It was a dark and rainy night on January 2015. Pat Yough and I were watching the railroad roll. I made these views of CSX freights moving along the Trenton Line (former Reading) at Neshaminy Falls, Pennsylvania.
CSX crude oil train K138 glides through Neshaminy Falls, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens. ISO 4000 f2.8 1/10th of second.CSX Q438-10 approaches Neshaminy Falls, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens. ISO 4000 f2.8 1/10th of second.CSX Q438-10 approaches Neshaminy Falls, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens. ISO 3200 f2.8 1/60th of second.CSX Q438-10 passes Neshaminy Falls, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens. ISO 3200 f2.8 1//25th of second.
I exposed these images handheld using my Canon EOS 7D set at high ISO for greater sensitivity in low light. The images have a gritty high-noise look to them. Let’s just say, it wasn’t Kodachrome weather. But then, there isn’t any Kodachrome anymore.
Along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor south (west) of Philadelphia, SEPTA’s Prospect Park station features a classic former Pennsylvania Railroad passenger station building complete with landscaped grounds on its south east side.
Its canopies and low level platforms are a throwback to another era.
Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, looking north (east). Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.An outbound SEPTA train pauses at Prospect Park. Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.Inbound SEPTA Silverliners IVs approaching Prospect Park.I made this Lumix LX7 view of Prospect Park from the outbound platform in December 2014.
The late Baldwin Locomotive Works was famous for its factory in this Philadelphia suburb.
What may seem hard to believe is that it’s been nearly six decades since Baldwin’s last new locomotive.
On January 11, 2015, Pat Yough and I set up here for a sunset photograph of Amtrak’s Acela Express.
SEPTA Eddystone station sign. January 11, 2015.Amtrak’s Acela Express catches the glint at Eddystone, Pennsylvania.The local fire department had been tending to an incident nearby.
A well-timed visit trackside to the SEPTA station at Torresdale, Pennsylvania allowed for photography of several Amtrak trains on the North East Corridor in rapid succession.
The new ACS-64 ‘City Sprinter’ electrics are become more common and its nice to get them while they are still clean.
Mural on the bridge depicting more pastoral times.Clean Amtrak ACS-64 leads train 91, the Silver Meteor at Torresdale, PA. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.Heritage diner and Viewliners glide along on the Corridor; how much longer will the old cars linger?Amtrak ACS-64 with the Crescent, train 20 blitzes Torresdale, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS7D with 200mm lens. I like the contrast between the new locomotive and the old cars; Amtrak in transition.
I was especially pleased to catch Amtrak’s Silver Meteor with one of the new electrics.
Long ago I noticed that the curve of the line and angle of the winter setting sun at Westport, Connecticut can make for some nice glint light.
It helps to have a very cold day with a clear sky above. New York City produces ample pollution to give the evening light a rosy tint.
Although I’ve found that glint photos tend to look more effective on slide film, I made these digitally. I also exposed a few slides, but we’ll need to wait to see the results.
Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 200, f4.5 at 1/640th of a second. White balance set at daylight. This front lit exposure made for my gauging point for the back lit ‘glint’ photo of the train departing the station. (Below).Here I need to stop down about a full stop from the head on view (above). The metallic sides of the Metro-North multiple unit reflected more light than I initially anticipated and I needed to compensate on the spot by using my in camera meter to gauge the lighting. The trick is not to over do it. If I stopped down too much, I’ll lose shadow detail and the image will appear too dark. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 200, f5.6 at 1//1000th of a second. White balance set at daylight.The front lit sign at Westport made for a good place to make a test exposure. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 200, f4.0 at 1/640th of a second. White balance set at daylight.Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 200, f3.5 at 1/640th of a second. White balance set at daylight. Here I’ve opened up about a third of a stop compared with the original test photo (Westport sign). I changed the aperture setting manually from f4.0 to f3.5 let more light reach the sensor; I was using the camera in ‘M’ mode, which allowed me to set both aperture and shutter speed manually, without the camera making any adjustments. This is important for getting well exposed glint photos.The glinting sides of the old grime coated multiple unit are slightly less reflective than the newer cleaner train. Also the angle of the sun is lower. By fixing the white balance at the daylight setting, I can retain the rosy sunset coloration. If I’d used the auto setting, this would have canceled some of the effect of sunset, and I don’t really want to do that. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 200, f4.0 at 1/640th of a second. White balance set at daylight.
Exposing for glint takes a bit of practice. My general rule of thumb is that the exposure for a front lit photo is approximately the same as glint at the same location. However, if a a reflective surface kicks back the sun, it will be necessary to stop down a little (probably a half to a full stop).
On the afternoon of January 10, 2015, Pat Yough and I set up east of Branford, Connecticut to photograph Shore Line East passenger train 3637 working west toward New Haven on its namesake route.
It was clear and sunny, but exceptionally brisk (it was all of about 15 degrees F) . We braved the temperatures and after a while could hear the characteristic sounds of an EMD 645 diesel. I exposed a series of digital and film images. My favorite is the trailing view passing the old Atlantic Wire Company.
Success! And now time for a bowl of hot chili and an extra large cup of hot tea.
Exposed near Branford, Connecticut on the old New Haven Railroad Shore Line route using a Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens set at f5.6 1/1000th of a second. Exposed near Branford, Connecticut on the old New Haven Railroad Shore Line route using a Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens set at f5.6 1/1000th of a second.
There’s something catchy about certain engine numbers. Norfolk & Western’s streamlined J-Class 4-8-4 611 is world famous.
A few months back I featured Chicago Metra’s 611, which is an EMD F40C diesel-electric.
So how about an electric with the number 611. Here’s one of Amtrak’s shiny new Siemens-built ACS-64 electrics, number 611, with train 161 at Branford, Connecticut.
It was noon at the Shore Line East station on January 10, 2015 when I exposed a rapid sequence of this modern locomotive.
Amtrak 611 leads train 161 westbound at Branford, Connecticut on January 10, 2015.
The tricky part of making the photo was selecting the correct exposure for the window of sun between the overhead bridge and the platform. The sun was bright, but lighting from the side. I made several test photos before the train burst into the scene.
Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens; f4.5 1/1000th of a second, ISO 200.
On January 10, 2015, it was a roasting 15 degrees F when I exposed an image burst with my Canon EOS 7D of the passing Acela Express train 2251 (Boston-Washington DC).
West Haven is a relatively new station on Metro-North. It features easy access from Interstate I-95 (Exit 42) and on weekends offers free parking.
Was able to drive right up to the east end of the station platform.
Amtrak’s Acela Express train 2251 at West Haven. It was cold but clear. Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens. Part of a burst of exposures made with the camera’s motor-drive.Trailing view at West Haven.Metro-North’s West Haven station opened in 2013.
Germany’s Rhein valley is one of my favorite places to make railway photographs. The combination of great scenery, a fantastic variety of locations, the historic architecture, and a continuous parade of freight and passenger trains on both sides of the river make it hard to beat.
And, at the end of the day (in the most literal use of the cliché), the beer is great!
A southward DB freight rumbles along the Rhein. Exposed near Braubach on April 10, 2010 using my Lumix LX3. This photograph require a nominal walk from road level up the footpath seen in the foreground. Somewhere down there is the hired car and some friends from Ireland.
It helps to be at the right place at the right time. Even on the busy Philadelphia-Washington D.C. Northeast Corridor there can be long gaps between trains..
After 20 minutes or half and hour between trains, you might wonder why the line even has four tracks!
And then ever thing seems converge upon you at once.
Pat Yough and I were at Crum Lynne, Pennsylvania on the evening of January 11, 2015. We didn’t spend much time trackside before we had two running meets a few minutes apart.
SEPTA Silverliner Vs pass near Crum Lynne, Pennsylvania. The train on the left is approaching its station stop, while the train on right accelerates toward 30th Street Philadelphia. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 400.The same two trains a few moments later. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 400.Just three minutes after the rolling meet between SEPTA trains on the outside tracks, we witnessed this high-speed meet between Amtrak trains on the inside tracks. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 400.
Was this synchronicity? Or just luck? I don’t know. In the case of the two Amtrak trains both were running a few minutes late, so that was luck. It would have been cool to see all four pass at the same time, but unless we were phenomenally lucky, it is doubtful that such an event would have produced good photos.
On May 7, 1989, I awoke to find more than 6 inches of snow on the ground at Scottsville, New York. The previous day, people had been mowing lawns.
By 11:42 am, I’d caught up with Delaware & Hudson’s DHT-4, a double stack train that was working its way east from Buffalo on Conrail’s former Erie Railroad mainline
At the time New York, Susquehanna & Western was D&H’s designated operator.
NYS&W SD45 3614 (former Burlington Northern) leads Delaware & Hudson DHT-4 on Conrail’s former Erie Railroad mainline to Buffalo near milepost 374 (measured from Jersey City).
More to the point, the late season snow had contributed to a signal failure, and the freight was stopped at red signal near Warsaw, and awaiting instructions from the dispatcher. I made this photograph using my Leica M2 loaded with Kodachrome 25. I had the camera fitted with a Visoflex and 200mm Telyt (which was a combination I was using a lot back then).
Since DHT-4 wasn’t moving, I opted to play around with some non-standard compositions. This slide was in my ‘Seconds box’ (not to be projected to an audience) for 25 years. I also have some more conventional views as well.
I made this selection of images with my old Panasonic Lumix LX3 at the Sao Bento Station in Porto, Portugal on April 5, 2014.
To the untrained eye, the railway station seems to be located in an improbable place in the center of Porto. Tracks arrived via a very old, but highly engineered line, that passes through cuttings, over a shelf along a cliff-side and finally a through long tunnel which opens directly into a classic Victorian-era train shed.
Sao Bento Station in the rain on April 5, 2014.This terminal station sits right at the mouth of a multiple track tunnel. Lumix LX3 photo. Notice the signal tower to the right of the portal.Cast iron columns support a Victorian-era train shed at Sao Bento. Lumix LX3 photo.Inside Sao Bento are elaborate murals that make it among one of Europe’s most intensely decorated stations.Mural detail.Sao Bento Station, Porto. Lumix LX3 photo.
Most intriguing is the highly decorated entrance way and waiting rooms where detailed murals made from painted blue tiles make for pictorial allegories.
Looking back, I’ve found that 1997 was an extraordinarily busy year for me photographically. I spent a lot of time traveling and exposed more than 500 rolls of slide film. That’s a lot of slides
This image was made on one of several of my week-long trips to Pennsylvania. On this day I’d followed the old Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division. The railroad was busy and there were lots of opportunity to make photos.
I exposed this vertical view of a westward Conrail freight near the Spruce Creek tunnels using my N90S with an f1.8 105mm lens.
Exposed at 9:42am on September 23, 1997 on Fujichrome Provia 100F color slide film using an Nikon N90S fitted with a manual focus Nikkor f1.8 105mm lens set at f2 at 1/250th of a second. Scanned with a Epson 600 scanner with contrast and color balance adjusted in post processing.
Here’s some suggestions for better photos on dull days: try to work from locations with elevation and crop the sky (as much as possible). Also, if you pan a little, it helps to set the train/locomotive apart from the background and has the effect of improving depth and minimizing the effect of low contrast lighting.
On a blustery winter morning I find it nice to look through photos made on warm summer afternoons.
In June 2010, I had just bought my Canon EOS 7D DSLR (digital single lens reflex) and made an extended drive around the Midwest to visit friends, gather materials for a book, and test the camera. This went on for several weeks.
On the afternoon of June 24th, I revisited familiar territory along the Mississippi River at Savanna. Not yet fully trusting the digital camera, I exposed a number of slides from the top of the bluff.
A BNSF double stack container train works along the former Burlington main line near Savanna, Illinois. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 100-400mm lens set at 150mm. ISO 200.Trailing view of the same stack train; exposed my new EOS 7D with 400mm lens set at 235mm. ISO 200.
I made this pair of images from river level of an eastward BNSF double stack was headed toward Chicago.
Of the two, I much prefer the second photo. For me this better portrays the railroad in its environment with a variety of secondary subjects to add interest.
And, just in case you’re wondering: no I did not drop the filter in the puddle.
Early Spring can be an interesting time to make photos in New England. Warmer days and melting snow can result in a muddy sloppy mess, especially around railroad yards. However, the days are longer and the trees are still without leaves, so it can be a good time to explore.
On March 8, 1987, my friends and I visited Boston & Maine’s Lawrence Yard in the northeast corner of Massachusetts. Honestly, this can be an ugly place even on the nicest days.
I found this Boston & Maine GP9 and made several images. At the time, a blue and white B&M GP9 seemed like a fairly prosaic piece of equipment. Yet, I decided to make the most what I had to work with.
Using my father’s Rollei Model T with super-slide (645 size) insert, I exposed this view by holding the camera sideways. The puddle in the yard allowed for a nice reflection. To compensate for the inaccurate tonal rendition of blue by my choice of black & white film, I used an yellow filter. This allowed for superior tonality in the sky and placed the B&M shade of blue more in line with its expected black & white tonality. Without the filter B&M blue tended to appear too light.
Exposed on 120 black & white film using a Rolleiflex Model T with 75mm Zeiss Tessar lens. To compensate for the light absorbed by the filter I increased my exposure by about 1 and 1/3 stops (in other words let more light reach the film). If I didn’t manually compensate for the filter, the negative would have been ‘under exposed’ in other words too light, and thus the print (or in this case the scanned positive) would appear too dark. More specifically there would be an unacceptable loss of shadow detail.
Now, nearly 28 years later, a few old B&M GP9s are still working for Pan Am Railways. I saw one the other day dressed in Maine Central green and gold as the ‘Maine Central heritage locomotive.’
After WinterRail 1997, Mel Patrick, John Gruber and I spent a day photographing the Amador Central, a short line that was rumored to be making one of its final revenue runs.
Amador Central number 11 works a short freight in March 1997.
I exposed this Kodachrome 25 slide using my Nikon F3T. It was a clear Spring day in the Sierra foothills and a nice time to be outside making photographs. For me K25 and California sun were always a winning combination.
I made this square-format black & white photograph on the morning of November 6, 1988 using my father’s old Rollei Model T.
Conrail C30-7A 6595 leads ELOI eastbound along the Allegheny River west of Allegany, New York at 11:58am on November 6, 1988. Exposed on ISO 400 Kodak Tri-X with a Rollei Model T with 75mm Zeiss Tessar, f5.6 1/250th of a second.
At the time, I was traveling with Pete Swanson in his 1980s-era Renault Encore. We’d driven down from the Rochester area, and at 11:11 am we intercepted Conrail’s ELOI (Elkhart, Indiana to Oak Island freight) working east on the former Erie Railroad mainline west of Salamanca.
Track conditions made this a fairly easy chase, and we made several images around Salamanca, New York.
A few weeks earlier, I’d made some photo copies of USGS topo maps for the Salamanca area, and on a previous trip scoped out this location, located between Carrollton and Allegany, New York.
Although only a short distance from old highway 17 (at that time I don’t think the grade separate Route 17 had been completed), this location require a little fore-knowledge as it wasn’t obvious from the road.
Conrail had recently performed some work along this section of old Erie route which opened up photo locations such as this one. Today, the line is operated by the Western New York & Pennsylvania.
A tightly cropped portion of the above photo. I scanned my old negatives using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner.
I thought it would be nice to take a look back at summer; warm, green and sunny!
Norfolk Southern M3T plies the old Erie Railroad near Portageville, New York on August 20, 2010. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens at ISO 200, f6.3 1/800th of a second. Auto white balance.
I exposed this photograph near Portageville, New York on August 20, 2010. A Norfolk Southern SD60M was working an extra eastward freight symbol M3T on the former Erie Railroad.
Tracking the Light posts daily!
Tomorrow, a look back along the Erie route to 1988.
The other day I was at the old ‘waste too much film’ bridge at Pan Am’s East Deerfield Yard near Greenfield, Massachusetts. An eastward freight was about to proceed into the yard when a hawk landed atop the code lines.
This tightly cropped image was made from the in-camera jpg. If nothing else, I know that my 200mm lens is sharp at f11! That’s something, anyway.
Here was an opportunity for an interesting image of the bird and a train in the distance. My intention was make a visual juxtaposition between the two subjects. An interesting concept, but one fraught with technical difficulties.
I faced several problems. The bird was too distant to make for a substantial subject using my longest lens. Furthermore there was too great a distance between the bird and the train to allow both to be in relative focus when using my 200mm telephoto lens. (An even longer lens would have acerbated this problem).
To allow for greater depth of field (relative focus) I upped the ISO on my Canon 7D to 800, which allowed me to set a smaller aperture (f11).
This doesn’t really work, does it? It’s neither a great shot of the hawk nor an acceptable image of the train. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. ISO 800 f11 at 1/250th of a second handheld.
The larger f-number indicates a smaller aperture opening, while this lets in less light to sensor, it increases the depth of field (thus my need to increase the ISO to allow using a relative quick shutter speed to minimize camera shake). Often when photographing trains I want to use a smaller f-number to help offset the train from the background, but not in this case.
Also, some clouds obscured the sun. This had the dual unfortunate effects of flattening the light and allowing the bird blend into its background, while reducing the amount light on the scene to make an already difficult exposure more problematic.
There were several other problems. Most notably was the effect of the under-growth along the code lines that visually obscured the locomotives in the distance. If I moved to the left to get around the brush, the bird and train no longer had a workable juxtaposition.
Ideally, If I could have been about 10-15 feet higher, I might have been able to make this concept work, but there was no way to gain elevation. In this case I simply exposed the photo with the brush and hoped for the best.
Another difficulty was getting the bird to cooperate. I’m not fluent in Hawkese. But I wanted the bird to turn its head, otherwise it might just seem like a feathered blob, so I made some ‘tsking’ sounds to attract its attention.
Then the locomotive engineer throttled up and the dull roar of dual EMD 16-645E3 diesels startled the bird (or otherwise annoyed it) and it flew away. In the meantime I repositioned to make a series of more conventional photos of the freight train.
On the plus side, as the freight approached, the sun came out making for some photographic possibilities. The train was moving slowly, allowing me to change lenses and exposed a sequence of both digital and film photographs.
Pam Am 352 acclerates toward East Deerfield Yard with a heavy freight. As the train approached the sun came out. Yea! Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.I made this tighter view, while intentionally offsetting the freight to feature the old searchlight style signal on the left. These old signals are rapidly being replaced with modern hardware. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.As the train got closer, I swapped lenses between my EOS 3 (loaded with Provia 100F) and my EOS 7D digital camera. I made this view digitally with the 7D and 100mm lens. Where’s the bird now?
We’ve all seen photos of the French TGV, and the German ICE. Yet, Spain also operates a high-speed railway network. While it’s AVE system uses the European gauge, its rarely photographed Euromed rolls along on Iberian broad gauge tracks.
Back in September 2001, I was traveling in eastern Spain with Denis McCabe and we made a project of seeking out this curious and elusive speedster.
Exposed on Fujichrome Sensia 100 using a Nikon F3T with 180mm lens.
I made this image of the Euromed westbound at Sagunt, where it was overtaking a local all-stops train. Before I made photographs of the EuroMed, I’d never before seen an image of the train in print. Even today I’d argue it is Europe’s least photographed high-speed train! Any wagers?
Pennsylvania Railroad’s chief signal engineer A.H. Rudd developed the position light signal during the World War I years and the railroad refined the type into its classic form in the 1920s. There after, the railroad installed large numbers of this unusual type of signal along its lines.
While in recent years this type of hardware has fallen out of favor, or been adapted into a form of colored position light, there are a few places where classic PRR-style position lights survive.
The former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line west of Philadelphia is one of the last bastions for these traditional signals.
In December, Pat Yough and I spent several evenings photographing the old PRR position lights at work.
Pennsylvania Railroad Position Light signal at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Time exposure made with a Canon EOS 7D 100mm lens mounted firmly on a Bogen tripod. ISO400 f4 at 3.2 seconds.
Approach.Proceed.
I made this sequence of images near the now-closed tower at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Interested in learning more about signals? My book, Railroad Signaling is available from Voyageur Press. My new book, Classic Railroad Signals is anticipated for publication later this year.
In January 1980, I made my first photographs of Amtrak AEM-7s. They were then brand new. I didn’t much care for them then because the represented the end for my favorite GG1s. Nothing lasts forever, and now Amtrak AEM-7s are rolling off their final miles.
I made this photo of Amtrak 945 at South Station last year on the day before the first official run of Amtrak ACS-64 number 600. The new ACS-64 are locomotives that will ultimately supplant the AEM-7s on the North East Corridor.
Amtrak AEM-7 945 at South Station, Boston. Exposed on Fuji Acros 100 black & white film using a Leica M3 with 21mm Super Angulon. Processed in Kodak HC110.
And what of my first AEM-7 photos? I processed my film using oxidized Microdol-X and the negatives were exceptionally thin. (under processed). Perhaps, if I can locate them, I can fix them in post-processing, but that’s a project for another day.
A Chicago, South Shore & South Bend electric races east away from the setting sun in October 1994. Exposed on Fujichrome using a Nikkormat FTN with 28mm lens.
Tracking the Light presents three photos: a Classic station and a short freight.
Pat Yough and I arrived at the grade crossing in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania just as the gates came down. Lucky me! My goal was to photograph the old Reading Company station for a new book I’m putting together. This was a bonus.
I’d only just arrived in Tamaqua a few minutes before exposing this image. I’d never before been to this Pennsylvania town, so when the gates came down, it was a matter of jumping out and looking around as the train approached. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.
Acting quickly, I positioned myself for a few images. Since, I’d never been to Tamaqua before, I didn’t have much time to find photographic angles. Luckily the train stopped, which gave us time to expose a few more photos.
Puddles make for great reflective tools! Reading & Northern local freight at Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.I positioned Pat Yough’s X-T1 on a tripod and waited for dusk—one of my favorite times to photograph old railway stations. Tamaqua’s classic Italianate style structure was decorated for the season. Daylight white balance.
After the short freight departed we waited for dusk to make night shots of the station, which was my original plan.
Here’s a diverse selection of images: December 29, 2014 saw the first public operation of Amtrak’s Vermonter on the traditional Connecticut River Line via Northampton and Greenfield, Massachusetts.
The trains were totally sold out in both directions. I made a host of digital photos and color slides of the event.
New signal near the Greenfield Station displays ‘stop.’The railway platform at Greenfield is adjacent to its new centralized bus terminal. This 29 seat bus was heading for Millersfalls. Lumix LX7.Large crowds of passengers, fans, and politicians gathered at Greenfield to witness the first revenue Amtrak train to stop on the Knowledge Corridor route. Lumix LX7 Photo.Amtrak number 55 approaches Greenfield. Canon EOS 7D.Lumix LX7 photo.No passengers will be left behind, ‘All aboard!’. Lumix LX7 photo.Amtrak 55 on the platform at Springfield, Massachusetts. Lumix LX7 photo.Northward Vermonter approaching Springfield Station. It’s unusual to see this train doubleheaded. Lumix LX7.View from train 56 at Springfield Station. Lumix LX7 photo.Greenfield greets the northward Vermonter, train 56. Lumix LX7 photo.The high ISO setting on my Canon EOS 7D proved useful. Greenfield at dusk. Train 56 making its first ever station stop.Amtrak’s Vermonter departs Greenfield for Brattleboro and points north. Amtrak’s daily Vermonter (Washington DC to St. Albans, Vermont) will now call at Greenfield 7 days a week. Lumix LX7 photo.I made this pan photo at ISO 1000 at f2.8 1/8th of second using my Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens. Amtrak 10004 offers an exceptional view of the line for officials, railroad officers and special guests.
From Monday forward, the Vermonter will serve this more direct route, thus ending 25 years of passenger service on the Central Vermont/New England Central line via Amherst, Massachusetts. Back in July 1989, I made photos of the first Montrealer arriving in Amherst. Both days were historic, and preserved for posterity.
I was not alone; lots of cameras whirred away trackside!
Today (December 29, 2014) was Amtrak’s first day of public operation on the new ‘Knowledge Corridor’ (B&M Conn River Line to traditionalists). The train was sold out in both directions and hundreds of people came out to watch history in the making.
I had the opportunity to make a round trip on the line from Greenfield to Springfield. I met lots of old friends and met many new faces! Although I’m sad to see the train off the old Central Vermont route, I’m equally happy to be able to ride over the B&M Conn River once again!
This is just a preview of a photographically intense afternoon. (More to follow, soon!)
The double headed northward Vermonter arrives at Springfield just after 3pm. Lumix LX7 photo.Amtrak 56, the northward Vermonter, makes its very first station stop at Greenfield, Massachusetts on December 29, 2014. The new station platform was build specially to accommodate the Vermonter. Lumix LX7 photo.
On December 17, 2014, I rode the Vermonter to Amherst. This gave me the opportunity to scope the line for photo locations. Although I’ve traveled this route on various occasions, I wanted one last look at it from an Amtrak train before service is moved to the ‘Knowledge Corridor’ at the end of this month.
North of Barretts is Canal Junction, a little known location where the Boston & Maine’s Central Massachusetts line once joined the Central Vermont route. Originally, B&M had its own line that ran parallel to CVs and this old right of way is now a cycle path.
The old Boston & Maine line through Belchertown was abandoned in the 1930s in favor of trackage rights over the parallel Central Vermont. Today the old right of way is a bicycle path. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.
North of the Old Springfield Road grade crossing, I noticed a swampy clearing that looked like a good place for a photo. So, on December 19th, my dad and I investigated this location.
Earlier in the day we had photographed a Knowledge Corridor test run (covered in an earlier post), and I thought this would make an ideal opportunity to capture Amtrak moves on both lines on the same day.
We arrived at Old Springfield Road, and walked a short distance on the old B&M right of way. I’d gone back to the car to retrieve a lens and make a phone call, when I heard what sounded like a heavy freight coming.
Hark! I think I hear a freight. Richard Jay Solomon has his Lumix LX7 on a Gitzo tripod. We a standing on the old B&M line. There’s little chance we’ll get run over by a 4-4-0 sprinting for Northampton. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens.
Sure enough it was! New England Central’s southward manifest freight from Brattleboro to Palmer had stalled climbing Belchertown Hill, and had just got moving again. Amtrak was only a few miles behind.
New England Central’s southward freight on December 19, 2014. Lumix LX7 Photo.Just a few miles behind the freight was Amtrak’s southward Vermonter. We’d gone out for the Vermonter, and lucked into the delayed freight train. This was especially fortuitous because we’d stopped for lunch at Amherst on the way to this ‘new’ location. Lumix LX7 photo.
We caught the freight, and about 10-15 minutes later got Amtrak train 55 (southward Vermonter), then proceeded to Three Rivers where we caught the Vermonter a second time.
It was a comparatively busy morning in early October 2014. I’d taken the LUAS Red Line tram to Spencer Dock and walked over to the East Road Bridge. I was joined shortly by fellow photographers, Colm O’Callaghan and John Cleary.
Dublin’s Red Line LUAS at Spencer Dock in October 2014. Exposed with my Lumix LX7. In this view, I’m looking back toward what once had been Irish Rail’s freight yards, although there’s no trace of them today. Celtic Tiger era glass boxes sit on property that once held railway tracks.
It’s been more than a decade since Irish Rail rationalized their freight yards at Dublin’s North Wall. Much of the site is unrecognizable compared with former times. Modern Celtic tiger-era multistory housing blocks occupy the space once used by freights.
Yet, the old Graneries yard remains, and if you’ re at the North Wall at the right time, Irish Rail may still entertain you with a few trains.
On this October day, Irish Rail 074 arrived in with a permanent way spoil train. This was the real prize for me. Although I’d seen spoil trains, I’d not properly photographed on the move, so to catch one in full sun made me pretty happy.
Irish Rail 074 is a vintage 1970s-era 071 diesel. Nice to catch it in the sun with a spoil train as viewed from Dublin’s East Road Bridge. Lumix LX7 phtoto.Trailing view of the spoil train at the Granaries Yard. This is one of Irish Rail’s most elusive trains. It takes more than just luck to catch it. LX7 Photo.Locomotive 074 shunts its train. The old Church Road signal cabin was still open at the time of this photo. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.
The icing on the cake came a little while later, when 088 (now officially 0117088 with the European numbering) arrived with the laden Tara Mines zinc ore train. Pretty good for the time invested!
A laden Tara Mines train arrives at the North Wall. This will continue into Dublin port on street trackage on the Alexandra Road. Canon EOS 7D photo.
Many times I’ve photographed Amtrak’s Vermonter in Palmer; so here are some recent photographs of Palmer as seen from the train. I thought one last ride on this ‘temporary routing’ would be in order.
Keep in mind the Vermonter operated via Palmer for just under 20 years; a span of time only slightly less than the famous Burlington-Rio Grande-Western Pacific California Zephyr on its run from Chicago to Oakland. The two trains had virtually no commonality except the span of time operated.
The view of the Palmer Diamond looking south from Amtrak train 56 as it arrives in Palmer on December 17, 2014.CSX CP83 at Palmer as seen from Amtrak 56 as it used the connection to the New England Central. On the right is the Steaming Tender Restaurant, Palmer’s old Union Station. Lumix LX7 photo.A former Southern Pacific SD40T-2 ‘Tunnel Motor’ in Genesee & Wyoming family paint crosses the Palmer diamond as Amtrak 56 glides northward on to the New England Central mainline. Every day for the last 19+ years, Amtrak’s Vermonter has reversed direction at Palmer to go from the east-west former Boston & Albany mainline to the former Central Vermont line. Lumix LX7.Back in the 1990s, I’d never have guessed that a locomotive I’d photographed crossing Donner Pass would be crossing the Palmer diamonds! When the Vermonter began its operation in 1995, SP was still a railroad (as was Santa Fe, Burlington Northern, Chicago & North Western, Illinois Central, Wisconsin Central Limited, and many others swept away by merger).Amtrak’s southward Vermonter, train 55, photographed at Palmer on December 19, 2014. Soon this train will be taking a more direct route over the ‘Knowledge Corridor’ via Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield. Lumix LX7
The Vermonter’s route via Palmer and Amherst is in its final days. See the following previous posts for details:
Way back in August 1980, my father, brother Sean and I visited Philadelphia and stayed in a hotel near the 36th Street portal for SEPTA’s number 10 surface-subway streetcar. Today this is the Sheraton Hotel, I can’t remember what it was back then.
So, on a hot summer’s afternoon, I was on the corner of 36th and Market Street and exposed a Kodachrome slide of an outbound PCC working the number 10 route. PCC’s were my favorite types of streetcars, and I was glad to have caught one on film.
I sent the Kodachrome to Fairlawn, New Jersey. The slides came back in a yellow cardboard box. I labeled this one ‘SEPTA PCC’ and filed it away. Later, trailing views of PCC’s didn’t make my “A-list,” and so for many years I left the photograph un-attended and un-projected.
Back in August 1980, a 13 year old tourist snapped this view of a SEPTA PCC working the number 10 streetcar line. Exposed on Kodachrome 64 slide film with a Leica 3A with 50mm Summitar Lens.
Moving forward: In 1997, Sean moved to Philadelphia. And, during the last 34 years the area along the Route 10 streetcar line has evolved. In early November 2014, while searching for something else, I came across the old slide, which I scanned with my Epson V600 scanner. What was once mundane, now seemed historic.
In mid-December, Sean and I revisited 36th Street. While, I’ve taken the trolley in recent years, this was the first time since 1980 that I made photographs at this location.
I still have the old Leica, but Kodachrome has gone the way of the Dodo.
Perhaps next summer, we’ll go back to the exact spot and make a proper ‘now and then’ image in the right light.
On the evening of December 15, 2014, a SEPTA streetcar turns the corner onto 36th Street. This view is about one block south of the location where I made my August 1980 color slide (above) Lumix LX7 photo.On the evening of December 15, 2014, a SEPTA streetcar navigates 36th Street. Lumix LX7 photo.An in-bound SEPTA streetcar catches the sun as it turns onto 36th Street. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.An in-bound SEPTA on 36th Street. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.
Santa Trains at Minersville; a Reading revival, 12 photos for Christmas!
Ho ho ho, Minersville! Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.Central Railroad of New Jersey 113 exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.
On December 14, 2014, Reading & Northern 425 teamed up with recently restored Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 113 to work R&N Santa Trains between Minersville and Cressona, Pennsylvania.
Pat Yough and I made the effort to visit, and were rewarded with some dramatic action. I used this as a further opportunity to experiment with the Fuji X-T1.
CNJ 113 cylinder head detail. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.CNJ 113 plates, exposed with Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.Reading & Northern 425 and CNJ 113 doublehead passed the old Reading Company station at Cressona, Pennsylvania. I’ve intentionally clipped the pilot of 425 with the station to create visual tension. (I made several photos with the more conventional framing, but I don’t find those as interesting to look at.) Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.Cressona, Pennsylvania. Exposed with Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.R&N 425 and CNJ 113 at work. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Santa Train at Minersville, Pennsylvania. Exposed with Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Central Railroad of New Jersey 113 back across the road at Minersville. R&N’s policeman did a great job of directing traffic. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Detail view of Reading & Northern 425’s crosshead. Exposed with a Lumix LX7.Merry Christmas!
Tracking the Light Presents a classic railway station.
Exposed with a Panasonic Lumix LX7 in December 2014. Daylight white balance at dusk.
New Hope & Ivyland’s station at New Hope, Pennsylvania at the end of a former Reading Company branch; I exposed this view as part of sequence for a book on railway stations that I’m working on for Voyageur Press.
On Saturday December 13, 2014, Pat Yough and I made a pilgrimage to Port Clinton, Pennsylvania to photograph Reading & Northern 425 working Christmas specials.
I’ve found that one of the best times to photograph steam at work is on cold days. This makes for spectacular shows of effluence from the locomotive.
So, do you expose for the steam or the steam locomotive?
Reading & Northern 425 made a stunning display of steam at Port Clinton on December 13, 2014. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.Blue Pacific Under Steam: R&N 425 at Port Clinton, exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.Running gear; valve gear and drivers. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.On the dead-head run from Port Clinton to Schuylkill Haven, R&N operated an SD40-2 ahead of the Pacific. The SD40-2 was removed for the revenue passenger trips. Personally, I can’t complain about photographing an old SD40-2, and honestly I’d rather see a diesel leading that hiding behind the steam locomotive as ‘protection power’. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.I made this view at Landingville with Pat Yough’s Fuji X-T1. Now, this would be an ideal camera to photograph an extra move with R&N’s ex-Reading 4-8-4 number 2102!Reading & Northern 425 approaches Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania on the old Reading Company line. Exposed using a Canon 7D with 200mm lens.Reading & Northern 425 pauses at the old station in Schuylkill Haven. Lumix LX7 photo.Crossing the Schuylkill River near Landingville, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.The old Pennsylvania Railroad crossed the Reading on a truss span near Auburn, Pennsylvania. More than 35 years have passed since a train last used the old PRR. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.There are not many places in North America where you can photograph a steam locomotive working upgrade at speed unassisted. (Where’s that SD40-2 now?). Canon EOS 7D.Reading & Northern 425 near Auburn, Pennsylvania. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.
Amtrak Extra and Pan Am’s Office Cars on the Move.
8 digital photos and more!
Today, in preparation for the opening of the Knowledge Corridor next week, special trains converged on Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Amtrak’s special was ahead of schedule departing Holyoke with officials on board. Lumix LX7 photo. (You’ll need to be patient to see the color slide exposed here.)
Paul Goewey and I intercepted the northward Amtrak special at Holyoke—where we made use of a location recently opened up by brush clearing in conjunction with work on the line.
Amtrak’s special crosses the Deerfield River on the Cheapside Bridge. Back in the day there was a canal harbor near here. Lumix LX7 photo, December 22, 2014.Pan Am’s Office Car train with F-unit at Greenfield, Massachusetts on December 22, 2014. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.A convergence of passenger trains at Greenfield. Soon, Amtrak will call here everyday! Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.
We followed the train northward. Pan Am posed its Office Car train, complete with vintage F-unit at Greenfield.
Later, we waited patiently at East Deerfield Yard to catch the Pan Am train reversing back. This was my first opportunity to catch one Pan Am F-units on the move.
It wasn’t the brightest day for photography, but we made the best of it with digital cameras. (And I exposed a few slides for posterity!)
Nose to nose at Greenfield. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.An added bonus were these two Pan Am locomotives at East Deerfield Yard.Pan Am’s Office Cars reverse toward East Deerfield in the fading light of evening. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.Pan photo of PAR-1 at East Deerfield. Lumix LX7 photo.
In the last few months, I’ve sampled several mirror-less cameras. I played with a Panasonic Lumix LX7, and bought one. Thanks to Eric Rosenthal, I put a brand new Lumix LX100 through its paces. Thanks to Pat Yough, I’ve experimented with both the Fuji X-E2 and X-T1.
The new Panasonic Lumix LX100. Exposed using my Lumix LX7. I played around by comparing the two cameras.
Where the Lumix LX7 and LX100 both use a permanently attached zoom lenses, the Fuji X-E2 and X-T1 use Fuji interchangeable lenses.
Fuji X-E2 fitted with 18-55mm lens exposed with a Lumix LX7.Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm zoom lens. Traditional manual controls such as those on the X-T1 are an important consideration for me. I want camera operation to be intuitive so I can make necessary adjustments as the action is unfolding without fighting with the equipment. The X-T1’s digital viewfinder is another important feature that gives this camera an edge over similar models.
I view these types cameras as augmenting one another rather than competing for space on my roster of equipment.
To make an analogy, back in the 1950s when a railroad dieselized, it often bought different types of locomotives for various assigned services.
For me the Panasonic Lumix LX7 is like a 1,000hp switcher; the LX100 is a 1,350hp switcher with road trucks; but the two Fuji’s are like 1,600 hp road switchers—jacks of all trades—with enough power to work heavy road trains in tandem with other equipment.
Low sun on the former Reading Company station at West Trenton, New Jersey made for an ideal subject to test the Fuji X-E2. This gave me an opportunity to try various focus and metering modes without the pressure imposed by trying to work with a moving subject. Fuji X-E2 with 18-55mm lens.West Trenton with Fuji X-E2 with 18-55mm lens. The exceptional sharpness of Fuji’s lenses is a real selling point. Also, the color palate reminds me of Kodachrome exposed with Leica lenses (how’s that for ironic!).Detail of the West Trenton station exposed with the Fuji X-E2 with 55-200mm zoom. This is a very sharp lens, but I found that in some lighting situations the auto focus didn’t work. Autofocus was particularly ineffective when the subject was back lit. I did not experience this focus problem with the 18-55mm zoom.
My goal is to supplement my Canon EOS7D and/or replace it when traveling without a car.
As regular viewers of Tracking the Light are aware, I often travel on public transport (trains, trams, planes & whatnot). When I travel, I carry my cameras plus a laptop in a backpack. Every ounce counts. Since my Canon’s are relatively heavy, I’ve been looking for a lighter option.
I’ve determined that the Fuji mirror-less cameras will allow me to significantly reduce the weight in my bag, while simultaneously upgrade to a new generation of equipment.
I like the Fuji lenses because they are exceptionally sharp and offer a very desirable color palate.
A SEPTA Silverliner V has paused for its inbound station stop at West Trenton. Here back lighting didn’t pose a focus issue when using the 18-55mm lens with the X-E2.Here’s a similar view that I exposed with my Lumix LX7. My familiarity with the Lumix makes this camera easy to use. Which is the better photo? Which was easier to make?I was still trying to find my way through the menus on the Fuji X-E2 when this CSX unit oil train approached West Trenton. One of the advantages of the X-E2 is the ability to adjust the auto focus point. However, this feature was of no use to me because I couldn’t find the control for it fast enough. Instead I grabbed my Lumix LX7 and exposed this photo. Again, familiarity can make the difference between making a photo or not.Fuji’s cameras offer exceptional results at higher ISO ratings. The light was pretty dim when I photographed this CSX mixed freight rolling through West Trenton. I’d bumped the ISO up to 3200 and exposed this image using the 18-55mm lens set at 22.3mm; f3.2 at 1/160th of a second. I’ve sacrificed color saturation for speed. Also, in retrospect I’d had made this image about 1/3 of stop darker, but that’s not a big problem. Fuji X-E2 with 18-55mm lens.I’ve cropped in tight an enlarged the above image so that you can inspect it for sharpness and motion blur. Keep in mind this was exposed at 3200 ISO and the train was moving at about 15-20mph. Fuji X-E2 image enlarged.SEPTA in the snow at Glenside, Pennsylvania. The Fuji cameras are fantastic tools for night photography. ISO 2000 1/15th of a second with Fuji X-E2 with 27mm pancake lens.SEPTA at Glenside. Handheld with a Fuji X-E2 fitted with 27mm pancake lens. ISO 6400 f2.8 at 1/20 of a second. Exposed in aperture priority mode.
Of the two Fuji cameras, I’ve come to favor the X-T1 over the X-E2. Both camera’s use the same lenses, and while the X-E2 is slightly lighter, I found the X-T1 easier to use. It has a superior digital viewfinder. (Also it seemed to have a superior auto focus system, but I can’t confirm that.) Both are excellent cameras, but Given a choice of the two, I’d reach for the X-T1.
Another potential benefit of the Fuji system is that I can buy lens adaptors that will allow me to use both my older Nikon and Leica lenses with the Fuji digital cameras. This will offer a level of redundancy when I choose to bring a film body. If I carry my old Nikon F3, I’ll be able to take advance of the Nikon lenses in event of a Fuji lens failure or if the Nikon glass offers a pictorial advantage.
Fuji’s X-T1 is a compact and versatile camera. I exposed this image of Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 number 113 using the X-T1 with 18-55mm zoom lens. The camera’s meter and sensor offered broad tonality and contrast. I did not manipulate or adjust this image in post processing, except for necessary scaling for internet presentation.Steam action frozen with a Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm zoom lens. I exposed this view at Cressona, Pennsylvania on December 14, 2014.Auto focus can be a boon, but it can also pose its own fair share of difficulties. Both the Fuji X-E2 and X-T1 allow you to adjust the focus point. Familiarity with the camera’s layers of menus is necessary. In this case I went for the center point option as a default. If I buy a X-T1, I’ll spend some time reviewing the manual! Among the features of the Fuji cameras is the ability to select color profiles comparable to Fuji slide films. As a long-time Fuji slide shooter, I consider this to be a really good thing! This image was made with the X-T1 in ‘Velvia’ mode, handheld at ISO400 with the 18-55mm lens at 1/8th of a second. The lens has a built in image-stabilization system which allows for greater sharpness without a tripod at slow shutter speeds. This image was exposed at Prospect Park, Pennsylvania just after sunset, one of my favorite times of the day. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Another view at Prospect park with the X-T1.
I’ll still plan to carry the LX7 as my ‘everywhere camera’, and I may someday upgrade to the LX100. My Canons will also remain active. Regarding my steam fleet (that would be my film cameras), YES, these will all remain active too—although they see less service now than they did back in the day. Each tool has its place.
