All posts by brian solomon

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.

Orion in the evening sky.

The other night, I used my Nikon Z7-II to capture the constellation Orion in the evening sky.

Although an amazing camera, when fitted with the Z-series 24-70mm lens, this picture making combination suffers from vignetting when used at the widest aperture.

I needed an 4.0 aperture to picture the starry sky while keeping my total exposure time to just 30 seconds, when set at ISO 200.

To minimize the effects of the vignette, I converted the NEF RAW file to a PNG file using DxO Pure Raw software. Once converted, I imported this file into Lightroom to make a few corrections.

Below is both the adjusted file direct from the NEF RAW, and the adjusted PNG file to show the advantage offered by converting the RAW using Pure Raw.

The light streaks moving through the image are from an eastward Amtrak Keystone bound for Philadelphia on the old PRR Main Line. Please note that in both versions, the images have been compressed by the Word Press platform used by Tracking the Light to display the photos via the internet.

Scaled JPG made from the NEF RAW file without DxO Pure Raw conversion. Note the constellation Orion in the sky toward the top center of the photo.
This is the same NEF RAW file as above, but following conversions to PNG format using DxO Pure Raw to denoise the image, and more importantly, eliminate the effects of vignetting inherant to the 24-70mm Nikkor lens at f4.0. Notice the more uniform rendition of the night sky, especially in the corners of the frame.

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Reflections while waiting for The Ocean.

This isn’t about one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs—althought it could be . . .

On the eve of my 38th birthday, I gazed across the Peel Basin on the Lachine Canal in Montreal toward the rising autumn sun. Photographer Tim Doherty and I were on the last day of an epic trip to Montreal.

As we awaited the arrival of VIA Rail’s The Ocean from Halifax, I worked with my Contax G2 rangefinder to compose a view of the grain elevators on the far side of the water, making the most of the reflections in the still morning light.

This slide was among the hundreds from that trip that had sat in the dark until a few days ago. One of the benefits of film is that you can leave processed images unattended for decades without risk of losing them to a hard drive failure.

My pictures of the long distance Budd train are pretty nice too.

Fujichrome slide exposed using a Contax G2 rangefinder on October 24, 2004.

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Prints

Recently I’ve scoured my collection looking for representative photos to print.

I still like to see my images in analog format, and a moderate size print offers a great way to study photographic quality in ways that may not be apparent when viewed digitally.

I’ve sent two orders of out. One to Adorama’s Printique service for 8×12 inch prints. The other to Shutterfly for 8×10 inch prints. This included a mix of old film photos and digital images from over the years, including some very recent images. In both instances, I selected ‘matte’ surface, because I’ve found that this holds up better and is easier to scan.

Among the photos sent to Printque was this view of an empty Reading & Northern coal train at Tamaqua, Pa. I exposed this on a trip with Dan Cupper in October 2023.

My print orders are expected to arrive on Thursday, which should allow me to compare print quality from the two suppliers, and allow me to enjoy my photographs. Kris and I have some surplus photo frames, so maybe a few will soon decorate our walls!

Long Hood First at Leola

By virtue of their service requirements, road switchers are intended as bi-directional locomotives. That said, it still looks a bit strange to find a single Norfolk Southern SD60E working the New Holland Branch local.

The other day, Kris, Seamus-the-Dog, and I found NS 6987 working long hood first at Leola, Pa. I thought this made for some interesting photographs, but I don’t think Seamus was impressed.

During the course of my railroad photography, I aim to preserve ordinary day-to-day railroad working, as well as preserved railways, special events, and unusual and unique occurrences.

Photos exposed digitally using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.

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NECR 3038 at Night

The other night, New England Central’s former Canadian National GP40-2L 3038 was working the yard at Palmer, Mass.

This was an opportunity for me to make some High ISO photographs for experimentation and comparison using the DxO Pure Raw 4 software to denoise and correct for lens defects.

In this situation, I was especially interested in seeing how well the software corrected for the high-pixelation of the image exposed at 12, 800 ISO using my Nikon Z7-II.

Below are two sets of images. The first is a scaled camera NEF RAW file (plus enlarged detailed view), followed by the same NEF RAW file but processed using DxO Pure Raw 4 software. If everything posts correctly you should see four images.

Scaled NEF RAW file without Pure Raw conversion.
Enlarged section of the above photo (Scaled NEF RAW file without Pure Raw conversion.)
Scaled NEF RAW file following Pure Raw conversion to denoise the image and correct for lens defects. Note the lack of pixelization.
Enlarged section of the above photo (Scaled NEF RAW file following Pure Raw conversion to de-noise the photograph.) Compare this image with the earlier enlargement.

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VIA Rail Sunset

I’ve been reviewing and scanning slides that I made on a trip to Quebec in October 2004. While a few of these photos have appeared in my books, most have sat for more than 20 years unattended and unedited.

This slide caught my eye. It shows a westward VIA Rail train west of Coteau, Quebec on the Canadian National. This was a trailing shot that I exposed on Fujichrome using my old Contax G2 rangefinder.

Comcolor in Springfield, Mass., processed the film. and I scanned the slide yesterday using a Nikon Coolscan 5000 (LS-5000) powered by Vuescan 9.8.42.05 software, then made final adjustments using Adobe Lightroom.

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Very Short Freight at Limerock

The other day, I posted some photos that I’d made of a two-unit, two-car freight passing Limerock on its way from Lancaster to Lititz, Pa. My success, led me to try again. So before Christmas, Kris and I made another exploration of Norfolk Southern’s Lititz secondary, and this scored us an even shorter freight.

It is seen here under clear skies approaching the West Lexington Road grade crossing with a lone GP38-2 and single boxcar.

Exposed digitally using a Fujifilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens. Fuji RAF raw files were converted to PNG format using Iridient X-Transformer and then imported into Adobe Lightroom for final adjustment and scaling for internet presentation.

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Amtrak 448 at CP83 by Night.

On our most recent visit to Palmer, Mass., in addition to architectural photos of the old Union Station building, I also made some views of Amtrak 448, the eastward Boston-section of the Lake Shore Limited rolling by the building.

I’ve made similar views over the years by day and by night. In recent years the brush along the tracks has partially obscured the view of passing trains. I opted to include the brush in the photo, rather than make a tight view that may have cropped the station, which was the primary subject.

Below are two versions from the same NEF RAW file. One is a JPG converted straight from the RAW without denoise or demosiac adjustment. The second was converted using DxO Pure Raw 4, which includes both denoise, demosiac features that removes/mitigates pixelization and diestracting artifacts as result of using the sensor at high-ISO (in this case 12,800), and also corrects for lens defects that are specific to my 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom

Over the last few weeks I’ve been experimenting with a demo version of the DxO Pure Raw 4 software. This was recommended to me by Tracking the Light reader David MacKenzie. This sophisticated software requires several minutes of processing time for exach file, but cleans up many of the objectionable qualities inherant to high-ISO files, and allows for significantly superior end results.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to display a variety of results using DxO Pure Raw 4, and other processing software.

JPG converted straight from the RAW without denoise or demosiac adjustment. Compare with the convert version. ISO 12,800 f4.0 at1/10 second. Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to70mm, and mounted on 3Pod tripod.
Image converted using DxO Pure Raw 4, JPG output using Adobe Lightroom. ISO 12,800 f4.0 at1/10 second. Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to70mm, and mounted on 3Pod tripod.

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December Dinner at the Steaming Tender

A few nights ago, Kris and I visited the Steaming Tender railroad-themed restaurant, located in the old Palmer (Mass.,) Union Station.

This historic building was designed for the Boston & Albany Railroad by noted Massachusetts architect Henry Hobson Richardson, famous for his romanesque Victorian style. It is one of a few surving Richardson-styled stations on the former Boston & Albany route.

ISO 100 f4.0 at 4 seconds. Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to 37mm, and mounted on 3Pod tripod.

Photos were exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.

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Happy New Year from Tracking the Light!

On January 1, 1995, I spent the day traveling around Chicago on the CTA with my brother Sean.

This was one of a few photos that I made on Ektachrome with my Nikkormat FTN fitted with an f2.8 135mm lens.

Although, I took notes on the day, I didn’t write the details on this color slide. A reader has told me it was exposed north of the Loop from a footbridge at Belmont station on the Brown/Purple Lines. This information matches locations in my notebook.

Thirty years is a long time, and in my notebook I was already complaining about my fallible memory.

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Winterfest 2024—Festival of Lights

For decades, I’ve paid visits to the Connecticut Trolley Museum (at East Windsor) during their Festival of Lights, when they operate vintage trolley cars at night under a tunnel of electric lights.

In 1983, the museum used one of my Ektachrome slides for a postcard.

The other day, Kris and I paid a brief visit to the museum, where I made a few digital photos, as well as an Ektachrome slide or two for posterity.

The photos below were exposed digitally using my Nikon Z7-II (with 24-70mm lens) mounted on a 3Pod tripod. I still have another 31 slides to expose on the Ektachrome before I’ll send the film for processing.

Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 24mm, f4.0, 3 sec, ISO 64
Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 52mm, f4.0, 4 sec, ISO 64

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Reading & Northern SW8 803

Sometimes a locomotive photo is just that.

On a recent visit to Port Clinton, Pa., I made this photo of Reading & Northern SW8M 803. This antique EMD switcher is well worth photographing.

End-cab switchers were once common on American railroads, but in recent decades the type has become increasingly scarce.

This particular locomotive was built in 1951 for the Lehigh Valley, and according to R&N, it once carried the number Lehigh Valley 270. It survives on the R&N roster along with other vintage examples of EMD’s end-cab switchers, and is among several operational examples of former Lehigh Valley switchers remaining in Pennsylvania.

Exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-Series zoom lens.

View from West Lexington Road

Norfolk Southern’s local on the Lititz Secondary rolled along at a jogging pace.

I’d previously scoped out a few angles from West Lexington Road at Limerock in Lititz, Pa. When I arrived, the the short train was coming into view. I had ample time to make these images using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens

All were exposed as RAF Raw files, then converted into DNG format using Iridient X-Transformer. This software makes more effective use of the Fuji Raw format. Working from the converted files, I made adjustments to exposure, contrast and color balance using Adobe Lightroom, and then produced scaled output for digital display here.

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SD40-2s and a Hall Disc Signal

We called into Port Clinton on a Sunday afternoon where we found a pair of Reading & Northern SD40-2s switching out a freight. Near the west end of the yard the railroad has erected a replica of a Hall Disc signal.

Born in the Victorian-era, the Hall Disc signal was one of the earliest varieties of electrically actuated ‘automatic’ signals. This simple signal displayed just two aspects, and was assigned to variety of applications on many different railroads. Boston & Albany was among one of the first to use Hall Discs in automatic block service.

Among the many railroads that employed Halls were: New Haven; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Lehigh Valley; and Chicago & North Western.

The Reading was among the last railroads to install Hall Discs, and was famous for its late use of this unusual type of hardware, which continued in the 1950s. Several of Reading’s Hall discs have been preserved, including one that is prominently displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Exposed with a Nikon Z7-II at Port Clinton, Pa.

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NS-5656 in the fields near Manheim.

I’ve made a variety of exploratory trips along the former Reading Company’s Reading & Columbia line, but until last Thursday, I had not had the opportunity to photograph a train in motion.

Working with my FujiFilm XT-1, I set up at South Penryn Road in Manheim, Pa., to catch Norfolk Southern’s local freight on its way to Lititz. By using a very low angle, I was able to better show the wheels on the rails. This perspective gives a visual separation by allowing you to see the grass on the far side of the train.

Track speed is very casual, so I had no difficulty getting ahead of the train for more photos on this pastoral and rarely photographed portion of the old Reading.

Photo exposed in RAF Raw format using a FujiFilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens. The raw file was converted using Iridient X-Transformer and then imported into Adobe Lightroom for post processing adjustments which include a mask to improve detail in the sky.

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Ah, Esbenshade . . .

In the course of my photography, I have places that I return to again and again. These are the places that are accessible, but more importantly yield results. And, most significantly, despite many visits, the results are not just satisfactory but varied.

Add Esbenshade Road in Strasburg, Pennsylvania to that list. I first photographed at this place in 1996.

Below are my most recent efforts from this crossing of the Strasburg Rail Road as sunset— just a few weeks ago.

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Sunday Morning at Dunkin’ Donuts

Not every railroad photo is the result of a complicated quest.

On a sunny Sunday, we paused at Dunkin’ Donuts in Norfolk, Mass., for coffee. I noticed when I looked across the parking lot, there was clear view of the old New York & New England main line from Boston to Franklin—today the route of MBTA’s Franklin Line.

On weekdays the lot would be filled with cars, but on this day it was empty. Hmmmm . . .

So, while waiting for the coffee to be prepared, I checked the MBTA app on my phone. Lucky me, outbound MBTA train 2703 to Forge Village was only minutes away! I brought the coffees to Kris who was waiting in the car, and grabed my Lumix LX3.

Below are my results.

I offer two versions of the same image that reflect fundamental differences in postprocessing (detailed discussion for another post).

Lumix RAW file processed using DxO PureRaw4 software and then imported into Lightroom for postprocessing adjustment.

Visit to the National Toy Train Museum

Among the many railroad themed attractions in Strasburg Pa., is the National Toy Train Museum. (https://www.tcatrains.org/museum/)

I love antique toy trains, so on a cloudy Saturday a few weeks ago, Kris and I paid a visit. This is a neat place and if I’d been fifty years younger, I wouldn’t have willing left!

What I find fascinating is the wide selection of railroad equipment that toy train manufacturers have focused on over the years.

On display is everything from early electric locomotives, and Union Pacific’s Pullman-built diesel streamliners of the 1930s, right up to relatively modern machines including Amtrak’s Genesis diesels.

I made these photos using my Lumix LX3.

Stop in for a visit sometime!

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December Sunset at Blackhorse Road

The sun clung to the western horizon as Strasburg Rail Road 475 worked the short grade at Carpenters.

Rich red-orange light glinted off the passing train as skeletal trees stood by as stark reminders of summer seasons past.

Today, it’s hard to go wrong when making photographs at sunset, a task made is easier with digital cameras that allow you to adjust sensor sensitivity with the spin of a dial.

Low light photography posed greater challenges in my Kodachrome days.

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Just Another Day at the Junction . . .

A dull winter sky prevailed at Limerick Junction, Co. Tipperary on 13 January 2006. Paused at platform 1 was Irish Rail 210 on a Cork-bound set of MarkIII carriages. A sister 201-class sat with a new MarkIV set in the sidings. The Mark IV was the vision of the future.

As far as I was concerned all of this action was a sideshow to what turned out to be Irish Rail’s final sugarbeet campaign. In truth, I was waiting for NIR 112 to run around its train to complete the laden beet run from Wellingtonbridge, Co. Wexford to Mallow, Co. Cork.

The end of the sugarbeet was just weeks away, but that is a slide for another day . . .

Fujichrome exposed using a Nikon F3 with 180mm Nikon lens. My shutter speed was 1/60th of a second. It really was pretty dull.

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Santa’s Paradise Express

Rich evening sunlight made for extraordinary conditions to photograph Strasburg Rail Road’s steam locomotives at work on its popular Santa’s Paradise Express trains.

Kris and I timed our arrival at Cherry Hill Road to neatly coincide the scheduled meet between trains on the siding at Groffs.

Although there was no snow, the show of steam and smoke was a testimony to classic seasonal railroading at its finest.

Working with digital cameras allowed me to adjust the ISO setting as required to make the most of the passing trains.

The next schedule sequence was even more rewarding, with an even more impressive show as the sun scraped the horizon. . . stay tuned!

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ISO-High and Higher

New England Central 4067 idled under sodium lights at Palmer, Massachusetts. This was my first opportunity to capture images of this relative newcomer to Genesee & Wyoming’s New England Central operations.

I made these photos handheld at 4000 ISO and 12,800 ISO, respectively.

The former is adequately sharp with nominal pixelization. The later is excessively pixelated, but is better than no photo at all.

NECR GE Dash8-40CW at Palmer, Massachusetts; Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 4000 ISO.
NECR GE Dash8-40CW at Palmer, Massachusetts; Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 12,800 ISO.

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Scranton’s Silent Behemoth

Autumn leaves cover the tracks, reminding me of the season past. Before me rests a mass of steel supported by two dozen wheels where is placed to greet visitors to Scranton’s Steamtown.

This machine is an example of the famous Big Boy; an enormous locomotive built by Alco for Union Pacific to singly ascend Utah’s Wasatch range with a solid train of perishable traffic in tow.

Between 2013 and 2019, sister locomotive 4014 was famously restored to service by Union Pacific. Meanwhile, old 4012’s boiler has sat silent for more than 65 years.

How can I capture the majesty of this silent giant without feeling pang of sadness; nostalgia for a time I never knew?

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2023, King Coal and Co., at Bloom

The maze of trackage in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area has always fascinated me.

No less than eight railroads once built into this anthracite rich region. While coal ceased to be a primary source of revenue decades ago, numerous lines remain as a legacy of this once intensive railroad traffic.

Kris and I followed Reading & Northern’s Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion. Not far from Pittston, I pulled over at the location known as ‘Bloom’ where tracks remain on two levels, and here I exposed this series of photographs.

I can only wonder what this place may have looked like in decades gone by. I was delighted that only minutes passed from the moment of my ‘discovery’ until the passage of this train. ‘King Coal’ is Reading & Northern’s round-end observation car on the tail end of the excursion.

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J Tower under a Starry Sky

On the evening of October 28, 2024, I paused in the car park at the Strasburg Rail Road to make a few test photos with my Nikon.

J-Tower was lit for Halloween.

Earlier in the evening while attempting some long time exposures, I’d accidentally set my Nikon Z7-II in a ‘mode’ and my results were something other than what I’d expected.

A bit of systematic fiddling with the camera restored the settings to where I’d needed them to be for a nocturnal time exposure on a tripod.

This image was exposed at f4.0 for 30 seconds (at ISO 100), the lens focal length was set to 52mm. I adjusted the NEF RAW file in post processing to make the most of the sky and tower.

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Enterprise 201s at Islandbridge

For 15 years, Islandbridge was my Irish home. On my daily walks around Dublin on my visits during that period, I’d often pause at the location known as ‘the Box,’ which overlooks Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station .

This selection of photos spans from 2005 to 2019, and portrays each of the four ‘Enterprise’ General Motor 201 diesels. While all of the 34 201 class were named for Irish Rivers, these original four Enterpise diesels carried Irish River names that had been previously applied to Great Northern Railway (of Ireland)’s respective VS-class 200-class steam locomotives— engines that had also worked Belfast-Dublin Enterprise trains.

General Motors locomotives 206 (River Liffey) and 207 (River Boyne) are owned by Irish Rail, while 208 (later 8208, River Lagan) and 209 (8209, River Foyle) are NIR locomotives. Regardless of ownership and paint, these 201 class would work various Irish Rail trains as well as Enterprise services.

Although an esoteric theme, I felt this would be neat way to portray these locomotives from this once-favorite location.

17May2005-River Liffey (having just crossed its namesake)
10Feb2019—River Boyne
7 March 2018 River Lagan running light.
River Foyle leading a liner on 7 November 2011.

Clear Morning at Pittston Junction.

A Sunday morning in early November found us at Pittston Junction, Pa., to watch the departure of Reading & Northern’s diesel-hauled Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion.

It was a lovely clear day and as a C5M transport plane circled overhead, I took a few moments to photograph both the passenger excursion and a pair of EMD switchers idling in the yard.

In addition to the flurry of pixels allocated to railroad photography, I also made a lone color slide, which at this moment in time remains latent (unprocessed) on my desk.

Fast Trains Converging at Ballybrophy

It was the afternoon on 7 April 2007. Up and down trains on the Dublin-Cork mainline were converging on Irish Rail’s rural station at Ballybrophy. I stood poised on the old iron foot-bridge with a Nikon F3 loaded with Fujichome and fitted with my Nikkor f2.8 180mm lens.

The up-train passed first with Irish Rail 205 leading a set of Mark III carriages. Notice that 205’s driver had switched off the headlight to avoid blinding his counterpart on 204. Seconds later 204 raced by in the down direction. 

I referenced the photo of 204 on Monday’s TTL and I thought I’d run it again here, although it was previously featured.   http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/last-light-of-an-april-day/. You can see the back of the up-train in the distance. Both trains were hurtling along at 90 (+/-) mph.

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Big Alcos at Bridge 60

I’ve always admired the contours of Alco’s Century-Series diesels.

We arrived at Steamtown in Scranton, Pa., as the sun was on the western horizon—late sun on November day. A set of Delaware-Lackawanna’s antique Big Alcos were catching the rays near Bridge 60.

In the mid-2000s, I traveled on some of these iconic diesels as part my research for various book projects. Those photos were all exposed on color slide film. By contrast the images presented here were all made digitally using my Nikon Z7-II. (However, for the sake of continuity I also exposed a few Ektachrome slides here.)

D-L C-636 No. 3642 was originally a Penn-Central unit, and later served as Conrail 6792. In the mid-1980s, I recall seeing Conrail C-636s among hundreds locomotives stored in the Selkirk, New York deadlines. I’ll need to go back to my black & white negatives and see if 3642 (nee 6792) was among the locomotives I photographed there.

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Last Light of an April Day

I was looking for a suitable photo of Irish Rail class 201 number 204.

Initially, I selected a view of the locomotive racing downroad at Ballybrophy. However, as I was preparing the image in Lightroom, I though that it looked a bit too familiar. I wondered if I’d presented it on Tracking the Light previously.

Tracking the Light is approaching its 5000th post. While I have a pretty good memory, I’ll admit that I cannot recall the details of each and every post. Much in the same way that I don’t recall the details of each cup of tea that I’ve had on every morning for the last 12 years.

When I began searching the archives, I found the photo of 204 in question. ‘I thought so!’. I’d published it back in 2018!

Instead, I’m presenting a view of Irish Rail 204 racing downroad at Kildare in the last rays of sun on 6 April 2002. I’d spent the day photographing Irish Rail. And of the photos that I made, this one seemed among the least remarkable.

An Irish Rail 201 class diesel leading a set of Mark II carriages was hardly noteworthy in 2002, but the light was nice, and I always try to make the most of a passing train. Today, I’m happy that I took the time to preserve the scene for posterity.

Fujichrome Sensia II.

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203 at Muine Bheag a Long Time Ago

Summer 1998—my first of that season in Ireland. My impressions of the country were cemented during a brief impressionable few months that began in February and ended in August.

During that time, someone said to me ‘In Ireland we don’t do seasons, but the days are longer in summer.’

This August day was memorable. The sun remained out most of the day. Denis McCabe and I followed the Waterford Line, stopping to visit signal cabins along the way. At Bagenalstown, County Carlow (a town officially known in Irish as Muine Bheag) we paused to photograph the ‘afternoon down Waterford.’

This arrived with a fair tatty looking class 201 diesel, number 203. That summer the locomotives were not regularly washed and most of them were looking rather rough. Irish Rail 203 was only four years old at the time and wearing its as-built General Motors livery.

Working with my Nikon F3T with 24mm lens, I exposed several Fujichrome Sensia color slides of this classic diesel from my perch on the up platform.

For many years I’ve been using this photo as my screen saver on the laptop that I use to write all of my Tracking the Light posts. I thought it appropriate that I share the image.

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Gray Day for a Black Switcher

A few weeks back, I was conducting my research at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Before my appointment to review literature from railroads of the past, I wandered across the street where Strasburg Rail Road’s former New York Central SW8 8618 was switching out a passenger consist.

I have a fondness for black EMD switchers. When I was about five, my father bought me a Lionel NW-2 painted for Santa Fe—black with the railroad’s classic logo. That small engine, no 623, is presently beneath our Christmas Tree, where on command it leads a short consist on a figure 8.

I made these photos with my Nikon Z7-II.

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Irish Rail 202

On several occasions I have discussed Irish Rail’s most elusive 201 class diesel. Of the 34 201s built by General Motors, I found that old number 202 was the most difficult to find.

By contrast, in my years photographing trains in Ireland, some of the other 201 class seemed to present themselves at every opportunity. Of these, 215 and 234 come to mind.

In summer 1998, I made this rare trailing view of Irish Rail 202 running light under wire at Killiney. This photo features the locomotive’s non-standard number font which existed at one-end of the double cab diesel.

Exposed on Fuji Sensia (ISO 100) with a Nikon F3T.

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