In mid January 2007, I was visiting Austria with photographer Denis McCabe.
On one cool sunny evening, we had set up at Brixlegg, where ÖBB crosses the River Inn. The view west presented the shadowy wall of an Alpine ridge, accentuated by patches of snow.
As the final golden solar rays of this January day graced the rails, I made a series of Fujichrome slides of an ÖBB Bombardier-built Talent railcar on its eastward journey across the Inn.
I’d borrowed a Canon EF75-300mm lens from Denis, and used this with my Canon EOS-3 camera.
The other night, I scanned some of these slides using a Nikon LS-5000 scanner.
Canon EOS-3 loaded with Fujichrome Velvia100, fitted with EF75-300mm zoom.
Working with my Fuji XT1, I made a series of 1/2 to 3 second exposures of Strasburg Rail Road SW8 8618 by the light of the full moon.
While, I had the benefit of a 3Pod Tripod, I didn’t have the use of the specially made clip that holds the camera to the ball head. Unfortunately, that was attached to my Nikon Z7-II, which I’d left at home.
I made due by firmly holding the camera to the tripod during exposure.
After importing the RAF Raw files, I converted these to PNG format using DxO Pure Raw software, and then imported the converted file into Adobe Lightroom for adjustment.
Exposed in RAF RAW using a Fuji XT-1 with 16-55mm Fujinon Lens.
I’ve been making shadowy photos of trains at Palmer, Massachusetts in the gloom of night since the early 1980s. In my early days, I made black & white night photos of Central Vermont RS-11s and GP9s at Palmer. Back then, I often augmented existing light with a hand held Metz electronic strobe.
On our most recent trip, I made a long exposures of New England Central GP38-2 2168 working purely with existing light.
For this exercise, I braved 10F degrees in a light coat with my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens mounted firmly on a 3Pod Everest tripod. I made a series of 15 second exposures using the Nikon NEF RAW format and then adjusted the files in Adobe Lightroom.
The NEF format offers exceptional dynamic range which allowed me to significanly lighten the shadow areas to reveal impressive amounts of detail.
Since Spring 1999, CSX GP40-2s have worked the Palmer local.
I’ve paired two views of CSX GP40-2s on the local at CP83 (control point 83, as measured in miles west of Boston, Ma). In both photos, the lead locomotive is positioned in almost exactly the same place.
The first photo was exposed on Fujichrome using my Contax G2 rangefinder in June 2005, this is from the north side of the tracks; the second was made a few days after Christmas 2024 with my Nikon Z7-II, from the south side of the tracks. Both views feature the trackside billboard, which has been there in one form or another since at least the mid-1940s.
My friend Bob Buck had photographed steam locomotives at this same location with the billboard (or one of its early predecessors).
CSX local Palmer, June 2005.June 2005.Dec 28, 2024.
The blue hues of evening offer a wonderful time to photograph idling locomotives.
Photographer Tim Doherty, arrived at the junction at Coteau, Quebec in time to make the most of dusk.
A set of Canadian National GP9RM diesels were resting between runs.
I made this view on Fujichrome with a Nikon F3 and a telephoto lens mounted firmly on a tripod. Here’s a tip: when making this type of photograph, despite the need for a long exposure, it is better to lean toward over exposure than risk losing data to the inky blackness of under exposure.
This slide was among those that sat in the dark for more than twenty years. Last week, I scanned with my Nikon LS5000 scanner, and processed the TIF file uisng Adobe Lightroom.
This is complicated lighting situation; two distinct types of artificial light mixed with the blue glow of dusk. The harsh yellowing sodium-vapor lighting is especially problematic.
On a rainy December afternoon, Kris and I met my old friend Dan and his wife Mary at Palmer’s Steaming Tender for lunch.
We were seated by a window facing the Boston & Albany—today’s CSX’s Boston Line.
The rails were alive and freight trains were on the roll.
Some time after a very long westward manifest freight cleared the diamond (where CSX crossed New England Central at grade), a local freight arrived to work the yard with a set of three GP40-2s.
For more than 25 years these vintage EMD’s have be stalwarts on the Palmer local. I complimented the crew on their ‘antiques’, but they seemed unimpressed with the old diesels.
I made these images from our seat as the engines arrived.
I think that’s a better title than, “What?!! Not another photo of a Metroliner Cabcar!”
During the shorter days, I make greater use of evening. The paucity of daylight, and demands of daytime obligations leave comparatively few sunlit hours to make photographs during the winter months.
After Christmas, I made this view of Amtrak 494, the Valley Flyer, during its brief station stop at Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
My Nikon Z7-II was mounted upon a 3pod Everest tripod. The ball head and quick-release clip make this trip quick and easy to set up.
I exposed this photo at ISO 1000, at f4.0 with a 3 second shutter speed.
I exposed this photo at ISO 1000, at f4.0 with a 3 second shutter speed.
Why not use a slower ISO and a longer shutter speed to produce an image with less noise, better color and greater dynamic range? Train 494 often stops for just a few moments, and I didn’t want to risk train movement, by extending the shutter speed to 15 seconds or more.
Soft evening light at the Norfolk, Mass., station on the Franklin Line made for interesting conditions to picture the arriving train. For the last few years, MBTA has been working on completing the second track here. As of a couple of weeks ago, the project remained unfinished.
I could hear the MBTA F40PH-3 from the time it accelerated away from its Walpole, Mass., station stop. Before long the headlight came into view at the east end of the long tangent. I was ready, cameras in hand.
Exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.
MBTA F40PH-3C 1052 leads Train 721 on the Frankline Line at Norfolk, Mass.
On October 24, 2004, I used my Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with a 45mm Zeiss lens to capture VIA Rail’s TheOcean (from Halifax) crossing the Lachine Canal at Wellington on approach to Montreal Central Station.
Cool weather and a still morning contributed to the mirror-like surface on the canal water.
The lead locomotive was an F40PH-2 painted to advertise the motion picture Spiderman-2.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 64Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 52mm, f4.0, 4 sec, ISO 64
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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?
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.
