Author of more than 70 books on railways, photography, and Ireland, Brian lives with his wife, Kris, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Brian holds a BFA in Photographic Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. In 2022, he was presented with the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s prestigious Fred A.& Jane R. Stindt Photography Award for his lifetime achievements in railroad photography.
Yesterday, I served as the media interface for Conway Scenic Railroad and the TV crew for New England Traveler who had come up for a wee visit.
I arranged interviews with railroad’s staff and the program’s host Greg B. In addition, I coordinated a visit of the musical duo Eastwood Station, sorted a variety of operational details including a trip on Snow Train, and made still photos for the railroad.
These photos were the producted of my Nikon Z7-II. I processed them in Lightroom for use in the company’s social media.
Last night I found a box of Kodachrome 25 slides from January 1998 exposed using my original Nikon N90s of trains in New England and Quebec. These were in order of exposure having never been labeled or projected.
The film was processed by A&I Lab in Los Angeles.
I made this view from the South Street bridge in West Warren, Massachusetts of Conrail light engines running west on the Boston Line. To the right of the train is the Quaboag River.
The photo was made in the late light of the day and the shadow from the bridge can be seen in the foreground.
Scan made using a Nikon LS-5000 Scanner driven by VueScan software.
Exposed on Kodachrome 25 using an Nikon N90S with 50mm Nikkor lens. January 1998.
Last week I produced a short music video for Conway Scenic Railroad using a song composed about our Snow Train by the musical duo Eastwood Station.
We had recorded portions of the video a week ago Saturday, and I mixed this with stock footage of the train that I’ve been shooting over the last couple of years.
Yesterday, I recorded more footage of the train to be incorporated in later versions of the music video, while making still photos to help advertise the train
Check out the video on youtube:
The musical duo Eastwood Station playing at Conway Scenic Railroad.Snow Train approaching Intervale, New Hampshire on Saturday February 18, 2023.Conductor Jeff at North Conway, New Hampshire.Attitash.
Earlier this month, Kris and I drove by Strasburg Rail Road’s engine house where I noticed that the railroad’s SW8 8616 was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s take a run up to Leaman Place,”—where the railroad meets Amtrak’s former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line to interchange with Norfolk Southern. (Featured recently on Tracking the Light)
When we arrived there, I started to check the Asm Transitdocs app on my phone to see if any Amtrak trains were close. Then we heard an EMD rumble. My hunch was right!
It was 8616 on its was back toward Strasburg.
I made a few photos with my Nikon Z6 and then drove to Cherry Hill to roll it by again.
Leaman Place, Pennsylvania.Leaman Place, Pennsylvania.Cherry Hill Road, Strasburg, Pennsylvania.Cherry Hill Road, Strasburg, Pennsylvania.Cherry Hill Road, Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
During my visit to California in the summer of 2016, I spent several productive days photographing trains on the former Southern Pacific Coast Line.
On the evening of August 2, 2016, a friend and I visited Santa Susana Pass railroad west of Simi Valley, where I made this telephoto view of Metrolink Train #117 led by F59PH 857. This was one of many train trainsets operating with BNSF GE diesels at one end.
Operation of BNSF AC4400CWs on Metrolink trains was a temporary safety measure while repairs/modifications were made to push-pull cab-control cars during 2016.
I exposed this view on Fuji Provia 100F using a Canon EOS 3 with 200mm f2.8 lens.
I made two visits to the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad about three weeks apart.
The first was on an overcast January afternoon, the second on an early February evening. On both visits, I made photos of the railroad’s antique locomotives using my Nikon Z7-II mirrorless digital camera.
The light was more uniform on the first vist, but had better color and mood on the second visit.
It has been about 15 years since I last photographed a M&H train on the move.
January 2023.January 2023.February 2023.February 2023.
After landing at Farranfore, I spent a week in Tralee, then another driving around the West in a hired Citroen Saxo, before enbarking on a rail journey at Limerick for Dublin.
This was argueably the most significant train trip of my adult life. I never intended to visit Dublin. But upon arrival there, I realized that I’d found a special place.
All of Dublin lay in my future. For more than 20 years, I rented apartments in Dublin. And the city was my conceptual office and research library where I wrote many of my books and as used base to travel around Europe.
Between 1998 and 2019, I made tens of thousands of photographs documenting Irish railways.
I made this view of the Limerick – Limerick Junction shuttle with 121-class number 128 while waiting for the Up Cork that would whisk me toward Dublin (although, I actually disembarked at Kildare to change to a local train consisting 2600 railcars). Exposed on Fujichrome with a Nikon F3T using a non-AI f2.8 135mm Nikkor telephoto.
We navigated our way through Susquehanna, Pennsylvania to the town of Lanesboro where the magnificent former Erie Railroad Starrucca Viaduct spans the town.
I said to Kris, “This is one of America’s most famous railroad bridges, and probably the biggest, oldest railroad bridge still in revenue service in the United States.”
After all, there are very few railroad structures remaining in service from the 1840s.
In the 1980s, I photographed Conrail trains crossing this elegant Erie landmark. In the early 2000s, I wrote about it.
I made these photos last week using my Nikon mirrorless digital cameras.
Kris and I drove Pennsylvania Rt11 north from Clarks Summit to Nicholson to view the immense concrete bridge over Tunkhannock Creek built by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.
I wrote about this bridge in my book Railway Masterpieces. Here’s an excerpt of the text:
The bridge is made of ten vast arched spans, each 180 feet across. Each arch is supported by enormous piers, some of which are set as far as 95 feet below ground in order to reach solid ground. Some 167,000 cubic yards of concrete, and an estimated 1,140 tons of steel were used in the viaduct. The Lackawanna was a busy and profitable railway through the first decades of the 20th century, but its fortunes waned as the Anthracite business declined.
I exposed these photos digitally using my Nikon Z series cameras. Over the years I’ve photographed trains crossing the viaduct from various vantage points. Those photos were all made on film.
Yesterday (Saturday, February 11, 2023), Conway Scenic hosted a live radio broadcast from the North Conway, New Hampshire railroad station.
I’d organized Lakes Media to conduct the broadcast across their three radio stations: Lakes FM 101.5, The Hawk 104.9 fm and Mountain Country 97.3. This included interviews with railroad employees, promotional chats, etc.
As part of this event, I’d invited musical duo Eastwood Station to perform live in the station and on the railroad’s 1:30pm Snow Train in order to help promote the railroad and film for a video of their song Snow Train.
This was great fun and resulted in numerous photo and video opportunities.
Last week on the Strasburg I made this wideangle view with my Nikon Z7-II of former Canadian National 2-6-0 No. 89 rods down at Esbenshade Road.
Soft sun, slightly backlit; stubbled corn stalks in an unplowed field, with the locomotive whistling for the crossing.
A timeless scene.
So, which do you prefer? The color digital capture; or my alterations to the that I file converted to black & white (with some clever contrast adjustments for period effect.)
Kris and I were poised to catch Strasburg Rail Road’s return run from Leaman Place from Carpenters Cemetery—a small local graveyard adjacent to the railroad line.
This is accessed via a stone staircase off Blackhorse Road.
The train ascends a short grade on the approach to Blackhorse Road, while the cemetery offers a nice view of the landscape from a slightly elevated position.
I made this series of photos of the passing train using both my Z6 and Z7-II cameras.
It was interesting to see that a number of the graves predated the construction of the line by many years.
On Sunday (February 5, 2023), Kris and I briefly visited the old Reading Company station at Palmyra, Pennsylvania.
We crossed the tracks on Railroad Avenue and spied the headlight of an eastward freight. By the time I got the car safely stopped, the grade crossing gates were down.
Although, I made a series of hastily composed digital images of the passing Norfolk Southern freight, none were to my satisfaction.
In the evening of Sunday, February 5, 2023, I made this hastily composed view of an eastward NS intermodal train crossing Railroad Avenue in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.
So I returned to the same crossing on Monday (February 6, 2023) with a vision of recreating what I saw the previous day.
Norfolk Southern provided an eastward intermodal train at almost exactly the same time as the day before. This time I was prepared. I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens and adjusted the NEF (RAW) files in Adobe Lightroom for presentation here.
On Monday February 6, 2023, I was ready with camera in hand to recreate the vision of an approaching eastward train that I’d seen the day before.Monday February 6, 2023. Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens.
Four hours apart, I exposed pairs of photos of antique GP38s at two New England Railroad Stations using my Lumix LX7.
Just after 10:30am yesterday, I made a couple of images of the Snow Train departing Conway Scenic Railroad’s North Conway, New Hampshire Station. GP38 number 255 was positioned at the back of the train for the return run from Attitash.
Sometime around 2:30pm, I made photos of New England Central GP38 number 3845 at the station in White River Junction, Vermont. This is one of New England Central’s surviving original GP38s (with which the railroad started operations back winter 1995).
These mid-1960s era machine soldier on in regular service despite their age.
North Conway, NH.It was 7 degrees F when I exposed this view at White River Junction on February 4, 2023.
I find Amtrak’s old Metroliner cab cars a novelty.
These rolling antiques are vestiges of 1960s High Speed rail that have survived into the 2020s in regular revenue service.
On my exploration of the Lancaster area with Dan Cupper a few weeks ago, we stopped at Gap in the morning to photograph the westward Amtrak Keystone service No. 641, led by Metroliner cab car 9634 with ACS-64 634 at the back.
I wonder if I have a photo of this cab car in Metroliner service?
I made this telephoto sequence with my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera fitted with a 70-200mm telephoto zoom. The yellow front works well with soft winter sun.
What are you supposed to do while waiting for trains?
How about take portraits of each other on the railroad platform.
That’s what we did two weeks ago at Paoli, Pennsylvania!
I made some views of my brother Sean and his partner Isabelle with my wife Kris as a westward Amtrak Keystone and SEPTA trains made station stops. Then Kris made a couple of photos of me with Sean and Isabelle using my Nikon Z7-II.
Hi ISO and auto white balance makes night photos easy!
Strasburg Rail Road is best known for its steam excursions, but the railroad is a common carrier and operates a thriving local freight business.
On our visit to the Strasburg, PA area last month, I was lucky to catch one of their freights on the move. This was led by the railroad’s former New York Central SW8 diesel 8618.
This classic General Motors Electro-Motive Division swticher was built for New York Central System c1953 and carried the number 9618. It is painted in a neo-New York Central scheme, and was Conrail 8618 for many years.
In the 1980s, I made many photos of Conrail switchers, and I wonder if somewhere among my slides and negatives I may have a photo of this locomotive in its former existence.
Strasburg Rail Road SW8 8618Strasburg Rail Road local freight viewed from Carpenters.SW8 8618 with two boxcars at Leaman Place along Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor—the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line.
Several nights ago, Kris and I delivered my brother Sean and his partner Isabelle to SEPTA’s Paoli, Pennsylvania station on the old Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line.
It had been quite a few years since my last visit and in the interval, the station had been modernized.
It now has high-level platforms and bright daylight balanced LED lighting.
As Sean & Isabelle waited for an eastward Amtrak Keystone to bring them to Philadelphia, I exposed a series of photos of passing trains.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 70mm; f4 at 1/30 ISO 400. Focus mode: AF-S.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 44mm; f4 at 1/125 ISO 400. Focus mode: AF-S.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 30mm; f4 at 1/50 ISO 2000. Focus mode: AF-S.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 24mm; f4 at 1/200 ISO 2000. Focus mode: AF-S.
Details of the exposures are in the captions. All files adjusted using Adobe Lightroom.
Google Maps makes it much easier to navigate to the west shore of the Susquehanna River at Marysville, Pennsylvania to reach the famed Rockville Bridge.
I recall pouring over maps in the 1980s, trying to locate the correct sequence of turns to get to River Road. The challenge of this location is that the path is indirect and the main highways running parallel to the river and railroad do not facilitate straight forward exits.
On my most recent visit, I followed Google Maps instructions to my map ‘pin’ situated at the westend of Rockville Bridge. I approached the bridge just as a Norfolk Southern freight was easing across the 48 stone arches.
I returned to the vantage point on the north side of the bridge that Kris and I had visited nearly a year ago. This allowed me to make a long telephoto view of the train and capture the dramatic sky to the east.
Photo exposed using a Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens. Nikon NEF RAW file adjusted using Adobe Lightroom.Photo exposed using a Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens. Nikon NEF RAW file adjusted using Adobe Lightroom.
Thursday I traveled with Conway Scenic’s Plow Extra to Attitash, and then east from Mountain Junction down the Redstone Branch to Kearsarge in North Conway.
My primary objective of this trip was to make video footage of the plowing and plow crew for Conway Scenic, both to document the activity and to help promote the railroad.
I used my Nikon Z-series mirrorless camera to record both still photos and video. In general, I feel more confident in my ability to work with still images than video, but I still made a lot of video clips which I am now editing into a short film that will hopefully play on Conway Scenic’s Facebook page as well as other accessible media.
Below are a few of the still photos from Thrusday’s adventure on the rails.
Amtrak Keystone train 643 passes Christiana westbound.
Last week, I caught up with fellow photographer, author and Trains contributor Dan Cupper, who offered to spend the day showing me railroads in the Lancaster/Strasburg area of Pennsylvania.
Among the places we visited was the archives/meeting house of the Lancaster Chapter, Inc., National Railway Historical Society which is located in the old Pennsylvania Railroad freight house at Christiana, Pennsylvania.
While I’d visited this the passenger station earlier in the week, the day our our visit had much better weather. Also, it was my first ever visit inside freight house where we were met by the chapter’s Stephen Himpsl.
Among the things we explored were views of the freight station and the old passenger station from both sides of the former PRR Main Line.
The passenger station hadn’t served in its intended role since the 1950s, but had been restored and was in good shape.
I made a variety of images using my Nikon mirrorless cameras including those presented here. Most received post-processing adjustment using Adobe Lightroom to better present the data captured by the camera’s NEF RAW files.
More to come on our explorations at Christiana and other nearby locations.
Pennsylvania Railroad sign on the old Christiana freight house.Lancaster Chapter NRHS has a variety of artifacts and memorabilia on display, including this Lionel GG1 electric locomotive.
Tuesday (January 24, 2023), Conway Scenic Railroad sent its 1934 vintage Russell snow plow westward to clear the line to Attitash .
There was at least a foot of snow on the ground.
The plow operated as Work Extra 255, with former Maine Central GP38 255 at the back pushing.
I was able to stay ahead of the plow extra and made several sets of photos using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens. I also recorded some video with my Z7-II mounted on a tripod.
Work Extra 255 approaches the Route 16/Route 302 grade crossing near White Mountain Oil in North Conway, New Hampshire. That’s my photo on the railroad’s billboard to the right of the tracks. I exposed it using my Fujifilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit lens. Silver Line Graphics did the design work on the billboard. Work Extra 255 approached Glen-Ellis station.Work Extra 255 clears the line near Goves west of milepost 66.
Winter has finally made its footprint in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
After weeks of unseasonable weather that led to speculation that snow was a thing of the past, a series of snow storms has brought plently of snow.
Following a heavy snow fall that lasted most of the day on Monday (January 23, 2023), Conway Scenic called a plow extra on Tuesday to clear its lines.
I made these views of Work X255 in the yard at North Conway as the crew was getting ready to head west to Attitash.
I worked with the NEF RAW files in Adobe Lightroom to make the most of the dramatic sky. Adjustments included my standard repertoire; lighten shadows, darken highlights, adjust color temperature and color saturation and scale for internet presentation.
Later I followed the Plow Extra west to make photos of it clearing the tracks.
I was lucky last Wednesday as Amtrak P42 number 145 wearing ‘Phase III’ heritage paint was leading train #42, the eastward Pennsylvanian.
Although the so-called Amtrak Phase III was introduced in the mid-1970s, for me it represents the predominant scheme that adorned Amtrak locomotives during the 1980s. I made countless color slides of F40PH diesels, and AEM-7 and E60 electrics in this scheme.
Amtrak repainted a several of its P42 Genesis diesels in 2011 to mark the railroad’s 40th Anniversary. In addition, several of Amtrak’s dual-mode 700-series Genesis units have also been painted in this scheme.
I was delighted to catch Amtrak 145 working the old Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line at Gap, Pennsylvania, and made a series of digital images using my Nikon Z-series digital cameras.
Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom. Photo cropped for effect.Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.
I often work with multiple cameras. Since purchasing my Nikon Z7-II at the end of last year, I now often work with both my Nikon mirrorless cameras in tandem. I’ve fitted my Z-series 70-200mm zoom to my Z6, and a Z-series 24-70mm to the Z7-II.
This arrangement gives me the flexibility to make a variety of different angles quickly, swaping back and forth between the two cameras as needed.
In addition to that, I’ll often have my Lumix LX7 at hand and sometimes an older Nikon loaded with film.
Last week, I was poised at Gap, Pennsylvania on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line that is now operated by Amtrak. Most of Amtrak’s trains are Keystone corridor push-pull sets powered by Siemens-built ACS-64 electric locomotives. An exception is the New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian that runs daily and its typically led by a GE-built P42 Genesis diesel.
I got a tip that the eastward Pennsylvanian (train 42) was running with a P42 wearing one of the heritage paint schemes and I was in position to make the most of that train, while waiting on its late-running westward counterpart (train 43). Watching a train tracking ap on my phone, I wondered which train would reach me first.
I heard a GE chugging to the east and turned to find train 43 working west led by P42 number 117 . First I made a few images with the Z6 and 70-200mm, then made a few close up photos with the Z7-II and 24-70mm, before making a couple more trailing views with the Z6. I’ve included six of these images here in order of exposure to provide a sense of how I made the most of these cameras in tandem.
Z6 with 70-200mm.Z6 with 70-200mm.Z7-II with 24-.70mmZ7-II with 24-.70mmZ7-II with 24-.70mmZ6 with 70-200mm.
Minutes after train 43 went by, I spotted train 42 in the distance with the aforementioned heritage-painted locomotive in the lead. Stay tuned for those photos!
Winter sun and clear skies on Pennsylvania’s Strasburg Rail Road open a host of photographic opportunities!
For Monday’s return run of engine No. 90 from Leaman Place, Kris and I selected a vantage point at Carpenters at Blackhorse Road—where the line takes a gentle curve by an old Graveyard.
I made a few color slides using my Nikon F3 and 180m lens and then a series of digital photos with my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.
The sildes remain to be processed, but I’ve posted a selection of the digital images here.
Engine 90 is a Baldwin 2-10-0, a type known as a decapod for its arrangement of ten driving wheels. I am working on a new book with Kalmbach Media tentatively titled Steam Locomotives by th Numbers that will tell the story of steam locomotive development and application using wheel arrangement as the system of organization.
It was a retro 1970s moment at Christiana, Pennsylvania, when I made these coming and going views of Amtrak Keystone train 648.
The Conrail caboose to the right of the train is former Erie Lackawanna that was painted in an usual variation of COnrail blue at Erie’s Meadville, Pennsyvlania shops in 1976.
The cab car is one of the former PRR/Penn Central self-propelled Metroliner cars developed by Budd in the 1960s and characterized Amtrak’s high-speed services in the 1970s and early 1980s. Later these cars were modified and routinely operated to Harrisburg on this route.
Former Metroliner cab car leads Amtrak 648 eastbound at Christiana, PA.Amtrak ACS64 669 works at the back of Keystone train 648 at Christiana, PA.
Photos were exposed using my Nikon Z7-II and adjusted for contrast, exposure and color temperature using Adobe Lightroom.
Monday Kris and I spent several hours photographing Strasburg Rail Road 2-10-0 No. 90 under blue skies with brilliant sun.
I made this selection of photos using my Nikon Z6 and Z7-II mirrorless digital cameras.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z6 with 70-200mmNikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.
Tuesday morning in Strasburg was cloudy and dull. I made my way over to Leaman Place where Strasburg Rail Road’s line connects with Amtrak’s former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line to Harrisburg.
I made these photos of westward and eastward Keystone trains zipping along under wire. The typical operation has an Siemens ACS64 electric at one end and a Budd-built former Metroliner cab control car at the other.
Both images were adjusted for color temperature, shadow and highlight detail and contrast in post processing.
Amtrak Keystone train No.646 eastbound at Leaman Place. Exposed using a Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens at 74mm. ISO 800, 1/4000th sec f2.8.Amtrak Keystone train No.641 westbound at Leaman Place. Exposed using a Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens set at 200mm. ISO 800 1/2000th sec at f2.8.
It was frosty on Monday morning when Kris & I visited the Strasburg Rail Road. Among the equipment we photographed was the famous Norfolk & Western J-Class 4-8-4 number 611.
In recent years this magnificent late-era steam locomotive has made guest appearances on the Strasburg Rail Road.
The enormous streamliner seems a bit out of place on the rural branchline, but it was great to see and photograph this machine again.
The big locomotive was cold. We were not so fortunate to catch it in action, although over the years, I have photographed 611 on various occasions under steam.
All photos were made with a Nikon Z7-II with Nikkor Z-series 24-70mm zoom lens.
