch and broadside view of the bridges is well suited to photographing westward trains in the morning. Our location was from a closed road bridge, now a hiking trail, immediately compass east of the railroad bridges.
This was the second of several westward freights to cross the bridge at French’s Hollow. Old topo maps show this location as ‘French Mills’, so presumably there was once some sort of mill on Norman Kill. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens set at 30mm; ISO 200 f5.6 1/1000th of a second.
CSX performed more or less as anticipated; between 8 am and about 9:30 am we had a steady parade of westward trains, and at least one eastward train. This proved an excellent beginning to a very productive day photographing CSX freight west of Selkirk. In addition to more than a hundred digital images, I also exposed a couple of rolls of slide film during the course of the day. I’ve displayed just a few of the French’s Hollow images here.
There was a time when ‘foreign power’ (off line locomotives) running on the Water Level Route would generate a bit of excitement. Today, it isn’t unusual to see BNSF or Union Pacific locomotives leading train on CSX wet of Selkirk. A pair of BSNF Evolution Series GE six motor diesels glide across the bridge at Frenchs Hollow on May 18, 2013. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with a Canon 40mm Pancake lens.
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On Friday, May 17, 2013, John Pickett and I went for lunch at the Riverview Cafeat Stuyvesant, New York. This is one of John’s favorite places to eat, as it offers a view of both the former New York Central Water Level Route and the Hudson River, and sits a short walk from the old Stuyvesant railway station.
I was visiting John to review some black & white negatives for upcoming book projects. John has a wonderful collection of steam-era photographs, many that he exposed with his own lens, and I’ve published a number of these in recent books, including North American Locomotives published by Voyageur Press.
I enjoy perusing John’s files and finding hidden gems among his images.
One of the photos he made shows a New York Central streamlined J3a Hudson racing west through Palentine Bridge in 1946. John grew up in Canajoharie on the opposite side of the Mohawk River from Palentine Bridge and he has great memories of watching trains in the glory days of the New York Central.
Before we sat down for lunch, John consulted his Amtrak schedule and worked out the times for train 238 running south from Albany and train 281working north from New York City. It was a toss up as he figured they were both due about the same time. ‘How exciting! I wonder which will get here first?’
Amtrak train 238 crawls by the old New York Central station at Stuyvesant, New York. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
As it turned out, 238 came first, but rolled through at a crawl. Soon after it passed us, we could here 281 blasting north. John passed the train a friendly wave, and, to our delight, we saw that it had a classic New York Central round-end observation at the back! ‘That was Babbling Brook!’. Neat to see a vestige of the Great Steel Fleet (what New York Central called its Water Level route passenger service) still rolling along at speed.
John Pickett waves to Amtrak train 281 led by dual-mode General Electric locomotive 702 at Stuyvesant, New York on May 17, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.New York Central observation Babbling Brook passes Stuyvesant, New York. Today, the former New York Central Hudson Division has just two main tracks at Stuyvesant; the days of 4-6-4 Hudson-types, 4-8-2 Mohawks, and 4-8-4 Niagaras on the great four track main line are just a memory. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
When possible I combine trips to take care of both business and errands, while leaving appropriate intervals for photography. Ideally, I’ll organizing my time so I can conduct business during the heat of the day, while leaving the mornings and evening free to make photos when light is the best.
Last Friday May 17, 2013 was a perfect execution of this philosophy. I’d arranged to meet my friend and fellow railway photographer, John Pickett at 10:30 am to review some material for up coming book projects. John lives near Albany, so I departed Massachusetts in the early hours and aimed to work the far-west end of CSX’s former B&A route west of the Massachusetts-New York State line.
My first location was State Line itself. This is conveniently accessed by a grade crossing within sight of the railroad’s state-line marker. I’d made a nice photograph of a Conrail eastbound here 25 years ago, and I wanted to repeat the effort with a CSX freight.
The former Boston & Albany mainline at the historic location on the Massachusetts-New York State Line on the morning of May 17, 2013.
Patience rewarded me with an eastward CSX intermodal freight, probably train Q022 (Columbus, Ohio to Worcester, Massachusetts), lead by former Conrail SD60M 8774. Since the line is a single main at this location, I moved west to Chatham, New York to wait for the westward Q019 (carries freight from Worcester to Chicago), and intermodal train that typically passes in the mid-morning. Along the way, I reviewed known locations, checking for places to photograph in the afternoon.
I was happy to catch this Conrail-era EMD SD60M leading at State Line. Canon 7D fitted with 28-135mm lens.Trailing view of the eastward freight passing the old State Line marker. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.CSX Q019 passes the former Boston & Albany passenger station at Chatham, New York on May 17, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
Old Boston & Albany station at Chatham, New York. Lumix LX3 photo.
After 5pm, having finished my business with John (which incidentally included some photography along the Hudson River that will be featured in a later post), I returned to Chatham, picking a favorite location mid-way along the dispatchers controlled siding that extends east of town to the old ‘Bottleneck Bridge’ where the line crosses the New York State Thruway Extension. Here, I waited for the westward Q423 (Worcester to CSX’s yard at Selkirk, New York), which passed shortly after 6 pm.
An SD70ACe leads CSX’s Q423 at milepost QB173.7 east of Chatham, New York on May 17, 2013. Canon EOS 7D w 28-135mm lens set at 105mm. Exposed manually: ISO 200 f7.1 at 1/500th sec.
I consider myself very fortunate that in this situation my past experiences combined with an appreciation for CSX’s contemporary operations actually produced results. Not every effort yields ideal results; so despite planning and knowledge, I may have been skunked if trains didn’t show up when I anticipated them.
Detail of the GATX GP15-2 operating on Mass-Central. The GP15 model features an unusual airflow pattern. Canon 7D.
My brief encounter with Mass-Central’s borrowed GP15-2 on May 10, 2013 (see Quaboag Valley in Fog and Sun, May 10, 2013 encouraged me to seek out this locomotive and spend some more time photographing it on the former Boston & Albany Ware River Branch.
This branch is one of my longest running projects. Back in 1981, I rode my 10-speed bicycle from Monson to Ware to make photographs of Mass-Central’s recently acquired EMD NW5, number 2100. Now, more than 30 years later, that old engine is still on the property, and I’ve been up and down the line by road (and rail) dozens of times.
Despite this familiarity, at least once a year (if not once a season) I’ll take a photo-trip along the line. So, having a nice freshly painted locomotive against fresh spring leaves is a good excuse to get out and the exercise cameras.
Northward Mass-Central freight near Creamery on May 13, 2013. Canon 7D with 20mm lens.Mass-Central crosses Rt 67 at Barre, Massachusetts on May 13, 2013. Lumix LX-3 photo.Mass Central at Barre, Massachusetts on May 13, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.
Much of the line is on a southwest-northeast angled alignment; and since trains tend depart northbound in the morning from Palmer and return after midday, I’ve found that the southward return chase can be the most productive for making clean locomotive images.
On Monday May 13th, I spent the morning writing and running errands. Then in late morning, I followed Mass-Central’s line up to Gilbertville where I waited for the weekday freight to pass on its northbound run. (Just to clarify; the weekday freight is all I’d ever expect to see. The days of Boston & Albany’s steam hauled mixed train and milk specials have long since passed!)
My timing was good, and after a little while the GP15-2 rolled through northbound with two cars. Not much of a train, but it collected a few more cars near Creamery and continued to South Barre where it worked for about an hour delivering and collecting freight cars.
As expected, the southward chase offered better angles and nicer train. Not only did the southward train have a decent consist of cars, but the sun made some well-timed appearances.
Mass-Central working the spur at South Barre. This light industrial branch diverges near the end of track on Mass-Central’s line at South Barre. Canon 7D.Mass-Central freight near Barre, Massachusetts on May 13, 2013. Canon 7D with 20mm lens.
I made photos with both film and digital Canon bodies as well as my Lumix LX-3, while following all the way south to Palmer (where Mass-Central interchanges with both CSX and New England Central).
Canon 7D.Mass-Central crossing Rt 32 near Creamery, Massachusetts. Canon 7D.Mass-Central catches the sun at the Rt 181 crossing near Palmer, Massachusetts. Canon 7D with 28-135 lens.
I’ve learned to take advantage of unusual or new motive power on the branch, as things can (and do) change quickly. To use a cliché; it’s best to strike when the iron is hot! I was pleased with my results featuring the GP15-2 and I wonder what motive power I’ll find next time I follow the line?
The maelstrom of 1980s-1990s mergers and spin-offs left very few railroads untouched; in this dramatic re-drawing of the railway map, some roads, such as CC&P, have been nearly forgotten.
Chicago Central & Pacific: there and gone.
Eighteen years ago today, May 20, 1995, I made this image of a CC&P former Illinois Central GP9 (still wearing pre-Illinois Central Gulf, IC black) working across the Burlington Northern crossing at East Dubuque, Illinois.
For me, this image of a train emerging from the inky depths of a leaf-covered, stratified cliff, crossing another set of tracks and reaching out of the frame, neatly sums up the short history of the CC&P.
During the mid-1980s, Illinois Central Gulf dramatically trimmed its route structure. Among the lines carved out of ICG, was the Chicago-Omaha/Sioux City CC&P. Born at the end of 1985, this ambitious regional line competed for east-west traffic on the its Chicago-Omaha trunk, while serving on-line customers. After a little more than a decade, Illinois Central (by it then had dropped the ‘Gulf’ in its name—adopted as a reflection of the early 1970s merger with Gulf, Mobile & Ohio) reacquired CC&P.
During the relatively short interval of CC&P independence, the railroad never re-painted all of its locomotives, many of which had been in inherited from ICG. Shortly after, CC&P was melded back into the IC family, it too was absorbed by Canadian National. At the time of this photo, CN was actively using trackage rights on BN, and its trains crossed CC&P’s line 8 to 10 times daily.
Railroad Family Trees Coming Soon!
My book, tentatively titled Railroad Family Trees will be available from Quayside Publishing Group later this year.
BN SD60Ms westbound at Sentinel Butte. Exposed with a Nikon F3T with f1.8 105mm lens on Kodachrome 25 slide film; shutter and f-stop information unrecorded; metered using a Sekonic Studio Deluxe hand-held light meter.
In mid-July 1994, I spent several days photographing along Burlington Northern’s former Northern Pacific mainline in western North Dakota. Here the railway snaked through the Badlands, with the landscape characterized by unusual geological formations.
On the evening of July 12, 1994, BN sent a fleet of westward empty coal trains (described as ‘coal cars’ on the railroad) over the NP between Mandan, North Dakota and Glendive, Montana. At 7pm I caught this empty led by an SD60M at Sentinel Butte. Fast moving fair weather clouds made for some complicated lighting and a tricky exposure, but ultimately resulted in a more dramatic photograph.
This was my second experience with this line. My first was viewing the line from the dome of the North Coast Limited some 24 years earlier. I was only four years old on that trip, but the train ride gave me lasting memories. My dad exposed slides from the dome and dutch-doors of the train and from the Vista dome, but I wasn’t yet working with cameras.
Breda Light Rail Vehicles Work San Francisco Streets.
Shortly after sunset in May 2008, a San Francisco Muni L-Taraval car takes the corner from 15th Avenue to Ulloa Street on the way toward West Portal, where the line enters the Twin Peaks Tunnel. Exposed on Fujichrome with a Canon EOS 3 with f28 200mm lens. Eighteen years earlier I made a similar view near this spot, which appeared in an issue of Passenger Train Journal in the 1990s.
Although less photographed than historic cable cars and vintage streetcars, San Francisco Muni’s light rail routes offer plenty of interesting opportunities to make urban railway images.
The sun rises through a thick bank of Pacific fog as N-Judah cars pass on August 27, 2009. This was exposed on Fujichrome slide film with my Canon EOS 3 fitted with a 100-400mm image stabilization zoom lens.
San Francisco enjoys spectacular weather and lighting conditions. My favorite times to photograph are a sunrise and sunset. While the modern Breda-built cars lack the flair of historic PCC’s (see San Francisco Muni F-Line, May 2008), they still make for interesting subjects for the creative eye.
Exposed on Fujichrome slide film with a Canon EOS 3 fitted with a 24mm lens.
San Francisco Muni’s F-Line route operates with a variety of vintage streetcars, including streamlined PCC cars painted in various historic liveries to represent systems that originally operated these cars.
Popular with tourists and residents alike, the vintage cars are fun to ride and photograph. Unlike most modern transit, the F-Line offers continual variety, with different cars operating from day to day.
In May 2008, I made this photograph of PCC 1061 dressed for Pacific Electric in front of the restored Ferry Building on San Francisco’s Embarcedero. Originally built for Philadelphia, this was among the cars acquired for operation in San Francisco in the early 1990s. Some restoration work for out-of-service heritage cars has been done by the Market Street Railway (volunteer support group for Muni’s historic rail lines ); these are turned over to Muni when restoration nears the point where cars are ready for revenue service.
Working with Wonderful Light in an Infrastructure-Intense Environment
San Francisco Bay is famous for its beautiful light; the combination of soft sun with rolling Pacific fog and layers of pollution make for a rich textured golden glow in evening and mellow bright conditions during the height of the day.
Following my Northern California theme presented over the last few posts to Tracking the Light, I’m offering a few views of San Francisco Bay exposed in August 2009.
On August 10, 2009, a loaded Pacific containership catches the glint of the morning sun as it passes San Francisco on its way to the Port of Oakland. Where historically San Francisco served as a primary port, today very little heavy shipping happens in the City itself; most port activities are focused in the East Bay around Oakland. Oakland container traffic represents an important business for both Union Pacific and BNSF. Until 1957, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (seen here in silhouette) carried Key System interurban electric trains, and originally also hosted SP’s red electrics as well.An Amtrak Capitols train passes CP North King Street near Jack London Square in Oakland, California on August 25, 2009. The Port of Oakland makes for a fascinating industrial backdrop. Notice the approaches to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. At the time of this photo, new approaches were under construction to replace the 1930s-era steel-lattice cantilever structure.On August 24, 2009, the rarely photographed Oakland Terminal Railway navigates former electric line trackage beneath the maze of Interstate highways in Oakland.
These images were exposed on Fujichrome slide film with a Canon EOS 3 and 100-400mm lens.
On the evening of August 15, 2009, I was photographing along the former Western Pacific near Oroville, California. At that time, Union Pacific was doing heavy work on its parallel former Southern Pacific line over Donner Pass, and it was understood that double-stack container traffic would soon be shifted off the old WP route in favor of Donner Pass. Time was running out to regularly catch double stack trains on the WP route and I focused my efforts on making the most of this while I could.
Smoke tinted sun makes for a painterly image of this Union Pacific double stack near Oroville, California on Aug 15, 2009. Canon EOS 3 with Fujichrome slide film.
At the end of the day, I made this image of a westward double stack train stopped at a signal east of Oroville. Wildfires had filled the atmosphere with smoke, which lend to a surreal painterly light. Low sun accentuated the effect and the combination of California golden grass with smoke tinted glint light offered wonderful photographic opportunity.
I exposed these images on Fujichrome slide film with my Canon EOS 3 using several different focal lengths. It was a spectacular finish to a productive day of photography. I’d made my first visit to the Western Pacific in October 1989, nearly 20 years earlier. Hard to believe so much time had passed between these trips. In 1966, my father, Richard Jay Solomon, rode west over this line in a dome car on Western Pacific’s famed California Zephyr.
Union Pacific container train near Oroville, California.
Significantly, this portion of the Western Pacific route (between Oroville and the lower reaches of the Feather River Canyon) was built new in the early 1960s as part of a line relocation forced by construction of the Oroville Dam.
In this case, I’ve walked (or scrambled) further down the hillside from my parking place on Carquinez Scenic Drive. The road is gated overnight and opened to the public in the early morning hours. Finding the right street in Martinez to reach Carquinez Scenic Drive can be a trial to the uninitiated, a good map or sat-nav device is recommended. I used a Northern California DeLorme Atlas and Map Quest, (plus vague memories of having photographed from this road in the early 1990s).
Working with hard silhouettes requires careful exposure. Also, I’ve found it helps to avoid excessive lens flare. This is one of those things you rarely read about. If the sun (or other bright light) hits the front element of your lens it will cause flare which will change the contrast of the image and may cause patterns (light streaks or blobs).
While in some instances it may be desirable to include flare (Hollywood discovered the dramatic use of flare in the 1960s and 1970s), often it is best to minimize it.
What to do? Shade the sun from hitting the front of your lens. Traditionally a lens hood will solve this problem . However, when the sun is very low to the horizon, a simple lens hood isn’t sufficient. To compensate, I’ll try to find something to stand behind (such as a hedge, awning, convenient sign post). If this fails, I’ll use my notebook (which I carry with me everywhere) to shade the lens. For this reason, I often carry a 5×7 in size notebook with a dull charcoal gray cover (to minimize reflection).
I’ll position the notebook in such a way so its shadow covers the front element, but the notebook itself isn’t in the image. This is a handy trick to use for night photography too. It helps to have the camera on a tripod (or have a capable assistant to hold the notebook!)
In this instance, my intent was to emphasize the glint off the rails and signal bridge in a hard silhouette. Notice where I’ve positioned the locomotives in relation to the glinting sun. I’ve deliberately exposed for the highlights, allowing the shadows to consume most detail.
Martinez, California, as viewed from Carquinez Scenic Drive. Canon EOS 3 with 100-400 mm lens, Fujichrome slide film.
On the morning of August 12, 2009, I used my Canon EOS 3 with a 100-400 mm Canon image stabilization lens to expose this image of an Amtrak California Capitols train crossing the former Southern Pacific Carquinez Straits Bridge at Martinez, California. (Amtrak’s Capitol Corridorderives its name from California’s old and new capital cities, San Jose and Sacramento)
When this bridge was completed in 1930, it was the largest double track railway bridge west of the Mississippi. Today it carries Amtrak and Union Pacific trains.
Coastal fog softened the morning sun making for a cosmic effect. Making photographs of the bridge is complicated by the enormous Interstate 680 bridges that flank it on both sides. I’ve found that a broadside silhouette is the most effective way of capturing the scale of the bridges.
Stainless Steel Budd-Rail Diesel Car Catches the Light.
Unmodified scan of a Kodachrome slide. MBTA RDC at South Station Boston, Massachusetts, November 23, 1988.
On November 23, 1988, I exposed this Kodachrome slide of a former Boston & Maine (B&M) Budd RDC on the platforms at South Station. At one time this had been a self-propelled unit, but by this time, Boston-based Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was hauling trains of old RDC’s with locomotives.
The classic welded stainless steel fluting was a trademark of Budd railcars. Polished stainless steel made for some beautiful trains, although this one was clearly showing its age. The Boston & Maine lettering was a remnant of B&M’s ownership of the car, which MBTA had acquired in the mid-1970s.
Look carefully and you’ll see another Budd-built product reflecting the in the window: one of Amtrak’s Amfleet cars built in the 1970s.
Kodachrome 25 slide film was an ideal material for capturing high-contrast scenes like this one. Look at the great detail in the highlights areas. I used my Leica M2 with f2.0 50mm Summicron. Today, I’d probably try to capture this with my Lumix LX3.
6:38 am on the morning of May 10, 2013 finds heavy fog at Hospital Road in Monson, Massachusetts. This view is looking south on New England Central’s former Central Vermont Railway. Canon EOS 7D.
May 10th holds symbolic railroad significance as the anniversary of completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad in 1869—an event that had great national and international importance. Many other railway anniversaries can be linked to May 10 as well.
In 2007, I coordinated a team of 37 photographers to document a full day’s worth of North American railway activity from Nova Scotia to southern California and from the Pacific Northwest to southern Florida in what became a book titled The Railroad Never Sleeps published by Voyageur Press.
Although this seems to be out of print, it remains a stunning photographic collection, which is especially impressive considering it was entirely accomplished within the limits of just one day!It’s hard for me to believe that six years have passed since that day.
Yesterday (May 10 2013), I got up early and aimed for Palmer, Massachusetts, with an aim of making a variety of railway images on this significant day. In the course of just a few hours, I’d photographed five train movements on three different railroads. I was home by 9:30 am. (Although, I was out again later in the day to investigate some changes to railway infrastructure).
When I began my photography there was thick fog clinging to the valleys; this gradually burned off leaving bright sun. Here’s a selection of my efforts.
6:43 am. New England Central 608 led by GP38 3857 works south of Palmer Yard approaching Hospital Road in Monson, Massachusetts. On May 10, 2013, the sun was out, just not here. Canon EOS 7D.7:49 am. The fog had begun to lift when I made this view along Mass-Central’s former Boston & Albany Ware River Branch near Forest Lake, Palmer, Massachusetts. May 10, 2013. Canon EOS 7D.7:52 am. Here was a complete surprise for me; I was unaware that Mass-Central had borrowed a GATX GP15-2 locomotive until I saw it leading the northward freight. Some quick driving on my part put me in position at this broadside view where the line crosses Forest Lake. I was pleased, that’s a nice looking locomotive in fresh paint. Canon EOS 7D with 40mm Pancake Lens.Crossing the mountain from the Ware River Valley to the Quaboag River Valley, I heard CSX Q264 call the signal at CP83 in Palmer. I altered my course to intercept it at West Warren, where recent undercutting and brush work has opened up a nice view for morning trains headed east. The sun was just emerging from the fog at 8:15 am making for some rich soft light. Canon EOS 7D with f4.0 200mm lens.8:29 am. Only a few minutes behind Q264 was this eastward intermodal train. The sun was out brightly in Warren and I could hear the roar of EMD diesels well before the train reached me. Canon EOS7D with 28-135mm lens at 28mm.
Sunday, October 3, 1993 was a fine autumn day. I was visiting New England, after some eight months in California, and met my friend Bob Buck along the Boston & Albany route at Palmer. He was reading his Sunday paper, and looked up, “Are you interested in going to the West End?”
Silly, question! Bob had introduced me to the old B&A West End a dozen years earlier, and as the living expert on the B&W, there was no better guide for my favorite line. So off we went in Bob’s Ford van, via the Mass-Pike to Westfield and then up the mountain. The railroad wasn’t especially busy that day, but we saw a few trains.
Our first stop was Chester. Then we went up to Middlefield, a location that Bob had found way back in 1946. On that day he’d watched B&A’s mighty A1 class Berkshires on freight. Those days were long gone, but Bob spoke of them as if they were yesterday! We walked west to the famed Twin Ledges where Bob had made many great photos of steam power, then as the daylight faded returned to the old Middlefield Station location (the building was demolished decades earlier).
Middlefield is a peaceful bucolic place and an idyllic setting to watch and photograph trains. Toward the end of sunlight, we heard a eastward train descending. Since I’d made dozens of photographs at this location over the years, I thought to try something a little different, and so I framed the train with these leaves around it.
Shafts of rich afternoon sun illuminated the golden foliage, casting a bit of golden glint light on the rail. It was a stunning scene. But, just as the Conrail train crawled into view, clouds obscured the sun. Poor show.
Not withstanding, I exposed this frame of Kodachrome 25 with my Nikon F3T, making a last second exposure compensation; f2.8 1/125. K25 was a forgiving film, but this wasn’t enough exposure, and the slide came back from Kodak looking dark and uninviting. Not much use in a slide show. I put it away and haven’t looked at it since. Until today that is.
Yesterday’s photographic folly has become today’s project. I can’t exactly catch a set of Conrail C30-7As working the Boston & Albany route anymore, and this image retains strong composition despite its flaws. What was merely a dark slide in 1993, can now be adjusted with Adobe Photoshop.
Below I’ve displayed four images. The original ‘Dark’ image. Plus three altered scans. Option 1 involves little more than a quick adjustment with the ‘curves’ feature to compensate for under exposure, while Options 2 and 3 involved varying degrees of manipulation to compensate for exposure, color balance and apparent sharpness. I’ve used various masking, layering and other types of selective adjustment. Which is the best image? You decide. I make no apologies, It’s an old dark slide, there’s no right or wrong.
This is an unmodified scan of the original Kodachrome slide. By my estimation it’s about 2 stops under exposed.Modification option 1, the quick fix. I simply adjusted the ‘curves’ feature in Adobe Photoshop to compensate for underexposure. This took me all of about 30 seconds to execute.
Modification option 2, this is a heavily modified scan, using layers and selective tools to make localized as well as global adjustments.Modification option 3, this is the most modified of the three scans. Again, I’ve used layers and selective tools to make localized and global adjustments, paying special attention to the sides of the locomotives, highlight and shadow areas. I could have toiled over this for another half hour, but would it make that much difference? Pity the sun hadn’t stayed out, but so be it. No one said the Photoshop fix was going to be easy.
Yesterday morning, jetlag had me awake and alert considerably earlier than I’m accustomed. By 7 am, I’d photographed three trains on two railroads in two states and was on my way home to get some work done. Crazy thing, jetlag.
New England Central’s former Central Vermont Railway line looking north toward Washington Street in Monson, Massachusetts. Canon 7D with an f2.0 100mm lens.
The highlight of the morning’s impromptu photo excursion was this image of New England Central’s ‘Pride of Palmer’ (GP38 3851) climbing through Monson, Massachusetts with a short freight for Willimantic, Connecticut. This is passing Monson’s ‘tornado alley’, where, nearly two years ago a freak afternoon twister made splinters and memories of many fine buildings and trees.
At 6:16 am on May 8, 2013, New England Central 3851 approaches the ‘Monson tunnel’, now nearly an underpass below Main Street. Canon 7D with an f2.0 100mm lens, ISO 400 exposed at f4.0 1/250th, white balance set for ‘cloudy.’New England Central 3851 approaches Main Street, Monson. Exposed with a Lumix LX3, set at ISO 200. Image modified with Adobe Photoshop to compensate for exposure extremes and to warm the color balance.
Luggage on the platform at Horsted Keynes on April 20, 1948, no sorry, make that 2013.
Old advertisement at Sheffield Park.Nameplate on locomotive Stowe inside the engineshed at Sheffiled Park. Lumix LX3 photo.
One of the great features of Britain’s preserved Bluebell Railway is its exceptional attention to detail. Everywhere you look there is something to make the past, alive. Old advertisements, piles of luggage, semaphore signals, cast iron warning signs, and buckets of coal.
You hear the clunk of a rod moving a signal blade from red to green, followed by the shrill guard’s whistle and the slam of a wooden door. Then a mild hiss as the automatic brake is released and the sharper hiss from the locomotive as it eases off the platform. Yet, the Bluebell experience isn’t all about its locomotive, or its trains. The Bluebell is a railway experience.
Outer home semaphore on the Bluebell Railway near Horsted Keynes. I’m especially impressed by Bluebell’s great attention to period railway signalling (two ll’s). Canon EOS7D with 28-135mm lens.
The number plate on a smoke box door catches the hint of a blue sky beyond. Canon EOS7D with 28-135mm lens.A class 9F 2-10-0 emits wisps of steam on the platform at Sheffield Park. Lumix LX3 photo.Southern Railway advertisements hint of the glamour of railway travel from another era. Lumix LX3 photo.
The time warp ends when you arrive back at East Grinsted, where you insert your ticket with its magnetic stripe into automatic barriers, then board a modern electric multiple unit with sealed windows, plastic décor and space-age loos that look like they belong on the set of Star Trek.
Crews chat on the platform at Sheffield Park. Lumix LX3 photo.
The Bluebell Railway is Britain’s first standard gauge preserved steam railway. It dates from the early 1960s, and for more than 50 years has offered excursions over a scenic portion of former Southern Railway, ex London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. Today the railway runs from East Grinsted to Sheffield Park (south-southwest of London), and includes a relatively long tunnel.
Departing Kingscote behind a British Railways class 9F on April 20, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
Bluebell, like many of Britian’s steam railways, is a fully functioning preserved line, complete with stations, signal boxes (towers), authentic period signal hardware (including semaphores), engine sheds and lots of staff (presumably mostly volunteers), all of which contributes to the appearance of an historic British railway. In other words, it’s like a time machine!
Bluebell’s staff wear period railway attire. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
On Saturday April 20, 2013 David Hegarty and I traveled from London by train via East Croydon to East Grinsted. It was a beautiful clear bright day. Bluebell had just recently reopened its line for connections to British rail network at East Grinsted.
New track! On April 20, 2013, our train from East Grinsted navigates the recently completed connection from the British rail network. After more than five decades of isolation from the British rail network, Bluebell is finally connected.
While not especially photogenic, I found the new East Grinsted transfer a big improvement for reaching the Bluebell. On previous visits, I’d hired a car and drove directly to Horsted Keynes—a mid-point station on the Bluebell. All things being equal, its nice to arrive by rail.
Enginemen on Southern Railway 2-6-0 1638 at Horsted Keynes. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
It was interesting to travel behind steam (British Railways 2-10-0 class 9F) over newly laid track. We spent a full day wandering up and down the line by train. At one point we went for a long hike following signposted footpaths to a known good spot (what friends like to call a KGS). I’d found the spot, north of Horstead Keynes, about 10 years ago.
Bluebell’s dinner train departs Sheffield Park on April 20, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
Biggest challenge to making photos on the Bluebell is their operating practice of locomotives facing north, which can present some difficult lighting angles considering most of the line is on a north-south alignment.
My known good spot: here a Bluebell train works the bank north of Horsted Keynes. Lumix LX3 photo.
Historic Chicago & North Western herald on the side of a HyRail truck in Spring 1995.
It’s been nearly 18 years since Union Pacific absorbed the Chicago & North Western system. I was fortunate to have been in position to photograph C&NW in its final year of independence.
C&NW’s busiest route was its largely double-track Chicago-Council Bluffs mainline. Yet, long before C&NW was formally merged with UP, this route had functioned as an eastward extension of UP’s east-west mainline. In the early 1990s, many trains operated with UP run-through locomotives.
C&NW was famous for left-hand running. An eastward C&NW freight crosses the Burlington Northern diamonds at Rochelle, Illinois on the morning of April 2, 1995. Nikon F3T with Nikkor f4 200mm lens, Kodachrome 25 slide film.On April 23, 1995. a pair of C&NW General Electric DASH8-40Cs lead a westward freight on Arcadia Hill in western, Iowa. Nikon F3T with f1.8 105mm lens, Kodachrome 25 film.
I found C&NW’s surviving secondary lines even more photogenic. Yet, these lines represented just a shadow of C&NW’s once sprawling empire. Many routes had been fragmented or abandoned. Once busy secondary mainlines, served as little more than lightly served freight feeders. Several C&NW operations had been physically isolated from its core network, with the railroad relying on haulage arrangements in place of its own lines.
A pair of C&NW GP7s work the Jefferson Junction local on the evening of April 19, 1995. Jefferson Junction, Wisconsin was once the crossing of two important secondary routes, but by this late date it was effectively served as a branch from the Adams Cutoff via Clyman Junction. Nikon F3T with 35mm PC (shift) lens, Kodachrome 25 slide film.C&NW hoppers at Jefferson Junction Wisconsin on April 19, 1995 .
C&NW held onto its identity into its last days. Its historic herald was still proudly displayed on equipment and infrastructure. Vestiges of its former greatness survived as visual cues to an earlier era. So its final year, C&NW retained these threads of corporate continuity. While the appearance of C&NW continued for a while under Union Pacific operation, once it was part of the UP system, these threads were less meaningful.
I made roughly a thousand C&NW images between June 1994 and May 1995 (UP’s intended merger date in late April 1995 was ultimately postponed a few weeks, despite reports to the contrary). These are just a sampling of those efforts.
Chicago & North Western’s Chicago-Omaha mainline at sunset.
In the mid-1990s, I’ve made a variety of similar images along the Chicago & North Western’s Chicago-Council Bluffs mainline that offers a literal depiction of the classic textbook illustration showing railroad tracks to demonstrate perspective.
Why C&NW? The angle of tracks and arrangement offers classic simplicity. This is a largely tangent east-west double-track line that crosses comparatively open landscapes in western Illinois and central Iowa, where installation of advanced signaling combined with burying of code lines and other communications minimized line-side poles and wires.
I’ve exposed for the sky that produces a silhouette of tracks and equipment. C&NW’s highly polished mainline rails nicely reflect the evening sky. For added interest I’ve included a set of interlocking signals in the distance. If I placed them too close, the signals will have become the subject, and that was not the intent of this image.
For the last decade or so, Irish Rail has focused largely on its passenger operations. These days long distance passenger trains are dominated by fleets of Rotem-built InterCity Rail cars (ICRs), with locomotive-powered trains only working Dublin-Cork (class 201 diesels with Mark 4 push-pull) and Dublin-Belfast (class 201 diesels with De Dietrich push-pull). To the casual observer, it might seem that all the Irish Rail trains are ICRs. Certainly they seem to be everywhere.
Last Thursday and Friday, David Hegarty & I visited midland counties in search of freight trains. These are good days to be out, since Irish rail fields a variety of scheduled freight on its route to County Mayo via Portarlington, Athlone, and Roscommon. This single-track line has a rock and roll profile across undulating countryside.
Irish rail’s ‘up IWT liner’ (Ballina to Dublin) passes the 44 1/2 mile post near Portarlington. Gorse blossoms on both sides of the tracks. Canon 7D with 200mm f2.8 lens.First of two Dublin-Ballina IWT liners on Thursday, April 25, 2013. Canon 7D with 40mm pancake lens.
On on April 25, 2013, Irish Rail class 201 diesel number 219 leads a laden timber at mp44 1/2 near Portarlington. Canon 7D with 40mm pancake lens.
It’s gorse-season, and the gold-tinged blooming bushes works well with Irish Rail’s ‘safety yellow’ on the front of most trains. Getting the sun out is an added bonus. One minute there’s bright sun, the next its lashing rain. Sometime, I didn’t have to wait that long. They call it Spring. It’s as good an excuse as any.
Second IWT liner from Dublin to Ballina, north (west) of Portarlington on the branch to Athlone. Thursdays is a busy day for freight in Ireland, we caught six freight moves on April 25, 2013. Irish Rail 234 is the highest number 201 class diesels. The next day we photographed it again at Clara, Co. Offaly. Canon 7D with 20mm lens.
Ballina to Dublin IWT approaches the station at Clara on Friday April 26, 2013. That’s 234, again. Lumix LX3 photo.Not so lucky with the twice weekly DFSD liner. The rain caught me here. Luckily I had an Opel for shelter! This is from the main road between Athlone and Knockcroghery. Canon 7D with 200mm f2.8 lens.This sounded great; its the down IWT liner roaring along with a 1970s-era class 071 near the former station of Donamon (west of Roscommon). Canon 7D with 40mm pancake lens.Last train of the day; the empty timber from Waterford near Donamon. After we caught this train, we were given good advice on an even nicer location a couple of miles further west. We’ll be back! Canon 7D with 100mm f2.0 lens.
In addition to these digital photos exposed with my Canon 7D and Lumix LX-3, I also exposed a couple of rolls of film, including the first roll of Fuji Velvia 50 that’s been in my Canon EOS 3 in about six years. When using slide film, I usually work with 100 ISO stock. The Velvia 50 is an accident, and I’ll be curious to see how those slides turn out. Thanks to Noel Enright for logistical advice!
Ballina to Dublin IWT approaches the station at Clara on Friday April 26, 2013. That’s 234, again. Lumix LX3 photo.
I exposed this Fullerton seen with my Canon EOS 3 with a 100mm f2.0 lens on Fujichrome slide film.
In Spring 2008, I spent seven weeks in California working on my ‘Railroads of California’ book for Voyageur Press. I focused on elements of California railroading that I’d missed or had changed since I lived there in the early 1990s.
At the end of May, I took Amtrak’s Coast Starlight from Oakland to Los Angeles. Among my projects was the Los Angeles Metrolink commuter rail system.Aiding my effort, Metrolink provided several comp-tickets. On this day, my cousin Stella and I traveled over several of Metrolink routes. I was delighted by the trains, which were air-conditioned and comfortable.
I focused the evening’s efforts at Fullerton, a location that my father recommended to me. Several years earlier, he’d spent an afternoon waiting for Santa Fe 3751 (Baldwin-built 4-8-4 steam locomotive) that was working an excursion.
Fullerton is a busy place with three main tracks that host Metrolink, Amtrak, and BNSF trains. I exposed this image from the foot bridge as a Metrolink train paused for its station stop. Hazy LA-area smoggy sun makes for a nice soft light source, while backlighting offers good contrast for a high impact image.
Fast train delayed because of a suspected points failure.
On Monday, April 22, 2013, a well-known industry communications manager and I paused at an overhead bridge beyond London’s Kings Cross to watch the departure of the 1400 (2pm) East Coast train to Aberdeen. This is called the Northern Lights and features a 1970s-vintage HST, thus making it among the more interesting trains serving Kings Cross.
What ought to have taken just a few moments, dragged on and on. We could see the HST on the platform, but at 2 o’clock it failed to depart on time. I knew something was up when a man, who appeared to be the driver, left the cab of the train. (Just for clarification: in British terminology the person who runs—or ‘drives’—the train is known as a ‘driver’ rather than an engineer.)
Two minutes turned into five, and the HST still hadn’t left. Then two railway employees appeared by a slip-switch beyond the end of the platform. They began disassembling the cowling that covered the switch machine motor. The incident was shaping up to what they call a ‘points failure’. (In Britain, track switches are called ‘points.’)
Before it was all straightened out, there were four men dressed in orange safety clothing on the ground managing the uncooperative points. Finally, just after 1412 (2:10pm), the HST marched out of Kings Cross in parallel with another East Coast train, this one hauled by a common class 90 electric (and was probably destined for Newark Northgate).
I used my Lumix LX3 to catch the late departure of East Coast’s Northern Lights (on left) on Monday April 22, 2013. On the right is the class 90 electric with another northward train. It’s been more than 45 years since the famous Gresley-designed A4 Pacific’s worked this route. Much more than the locomotives has changed, and continues to change. The whole area around Kings Cross is a construction site.
Signage around Kings Cross helps place renovations and modernization in context. St Pancras looms in the distance. Lumix LX3 photo.
During my wanders around London in April 2013, I visited a variety of London’s stations. For me, London’s stations are far more interesting than the trains. Where the trains tend to be fleets of modern multiple-units, the stations range from Victorian gems to austere examples of Lego-block architecture.
My favorite station is St Pancras. This is a classic railway cathedral. A few years ago it was transformed in to a modern multimodal center. Today, it serves as an international station as well as both a long distance and commuter railway station. It features a shopping mall and luxury hotel. Most impressive is the original architecture, including the pioneer example of a balloon-style arched train-shed, which has been successful integrated into a modern facility.
St Pancras’s head house is the Midland Grand Hotel, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott—one of London’s best remembered 19th century architects. I made this view with my Lumix LX3 on the morning of April 19, 2013St Pancras: railway cathedral as viewed on April 20, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.In my book, Railway Masterpieces (published by Krause in 2002), I wrote of St Pancras, “The station’s great balloon arch train shed, the very first of its kind, spans 240 feet, measures 689 feet long, and rises to 100 feet above rail level at its peak. It was designed by the Midland’s engineer, William Barlow.” On April 19, 2013, light tickles a Eurostar highspeed train under the famous shed. Lumix LX3 photo.Modern additions to St Pancras offer a contrast to the Victorian splendor of the original station. Lumx LX3 image exposed on April 20, 2013.
Kings Cross is adjacent to St Pancras. This has also been recently transformed, and blends historic and contemporary architecture. Interestingly, Kings Cross may be most famous for its mention in the Harry Potter stories. Today, there’s both a Harry Potter shop and a light-hearted platform 9 ¾ for visitors.
Kings Cross on April 18, 2013 after a spring shower. Renovations are on-going. Lumix LX3 photo.Today, Kings Cross is a blend of contemporary and historic architecture. Lumix LX3 photo exposed on April 22, 2013.A 1970s vintage HST under the shed at Kings Cross. Years ago I saw graffiti scrawled on the side of an American boxcar that read, ‘Kings Cross is the best, forget the rest.” A line from a song?These days Kings Cross is best known because of its role in the Harry Potter stories.
On this trip, I passed through London Bridge station and was shocked to see that the old train shed has been demolished! All I saw was a few vestiges of the old iron columns. Fifteen years ago, I made some memorable images inside the shed, and now that it’s gone, I’ll need to dredge these photos from the archives. Another change at London Bridge was nearby construction of a monumental skyscraper, colloquially known as ‘The Shard’.
The Shard looms over London Bridge Station on April 20, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.A First Capitol Connect train rolls into Blackfriars on April 21, 2013. Canon EOS 7D photo with 28-135mm lens.Not to be forgotten is London’s Charing Cross, located near Embankment, and just a short walk from Trafalgar Square. Lumix LX3 photo on April 19, 2013.Victoria Station; two terminals with one name.Waterloo Station, is one of London’s busiest. Waterloo is named for the Belgian town where Wellington prevailed over Napoleon. Ironically, this was the London-Paris Eurostar terminal for more than a decade before international services were shifted to St. Pancras. Lumix LX3 photo.Like New York’s late, great Pennsylvania Station, the classic Euston Station was demolished in the 1960s to make way for uninspired modernity. Progress doesn’t necessarily make things better. Lumix LX3 photo.This statue of British Railway pioneer Robert Stephenson is displayed in front of Euston Station. Euston, Heuston, what’s in an ‘H’ anyway? LX3 photo.
Clapham Junction is famous as Britain’s busiest station. Still images cannot convey the power of place. Watching trains at Clapham Junction is akin to watching the tide flow in. At rush hours an unceasing parade of trains passes Clapham Junction, with trains flowing in waves. Most impressive is standing at the north end of the station when as many as six trains approach simultaneously.
Clapham Junction is difficult to properly appreciate in still photos.Buses converge outside of Clapham Junction Station on April 22, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.Clapham Junction Platform 13 destination board on the evening of April 22.
London Overground Train. Exposed with a Lumix LX3.Overground train approaches Brondesbury on April 19, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.
Since Overground primarily serves neighborhoods in London’s outer reaches and is a much more recent addition to London Transport, it is undoubtedly less-familiar to visitors than the Underground. Yet, Overground is a boon for the railway enthusiast, since it connects a variety of interesting railway hubs and junctions.
Overground crossing the Regents Canal at Haggerston on April 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.Interior of London Overground train on April 21, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.
Overground services are fully integrated with other elements of London Transport, and there are many places allowing cross platform transfers to Underground and Network Rail services, as well as connections to buses and the Docklands Light Railway. Overground is open to holders of Day Travel Cards, Oyster Cards and other urban fares.
An EMD-built Class 59 diesel leads an empty stone train through Kensington-Olympia station on April 19, 2013. The Overground offers a convenient link to freight routes. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D and 28-135mm lens.London Overground train approaches West Hempstead station on April 19, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens set at 135mm.London Overground train at Clapham Junction. Lumix LX3 photo.
On the down side, many Overground stations suffer from austere, utilitarian, and otherwise uninspired architecture (if the term can be applied to the line’s platforms and shelters). Yet, I found the services well run, and stations and trains clean and easy places to make photographs.
An EWS Class 66 diesel leads a northward container train through the Overground station at Wandsworth Road on April 22, 2013. Canon EOS 7D photo.Wandsworh Road on April 22, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.
A platform mirror catches a view of an Overground train at Willesden Junction on April 19, 2013. Lumix LX-3 photo.Hoxton Station on London’s Overground. Lumix LX3.
London Overground platforms at Clapham Junction. Lumix LX-3 photo.
London’s Overground system provides a regular-interval rapid transit service on various radial railway routes. These routes utilize a mix of Network Rail mainlines, new specialized Overground lines, and lines converted from former Underground lines. Over much of its network, Overground services share tracks with franchise long-distance passenger train operators, freight services, and in a few places with Underground trains.
London Overground train approaches Wandsworth Road on its run from Clapham Junction to Highbury&Islington on April 17, 2013. Exposed with Canon EOS 7D.
Recently, Overground completed an outer orbital ring. This allows passengers to make a complete circle around London (albeit requiring a couple train changes). Since this circle intersects several significant freight lines, I found it useful for studying and photographing freight trains in the London area.
Overground provides an easy link from popular places to photograph freights such as Kensington-Olympia, Wandsworth Road, and a variety of stations on the North London line. My experience on this most recent trip produced mixed results.
An Overground train approaches Hamstead Heath on the North London Line. Freights often use this line, filling paths between scheduled Overground services. Lumix LX-3 photo.GB Railfreight EMD-built Class 66 diesels roll toward London’s Kensington-Olympia station on April 19, 2013. Exposed digitally with a Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.An EWS Class 66 diesel leads a Class 92 electric on a unit freight at Kensington-Olympia on April 19, 2013. The high volume of freight transiting London on this line, make Kensington-Olympia popular with photographers. While photographer’s lunch droppings make the station popular with pigeons. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.Trailing view of a freight led by an EWS Class 66 diesel and Class 92 electric on a unit freight at Kensington-Olympia on April 19, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens.
Since, Overground services have been much expanded since my last visit, I focused my efforts on riding and photographing routes that not previously experienced while re-exploring places I hadn’t visited in several years. As result, I wasn’t as patient waiting for freights to pass. While I saw many freights from the windows of Overground trains, I made only a few successful images of freight movements.
My time in London was limited and I had variety of social and business engagements. Also, I visited a variety of London’s museums, pubs, and other attractions. Yet, I made good use of my time on the Overground. These are images are just a few of my results. Check London Overground—Part 2 for more views.
A London Overground train at Willesden Junction on April 19, 2013. Compare this view with the image of the London Tube train presented in London Underground Part 2.
West Brompton Station on the District Line on April 19, 2013. Notice the larger size of cars used on the District and Circle lines as compared with Tube trains.
As a follow up to yesterday’s post (London Underground April 2013—Part 1), I’ve displayed a few more London Underground images made during last week’s trip. I first photographed the Underground at South Kensington back in early 1998, using my Nikon F3T loaded with Fuji slide film. By contrast, all of my images displayed here were exposed digitally, primarily with my Lumix LX-3, although I also made a few with my Canon EOS 7D.
Riding the Underground, what always strikes me is the continual warnings to ‘Mind the Gap!
At noon on April 19, 2013, a Bakerloo tube train approaches Willesden Junction. At this location Tube trains share tracks with Overground services. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with 28-135mm Canon lens.
Trains fit two profiles, the older and larger profile such as that used by Circle, District, and Metropolitan Lines, and the later and lower profile used by ‘Tube’ services. These days many people refer to the whole of the Underground as the ‘Tube,’ (technically only the lines linking tunnels bored through deep clay which the lower profile trains use are ‘Tube lines’). Of course, in addition to subterranean routes, Underground trains also work surface lines and in some places share tracks with Overground and Network Rail trains.
A Metropolitan Line train catches the glint on the evening of Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Lumix LX-3 photo.
Underground Station at London’s Covent Garden, April 18, 2013. Lumix LX-3 photo.Signs boast of renovations and improvements to the Underground at Tottenham Court Road. Lumix LX-3 photo.
Caledonian Road Tube Station on the London‘s Piccadilly Line, April 19, 2013.
During 2013, London’s Underground network has been celebrating 150 years of service. This milestone is marked by posters and artwork around the network. For me the Underground is both a convenience and a subject for photography.
London Transport Poster celebrating 150 years of service on the Underground. Lumix LX-3 photo, exposed at Bank station on Sunday April 21, 2013.
The Underground is one of the world’s most complex and extensive railway rapid transit networks, and is well integrated with the rest of London transport.
Photographing on the Underground has its challenges. Space is often constrained, it tends to be dimly lit underground, and trains and platforms are nearly always crowded. The system boasts that it carries more than 1 Billion passengers annually! At times it seems that each and every one of these billion are in the way. Yet, the passengers are the reason for the system and often make for the most interesting images.
I’ve included a small selection of photos of the London Underground that I exposed over the last week. Most were made with my Lumix LX-3, which owing to its compact size and ease of use makes it my choice camera for making Underground images. Use of flash is prohibited; a tripod is impractical, so all of my images were made handheld with existing light.
Highbury&Islington Tube Station on the Piccadilly Line, April 19, 2013.London Underground Station at Leicester Square on April 22, 2013.Classic Underground mosiac on the wall of the Tube. Lumix LX-3 photo.
Perhaps London’s most impressive railway backdrop is the disused Battersea Park Power Station. It is among London’s industrial icons and famous for its portrayal on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977-album Animals.
A Southeast Trains EMU from Waterloo Station passes the Battersea Park Power Station on April 17, 2013. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with 28-135mm lens.
This location was recommended to me from veterans of railway photography and I first photographed here in the year 2000. The vantage point is from the lightly used suburban station at Wandsworth Road. Until recently, this was served by a loop service connecting London Victoria and London Bridge terminals. Now, the Overground rail network (subject of a future post) serves Wandsworth road.
Trains stop here every 15 minutes on the run between Clapham Junction and Highbury&Islington stations.
Several lines converge at Wandsworth Road, and in addition to continual parade of suburban trains are a variety of freight moves. Until a few years ago, Eurostar high-speed trains passed on their way to and from Waterloo International. Now, Eurostar serves St. Pancras and take a different route through London.
Southeast Trains services glide along at Wandsworth Road, London on April 17, 2013. Digital image made with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with 28-135mm lens.
I made these images only an hour or so after landing at Heathrow. As I waited for trains, helicopters were circling as result of on-going funeral proceedings for Margaret Thatcher. Battersea closed as a generating station in 1983; ironic, isn’t it?
Sir George Gilbert Scott’s Midland Grand Hotel along Euston Road, London, on the afternoon of April 18, 2013. Exposed with a Lumix LX-3
I first visited London more than 15 years ago and since that time, I’ve revisited this dynamic city dozens of times. The impetus for last week’s visit was the opportunity to give an illustrated talk to the London-area Irish Railway Record Society. I made this image of St Pancras on my way to the talk, which was hosted at the Exmouth Arms near London’s Euston Station.
This magnificent structure is one of several important railway terminals along Euston Road. The massive ornate building was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, and historically served as both the St. Pancras head house and the Midland Grand Hotel. It remains one of London’s finest railway buildings. Beyond the head house is St Pancras’ immense balloon-style iron and glass train shed—the pioneer work of this type.
During my visit to London, I had the opportunity to explore the transport network. I found a variety of changes since my last trip to London, nearly two years ago. As one of the world’s great cities, London is undergoing a continual transformation. While elements of its past are incorporated in its new urban fabric, in each and every visit I find some things new and note some things forever lost. If nothing else, this keeps my cameras busy.
During this trip, I exposed more than 1000 digital images, and nearly 3 rolls of slide film. I plan to explore this material over the next few posts. Stay tuned!
SP SD7s work Roseville Yard in February 1990. Exposed on Kodachrome 25 slide film with a Leica M2 fitted with a Leitz f2.8 90mm Elmarit. Metered manually using a Sekonic Studio Deluxe handheld photocell light meter.
In early 1990, I was living in Roseville, California and working in Sacramento. I worked nights, which meant I had lots of daylight to play with for photography. However, this was a Saturday evening. The day had been miserable—cold, damp, and dark. Not what people think of as ‘California weather,’ but typical enough for winter.
I’d been itching to make some photos, but theses dire conditions were uninspiring. Roseville wasn’t especially photogenic even on a good day, but there was lots of railroad interest around the place. Toward the end of the day, I saw clearing to the West, so I nipped down to the yard.
The East-end of Roseville was fairly accessible from public property. There was a grade crossing near the split between East Valley and Donner Pass routes. I made this image just as the sun dropped below clouds that were still spitting rain. A pair of SP’s venerable EMD SD7s working the East end caught the glint of the setting sun. The dark sky and glossy ground with evening sun is hard to top.
This remains one of my few good photos of Roseville Yard. Since then, Union Pacific merged with SP, and UP completely rebuilt the yard. The SD7s are long gone.
I’ve featured Chicago & North Western 1385 in a number of books, including my American Steam Locomotive (published in 1998 by MBI), and Locomotive (published in 2001 by MBI) and most recently in Alco Locomotives (2009 by Voyageur Press).
This view from inside the cross-tender’s shack at North Freedom show’s Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 1385 pulling up to the water tank to take on water. I made this classic scene in February 1996, during Mid-Continent’s annual “Snowtrain” event. I featured this image in my American Steam Locomotive among other publications. It was exposed on Kodachrome with my Nikon F3T and a 28mm lens.
The locomotive is preserved at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin, and was operated regularly when I lived in Wisconsin in the mid-1990s. My friend John Gruber had helped save the locomotive in the early 1960s, and it was his son Dick Gruber who introduced me to the engine when we worked for Pentrex Publishing.
Here’s an excerpt of my text from Locomotive on C&NW’s R-1 Class 4-6-0s:
If any one locomotive could be selected to represent Chicago & North Western’s steam power fleet, it would have to be the Class R-1 Ten Wheeler. In its day, the R-1 was the most common, and perhaps the most versatile locomotive on the railroad. A total of 325 R-1 were built, the most numerous type of any C&NW steam locomotive, and they were among the longest lived classes on the railroad as well.
During the last 15 years of the 19th century, C&NW amassed quite a variety of 4-6-0s. Most were products of the Schenectady Locomotive Works, in Schenectady, New York, but some were built by Baldwin.
Exposed using a Nikon F3T with 24mm lens and R2 red filter on Fuji Neopan 400, and processed in Agfa Rodinal Special.
As I mentioned in Polish Steam Working Disused Track (Published on March 6, 2013), eleven years ago I rode a enthusiast’s excursion from Wolsztyn to Zagan in south eastern Poland led by PKP (Polish National Railways) 2-10-0 Ty3-2. This trip covered a variety of disused lines southwest of the Wolsztyn steam depot.
On that day, the train stopped more than 25 times for photography. This image was made near the end of the run. We were at a remote spot, not far from Zagan. The track was fairly derelict. After we got off, the train pulled ahead making for some nice effluence from the engine. Spring was in bloom and I framed the World War II-era 2-10-0 in the blossoming branches of a hedge.
On the afternoon of September 3, 2005, I made this photo of vintage General Motors diesels working Irish Rail’s Ballina Branch train. The train was working from its connection at Manulla Junction to the north-end of the branch at Ballina. While mixed pairs of class 121 and class 141/181 diesels wasn’t unheard of, by 2005 it was a rare event. Irish Rail’s 071 class General Motors diesels were more common.
Today, the branch passenger service is the domain of railcars. Gone too are the old steam heated Cravens carriages.
Exposed with Nikon F3 fitted with a Nikkor f2.8 24mm. Fuji Sensia 100 slide film.
I was working with a pair of Nikon F3s (my old F3T and a F3HP). On one I had a Tokina 400mm lens, on the other a Nikkor f2.8 24mm. Both photographs were exposed on Fuji Sensia 100 slide film and scanned.
I’ll be presenting my illustrated talk “Ireland through American Eyes 1998-2008 My first Decade in Ireland” to the London area Irish Railway Record Society this evening (April 18, 2013) at 7pm, .
The program begins at 1900 (7pm) upstairs at the Exmouth Arms, 1 Starcross Street, LONDON NW1, (advertised as a 5 minute walk from London’s Euston station). A nominal donation of £3.50 is asked of non-IRRS members (members £2.50)
Yesterday morning (Tuesday April 16, 2013) was sunny and warm, but very windy. Fluffy clouds raced across the sky casting shadows as the rolled along. This is always a tough situation when waiting for a train to pass. Often, it seems the desired train passes just as cloud obscures the sun.
I was lucky; a big cloud was just clearing as Irish Rail 080 exited the Phoenix Park Tunnel. There was more than a two-stop difference between the cloudy and sunny spots. With full bright sun, I caught Irish Rail’s ‘High Output Ballast’ (known on the railway as HOBS) passing Islandbridge Junction.
Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens, exposed at 1/500th second f7.1. In-camera Jpg and RAW files were made simultaneously. This is a scaled Jpg from the in-camera Jpg.
I made a few Fujichrome slides with my EOS 3 and some digital with the Canon EOS 7D. I’ll have to wait a few weeks for the slides, but here are my digital efforts.
Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens, exposed at 1/500th second f9.0. I made a spot decision to stop down from f7.1 to f9, based on the camera meter. With rapidly changing light and a moving train, I didn’t have time to consult the exposure histogram.Irish Rail HOBS at Islandbridge.
I’ll be presenting my illustrated talk “Ireland through American Eyes 1998-2008 My first Decade in Ireland” to the London area Irish Railway Record Society tomorrow, April 18, 2013.
The program begins at 1900 (7pm) upstairs at the Exmouth Arms, 1 Starcross Street, LONDON NW1, (advertised as a 5 minute walk from London’s Euston station). A nominal donation of £3.50 is asked of non-IRRS members (members £2.50)
