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Bord na Mona, Lanesborough, October 2013—Part 1

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A Busy, Bright and Clear Day Visiting Irish Narrow Gauge.

A laden Bord na Mona approaches Lanesborough in October 2013. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scanning.
A laden Bord na Mona approaches Lanesborough in October 2013. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.

Last week, Mark Healy and I made another venture to photograph Bord na Mona’s (Peat Board) three-foot gauge industrial railway. This time we chose the network focused on feeding the Lough Rea Power Station at Lanesborough in County Longford.

Although we departed Dublin under cloudy skies, by the time we reached the Midlands, the clouds parted and we enjoyed most clear sunny weather for the remainder of the day.

Empty train heads out for reloading against a backdrop of the Lough Rea Power Station at Lanesborough. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scanning.
An empty train rocks and rolls as it heads out for reloading against a backdrop of the Lough Rea Power Station at Lanesborough. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.

From past experience, I’ve found that clear days are by far the best time to photograph Bord na Mona’s trains at work. The heavily harvested moon-like landscape of the peat bogs doesn’t translate as well on dull days. Also, the brown and cream livery on the locomotives and aluminum peat wagons look best with sun on them.

Finding a clear day in the Irish Midlands isn’t so easy. The weather is famously dull and changeable. On more than one occasion I’ve found that a forecast for fine weather proved overly optimistic.

Bord na Mona
Backlit view of a laden Bord na Mona train as it approaches the highway bridge at Derraghan Cross in October 2013. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.

For this excursion, I brought four cameras. Yes, four. In addition to the two digital cameras (Lumix LX3 and Canon EOS 7D), I had my Canon EOS-3 and a Rollei Model T 120-size camera both loaded with Fujichrome Provia 100F.

There’s certain types of images that I still like to put on film. Also, while I expose a lot of digital images (and make multiple back-ups of each and every file) I’m very reluctant to trust digital imaging for long term applications.

So, in the event of a digital apocalypse, I’d like to have a few Bord na Mona photos on color transparency film for posterity.

My film has yet to be processed, so here are a few of my recent digital results.

Bord na Mona
An empty scuttles below the road at Derraghan Cross. Lumix LX3 photo.
A pair of laden trains amble toward Mountdillon on their way to Lanesborough. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.
A pair of laden trains amble toward Mountdillon on their way to Lanesborough. Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.

 

A bit of foliage at Mountdillon. Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.
A bit of foliage at Mountdillon. Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens. Photo unmodified except for scaling.
A lone locomotive with a per-way vehicle rests quietly on the bog. The turf has been exposed for harvesting and blackened by recent rains. This can make for some very tricky exposures. I used my handheld Minolta Mark IV light meter to help gauge the settings. Also, I made several test photos to keep the tones within an acceptable range. Simply using the camera meter resulted in a washed out locomotive and a lightly colored bog. Lumix LX3
A lone locomotive with a per-way vehicle rests quietly on the bog. The turf has been exposed for harvesting and blackened by recent rains. This can make for some very tricky exposures. I used my handheld Minolta Mark IV light meter to help gauge the settings. Also, I made several test photos to keep the tones within an acceptable range. Simply using the camera meter resulted in a very washed out locomotive and a lightly colored bog. 
Lumix LX3 Photo.

Tune in tomorrow for more highlights from this most recent Bord na Mona adventure!

Also see previous Tracking the Light posts on Bord na Mona, including: More Adventures with Ireland’s Bord na Mona—September 2013, Bord na Mona, Lanesborough, August 10, 2013, Irish Bog Railways—Part 5, August, 2013, and Irish Bog Railways—Part 3, March 2, 2013.

Tracking the Light posts new material daily.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

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Former Erie Railroad Mainline, West of Union City, Pennsylvania, October 8, 2009

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Four Years Ago Today.

Western New York & Pennsylvania Alco diesels.
I exposed this image after sunrise just west of Union City, Pennsylvania. I was working with a pair of Canon EOS-3s. This photo was made with the EOS-3  loaded with Fujichrome Velvia 100 and fitted with a 24mm lens.

On the morning of October 8, 2009, I made a project of photographing Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad’s westward freight HNME (Hornell to Meadville) that was working along the former Erie Railroad mainline in northwestern Pennsylvania.

I started before dawn near Niobe Junction and followed the train to its terminus at the former Erie yard in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Speed restrictions on the line made for ample opportunities to photograph the freight as the sun brightened the sky.

See Tracking the Light post from December 11, 2012, Erie October Morning, for more images of this train exposed on October 8, 2009.

Tracking the Light posts new material daily.

See my Dublin Page for images of Dublin’s Open House Event in October 2013.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

 

 

 

 

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German Coal Railway—Part 2

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RWE Power: Coal trains, power plants and wires.

RWE Power coal train.
An RWE electric reverses a coal train near the Neurath Power Station. September 2012. Canon EOS 7D photo.

Continuing to explore RWE Power’s coal network brought us to the company’s Nord-Sud-Bahn. Although much of the line is sequestered by trees or inaccessible, we found some recommended locations toward the north-end of the route near the Neurath Power Station.

Our second afternoon proved pleasant weather-wise, and the continuous parade of trains, including a diesel-hauled limestone run, made for a successful photo adventure.

Among the advantages of the North-Sud-Bahn as stated in the May 2013 article in Today’s Railways, is a greater variety of trains.

Although it’s difficult to convey in photographs, what we found interesting was that many of the northward trains reversed up the line, with the locomotive at the back and the rear hopper making a loud beeping to provide warning.

It seemed that all of RWE’s trains moved a gentle speeds which eases the photographic process.

I mostly worked with my Canon EOS 7D, but also exposed some color slides with my Canon EOS 3. In addition to the trains, I made a few photos of the related power infrastructure—impressive because of its enormous scale.

RWE Power coal train.
RWE Power electric 542 leads a laden coal train near Neurath. September 2012. Canon EOS 7D photo.
A diesel leads a train of limestone hoppers near Neurath. September 2012. Canon EOS 7D photo.
A diesel leads a train of limestone hoppers near Neurath. September 2012. Canon EOS 7D photo.
RWE Power's Neurath Power Station.
RWE Power’s Neurath Power Station.
RWE Power's Neurath Power Station.
RWE Power’s Neurath Power Station.
RWE Power.
High voltage electric pylons stand like enormous soldiers at attention. These power lines are an important part of the electrical infrastructure related to RWE Power’s railway operations.
A panned view of an RWE Power EL1 electric locomotive. The line is electrified with an unusual 6000 volt 50Hz standard. Canon EOS 7D photo.
A panned view of an RWE Power EL1 electric locomotive. The line is electrified with an unusual 6000 volt 50Hz standard. Why a pan? This is an effective way of separating the dark green locomotive from the green trees. Canon EOS 7D photo.
A Vossloh diesel leads a coal train that originated off the RWE network and was delivered via the Deutsche Bahn network. The hoppers are of a smaller lighter variety than those used in captive service on RWE's lines.
A Vossloh diesel leads a coal train that originated off the RWE network and was delivered via the Deutsche Bahn network. The hoppers are of a smaller lighter variety than those used in captive service on RWE’s lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Erie Railroad’s Portage Bridge; May 12, 2007

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Railroad viaduct at Letchworth Gorge, New York
Norfolk Southern freight 309 eases over the former Erie Railroad Portage Viaduct on May 12, 2007. Exposed with a Rollei Model T (f3.5 75mm Zeiss Tessar) on 120 size Fujichrome Veliva 100—RVP100.

During the second week of May 2007, I was in western New York to photograph for my book The Railroad Never Sleeps.  This project involved coordinating 37 photographers across North America who produced railroad images on May 10th — the anniversary of the completion of the first trans-continental railroad in 1869. The concept was one full day of railroad photography organized chronologically. Each photographer picked their own topics and techniques. I opted to work my old territory from college, which included a cab ride (by prior arrangement) on Genesee Valley Transportation’s Falls Road Railroad. While the book featured the best of the photography on May 10th, I continued to make images over the next few days traveling with fellow railroad photographer Hal Reiser.

The old Erie Railroad is one of my favorites, and on the morning of May 12th we were poised at Letchworth State Park near Portage, New York to photograph the famous viaduct over Genesee Upper Falls in Letchworth Gorge. At 8:17 am, Norfolk Southern’s detector at mp 359 (near old River Junction) sounded alerting us to a westward train. The roar of the falls can make it difficult to hear a train approaching and it is helpful to have some advanced warning. A few minutes later NS freight 309 inched across the trestle with now-rare C39-8 ‘Classic’ 8554 in the lead. I made a series of color photographs with my Canon EOS-3 and Rollei model T. One of the telephoto vertical views appeared on page 13 of my 2011-title Modern Diesel Power published by Voyageur press.

To learn more about the significance of Erie’s Portage Viaduct see my detailed and illustrated response in ‘Ask TRAINS,’ page 64 of the February 2013 issue (on stands soon!). For this article, I show the bridge with a westward Delaware & Hudson freight exposed on Kodachrome almost 19 years earlier (May 14, 1988).

Tower supported trestle at Letchworth Gorge.
Norfolk Southern C39-8 crosses Erie’s Portage Viaduct on May 12, 2008. Exposed on Fujichrome Provia 100F with Canon EOS-3 with 200mm f2.8 lens.

See an independent review of Modern Diesel Power at http://www.dogcaught.com/2012/05/16/book-review-modern-diesel-power/

For more post on the Erie Railroad route see: Erie October Morning, Curiously Seeking Erie Semaphores and Erie Semaphores Revisited.

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