Tag Archives: #252

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Maine Central 252 at 3rd Iron; Snow and 75F!

Last week, after a season of heavy snow in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, a mid-April heatwave hit the area.

Although it was 75 degrees F, I was standing in about 18 inches of crusty icy snow near the 3rd Iron Truss over the Saco River. I was here that I photographed Conway Scenic’s Work Extra climbing toward Sawyer River behind former Maine Central GP38 252.

The train was hauling felled trees collected along the line up to a location near Rt 302 where they will be recycled.

Bright Spring sun with leafless trees and snow on the ground certainly made for some unusual lighting conditions.

Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series lens; set at 200mm. f5.6 1/1640, ISO 100.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series lens, set to 24mm, f8 at 1/200th sec, ISO 100.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series lens, set to 24mm, f8 at 1/250th sec, ISO 100.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series lens; set to 24mm, f8 at 1/160th sec, ISO 100.

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Unexpected Surprise.

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The other day I was scanning some vintage Guilford photos from my 1980s and 1990s file.

This photo came up in the rotation.

Photographer Mike Gardner and I had spent a productive May 1997 day photographing Guilford trains on former Boston & Maine lines.

Toward the end of the day, we caught EDLA (East Deerfield to Lawrence, Massachusetts) working eastbound upgrade near Farley, Massachusetts (east of Millers Falls).

I was working with my N90S fitted with an 80-200 Nikon zoom.

I remember the day well! But when I scanned the slide, I had an unexpected surprise.

Initially, when I saw the lead locomotive, I thought it was Guilford’s 352, a GP40 that has often worked out of East Deerfield Yard. It was only on second inspection that I notice what this engine’s true identity . . .

It was 252! Former Maine Central 252. In other words, Conway Scenic’s locomotive which I see everyday and have hundreds of photos working in New Hampshire.

Wow, that’s kind of cool, to suddenly find a vintage photo I made of this now familiar GP38, back when it was a common freight hauler and not a darling of the tourist trade.

June 27, 2020 at North Conway.

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Class Lamp Up Close—Maine Central 252

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Yesterday I took a spin on the train to Conway. I made this view with my Lumix LX7 as I boarded the locomotive on the return trip.

Former Maine Central GP38 252 has been working Conway Scenic’s Valley Trains between North Conway and Conway, and to Bartlett for the last couple of weeks.

Historically classification lamps were used as part of the system of timetable and train order rules, where lights of different colors were part of a hierarchy that defined the superiority of trains.

Conway scenic still uses these rules, with extra trains flying white flags by day and displaying white lamps by night.

At the moment all of our trains are operated under timetable and train order rules as ‘extras’.

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In the Shadow of Mount Washington.

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For viewers on Facebook, you’ll need to click the link to Tracking the Light to get the view of the mountain.

Last night in the fading glow of a summer’s evening, Conway Scenic’s Adam Bartley and I made video and still of photos of the railroad’s Dinner train that was out on a demonstration run.

Adam worked the company video camera, while I used my Lumix, Fuji, Canon and Nikon cameras to make film and digital photographs.

Our final set for the evening was looking west at Intervale, where we caught the returning train led by former Maine Central 252, a classic GP38 and veteran locomotive on the line. I set my photograph to capture Mount Washington, New England’s tallest peak, looming large above the train.

These images were exposed using my Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. RAW files were adjusted for contrast, exposure, color balance and color saturation in post processing using Lightroom.

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