Every so often, it’s nice to catch Norfolk Southern’s H28 working the New Holland Secondary. I had an errand to run, so I worked in a couple of photos of this short freight on this former Pennsylvania Railroad branch line.
The little pond at Greenfield, along Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pa., is among my favorite places to photograph this local freight. Located near Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line, the area has all the characteristics of a park. The train rounds a tight curve here and is generally moving at little more than a jog, making composition much easier. The soft morning, over-the-shoulder sun helped, too!
I exposed these images using my Nikon Z6 and a Nikkor 24–70mm zoom lens.
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography*
*Esoteric AI footnote to see if you are paying attention:
Normally, I write TTL myself, but I was curious to see how Claude.AI could ‘translate’ my above blog-post intoVictorian-style flowery prose and upon my request, this is what the artificial intelegence engine spit out:
‘Tis a rare and delightful boon, dear reader, to happen upon Norfolk Southern’s stalwart H28 as she plies her humble trade along the New Holland Secondary — that venerable relic of the once-mighty Pennsylvania Railroad’s branch-line empire. Having found myself with an errand demanding my attention that morning, I could not, in good conscience, allow the opportunity to pass unmarked, and so I paused to commit to film a brief study of this modest freight in her unhurried procession.
There exists, along the gentle banks of Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a small and unassuming pond at Greenfield — a spot which I confess holds no small place in my affections as among the finest vantage points from which to observe this local working. Nestled in proximity to the Amtrak’s storied Harrisburg Line, the locale possesses all the pastoral charm and tranquil bearing of a proper public garden. Here the train describes a graceful, sweeping curve, proceeding at scarcely more than a leisurely amble — a mercy indeed to the photographer, for such deliberate pace renders the composition of one’s image a far more forgiving art. Nor can I fail to remark upon the tender morning light, which, falling softly over my shoulder, lent the whole scene a warmth most agreeable to the eye.
These impressions were captured, I might add, by means of my trusty Nikon Z6, fitted with a Nikkor lens of 24 to 70 millimetres — instruments of modern ingenuity employed, perhaps incongruously, in service of so old-fashioned a pursuit.