Clear sky and bright sun at Hyannis, Massachusetts made for an opportunity to expose some comparative photos.
We had just arrived on Cape Cod Central’s midday excursion train, and I’d ambled to the headend to make photos (as you do).
Below are a couple of examples. The first photo is an Ektachrome E100 color slide; the bottom three are variations of a digital image.
There’s no right and wrong here, just some comparatively contrasty photos.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography!
Using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens, my intention was to expose a trailing view of Cape Cod Central’s outbound midday passenger excursion as it passed the Sandwich, Mass., station.
As the train rolled by, I framed up my photograph, but unexpectedly, my Z6 locked onto an imaginary focus point. The image in my viewfinder was completely out of focus. My rapid repeated efforts to get the camera’s auto focus to work were unsuccessful. In a few instants I would be out of time . . .
So, I reached for my Nikon F3 loaded with Ektachrome E100 and exposed this color slide.
Saved by the slide! Although I was frustrated with the Z6, my stalwart Nikon F3 saved the day.
The film came back last week and I scanned the slide for presentation here.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography!
A clear blue dome at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts made for picture-perfect conditions.
Cape Cod Central’s Polar Express consist was led by a vintage New Haven Railroad FL9, while at the back of the train was a sister FL9 and an even rarer GP59.
The FL9 was created by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division for New Haven in the 1950s to allow passenger trains to run directly from Boston to New York City’s electrified terminals without a need for a locomotive change. Just sixty of this model were built between 1956 and 1960.
Where the FL9s have been widely photographed, EMD’s model GP59 has gone comparatively unnoticed. This is a much rarer locomotive, with just 36 built. For decades these worked for Norfolk Southern in relative obscurity.
One of these unusual locomotives was acquired by Mass-Coastal earlier this year. Finding a GP59 in passenger service is very rare and I was delighted to see this cranberry colored machine in action!
In addition to these digital photos, I also made a few color slides on Fujichrome Provia 100F. Those images remain latent on the roll of film in my Nikon F3.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily!
Friday, November 24, 2023, marked the beginning of the Polar Express season on Mass Coastal Railroad/Cape Cod Central Railroad.
Since we were in the neighborhood, Kris and I checked in on Cape Cod Central and located the excursion train-set that was being prepared for the day’s “Polar Expressing” near Mass Coastal Railroad’s HQ in East Wareham, Massachusetts.
Low November sun made for some nice light to photograph the static set. Working with my various cameras, I made a series of photos.
I’ve presented several variations of the same basic image. I have my favorite, which I’ve indicated in the caption below.
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On our Cape visit, the Cape Cod Central’s Kaylene asked if we would like to travel on their Polar Express.
Silly question.
She asked Kris and me, if we would take a few photos of the experience.
Of course we did.
And these are just a few of Nikon Z6 digital images I made that night.
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Kris and I went to see the Cape Cod Central on Satuday evening. The railroad had decked out the former New Haven Railroad station and signal tower with an elaborate display of Christmas lights for their Polar Express excursions.
Working with my Nikon Z6 set at high ISO, I exposed this series of handheld night photos.
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Last week was warm with sunny skies. Unseasonably warm.
One evening while exploring Cape Cod, Kris Sabbatino and I paid a visit to the Cape Cod Central at Hyannis where I made these views of a former New Haven Railroad FL9 (painted to resemble its as-delivered appearance) and an old RDC built for Boston & Maine.
In an earlier Tracking the Light post, I speculated if Conway Scenic Railroad’s former New Haven Railroad RDC 23 Millie ever visited the NHRR line that once extended to Provincetown.
So far my investigations have determined that while NHRR 23 almost certainly visited the New Haven stations at Hyannis and Woods Hole, which were regular destinations for NHRR’s RDC runs, it is far less likely that it strayed as far as Provincetown, because NHRR RDCs rarely went that far.
In a similar line of inquiry: did the former B&M car pictured here ever work Boston & Maine’s North Conway Branch? Many of B&M’s cars had visited North Conway over the years, and some even worked over Crawford Notch!
I’m curious to know more.
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