On August 10, 2015, David Hegarty and I visited Drogheda, where Irish Rail’s Navan Branch meets the Northern Line.
It was our second visit in two days.
In recent years, I’d been dismissive of the Northern Line as being bland. But, I’ve seen the error of my ways.
In just a couple hours we were treated to a steady parade of trains, and this offered just about the best variety of equipment as anyone can expect to see in modern day Ireland.
The highlight of the day was the arrival of the weed-spraying train, which needed to run around, and the propel back to access the branch.
Shortly after we arrived, a laden Tara mines train pulled into view at the end of the branch. The electric DART cars were at the depot for servicing.29000-series railcars take the switch for platform 3.Hooray! The weed-spraying train as arrived from Dundalk.Engine 074 has cutoff and will run around its train in preparation for a run to Navan on the branch.A Dublin-bound set of 29000 railcars in the new livery has just departed the station.The sun came out as the weed-spraying train reversed.Irish Rail 233 leads the down Enterprise toward Belfast. The weedsprayer waits to crossover.The chevrons on the front of 074 have been a trademark of the weedspraying train for decades.The sprayer is doing its thing as it heads toward Navan.Fresh bit of sun on the railcar depot.Eventually that Tara train will have to move.
Our vantage point was the lightly travel road bridge south of the railway station. During our visit there were more dogs across the bridge than cars.
Drogheda is nicely oriented for sun-lit photography through out most of the day. This is the location of a railcar depot (maintenance facility), so in addition to mainline moves, there was considerable activity at the depot, which include the washing of trains.
As with many busy places, the action seemed to come in waves.
Watching the railcars get washed provided a bit of entertainment.I like the new green livery. What do you think?More fresh green 29000s on the move.Finally! The sounds of an EMD 645 engine, and here’s the laden Tara mines train on the move. It carries zinc ore to Dublin port.Some NIR CAF-built 3001 series railcars are on their way back to Belfast.
The Swedish State Railways (Staten Järnväger, SJ) class Rc4, built by Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolag (ASEA), was the inspiration for Amtrak’s AEM-7 (assembled by EMD).
An advancement of the Rc4 is the Rc6 which was the pattern emulated in the ALP-44 used by NJ Transit.
In July, I made a study of SJ’s Rc6 electrics at Luleå, Sweden. These well maintained machines are a contrast to Amtrak’s surviving AEM-7s that are tired and battle-worn after three-decades of hard service racing up and down the Northeast Corridor.
Some months ago, an Amtrak engineer confided to me, “I understand why you like these electrics, but I hate them. They’re worn out. The suspension is shot. The cabs are drafty.”
Amtrak 915 has been preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. A few continue to work the Northeast Corridor. Most will end up as scrap. In the meantime, their Swedish cousins work electric lines across the country.
Amtrak 914 at Penn Station, New York in June 2015. Lumix LX7 photo.Rc6 in black; imagine a PC noodle on this!
This northern town is a port city on the Gulf of Bothnia where iron ore from mines north of the Arctic Circle is trans-loaded to ships. There’s a traditional passenger station that serves sleeping car trains that originate here for Stockholm and points south; a coach yard and sidings.
Markku Pulkkinen, Matti Mäntyvaara, Asko Räsänen and I arrived in early afternoon. We had lunch in the station restaurant and observed the action.
The combination of low-level platforms, ground-level switching activities to make up trains, and conventional locomotive hauled consists made for some proper old-school railroading! And that’s just the way we like it. Only the Kiruna-Narvik service appeared to be provided by a modern wedge-shaped electric multiple unit.
X-T1 panoramic composite of the second Stockholm sleeper at Luleå.X-T1 photo.Luleå is old school; traditional station building with restaurant, low level platforms, plus loco-hauled sleeping car trains with long consists of bogie carriages. All good. Long may it last.Lumix LX7 photo of a sleeping car.Since my visit in 2002, the local passenger service has been ‘improved’. (The improvement is the wedge-shaped EMU at left.)An empty iron train led by IORE electrics (the most powerful on the planet) rolls through the station on its way north.
The low northern sun provided some great light for photographs, and I made the most of our visit working with my FujiFilm X-T1 and Lumix LX7 to make digital photos.
I was bemused when a young British girl complained to her father when he went to make a photo of the Rc6 electric on a sleeping car train, ‘Daddy, don’t do that! Why do you make a photo of the train?’ Surely this child needs to be sent to camp for re-education! I blame the internet and/or television.
A track-level view of a Stockholm sleeper at Luleå. My FujiFilm X-T1’s flip down screen and heads-up display with level makes it easy to take low angle photos of trains.It’s a long way from Luleå to Stockholm by train.A second empty ore train rolls through Luleå. These big modern Bombardier-built electrics replaced the old Dm3 siderodders, but I’ll forgive them for that—they’re still pretty impressive!An Rc6 works the coach yard as the empty ore train heads northward to beyond the Arctic Circle.Modern high-capacity ore wagons are a contrast with the old six-wheel jennies from a century ago.One of the classics is on display near the station. Luleå respects its heritage.
In late July 2015, I traveled with Markku Pulkkinen, Matti Mäntyvaara and Asko Räsänen from Oulu, Finland to Luleå, Sweden. Among the goals of the trip was to visit the Norrbottens Järnvägsmuseum (Bothnia Railway Museum).
This has a great collection of preserved steam and electric locomotives, plus freight cars, passenger equipments and related displays. I made dozens of images of the historic equipment using my Lumix LX7.
I found it especially interesting to study the vintage electric locomotives up close. My favorites were the Dm3s, which I recall working iron ore trains to Narvik on my 2002 visit. I bought a Dm3 t-shirt at the museum’s gift shop.
Here’s a great concept that blends the conviviality of a pub with the rolling urban vistas provided by a streetcar.
Helsinki has a virtual maze of narrow-gauge tram tracks and the pub tram makes hourly circular tours. The car itself is one of the last non-articulated trams in regular service in the city and is painted a distinctive red.
Exposed in July 2015 with a Lumix LX7.
On an earlier visit to Helsinki in 2002, I photographed the car, but was unable to ride because it had been booked for a charter. In July 2015, Markku Pulkkinen and I took a spin on this unusual railway vehicle. I think it is the only city tram that I’ve ever seen with a loo.
The pub tram is great way to see Helsinki. Every city should have one!
I kept the cameras busy yesterday. I’ve altered the way I process my files. Rather than work from camera-shaped Jpgs, instead I’ve presented camera RAW files. With a few I applied a bit of contrast/exposure adjustment, but the others have just been scaled for internet presentation.
I exposed more than 500 images and haven’t, as of yet, had adequate time to digest this photographically intense experience.
Do you have any favorites among these photos?
Uproad near Near Mosney.
Downroad near Mosney.Dundalk.Tea!
Down Enterprise at Drogheda.Loco needs water, son.Clock at Dundalk.
Today, Sunday 9 August 2015, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland in cooperation with Irish Rail operated a steam special from Dublin’s Connolly Station to Drogheda and Dundalk with locomotive number 4.
Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1; RAW File exported as a Jpg using Adobe Lightroom.Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1; RAW File exported as a Jpg using Adobe Lightroom.
This was my first opportunity to photograph this classic locomotive in more than four years. Special thanks to everyone at the RPSI and Irish Rail who made today’s trips a success.
Stay tuned for more photos tomorrow!
Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1; RAW File exported as a Jpg using Adobe Lightroom.
For more than a half century, Dv12 diesel hydraulics have worked Finland’s 1,524mm gauge lines. (Purists will note that in their first decade this type was classified as Sv12).
During my recent visit to Finland I was delighted to find many of these old diesels still on the move. Some have been painted in the new white with green livery, but others were struggling on in their traditional paint, albeit with a green splotch painted across the front.
The Dv12 is to Finland, what the GP9 was to America, and the 141/181 Class General Motors diesels are to Ireland.
A VR Class Dv12 at the yard in Oulu, Finland. Well-worn, but still working in its traditional paint! Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.Builders plate for VR 2533. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.Modern livery on an old machine. LX-7 Photo.LX-7 photo.The trucks are similar to those used by German lass 215-218 diesels.VR Dv12 2617 at Oulu. Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.Cab detail.
These are just a few detailed views made of these classic locomotives.
Saturday, 8 August 2015: I made these photos a few minutes ago of locomotive 8209 in the new Enterprise livery working Irish Rail’s 1100 Mark 4 from Dublin Heuston to Cork.
It was nice to catch this brightly painted engine in the sunlight.
Saturday, 8 August 2015, engine 8209 with the 1100 to Cork passing Islandbridge Junction. Lumix LX7 photo.Saturday, 8 August 2015, engine 8209 with the 1100 to Cork passing Islandbridge Junction. Lumix LX7 photo.
If you are viewing this on Facebook or another 3rd party source, you’ll really need to click the link to get the full effect.
Yesterday on Tracking the Light, I mentioned how on the morning of 31 July 2015, Markku Pulkkinen, Sakari K. Salo, and Juhani Katajisto provided me a tour of the new Helsinki Airport line by car.
Mr. Salo selected this location as being one of the best places to try to get a plane and train in the same photo.
While this didn’t line up the way we’d hoped, the location did allow me to make a variety of dramatic photos. My challenge was in capturing a high-contrast scene digitally.
The sky was dressed with some impressive clouds. So how to best work with such a scene?
I opted to gauge my exposure to retain detail in the sky, while allowing for underexposure of the train. I intentionally included the array of electrical wires to show the advantages and disadvantages of various digital treatments.
With the following four images, the first is the un-manipulated camera ‘RAW’ file. The next three show various types of post-processing adjustment using Adobe Lightroom.
This view is a Jpg converted from the camera RAW file without any manipulation in post processing. All of the detail in the subsequent views exists in the camera RAW file. The challenge with the unmodified RAW file is holding sufficient detail in the shadow areas without blowing out the highlights. Ultimately I’m aiming to achieve balance. However, as you can see, it is easy enough to exaggerate the conditions of the seen to make a more dramatic image.This is a simply modified version. All I did was adjust contrast using ‘highlights’ and ‘shadows’ sliders under the ‘develop’ section of Lightroom. Doing so provides better contrast that more closely resembles the way the scene appeared to my eye.To accentuate the effect of the sky and make for a more dramatic image, I’ve used the graduated neutral density effect. This applies the effect that digitally emulates the application of a two-stop gradated neutral density filter to the front of the camera. The effect is easily spotted by its treatment of the electrical pylons.In this fourth version, I’ve heavily manipulated contrast and exposure, and used both ‘Clarity’ and ‘Saturation’ sliders. To me, while the photograph has an impressive punch, it no longer resembles the scene as I saw it. Such manipulation is relatively easy, thus owing to it being commonly applied to images today. Incidentally, you can apply the same techniques to photographs exposed on film.
Back in the old days, I’d routinely make adjustments to contrast and exposure when I printed my black & white negatives. Often, I’d expose and process the film in anticipation of manipulation in the darkroom. (I’d also make prints from color slides using Cibachrome and Type R materials, but that’s a story for another day).
In effect, my digital manipulation of the RAW file is a modern interpretation of this traditional processing technique. I’ve not added anything to the original file, I’ve simply altered contrast, exposure, and color saturation using controls offered by the program.
In July, Helsinki’s new circular Airport service began, including operations on stretches of newly built track.
Firstly, I’ll admit complete failure on my part to experience the train on my arrival at Helsinki Airport. I was aware of the new service, and looking forward to riding it. However, I couldn’t find the train. I was told that I needed to take a bus to the station. So I bought a two-zone ticket, and when a bus arrived with the destination board reading ‘Helsinki Railway Station’ (or something like that), I got on.
I was halfway to Helsinki before I realized my mistake! Before I knew it, I’d been deposited at the Helsinki Central Station in the city center. This was a bitter defeat.
On the plus side the bus turned out to be considerably faster than the train.
A little more than a week later, I finally had opportunities to experience the new service. This is operated with Stadler Flirt electric multiple units.
Helsinki Airport train approaches Kivisto Station on 30 July 2015. This location was recommended by Sakari K. Salo who accompanied Markku Pulkkinen and me on a tour of the new line on 30 July 2015 (and again the next day by road). FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
I made my first pass over the route on 30 July, 2015, and on the morning of 31 July 2015, Markku Pulkkinen, Sakari K. Salo, and Juhani Katajisto provided me a tour of the line by car.
Juhani Katajisto drove us to this line-side location to photograph the Airport train on 31 July 2015. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
Tomorrow, I’ll explore some necessary digital manipulation of an airport train photograph to demonstrate my experiments with Adobe Lightroom as a tool for making a photograph more effective.
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
While in Helsinki last month, I had several opportunities to photograph Transtech’s new Artic Tram prototypes, which were working the city’s streets in revenue service.
These are state of the art Finnish trams that feature modern low-floors with advanced technologies and yet feature classic styling.
Artic Tram 401 at Helsinki Central. Exposed with a Lumix LX-7 on a rainy Wednesday morning.One of two Artic tram prototypes in Helsinki, Finland. Exposed with my Fujifilm X-T1.The first two times I saw an Artic Tram I missed the opportunity to board. Snooze you lose. Exposed with my Fujifilm X-T1.On board Artic Tram prototype 402 in Helsinki. Exposed with my Fujifilm X-T1.Driver’s cab on the 402. The Artic’s are single ended. One of two Artic tram prototypes in Helsinki, Finland. Exposed with my Fujifilm X-T1.Three generations of trams in Helsinki. The Artic prototype is on the left.
Transtech calls them Artics (that’s right.) I think they look pretty cool.
On the evening of July 6, 2015, I arrived in Palmer in time to find Mass-Central’s daily freight getting ready to head up the Ware River Line.
I relocated to a favorite location on the branch along Route 181 to make this image of the Mass-Central freight on the branch.
Exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera. 32 years ago, I made a photograph from a similar angle of Mass-Central 2100 working a freight. Today the track has never looked so good on the branch!
On July 23, 2015, I traveled with Petri and Pietu Tuovinen, Markku Pulkkinen to central-eastern Finland to visit battle sites, trenches and monuments at the Raate Road near Suomussalmi.
Between November 1939 and March 1940, the Finns fought the Winter War to repel invading Soviet forces.
I exposed these images using my FujiFilm X-T1.
Winter War memorial; each stone represents a fallen soldier at the battle site.Bells toll in the wind at the Winter War memorial.Soviet propaganda.Ruins of a Soviet tank.Vestiges of trenches near the Finnish-Russian frontier.A panoramic composite image of restored trenches near the Finnish-Russian frontier.Anti-tank defenses near the Finnish-Russian frontier.
Every so often a train stops in a photogenic location, which provides ample opportunity to make a variety of images.
Such was the case the other day, when Petri and Pietu Tuovinen, Markku Pulkkinen were providing me tour of greater Kontiomäki.
This pair of Finnish Sr2 electrics had brought a loaded iron ore train west from the Russian-border and were waiting for a path to continue toward Oulu at the junction with the electrified line at the west leg of the Kontiomäki triangle.
While the train was stopped, I used the moment to expose photographs with three cameras. These are a few angles made digitally with my FujiFilm X-T1 mirror-less camera, and my pocket-size Lumix LX-7. The slides remain latent.
A very traditional three-quarter angle as exposed with my Lumix LX-7.A tighter three-quarter angle using my FujiFilm X-T1.Here I’ve featured a flower growing trackside. These purple flowers flourish in the Finnish countryside during the summer. Lumix LX-7 photo.How about an angle from the other side of the train? Lumix LX-7 photo.A study of Finnish Sr2 electrics nose-to-nose. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
Since the lighting was relatively even, my goal was to obtain the most impressive angle that features the contours and colours on the Sr2s. VR is in a transition from the older white and red livery to a new white with bright green scheme.
In September 2000 a thunderstorm was brewing over Lake Ontario when I exposed this silhouette of an eastward CSX freight descending Byron Hill at South Byron, New York.
The wonders of film! Could I have made this image digitally? Would it have captured the texture in the sky? Maybe with a lot of work in post processing. Back then it didn’t matter, all I had was film and I was happy for it.
Finland is a great place to make railway photographs. Two of my favorite features of the country are the long days of summer, (in late July the sun remains above the horizon to well after 10 pm), and the overnight sleeping car trains.
Low rich sun light and long unusual-looking consists of sleeping cars and auto-carriers make for many photographic possibilities.
During my visit three night trains served Oulu in each direction daily. These run between Helsinki and northern cities at Kemijärvi, Kolari, and Rovaniemi.
Not every evening is clear and bright. Too often it rains. But last Saturday evening the sky was free of clouds and the air was clear, making for nearly ideal conditions.
These views are of IC 266 (Rovaniemi – Helsinki) led by a pair of Soviet-built Sr1 electrics. At Oulu cars are added to the train using a Dv12 diesel, which provides ample time to make photographs of the train arriving and standing at the station.
VR overnight train IC 266 approaches Oulu, Finland on the evening of Jul 25, 2015.VR overnight train IC 266 approaches Oulu, Finland on the evening of Jul 25, 2015.
My host, Markku Pulkkinen, explained the train’s daily routine, suggested locations for photographs, and provided transportation. I made these images with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera. The challenge of working with very low sun is navigating the shadows successfully.
Sometimes history has conclusions that no one anticipates.
Here we have a former Southern Pacific SD40-T2 passing the abutments of the old Hampden Railroad near Three Rivers, in Palmer Massachusetts. You could write a book about this scene!
Thanks to Paul Goewey for suggesting this location. It had been 30 years since my last visit. Hey where are the Rock Island GP18s??
Brian Solomon is traveling in Finland, but Tracking the Light should continue to post photographs daily!
Petri and Pietu Tuovinen, Markku Pulkkinen and I arrived at the Finnish—Russian border just a minute before a loaded iron ore train crossed with Russian diesels.
I have to admit that 10 days of continuous travel had caught up with me and I’d fallen asleep in the car. “Hey, wake up! The train is over the frontier.”
“What? Where?”
I managed a decent image of the train. But the best was yet to come. An ominous looking sign marked the border area.
We waited for an hour while the Russian diesels were position on an eastward empty train. A thunderstorm rumbled to the south. Finnish custom agents inspect the train. The Russian diesels idled. It began to rain.
Finally, the train began to ease forward. The driver must have liked the attention and once passed the starting signal, he notched up the locomotives. It reminded me of photographing old Alcos!
Russian diesels work east toward at the Finnish-Russian border. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1, modified in post processing for contrast and saturation.It was unwise to consider chasing east.
Back in olden times overnight sleeping car trains were common. Today, not so much. Yet, I’ve just boarded IC 274 for Helsinki. There was a mob on the platform at Oulu. To quote the old saying, ‘There’s no one riding trains any more, they are too crowded.’
Thankfully, I’m locked away in a berth.
Lumix LX-7 photo exposed at Oulu on 29 July 2015.Lumix LX-7 photo exposed at Oulu on 29 July 2015. 11:45pm.
Back in olden times overnight sleeping car trains didn’t have WiFi!
In railway photography timing is everything. In Finland, some of the mystery of when trains operate has been revealed through the miracle of a public service application for smart phones and mobile devices.
Thanks to the careful attention of my guides. Petri and Pietu Tuovinen, and Markku Pulkinen, we arrived at the timber loading terminal at the end of a lightly used VR branch just in time to catch the arrival of this VR empty timber train.
In the lead were a pair of venerable Dv12 diesel-hydraulic locomotives. These are the GP9s of Finland and have worked all types of traffic.
The overgrown branch line with very light rail is a total contrast with Finland’s mainlines, which feature excellent track and manicured infrastructure.
The number 750 represents the distance by rail from Helsinki in kilometers.An old Tk3 2-8-0 is on public display.Detail of the cylinder and valves on the Danish built class Tk3.
An old light 2-8-0 is positioned near the end of track as a display. Finland was still operating wood-fired steam in revenue service into the 1970s.
I exposed this image on Kodachrome from my grandparents balcony in Coop City, The Bronx, New York in August 1979. How I wished I’d been trackside for this move, but at least I saw it, and documented it with my Leica 3A.
Brian Solomon is traveling in Finland, but Tracking the Light should continue to post photographs daily!
I felt like a Victorian explorer being led through forests by expert guides. Petri and Pietu Tuovinen, and Markku Pulkinen led me a long a disused track.
“There is a locomotive turntable here.”
Indeed! Masked by trees, hidden from view, and located off the end of a lightly used branch line at Ammansaari, Finland is the old turntable once used to spin light steam locomotives.
Few visitors are afforded the privilege of seeing this relic. It was like finding a Mayan pyramid in the rain forest.
I exposed these photos digitally using my FujiFilm X-T1. For effect, I set the camera to the preset that emulates black & white film with a red filter. For posterity, I also exposed a few color slides.
My old Contax with real black & white film would have served me well here.
In the early 1980s, I made trips to Boston & Maine’s East Deerfield Yard to catch the waning days of the old GP7s, GP9s, and GP18s.
More than 30 years later, some of those old goats are still on the move, hauling freight and now in heritage paint!
On the morning of July 9, 2015, photographer Mike Gardner and I stopped into East Deerfield and found the Pan Am Railways GP9s getting ready to work east with a ballast train. I made this view of the colorful old locomotives crossing the Connecticut River east of the yard.
At Oulu, Finland, the sun hangs in the northwestern sky until after 11pm. For a visitor from more southerly regions this late light is fascinating.
My host Markku Pulkkinen showed me this foot bridge over the main railway yard and I made a series of photographs with my FujiFilm XT-1. This image was tricky.
A Swiss-designed class Sr2 electric was preparing to head south with an overnight freight. I found an alignment to capture this train departing against the backdrop of the low sun. My difficulty was in selecting the right exposure.
If it was light enough to capture the details of the locomotive than the sky would have been blasted (over exposed), yet if I exposed to retain color and detail in the sky, than the railway yard and locomotive would have been virtually opaque.
Ultimately, I made several exposures using my camera’s histogram to guide me. I avoided clipping the highlights, while allowing the shadow regions to slip to the lower end of the graph.
After the fact, I used Lightroom (recently installed on my new MacBook) to adjust the highlight and shadow areas to hold detail, while pumping up the saturation a little.
VR Sr2 at Oulu, Finland after 11 pm on Wednesday, July 22, 2015. File adjusted for exposure, contrast, and saturation.
I’ll admit the end result looks a bit surreal. But then again, I found the whole setting surreal from the get go!
I processed the file and made my adjustments while riding on the upper level of a VR train heading toward Kontiomäki.
On the afternoon of July 24, 1993, TSH and I explored Nevada’s Palisade Canyon—a scenic cleft in the desert where the Southern Pacific-Union Pacific (former Western Pacific) east-west ‘Paired Track’ mainlines were in close-proximity to one another.
We made several photographs at this location under brilliant sunny skies. Today, both lines are Union Pacific.
Union Pacific eastward intermodal train at Palisade Canyon, Nevada on July 24, 1993. Exposed on Kodachrome 25 with a Nikon F3T.
22 July 2015, I’m whizzing along in ’tilt mode’ on a VR Pendolino heading from Helsinki to Oulu. We’ve just overtaken a freight with a pair of diesels on the move.
Just like Amtrak and Irish Rail, these modern trains have on-board WiFi. So far so good.
Using my Lumix LX7 and new Apple Mac Book I can make, process and download photos faster than ever. Thanks to the WiFi I can up load them to you quicker.
Done are the times of waiting until after a trip to have slides processed and then waiting days, weeks, months to have a slide show with friends before being able to share photos.
Why then, you might ask, did I bring 5 rolls of slides and my old EOS 3 to Finland! Well, there’s another story.
VR Pendolino under the shed at Helsinki Central Station. Exposed on the morning of 22 July 2015 using my Lumix LX7.That’s my car.Finland’s gone green!
I’ve featured Helsinki Central in several books. It will be among the stations covered in my next book on railway terminals, stations and depots. This busy city center station was the inspiration for Buffalo Central Terminal and Cincinnati Union Station.
Last night I made these views at dusk using my FujiFilm X-T1 with a 27mm pancake lens.
Exposed on 21 June, 2015.Exposed on 21 June, 2015.Exposed on 21 June, 2015.
I’ll be traveling in Finland for the next ten days.
I made this photo a little while ago using my FujiFilm X-T1 with 27mm pancake lens. Nearly 14 years ago I made a similar view on Fujichrome film using my Contax G2 rangefinder that appeared as a center spread in TRAINS Magazine.
Elevation is often the key to better railway photographs. That was certainly the case on the morning of July 6, 2015, when Paul Goewey and I inspected the view from the parking garage opposite Worcester Union Station.
We were lucky to catch new MBTA HSP46 2027 leading an outbound train from Boston. These locomotives are unique to MBTA, and in long-standing tradition have large road numbers painted on their roofs. (atop the cab in yellow numerals).
Exposed with my Lumix LX7.FujiFilm X-T1 digital photograph.
Tracking the Light posts original content on a daily basis!
As a follow up to yesterday’s Extra Post Irish Railway Record Society 071 Railtour 18 July 2015, I’ve put together this selection of images that I made on Saturday’s excellent rail tour from Du blin’s Connolly Station to Ballina and Westport. All were exposed with my Lumix LX7.
Under the shed at Connolly.
Freshly painted 077 at Inchicore.Claremorris cabin.Ballina.
Ballina.Ballina.Ballina.Ballina.Reviewing results.Reviewing results.Lashing rain at Claremorris.Photo stop at Castlebar.In rain at Westport.Westport.Westport.Westport.
Yesterday, the IRRS in cooperation with the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland and Irish Rail, operated a popular locomotive hauled tour from Dublin Connolly to Ballina and Wesport, County Mayo.
I had the privilege to travel and photograph this trip. For me this was a great opportunity to reacquaint with friends and experience Irish Rail first hand.
Connolly Station Dublin.
Three class 071 General Motors locomotives were used: freshly painted Irish Rail 087 from Dublin to Ballina, Irish 078 from Ballina to Claremorris and Westport, and 084 on the return leg from Westport to Dublin. The turbocharged sounds of Electro-Motive 12-645E3 diesels prevailed though out the day.
Making the most of the sunlight.
Photo stop at Tullamore.
Clear skies in Dublin soon gave way to more typical Irish weather. I was neither deterred by the weather nor a haze of jetleg, and I exposed hundreds of digital photographs using my Lumix LX7. Somehow I also managed to pop off a whole roll of Provia with my EOS 3.
Staff at Claremorris, Co. Mayo.Ballina, County Mayo.
I view these trips as great opportunity to capture the railway enthusiast community. After all the train was provided purely for its enjoyment.
Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible!
I’ll plan to post additional images soon.
Remember former times at Ballina.Overseeing operations at Claremorris.Old 078 in the rain at Claremorris.084 with a laden timber train at Westport.Umbrella photography.Roscommon on the return trip.View from the train near Roscommon.Tea for the driver.Recalling the days of steam.Tullamore on the return.Train timing up-road.Kildare.
I was on my way from Gladstone to Cranford, New Jersey. During my change of modes at Newark Broad Street, I made this photo of an in-inbound NJ Transit light rail car.
It was hot, and the light was tinted by the prevailing smaze, a condition often prevalent in this part of New Jersey.
Question: would it be better to filter the light to counter the tint, or run with a ‘daylight’ setting that would show the brownish tinge the way it really is?
Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. Exposed with a Lumix LX7.
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