I remember the final days of March 1976, when, my father brought me— at age 9—trackside for a couple of days to witness northeastern railroading before Conrail absorbed operation of most of the large railroads in the region.

Twenty-three years later, he and I spent two days along Conrail’s former New York Central lines in eastern New York state , documenting the railroad’s final days.

Working with a Canon EOS borrowed from the manufacturer for review, I exposed this telephoto view of westward TrailVan train TV79 on the Water Level Route near Tribes Hill, New York.

Tracking the Light Looks Back on Conrail!