Yesterday morning, Conway Scenic Railroad assigned former Maine Central GP38 255 on a Work Extra sent to Conway, NH., to collect a flatcar for the maintenance-of-way department.
Working with my Nikon Z6, I made this view of the train returning to North Conway, climbing the 3 percent on the approach the yard.
My goal was to capture the cool, wintery sky.
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On Friday, November 18, 2022, I traveled on Conway Scenic’s work extra to Conway to assist with decorating for the holidays.
Our train had to clear to allow for the arrival of the regularly scheduled morning Conway run, which was handled by Budd RDC Millie.
I opted to make a sequence of photos of Millie arriving in Conway where it passes the company billboard, which I recently arranged to display the railroad’s Winter ad. This ad features a photo that I made a couple of years ago of locomotive 573 in morning light paused in front of the North Conway Station.
Below is a selection of the photos that made with my Nikon Z6, including the image that I ultimately selected for display on the railroad’s Facebook page. I modified this image by cropping it and adjusting the color temperature, color saturation, exposure and contrast to make it more appealing in the social media venue.
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Yesterday, April 12, 2022, Conway Scenic operated a loaded ballast train on the former Maine Central Mountain Division.
Leading the train was former Maine Central GP38 255 acquired by CSRR last October.
I arranged to be in position at the west end of the Frankenstein Bridge to catch the up-hill move, and exposed this sequence of digital photographs using my Nikon Z6 mirror-less camera with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.
Although overcast, the lighting was well suited to a red locomotive with black ballast cars.
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Among the features of the Nikon Z6 kit that I bought in 2020 is an adapter to fit older Nikon lenses directly to this modern digital body.
Although I briefly experimented with this adapter when the camera was new, by in large, I’ve made my photos using Nikon Z-series zoom lens specifically designed for the camera.
The other day on a whim, I decided to fit my old Nikkor F2.5 AI 105mm to the Z6 and make some photos of the chickens in the back yard and of Boomer the dog. I was amazed at the exceptional sharpness of this lens when used wide open (f2.5). This allows for razor sharp selective focus.
Since the lens is fully manual, I had to set aperture and focus the old fashioned way (with some help from a focusing aid in the camera).
My success with 105mm making the chicken and dog photos led me to take a few images with this lens around the North Conway, NH railroad yard where I work. During the last week the lads have been cleaning the trains in preparation for Conway Scenic Railroad’s Spring operating season and they made for good subjects to test the selective focus technique.
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Yesterday, I hosted a live radio broadcast at Conway Scenic Railroad’s North Conway Station to promote the railroad’s Snow Train excursions.
Dirk Nadon of Lakes Media arrived in the morning and set up a mini-broadcasting studio in the station lobby. We broadcast live and recorded sound bites and interviews on Lakes FM 101.5 and 104.9 The Hawk FM.
I participated in the organization of the event, spoke on the radio to convey the excitement of Snow Train, and made these photographs using my Lumix LX7 digital camera.
We also took the 1130am Snow Train to Attitash and traveled in vintage Pullman diner Hattie Evans.
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Yesterday, I was up early to help prepare for Conway Scenic Railroad’s first Snow Trains of the season.
I’d arranged a two-hourly interval schedule, based on a 930am boarding for the first train at North Conway.
It was clear and cold with a blue polarized sky.
I traveled with the head-end crew on the first two trains, and used the layover at Attitash as an opportunity to make photographs.
Since there is no run around track at the Attitash Whistle Stop, Conway Scenic Railroad operates the train ‘top and tailed’ (to borrow a British phrase) with locomotives at each end of the train. GP38 252 was positioned at the westend, GP38 255 at the east. The locomotives are not operated in multiple.
After arrival at Attitash, the head-end crew cuts out the westward locomotive, then sets up the engine at the eastend.
My visual challenge is the high contrast situation at Attitash caused by bright sun on fresh snow and inky shadows. Complicating matter was slight back lighting.
Fortunately, my Nikon Z6 has great exposure latitude, which facilitates post processing adjustment to help mitigate the harsh lighting situation.
I made more conventional images of the east end of the train at North Conway.
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On Thursday, June 24, 2021, I was live on the radio at North Conway during a simulcast for New Hampshire’s Lakes region radio stations FM 101.5 and FM 104.9.
This was a promotion for Conway Scenic Railroad as part of greater exploration of tourism in the White Mountains and Lakes regions.
I worked with the radio hosts to give listeners a greater appreciation for the railroad, its history and its excursions.
Using my Lumix LX7, I made these photos during broadcast and between interviews.
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Yesterday I made this photo of Conway Scenic’s Bartlett Extra ready to depart the North Conway, New Hampshire Station. This was added to the schedule to handle a school group boarding in Bartlett.
Exposed using my third Lumix LX7. File adjusted using Lightroom.
Brian Solomon is traveling ‘off the grid’ for the next few days.
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On Saturday, May 22, 2021, Conway Scenic Railroad will operate its annual Railfan’s Photo Freight. This will board its passengers at 9am and wander up and down the line in the tradition of a mixed local freight from the 1950s and 1960s.
Yesterday, May 19, 2021, our train crew assembled the train in the North Yard using locomotive 573.
I made these photos using my FujiFilm XT1 for use in company publicity and advertising. To obtain superior digital output, I converted the files from Fuji RAW to DNG format using Iridient X-Transformer then made adjustments in Adobe Lightroom.
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As a follow up to my post from the other day featuring the old Mountain Division Bridge over the Ellis River at Glen, New Hampshire (ELLIS RIVER TRUSS AND EQUIVALENCE), I thought I’d offer this view of GP35 216 leading Conway Scenic’s Valley train over the same bridge.
Exposed using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm lens.
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Last week, I accompanied bridge inspector Wayne Duffett of TEC Associates on the second leg of his annual Conway Scenic bridge inspection.
Our first stop was the East Branch truss near Glen, NH.
I made these photos using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm lens. Images were converted from camera RAW to DNG format by Iridient X-Transformer then adjusted for internet presentation in Adobe Lightroom.
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Last summer I interviewed career railroader Mike Lacey on his experiences working for Erie Lackawanna and Conrail as part of my ‘Conversations with Brian Solomon’ podcasts with Trains Magazine. This is episode 39 in the series.
Mike is a fifth generation railroader.
You can listen to my Trains interview:
I have the pleasure of learning from Mike, who is now the Road Foreman of Engines and Train Master at Conway Scenic Railroad.
I made these photos in the last week of Mike in the cab of locomotive 1751, a former Baltimore & Ohio/Chesapeake & Ohio GP9.
Mike is also featured in my June 2020 Trains Magazine column.
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Yesterday forecasts of snow were dashed when rain fell instead.
Last week the story was a different one, and as previously reported on Tracking the Light, Conway Scenic Railroad sent a plow extra west to Attitash.
I made this view using my Lumix LX7, while recording the action using the railroad’s video camera.
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In decades-old railroad tradition, Conway Scenic’s steam locomotive 7470 is largely painted black. While in winter, the environment around the railroad is largely snow covered (at least we hope it is) .
Why steam in the snow?
Drama!
The cold air contributes to spectacular effects from condensation tinted with smoke from the firebox.
Here are a few of my Lumix LX7 color digital photos from Saturday’s (January 4, 2020) Steam in the Snow excursion sponsored by the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts on Conway Scenic’s operation over the former Maine Central Mountain Division.
(And yes, maybe I made a few classic black & white images of this trip on film!)
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Yesterday, January 4, 2020, Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts Inc., operated its famous Steam in the Snow event at the Conway Scenic Railroad from North Conway to Notchland, New Hampshire.
Locomotive 7470 was the star of the show.
Several photo run bys were organized to allow travelers on the train to make photos and enjoy watching the locomotive in action.
Conway Scenic’s President and General Manager Dave Swirk was at the throttle of the steam locomotive.
As a representative of Conway Scenic, I traveled on the train for part of its journey and documented people enjoying the event.
This view at Notchland, shows Mass Bay RRE’s photo line up during the first of three staged runbys at this location.
More to come!
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Last month, one of my assignments at the Conway Scenic Railroad was to assist a television production crew from WCVB in Boston that was filming a segment on the railroad.
This was an interesting experience and I enjoyed speaking with the film crew and showing them around. I made sure they got to see some of the highlights of Conway Scenic’s run over Crawford Notch.
They interviewed Conway’s President and General Manager Dave Swirk, while off-camera I discussed airbrake technique and practices with locomotive engineer Gordon Lang.
I learned yesterday that the program will be broadcast this Thursday evening (September 5, 2019.) at 7:30pm on WCVB Channel 5 in Boston. It is part of the Chronicle show titled High Adventures.
The web address for the Boston WCVB Channel 5 TV is:
https://www.wcvb.com/chronicle
In Ireland I cannot access this website (for reasons beyond my knowledge it appears to be blocked), but perhaps my readers in the USA will be able to tune in.
Anyone who knows me must realize the irony of this post.
Although I’ve appeared on television a few times, I’ve never owned a television set and have only watched commercial TV on rare occasions. I’ll be curious as to the feedback on Conway Scenic’s portrayal on High Adventures.
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Among the finest railroad vantage points in North Conway, New Hampshire is from Conway Scenic’s station roof.
On several occasions over the last few weeks, I’ve made arrangements to access this rooftop to film Conway Scenic’s trains as part of on-going promotional efforts.
One afternoon a few weeks back, I was joined by Adam Bartley, a qualified Conway Scenic Trainman and film student. While he made video, I exposed a few still photographs.
Like other elements of Tracking the Light, this is a work in progress.
You can see some of the videos that I’ve helped film on Conway Scenic’s Facebook Page:
and on its new YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq6vcQzv2ys
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On Select Fridays, Conway Scenic operates an RDC trip for children out on its Redstone Line—former Maine Central Mountain Division running east from Mountain Junction. Last Friday, July 19, 2019, I took the opportunity to travel with the crew on this run.
At Mountain Junction we cleared for the Valley Train led by GP7 573 that was on its return run from Bartlett to North Conway, New Hampshire.
When the Valley Train passed us, I made this view from the cab of Conway Scenic’s former Susquehanna (originally New Haven Railroad) RDC number 23, named Millie.
You know, I could have named this post: The Valley Meets Millie at Mountain Junction.
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Through July and August, Conway Scenic Railroad plans to assign steam locomotive 7470 to their North Conway to Conway Valley Train every Sunday and Monday.
The train departs North Conway at 1030 am and 130 pm, with the locomotive running tender first toward Conway (boiler facing the home station).
The locomotive is turned on the turntable at the roundhouse in the morning and afternoon.
For information/tickets send email to: info@conwayscenic.com
Check Conway’s website:
www.conwayscenic.com
or call : 603-356-5251
I made these photos Sunday, July 7, 2019 using my FujiFilm XT1.
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Last night I made this sunset view of Conway Scenic’s steam engine 7470 that was being readied for its big outing over Crawford Notch today. It departs at 9am.
The final minutes of daylight produced a cosmic drop-under sunset.
To make the most of this wonderful light, I hand-held a Lee graduated neutral density filter over my 12mm Zeiss Touit wide angle lens.
In post processing, I worked with the camera RAW files to make minor adjustments to contrast and exposure.
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I’d spied some rocks high on Mount Willard above the old Maine Central trestle at Willey Brook.
Conway Scenic’s Lisa King offered to bring me on a hike to those rocks for a commanding view of New Hampshire’s famous Crawford Notch.
“We’ll start at Crawfords Station. It takes about an hour!”
So last Saturday, we departed North Conway about an hour ahead of the Notch Train, and drove to Crawfords, where I was surprised to find about 100 cars parked along the road.
I was astounded to ‘discover’ that one of New Hampshire’s most impressive views attracts hundreds of hikers on bright warm weekend mornings!
We walked up through the forests, fording streams, avoiding bugs, dodging potential encounters with bears (we didn’t see any, but I’ll bet some saw us, since, earlier in the week, I’d spotted a bear cub on the line).
At the top, Lisa brought me a great view looking down the valley, and down onto the famous Willey Brook bridge.
I’m saving the bridge photos for a rainy day.
Next Saturday, June 29, 2019, Conway Scenic has scheduled a special Notch Train to be led by its steam locomotive 7470. This will depart Conway at 9am and run over the Notch and beyond to Hazen’s Crossing near the White Mountains Regional Airport for an event called Trains, Planes and Automobiles.
(I’m told tickets are still available, but get yours soon!)
Call: 603-356-5251 or check Conway Scenic’s website:
https://www.conwayscenic.com/notch-train/
Look under ‘Notch Train’ and click on June 29.
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Earlier this week, Dave Swirk, president and general manager of the Conway Scenic Railroad, enlisted my skills to help promote the railroad’s June 29, 2019 special steam trip over Crawford Notch to the Trains, Planes & Automobiles event near Whitefield, New Hampshire.
Dave explained how this excursion is a rare opportunity to see Conway’s only operating steam locomotive reach Crawford Notch—which is beyond its typical operating territory— but also offers the opportunity to travel all the way to Hazen’s Crossing at the western limit of Conway Scenic’s operation of the former Maine Central Mountain Division. The Airshow / Carshow is an extra bonus!
Using my FujiFilm XT1 camera with 12mm Zeiss Touit, I recorded Dave speaking about the railroad’s steam locomotive 7470 that was recently restored to operations and its role in the special June 29th trip.
I edited the video output from the camera using Apple software on my Macbook.
This event is a big deal for Conway Scenic. It has been nearly five years since 7470 regularly worked Conway Scenic’s excursions, so this trip represents an exciting opportunity and there’s no one better than Dave himself to capture the enthusiasm for this special event.
Locomotive 7470 is a heavy 0-6-0 built in 1921 by the Grand Trunk for service in Canada. It is significant as the first locomotive to provide service on the Conway Scenic and of great personal significance for Dave.
On June 29th, the special Notch Train will depart North Conway behind steam at 9am.
To book tickets for this event call: 603-356-5251.
See: https://www.conwayscenic.com/notch-train/
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Check out the video on Facebook:
On June 1, 2019, after several years of slumber, Conway Scenic Railroad’s 0-6-0 7470 made its first steps, moving under its own power around the railroad’s North Conway , New Hampshire yard.
The sights and sounds of this former Grand Trunk 0-6-0 have delighted visitors and residents of North Conway since the early 1970s, so having the locomotive back under steam represents a milestone event for the railroad’s 2019 operating season.
I made these photos using my Lumix LX7.
Among the challenges of photographing excursion railroads is working with high-summer light. Operations favor the schedules of the majority of the visiting public, and during summer often this tends coincide with the dreaded midday sun.
Black steam locomotives make for an extra challenge as the drivers and other reciprocating gear tend to be masked by the inky shadows of the highlight.
In this circumstance high-thin clouds diffused high-sun and resulted in better contrast than on a completely clear day. Working with my RAW files in Lightroom I made further adjustments to shadow areas in order to make my images more appealing.
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Here’s two photos of Conway Scenic Railroad’s former Maine Central GP7 573 running around the Valley Trainat Bartlett, New Hampshire on the old Mountain Division.
One was made from the train on a cloudy day, the other from the road near the section house as the engine was cutting off from the train.
Some contrasts: Cloud versus sun; vertical versus horizontal; traditional versus interpretative; road versus rail.
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Some viewers commented that they were unable to see the ‘cloudy’ photo. For this reason, I’ve rescaled and re-uploaded a version of the original vertical photo plus an EXTRA horizontal image from the same sequence.
The other evening I made this static silhouette of the old ‘wig wag’ grade crossing signal that protects the crossing in front of Conway Scenic’s North Conway station.
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Tracking the Light is on location at North Conway, New Hampshire.
For the first time in more than four years Conway Scenic 0-6-0 7470 (former Grand Trunk) has a fire in its boiler.
Gordon Lang, who on August 3, 1974 was the first to light a fire in 7470 on Conway Scenic, did the honors again just after 3pm today (May 31, 2019).
The locomotive was last steamed in January 2015, and after months of restoration and repair will soon be moving again under its own power.
I made these photos of 7470 using my FujiFilm XT1 with a 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.
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My latest podcast conversation, the fifth in a series with Trains Magazine, is now live.
This summer I had discussion with Conway Scenic’s Dave Swirk about his plans and visions for the railroad.
Check it out at:
http://trn.trains.com/photos-videos/2018/09/conversations-with-brian-solomon
It’s not often that I visit New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch.
Last month, Honer Travers and I made the journey from North Conway up the fabled Maine Central Mountain Division on the Conway Scenic Railroad.
It rained most of the way up, but this is such a wonderful stretch of railroad we didn’t mind. It was nice to see the old Maine Central in person again.
At the Notch I made these digital photos using my FujiFilm X-T1 and Lumix LX7 digital cameras. Not every photo can be made on a sunny day.
Yesterday I received a correct guess to the conundrum I’d posted as Brian’s Visual Puzzle in THREE photos on July 11, 2018.
History ( and knowing that history) was key to solving the problem, since the answer wasn’t visible in any of the three photos.
To make things a bit more difficult, I didn’t caption the images, however I did offer an array of hints to assist with solving the problem.
I had several very thoughtful guesses, some of which were quite interesting.
Michael Walsh, a regular Tracking the Light viewer, was the first to submit the correct answer along with his explanation.
This is what he wrote:
I reckon the theme may be Pan Am Railways.
The first picture shows the Pan Am building on Park Avenue in New York, which stands behind Grand Central Station. The name, colours and logo of the defunct Pan American World Airways were purchased by Guilford Rail System in 1998 and applied to their rail New England operations in 2006.
The third picture is of exceptional interest. It shows 1926-built combination car 16 of the Springfield Electric Railway, now preserved at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor CT. The 6.5 mile long Springfield line became a subsidiary of the Boston and Maine and was later de-electrified. In 1983, it became part of Guilford, along with the B&M.
The second picture is of North Conway station, on the Conway Scenic Railway. North Conway was near the north end of a lengthy B&M branch from Rochester NH, which connected with the Mountain Division of the Maine Central at Intervale, 7 miles beyond North Conway. The B&M branch and the MC Mountain Division were abandoned by Guilford, but some 50 miles, comprising portions of both lines, survive as the Conway Scenic Railroad.
Michael’s answer is spot on: I have just one small correction and a comment; the north end of B&M’s Conway branch (pictured) was sold before Guilford acquired the B&M. I mention this because in each of the three photos, the subject predates their respective company’s role with Pan Am Railways (just to make the puzzle extra tricky). Also, Springfield Terminal has played an important role in operations across the Guilford/Pan Am Railways system.
Thanks to everyone who submitted guesses!
