On the afternoon of 15 October 2016, I was poised with my FujiFilm XT1 to capture this westward CD Cargo freight on the roll at Zebreh, Czech Republic.
Fresh blue and gray paint on an antique electric locomotive made for an interesting subject.
Czech mainlines are extremely busy. Zebreh is located on the heavily traveled east-west trunk line that runs east from Prague to Olomouc and beyond. Every few minutes a train passes, including a variety of freights and open access passenger operators.
In October 2016, Denis McCabe and I visited the Czech Republic seeking rail freight on the move.
The weather wasn’t brilliant, but we sure saw a lot of trains and a great variety of rail-operators and different types of locomotives.
One morning at Grygov, near Olomouc, we set up on the busy east-west electrified Czech mainline, and caught a procession of trains, including this RM Line Class 121 electric leading an eastward grain train.
Although the day was dull, the bright paint on the locomotive helped make for an interesting and compelling photograph.
On a whirlwind trip around the Czech Republic in September 2008, I made hundreds of photos in dozens of places in just a few days. A dozen years later I’m still sorting and scanning them.
Catching railway vehicles on different levels makes for photos with added interest.
Which is the subject here? The tram in the foreground, the train in the distance, or perhaps the station itself?
It was the afternoon of September 5, 2008, when photographer Denis McCabe and I were photographing at Plzen hlavni nadrazi (Plzen main station) that exposed this Fujichrome slide using a Canon EOS-3.
Ceske Drahy (Czech Railways) class 754 diesels have the nickname ‘Goggles’.
Tracking the Light is a Daily Rail-Photography Blog.
My recent visits to Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi reminded me of other traditional railway terminals.
This Czech station harks of Boston’s South Station as I remember it in the 1970s. It also bears similarities with Hoboken’s Lackawanna Terminal and Chicago’s Dearborn Station.
Here we have ground level platforms, street level station buildings serving a mix of passenger trains.
Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi is a suburban station with an old shed over the concourse. Prague’s main station is only a 10-minute walk away.
I made this selection of images digitally using my Lumix LX7 and FujiFilm X-T1 cameras.
Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi, Lumix LX7 photo.
Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi, Lumix LX7 photo.
Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi, Lumix LX7 photo.
Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi, FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
City Elefants at Prague Masarykovo Nadrazi, Lumix LX7 photo.
Czech Republic is an amazing place to watch, experience and photograph railways in action.
The mix of traditional architecture, a great variety of trains combined with heavy traffic made for lots of visual opportunities. Over the coming weeks I’ll present samples of my most recent Czech photos on Tracking the Light
On 14 October 2016, Denis McCabe and I visited the station at Rostoky, located northwest of Prague.
Among the attractions of this location is that it is a termini for some electric suburban services that still use the classic streamlined Ceski Drahi (Czech Railways) class 451 electric multiple units.
Unfortunately, one of the arriving 451s had been unofficially decorated which marred its classic lines. Undaunted, I made my photographs none-the-less.
I made these images with my FujiFilm X-T1 fitted with 18-135mm lens.
