Madison, Connecticut: until June 2016, I’d never made a photo there in my life, and as it turns out I was there twice inside of a week.
This isn’t really a coincidence; having scoped the location on June 7th, I returned a few days later to make the most of light on the long days.
I exposed these views from the Shore Line East station of Amtrak’s westward (southward) Acela train 2173 flying along the former New Haven Railroad Shoreline route.
For this angle, I employed my FujiFilm X-T1 fitted with a Zeiss 12mm Tuoit and a graduated neutral density filter (to retain sky detail). My shutter speed was 1/1000th of a second.
I had the motor drive set on ‘CH’ (continuous high), a setting I descriptively call ‘turbo flutter.’ This automatically exposes a burst of images in rapid succession.
Normally there’s only nominal differences between the frames, but in this situation the train’s rapid motion combined with my super-wide angle perspective resulted in considerable changes in the relative placement of the head-end.
Amtrak Acela 2173 at Madison, Connecticut.Amtrak Acela 2173 at Madison, Connecticut.Amtrak Acela 2173 at Madison, Connecticut.
Also, as it turns out, 1/1000th isn’t fast enough to stop the action. Maybe next time I’ll try 1/2000th.
Reporting live from Amtrak train 54, The Vermonter, on June 27, 2015. During our engine change at New Haven—electric locomotive 914 was replaced with Genesis diesel 102—I made photos of Amtrak’s Boston-Washington Acela Express, train 2253 arriving at New Haven.
No engine change needed for the Acela express! The total elapsed time on the platform was just two minutes.
Amtrak Acela Express, train 2235, with power car 2006 at New Haven. Lumix LX7 photo.Broadside of the Acela Express at New Haven.Amtrak Acela Express, train 2253, at New Haven. Lumix LX7 photo.Old Amtrak AEM-7 914 heads for New Haven motor storage. A few weeks ago sister locomotive, Amtrak 915 was sent to Strasburg, Pennsylvania for preservation. How much longer will the old AEM-7s work? Lumix LX7 photo.Vermonter passengers watch the New Haven engine change.
Imagine the time savings for the Vermonter if it ran with a dual-mode diesel-electric—electric, such as the Bombardier locomotives used by NJ Transit!
Photos exposed with my Lumix LX7.
Tracking the Light post new material every single day!
Friday nights trackside represents a tradition going back more than three decades. Back in the day, Bob Buck would hold court at his Tucker’s Hobbies in Warren, Massachusetts, then we’d head down to Palmer for dinner and afterwards convene at the old railroad station to watch trains pass in the night.
I’d make photographs.
A group of us have maintained the tradition and still meet in Palmer some Fridays. However, a few weeks back Rich Reed offered a suggestion, “Lets do something different. How about we meet in Worcester, and I’ll drive everyone to Mansfield where we can watch the Acela blast by at 150mph.”
We opted for one of the long days of June, and proceeded to plan.
Mansfield, Massachusetts has a long history with the railroad. This mural features a classic 4-4-0. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.Nearing its top speed Amtrak’s Acela Express, train 2166, races toward Boston. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera. Shutter set at 1/1000th of second.Panoramic composite of the MBTA station at Mansfield, Massachusetts. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.
As we all recalled later on, even this idea had originated with Bob Buck. Back in the 1980s, Bob would take a summer evening and drive a group of us to the old New Haven Shoreline route.
Sometimes Bob would bring us to Readville, other times Mansfield, or Attleboro. We’d variously meet with locals, including Dave Clinton and Bob Karambelas, who’d show us new locations and share railway information. On at least one occasion we visited Edaville and traveled on the narrow gauge.
In the glow of dusk, a Boston-bound MBTA accelerates away from the station at Mansfield. The locomotive is one of the new HSP-46 diesels built by MPI at Boise, Idaho and features GE major components. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera, photo altered digitally in post processing to balance contrast.Our group has been watching trains on Friday evenings since the 1980s (perhaps earlier). This day we opted for Mansfield, rather than Palmer. Something new, something different. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.The automated voice came on: ‘Please stand behind the yellow line’. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.MBTA train 828 arrives at Mansfield. Lumix LX7 photo.MBTA engine 1126 pauses at Mansfield with train 828. LX7 photo.Overhead catenary at Mansfield. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.MBTA 825 arrives at Mansfield. LX7 Photo.
At the end of this June 2015 evening we made a toast to the memory Bob Buck—the man who brought us all together and for years shared the railroad with us.
A little while ago, I changed from Amtrak 493 to Amtrak 93. In the the ten minute interval, a Metro-North train arrived from Grand Central and Amtrak Acela (train 2154) made its station stop at the adjacent platform.
The good news, Amtrak 93 is very well patronized, with at least 40 passengers transferring from the shuttle. The bad news, I’m wedged into train 93 which was already pretty crowded. Yet it beats driving on I-95! (And is cheaper too).
Amtrak engine 111 with train 493 from Springfield. Lumix LX7 photo.Amtrak logo on P42 111.Metro-North M8. Lumix LX7 photo.Amtrak 2154 arrives at New Haven. Lumix LX7 photo.Trailing power car on 2154. Lumix LX7 photo.Acela service 2154 with trailing power car 2032, and a Shore Line East engine in the distance. Lumix LX7 photo.Amtrak Acela 2154 departs New Haven for Boston. Lumix LX7 photo.Amtrak AEM-7 923 (looking a bit worse for the wear, but still working!) leads train 93 at New Haven. Lumix LX7 photo.Tracking the Light on Tracking the Light. Like a view between two mirrors . . .sort of. Lumix LX7 photo.
Back in 1991, my brother Sean and I explored the former Pennsylvania Railroad electrified mainline between Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia. I recalled from that visit that the long tangent at Marcus Hook offered some interesting views and the potential for evening glint.
Earlier this month (January 2015) we returned to this location. SEPTA maintains a ground level station that provides easy access.
I like the location for several reasons: it is open, which allows late sun to reach rail level; there’s a long tangent and signals, that provide advance warning for trains; Amtrak’s trains can travel at top speeds; and it is relatively easy to get around obstructions such as poles and wires than might interfere with photography.
Amtrak AEM-7 919 leads a late-running train 93 at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.Trailing view of Amtrak AEM-7 train 93 at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.A minute after train 93 passed, this eastward Acela Express was caught burning up the rail; you can still see train 93 in the distance. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.Soft, rosy evening glint is an effect caused in part by pollution in the air resulting from large amounts of automotive emissions and dust in the Northeast plus filtration from thin low clouds.
We arrived in time for a flurry of activity just as the sun was setting. These images were exposed using my Canon EOS 7D, but I also made a few images on Fuji Provia 100F using my old Canon EOS 3.
A new ACS-64 electric leads train 85 toward the setting sun at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. Except for scaling, there was no post-processing adjustment to this image. However, to retain the golden glint effect, I used the ‘daylight’ white balance setting on my camera instead of the ‘auto white balance’.A SEPTA Silverliner V accelerates away from the station at Marcus Hook on its way toward Wilmington, Delaware. Except for scaling (necessary for internet presentation), there was no post-processing manipulation to this image.
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.
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.
Lumix cameras. My old LX3 is at top left. Top right and bottom are LX7s. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D.
My first digital Camera was a Panasonic LX3 that I bought in late 2009 on suggestion of my digital photography advisor, Eric Rosenthal.
At the time, I’d planned to use the camera as a light meter, to make supplemental photos, and to photograph in social situations where having an email ready photo quickly was an advantage.
In the first few months, I occasionally used this camera for railway action photos, but for the most part I continued to rely on my Canon EOS-3s for important situations.
CSX Q006 rolls south along the Hudson River at Iona Island, New York in March 2012. Lumix LX3 photo.Rural station at Riachos T. Novas, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.Lisbon Metro. Lumix LX3 photo.Train interior, Porto, Portugal. Lumix LX3 photo.
I gradually concluded that the LX3 was a fantastic image-making tool. For the next five years I carried this camera everywhere. I exposed more than 64,000 images with it. I’d still be using it, except it broke! (Some observers suggest that I wore it out) The digital display at the back of the camera stopped functioning reliably.
My father lent me his LX7 for a few weeks, and I quickly concluded that I needed one.
Overall it is a much better camera.
On the downside, it is nominally larger.
On the plus side:
1) It is easier to use.
2) When set up properly there’s virtually no delay in making an image from the time the shutter is released.
3) It cycles much faster.
4) It has a better lens, which lets more light in and has a longer telephoto setting.
5) It offers a variety of features that allow for more creative images, including: a built in neutral density filter; an automatic High Dynamic Range mode that rapid blends three images in a sophisticated manner.
6) It has a traditional aperture ring.
7) It has a built in level that can be displayed on the screen.
8) It has the option of an external digital viewfinder.
Over coming weeks, I’ll continue to discuss the virtues (and drawbacks) of these various cameras. Incidentally, recently Panasonic announced another new camera, the LX100, which looks to be even better than the LX7.
The LX7 has excellent reaction time; I stopped the Acela Express at speed at Princeton Junction. The train was moving faster than 125mph. LX7 photo (uncropped, unmodified—except for scaling for internet usage).The LX7 is easy to use and well suited to making railway photos. LX7 photo.Irish Rail ICR’s roll along a speed near Clondalkin. The camera’s small size makes it easier to shoot through fences, such as those on highway bridges over the track. LX7 Photo.
I used my trip on Amtrak 475/175 as an opportunity to make a few photographs. While I had some bigger cameras in my bag, I exposed all of these images with my Lumix LX3.
I boarded shuttle train 475 at Berlin, Connecticut just as the sun was setting. By the time I arrived in New Haven, only a faint blue glow remained of daylight.
Amtrak 475 (Springfield, Massachusetts—New Haven, Connecticut shuttle) works as a two-car push-pull with a former Metroliner (MP85) cab car leading. The train glides to a stop in front of the old Berlin, Connecticut railway station. Once a double track line, today this is a single track route. Lumix LX3 photo.Even the branch train has WiFi.A Boston-bound Acela Express pauses at New Haven. I had about 15 minutes to make photos before my connection, trian 175, from Boston arrived.The Acela Express accelerates out of New Haven. I panned the rear of the train with the Lumix image stabilization set ‘on’; f2.8 at 1/5th of a second, ISO 200.A Shore Line East suburban train roars away on the platform. These New Haven painted diesels have auxiliary engines to provide head-end power.A set of new Metro-North M8s arrived from Grand Central Terminal. It’s nice to see a shiny new train every so often!An HHP electric slides westward with train 175 in tow. How much longer will these powerful machines work the Northeast Corridor?
I didn’t have a tripod with me, so I used the station signs and other available flat surfaces on the platform to steady the camera. To avoid camera shake, after composing my image, I set the self timer to 2 seconds and press the shutter button.
Also, I overexposed each image by 1/3 to 2/3s of a stop to compensate for the prevailing darkness.
The trip was uneventful. Amtrak is my preferred means for navigating between cities in the Northeastern USA.
On board train 175 at New York Penn Station.Crossing the Delaware at Trenton, New Jersey.Philadelphia 30th Street. Amtrak 175 arrived about 5 minute behind the advertised, but that’s within tolerance, right? This classic Pennsylvania Railroad station is one of the gems of the Northeast Corridor.30th Street Station as viewed from the 29th Street side.A classical entrance to Philadelphia; you just don’t get the same feeling from an airport.Looking east on JFK Blvd toward Center City. SEPTA’s former PRR line to Suburban Station is on the left.
A grungy sunset greets America’s fastest train at Niantic Beach, Connecticut in October 2002. Twenty of these distinctive high-speed trains entered service between Boston and Washington D.C. in December 2000. Exposed with a Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with 45mm Zeiss Planar lens on Fujichrome slide film.
