Metrolink is nearly a quarter century old, having commenced operations in 1992.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve enjoyed traveling and photographing the Los Angeles-area Metrolink. The comfortable coaches, variety of locomotives, and interesting route structure makes it one of the more interesting suburban railways in the United States.
Interior view of a Rotem double deck
In addition to lines focused on Los Angeles Union Station are several non-radial routes/services, which makes Metrolink unusual among American commuter lines.
All trains are diesel powered with double-deck cars. The newer Rotem-built cars are my favorite to travel in.
Detail of a Rotem-built double deck.
Using my Lumix LX7 (and other cameras), I’ve made dozens of images from the train, as well as interior views of the equipment, and of course views of the trains and stations.
One of the older cars.Rotem double-deck detail.Rolling along through suburban LA.Passengers board a morning train.Rolling toward Los Angeles Union Station behind a BNSF AC4400CW.Paused at Riverside.BNSF local freight at San Bernardino.
A pair of Bord na Mona loaded trains work west toward Lanesborough, County Longford on August 9, 2013.
I made this image on Ireland’s three-foot gauge Bord na Mona (Peat Bord) near Lanesborough on this day three years ago.
To compress the space and make the most of the two trains following one another in close succession, I used my Canon 7D fitted with a 200m telephoto lens.
Tracking the Light is on Autopilot while Brian is Traveling!
Combine agricultural dust from the San Joaquin Valley with Los Angeles-area air pollution and you get some wonderful golden light. Throw in a few wild fires and it gets even better!
All that pollution acts as a huge red-orange filter.
On this evening in late July 2016, fellow photographer David Hegarty and I were fortunate to be in place in the California Tehachapis to make good use of the golden light.
As previously featured on Tracking the Light, the railroad was a bit backed up. This enabled us to find a train at the moment of sunset.
A timetable-southward BNSF freight gets a green signal at Belleville, California. FujiFilm X-T1 photo. Image was not altered in post processing except to scale for internet presentation.California golden glint; exposed digitally using a Fujifilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens. Sorry about the wires. I’d crop them, but then the photo would have been ‘altered’. Right?Here I’ve included the setting sun. This shows the angle of the light relative to the train necessary to produce the glint effect. I’m standing at the Bealeville grade crossing.
These images have not been altered digitally in post processing, except for scaling necessary for digital presentation. To maintain the rich rosy glow, I selected a daylight white balance, and was very careful with my exposure, which I selected manually to maintain texture in the sky.
And yes, I also exposed a slide using Fujichrome Provia 100F.
I made these views at Los Angeles Union Station the other morning featuring some of Metrolink’s Electro Motive Division-built F59PHIs.
These locomotives were styled in accordance with mid-1990s General Motors automobile aesthetical considerations.
Today, with two decades of hard service behind them they look like battle worn machines and reminded me of the Penn-Central E-units I used to see as a kid.
Using my FujiFilm XT1, I made some detailed studies of several of these old machines.
For this view I wanted to include the tower to the left of the station. To make the composition work, I used my Zeiss 12mm Tuoit, which had secondary effect of providing a suitable color palate for the scene. Notice the optical illusion at the very top of the frame that makes the edge of the photo seem skewed. Still using the Zeiss 12mm, I walked up close to the old F59PHI and made this slightly unusual perspective. A little bit of contrast control was needed in post processing.Metrolink 880 has evidence of a collision. The nose section is made of of fiberglass and designed to help protect the crew. Exposed with my Fujinon 18-135mm lens.
Here’s a vertical format view made from the same angle. Which do you prefer?Nose comparison. I’ve always liked this sort of image where a locomotive’s shape is echoed. In the old days I’d do this sort of thing with E and F units.
The magnificence of the former Southern Pacific crossing of California’s Tehachapi Range is the antique sinuosity of the line combined with the bucolic nature of the terrain and unusually heavy freight traffic.
Last weekend, I made these views near Tunnel 2 between Bealeville and Caliente using my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera.
On the SP this would have been an eastward train, today on Union Pacific it is considered southward. In both situations movement directions are by the timetable and have little relationship to the compass.
Like a long snake, the train winds its way uphill toward Tehachapi Summit.At the back of the train is another GE Tier 4 (ES45AH) working as a ‘Distributed Power Unit’—a radio controlled engine.
A nearly new Union Pacific GE tier 4 in fresh paint was an added attraction to the uphill Z-train (UP’s term for a priority intermodal run).
Last week (July 2016) I went for a spin on some brand new Kinkisharyo model P3010 light rail cars on the Los Angeles Gold Line extension to East LA.
Although the cars read ‘Test Train’ in the destination board, they were in fact running in revenue service. The automated station announcements hadn’t been activated, so instead a real live employee was calling out the stops.
The cars were shiny and still had that ‘new car’ aroma.
Pretty neat.
I made these photographs with my Lumix LX7
A pair of new Kinkisharyo cars approach the Gold Line station at Little Tokyo. Although it reads ‘Test Train’ in the destination board, I was still able to board the cars and take a spin.For interior views such as this one, I use the ‘+1/3’ exposure override feature in combination with the ‘A’ setting on my Lumix LX7. This helps compensate for the outside light streaming through the windows. In post processing, I made adjustments for contrast that help even the scene.Clean and shiny.Test train at Atlantic, the new terminal for the Gold Line in East LA.LA Metro Rail advertisement on the side of the car.New cars accelerate away from the platform at LA Union Station.
Former New Haven Railroad station at Windsor, Connecticut.
Low morning sun diffused with light fog (mist) from the Connecticut River made for nearly ideal lighting to capture this station’s classic architecture.
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian is traveling.
Forty years ago in Mrs. LaFond’s Fifth Grade class (Main Street School room 22) we were tasked to research a National Park. I think the big name parks were more popular, the likes of Yellowstone and whatnot.
I asked if I could research and write about the Joshua Tree National Monument. At the time this wasn’t a full National Park, but Mrs. LaFond agreed, and so I wrote to the Park Service and they sent me some literature about the odd ‘trees’ and the National Monument.
So why was a ten year old living in Monson, Massachusetts interested in Joshua Trees?
At that time, I’d taken a interest in the Santa Fe Railway, stemming in part from some Lionel F3s that my dad had bought us a few years earlier. This manifested into a desire to make an HO scale model of the desert. I’d read about Barstow, California, and the nearest relevant Park to this Santa Fe hub was the Joshua Tree National Monument.
Fast forward to the early 1990s. My friends and I made regular trips to the southern California desert to photograph trains, and finally had the opportunity to see a real live Joshua Tree.
Last weekend, I was exploring the Mojave Desert with fellow photographer David Hegarty, with an eye on photographing Union Pacific and BNSF trains. Again I had the opportunity to place a Joshua Tree in some photographs.
Here are several views of a heavy BNSF ‘earthworm’ grain train crawling upgrade across the desert floor. (The nickname stems from the prominently brown color of the grain cars, their curved body shape and the crawling effect of the long slow moving consist across the landscape). I’ve juxtaposed the freight with a scruffy Joshua Tree. Knowing what you do now, which do you think is the main focus of my photographs?
A southward (old Southern Pacific timetable direction west) BNSF ‘earthworm’ unit grain train climbs across the desert floor near Mojave, California—July2016.
Here’s an irony: after all these years I’ve never been to the Joshua Tree National Park [https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm ] (upgraded in 1994). I have visited Barstow on several occasions. This features a massive yard and a fascinating old Harvey House and railway station, but is a shocking bland town; ugly, sprawling and commercial.
Here’s an exposure quandary. A bright white Metrolink F59PHI in blazing California afternoon sun against a varied background of trees and mountains..
Metrolink’s scheduled train 115 accelerates away from its Simi Valley station stop in July 2016.
Without careful metering and a bit prior experience It would be easy enough to underexpose a photo like this one. (Producing a result that is too dark)
Why? Because the camera meter doesn’t know the locomotive is white, and if relying on many auto exposure settings, metering tends to over compensate as the white engine reached the center of the frame.
On the flipside, the row of trees at the left could fool also the meter into compensating for the relative darkness and thus producing an image that is too light overall with the front of the engine grossly over exposed.
What’s the solution?
Before the train comes into view, make a series of test meter readings while aiming a sunlit neutral portion of the scene such as the ballast. Then observe the relative difference in exposure between lighter and darker areas, make a test photo or two, and if your camera has a histogram check to ensure that the bulk of the exposure is in the center of the graph. Then set the camera manually based on this information.
In my situation, I made a slight adjustment as the locomotive came into view to compensate for the bright white nose section. This meant I needed to stop down (see the aperture to let less light in) by about 1/3 of a stop.
Here’s the Jpg of the train along side the camera’s EXIF data. The relevant fields show that the camera was set at ISO 200; shutter speed 1/500th of a second, and the lens was at f7.1. So why not f8? That would cause the trees to become too dark and the engine appear more gray than white.Here’s my closer view. I retained the same exposure setting.
In both photos, other than scaling for internet presentation, I did not alter the files in regards to exposure, contrast, color or sharpness. These images represent reduced versions of the in camera JPGs (althouth I simultaneously exposed RAW files as well.)
On my theme of ‘getting the angle right’; or rather how slight adjustments in elevation can alter perspective, compare these two recent views of Amtrak 768 Pacific Surfliner at Fullerton, California.
Both were made with my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera and a telephoto zoom lens.
The top view was made from my standing height and aims to include the footbridge.
With the bottom view, I’ve taken a more extreme telephoto focal length while placed the camera very near to platform level. Composition was aided through use of the fold-out rear display. This allows me to hold the camera near to the ground while being able to look down to see the image. (A handy feature of the XT1).
The low angle telephoto is a good means for making a more dramatic view.
A photograph made from my normal standing height. Here I’ve aimed to include the footbridge.For this more dramatic perspective I’ve held the camera very close to the platform-level for a sort of cat’s eye view. The combination of a long telephoto lens and this abnormally low angle makes for a dramatic photo. Back in the 1990s, I made many of these views on film using my Nikon F3T by removing the prism and looking straight down into the viewfinder.
Dublin’s LUAS (not an acronym) is the name for the city’s modern light rail system.
By contrast, the Los Angeles Union Station is now known by its initials LAUS.
Historically, it was called the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, and called LAUPT.
I featured this great terminal in my recent book: Railway Depots, Stations and Terminals, published in 2015 by Voyageur Press.
The other day I revisited the station and made my first digital photographs of the buildings and trains there. (A station is more than just a building or buildings).
Here’s an excerpt of my text:
Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT) was completed in May 1939. It is a rare example of an Art Deco era railway station and one of the few stations that opened during the streamlined era. It’s modern interpretation of the Spanish Mission style design is largely attributed to the LA-based architectural team of John and Donald Parkinson.
Not long ago the old IRT Flushing line was extended west and a new terminal station called 34th Street-Hudson Yards was opened. This is located near the Javits Center and just a few blocks west of Penn-Station.
My digital guru Eric Rosenthal recommended this to me as a photo subject. The station is unusually deep and features very long escalators.
I exposed these images with my Lumix LX7. The underground views were made at ISO200. One of the advantages of the LX7 is that it has a very fast lens. In other words the lens has the ability to let in lots of light.
The advantage of this feature is that I can use a relatively slow ISO setting in the subway and still get excellent results hand held.
The old IRT Flushing line is the first train-ride that I recall.
My dad brought me on this run before I was taking photos.
I made these images last week using my Lumix LX7.
New York City’s Number 7 Flushing Line’s curving undulating elevated structure offers a multitude of angles.
In the evening rush-hour, Flushing trains run at very short intervals, with outbound expresses using the middle track.
Court Square, Queens.
For my money, the number 7 remains one of the coolest transit lines in the City. (And not just because of the photography! The AC actually works on some of the cars.)
Outbound express on the middle track at 46th and Bliss Streets.Tail-end of the outbound express at 46th Street.A view of the Flushing Line from the Long Island Rail Road platforms at Woodside in Queens.Woodside.Older cars at 52nd Street.View from the back of the train at 52nd street.46th and Bliss Streets.
CSX daylight operations through Palmer, Massachusetts can be a bit sparse these days.
This morning, I was on my way back from some errands and I noted that the local freight (B740) was holding on the controlled siding at CP83 and a New England Central local was stopped south of the Palmer diamond. So I pulled over and parked.
The points at CP83 were made for the main line and the westward signals were all showing red. Armed with this information I concluded that an eastward freight must be close at hand.
I walked up to the South Main Street bridge and gave it a few minutes. Before long an eastward intermodal train came into view with a relatively new General Electric ‘Tier 4’ six-motor in the lead.
My guess is that this train is CSX symbol freight Q022 that runs to Worcester, Massachusetts (but if anyone has better information, I’m open to amending my guess).
Exposed using my Lumix LX7. I used the ‘A’ mode and dialed in -1/3 to compensate for the bright sunlight and the dark side of the train. This image was extracted from the in-camera Jpeg and compressed for internet viewing, but I also made a RAW file of the same image. Both are to be archived on multiple hard drives. I opted for this angle to replicate an image of a Conrail freight that I exposed here in 1984. At some point I’ll post then and now views for comparison.
Tracking the Light sometimes posts more than once per day!
Sunny morning. New York City. Haven’t been to Staten Island in a very long time.
Ferry’s free!
So away I went.
Photos exposed using my Lumix LX7.
Staten Island Ferry terminal in the Battery.US Coast Guard escort across New York Harbor.Manhattan Skyline.Panoramic composite view of Manhattan skyline. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.View of the Narrows Bridge.Passengers make photos and take in the sea-air.One of the ferries docked on the Staten Island side (St. George).Ferry schedule.Heading back toward Manhattan passing the outward scheduled ferry.Staten Island Ferry with famous lady holding torch in background.Back in Manhattan again.
Last week I had a few minutes between trains, during which time I exposed these views of the Chicago Transit Authority’s famous ‘L’ at the Chicago Loop.
Although it is common misconception that the ‘loop’ is so named for the circular arrangement of CTA’s elevated railway downtown, the name pre-dates the ‘L’ and actually stems from Chicago’s cable car days. (Chicago, rather than San Francisco, once held title to the world’s most extensive cable operated streetcar network.)
Photos exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1.
Telephoto view in the evening looking toward Lake Michigan.I like this image because you can clearly see the train’s operator in silhouette in the front window. Of course, you’ll need to view the image at a sufficiently large size to perceive this essential detail.
A week ago, I traveled with John Gruber and Scott Lothes for a day’s photography on the Wisconsin & Southern,
A couple of days previously, John and I had made some photographs exploring the line to Reedsburg (see previous posts). So armed with that experience plus good information on operations, we set out with Scott for another run.
Among the three of us we have a bit of photographic experience and a lot of railway knowledge, so we were in good position to make the most of the day. I always like learning from fellow photographers as everyone has their own way of seeing.
I have to admit that the old Chicago & North Western line between Madison and Reedsburg isn’t my strongest field of interest. When I lived in Wisconsin this line (then still operated by C&NW) was largely nocturnal. However in more recent times, John and I have made daylight photos.
Until a few months ago the route still featured some vintage wig-wag grade crossing signals, and these had been the focus of my earlier efforts on the line. Since these are gone, we were able to take a more diverse approach.
The Reedsburg line is now but a branch on the sprawling Wisconsin & Southern freight gathering network, but historically the line was a key Chicago & North Western mainline between Chicago, Madison and the Twin Cities. For me this legacy makes the line more interesting.
We picked up the train at Wisconsin & Southern’s Madison Yard, and over the next few hours intercepted it more than a dozen times.
Knutson Drive in Madison, Wisconsin.
Sunny weather plus a single clean SD40-2 running short-hood first put us in a good position to make satisfactory images. On the previous run John and I needed to make do with the engine running long-hood first, which is a more challenging subject to photograph.
Here are a few digital photos from our second chase. Any favorites?
A view of scrap cars from an over-pass west of Lodi, Wisconsin. After all, a freight train is about the freight, right?Pastoral Wisconsin scene near Okee.Crossing the Wisconsin River at Merrimac. John brought the car across on the ferry, while Scott and I waited on the south side of the river for the train.Devils Lake, Wisconsin. There’s a variety of angles on this place, most of them better in the afternoon or evening. We were there at lunch-time and had to make the best of it. I’ve adjusted the contrast using Lightroom. I’ve tried to maintain the sense of lighting while balancing it to produce a more pleasing overall image. It is of course possible to overdo contrast control, which may result in an unnatural appearing image.Baraboo station. Compare this photograph with my black & white views posted a few days ago.Our freight works at Rock Springs where it dropped grain cars for loading.Scott picked this spot. On the previous trip I’d tried a long telephoto view of the same bridge. I like this wide angle broadside better.We were a bit tardy arriving at the crossing. This is a quick grade crossing grab shot. Not much time to set up. As with a few of the other images, I’ve adjusted the contrast using Lightroom.
The Illinois Railway Museum has one of the best collections of North American railway equipment. Hundreds of pieces of equipment spanning more than a century are on display.
It’s great to be able to inspect a traditional 4-4-0, and a Forney Tank engine. I’m fond of classics such as the Santa Fe 2900-class 4-8-4, Burlington’s 4-6-4 Hudson and its streamlined Budd-built Nebraska Zephyr, and of course the Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 in Brunswick green.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 4-6-4 at IRM.Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 electric 4929. A masterpiece of engineering and design.I recall the GG1s under wire. Great sounding air horn on these.Budd stainless steel. And articulated too!My book on streamlined trains came out last year and so it was nice to reflect on these amazing machines in the museum. (Puns are extra).Some of the old girls still work; this Frisco 2-10-0 is serviceable. Just add coal, water and talent!Parts anyone?Sister to the popular Milwaukee Road 261 is engine 265. Sure would be neat to get both engines under steam together!Lots of electrics under the barns. PCC’s have been a regular feature on Tracking the Light.
The old diesels are neat, and there’s great array of old streetcars.
But then, what’s this? A Wisconsin Central SD45? Wow, nice to see that one of those was saved, but it just doesn’t seem that long ago and I was out catching these on the mainline.
And wait, what about this Metra Bi-Level electric? Weird to see THAT in a museum.
Two Chicago & North Western DASH9s!
Now I just feel old.
Views exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with Zeiss 12mm Tuoit.
A former Santa Fe Alco RSD-15. These must have looked great hauling freight back in the day.Eight motors, four in each truck, that’s what the DDA40X was all about.An Wisconsin Central SD45. Twenty years ago when I lived in Waukesha, Wisconsin I could hear these roar through town from my apartment. I spent lots of time putting these beast on film.It’s like Galesburg Railroad Days! The BN executive Fs! Always cool.Whoa! What’s this? A Metra electric? Hmm.Two Chicago & North Western DASH9s. Really?! It just doesn’t seem that long ago that I sat in the cab of one these when they still had that ‘new car smell’. And now they too are on display in a museum. Will anyone save a P40?
During the last week (July 2016), John Gruber and I were rewarded by our efforts at photographing Wisconsin & Southern freights on the move. John’s been documenting this route for decades.
On this day we’d picked up the Reedsburg Job near Merrimac and followed it west.
First of two images.
At this location near Baraboo, I asked John to stop the car near the top of a hill, rather than drive closer to the tracks.
So, is this how motorists perceive the Wisconsin & Southern?
Exposed using my FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm lens fully extended to its most telephoto setting (135mm). The camera’s built-in level is very helpful in situations such as this where set up time is at premium.
I can’t say its a first; but it is the first time in awhile that I’ve been on Amtrak 448 (Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited) when it departed Albany-Rensselaer station precisely on schedule—3:05pm.
Things have certainly improved. Hooray for Amtrak!
I was among the first passengers to board Amtrak 448. Instead of running as a through train Chicago to Boston, the Boston section starts in Albany.
New York (left) and Boston (right) sections of the Lake Shore Limited. I made the cross platform transfer at Albany-Rensselaer, New York. Lumix LX-7 photo.
I made these views using my Lumix LX7 this morning east of Cleveland, Ohio on the old New York Central Water Level Route from Amtrak 48, the Lake Shore Limited.
I up-loaded them to my laptop, processed in Lightroom (to add my name and scale the file) and transmitted them to Tracking the Light a few minutes ago while riding on the train over the Boston & Albany.
Sunrise east of Cleveland, Ohio this morning (16 July 2016). Lumix LX7 ISO set at 400.Lumix LX7 view.
I made these views with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera of the former Chicago & North Western Chicago-Madison-Twin Cities mainline at Evansville, Wisconsin.
Looking west toward Madison, Wisconsin. Agricultural dust and other pollutants contribute to a rosy sunset. I’ve exposed manually for the sky. With Kodachrome film I could have retained better detail in the sky. f22 1/250th second.
John Gruber was giving me a tour of the line. He explained that in its heyday this route had been a double track mainline with a top speed of 75 mph.
Today it is a truncated vestige of that earlier era. The tracks are now operated by Union Pacific to serve local freight customers. No fast Pacifics with varnish in tow any more.
To ensure new material daily, Tracking the Light is coasting on autopilot while Brian is traveling.
Earlier this week John Gruber and I visited Kenosha, Wisconsin to ride and photograph the vintage PCC streetcars that serve the town.
The cars are beautifully maintained; the line is short but interesting. Cars operated about every 15 minutes during the day. The fare is just $1.00—a true bargain.
On the downside, it is a bit difficult to figure out how and where to board the cars. A little bit of targeted advertising would go a long way.
Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light posts something different daily!
The other day, John Gruber met me at the Metra station in Lake Forest, Illinois and we had lunch with Art Miller and David Mattoon.
John Gruber (left), Art Miller (center) and David Mattoon (right). Lumix LX7 photo.
Art recalled that I was among the very first speakers at the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s conference held at Lake Forest College every year.
That was back in 2003!
Interior panoramic composite of a Metra gallery-style commuter railway car. Exposed on my way to Lake Forest using my Lumix LX7.
On my 1984 visit to Chicago I’d made photos and traveled to/from the old North Western Station.
Wow, have things changed.
Yes, I’ve made some visits between then and now, but it’s been a long time.
The old station was torn down not long after my first visit and replaced with an epic glass box. Today, this is known as the Ogilvie Transportation Center.
The Oglivie Transportation Center as seen in July 2016. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.
In the mid-1990s, about the time that Chicago & North Western was folded into Union Pacific, the station’s Bush train sheds were demolished and replaced with more modern platform coverings. I made a few photos during that transition.
Still, it seems a bit strange for me to see the former North Western Station in this modern format. My impressions from 32 years ago remain only in my memory and few photos that I made with my Leicas.
Inside the Oglivie Transportation Center. Tracks and trains at left. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.Lake Forest, that’s where I’m going. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.Hot as an oven. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.Metra. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.Panoramic composite exposed with my Lumix LX7. The old F40PH diesels run headend power off the prime mover. Deafening under the sheds.Exposed with my Lumix LX7.
I boarded Amtrak’s Cardinal, train 51, at Trenton.
A little more than 28 hours later, having traveled through 10 states plus the District of Columbia, I arrived in Chicago, where I had 45 minutes to walk to my next train.
I enjoyed the seemingly endless panorama, but was happy to get some fresh air upon arrival.
Here are some views from my journey exposed with my Lumix LX7.
Amtrak 51 arrives on Platform 4 at Trenton, New Jersey. Lumix LX7 photo.Amfleet 2 to Chicago!Philadelphia Zoo at Zoo Junction.30th Street Philadelphia.Wilmington, Delaware.I thought I saw a ghost! Here’s one of Amtrak’s AEM-7s working out its final miles on Maryland MARC at Baltimore.I’ve had bad luck catching Amtrak’s ACS-64 642 painted in a special livery for America’s Veterans. Here it is at Ivy City in Washington D.C. One of these days I’ll get it on the move!K-tower Washington Union Station.I got a bit of air at Washington D.C. while 51 exchanged its electric for a diesel.Amtrak’s logo represent tracks on a rolling landscape.Here’s my car on the platform at Washington Union Station.Manasass, Virginia.13 months ago I was here to see Norfolk & Western J-Class steam locomotive 611.Rural Virginia.A view at Gorduonsville, Virginia.This preserved Chesapeake & Ohio GP7 was on display at Clifton Forge, Virginia.CSX GE diesel at Clifton Forge. I saw quite a few freights on the move on the old C&O route. More than I expected include several unit coal trains.
In West Virginia I saw considerable evidence of recent floods.Hinton, West Virginia-one of several small towns still served by the train.Hinton, West Virginia. We were here for at least ten minutes.Old C&O signal tower west of Hinton.Rolling along the New River Gorge. I used a relatively slow shutter speed to capture the effect of motion.Work trains to help repair flood damage. Train 51 was blocked at several locations as repairs were still underway.Fixer upper, West Virginia.Upon leaving Alexandria all the way to Chicago my train was fully occupied. I was surprised at the large numbers traveling to and from intermediate stations. I’d guess 50 or so got on in Cincinnati when we stopped at about 2:30 Am. Why not run a day train?Sunset in the New River Gorge.Black tea at sunrise crossing the Indiana corn fields.Monon, Indiana.Chicago.Crossing 21st Street Bridge, Chicago.Cardinal’s Chicago passengers at Union Station.
The other morning I boarded Amtrak’s Cardinal for Chicago at Trenton, New Jersey.
While waiting for my train to arrive I made a few photos with my Lumix (and some others on film).
Here’s the Lumix views. Stay tuned for some views from the train; 28 hours via West Virginia.
SEPTA AEM-7 laying over for the weekend. Lumix LX7 photo.Clear morning sun made for a variety of photo options. I’ll be curious to see my black & white film views of this engine.Just in case you didn’t know where I was . . .Trenton is served by Amtrak, SEPTA and NJ Transit. Busy place even on a Sunday morning.Amtrak’s Cardinal connects Trenton with Chicago three days a week. More Cardinal photos coming soon!
This afternoon on the way to catch Amtrak 57, the southward Vermonter, my dad and I stopped in for a visit to the Connecticut Trolley Museum at East Windsor for old time sake.
Three cars were on the line today. We went for a spin on a vintage 1902 Brill-built open car.
These photos were exposed using my Lumix LX7, downloaded to my laptop on board Amtrak 57, manipulated in Lightroom, and then uploaded to Tracking the Light courtesy of Amtrak’s WiFi. From my camera to the world: a demonstration of the miracles of modern technology.
I exposed this view of Irish Rail 071 class diesel number 079 at Sligo using my Rolleiflex Model T loaded with Fuji Neopan 400.
I processed the film at the Gallery of Photography at Meetinghouse Square in Dublin using Agfa Rodinal Special concentrated liquid developer.
Final processing was accomplished digitally using Lightroom.
The Rollei allowed me to compose using a square field rather than a more common rectangular field. I’ve found that the square changes the way I see, and thus produces different compositions. Someone might ask, ‘couldn’t you just crop it?’. You could, yes, but that’s not my point. ‘So what about the lead-in version? That’s cropped, isn’t it?’ Yes, but not by choice! That’s an effect of the software/internet/webhosts.
Tracking the Light discusses photography everyday.
The benefits of familiarity; knowing your locations.
Take the Bellows Falls Tunnel on the Connecticut River line. Back in 1988, I’d photographed a southward Boston & Maine (Guilford) freight in the afternoon and noted that late in the day, when the south portal was in shadow, a shaft of light illuminates the train on the north side of the tunnel.
The location and effect were filed away for future reference.
A couple of week ago, on June 18, 2016, Pat Yough and I were following Amtrak’s Exhibition Train on its way south from Claremont, New Hampshire. At Bellows Falls, Vermont the train paused to refuel, and this resulted in the leading locomotive, Amtrak F40PH 406, pulling past the grade crossing near the station.
I noticed it had gone just far enough to bask in the window of sun near the north portal of the tunnel.
This opened up opportunity for photography.
Below are a examples angles exposed from the south portal, a location reached by a narrow street from the center of town. I like the relative abstraction of tracks and engine appearing to float in a sea of darkness.
The classic Vermont setting of the Bellows Falls Tunnel fascinates photographers and model railroaders.A 2006 Volkswagen Rabbit gingerly takes the turn on to the road that leads to the tunnel portal. Exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 digital camera.This could almost pass for an early 1990s view of Amtrak’s Montrealer. (Except that the train was scheduled to come through Bellows Falls in the middle of the night). I like the inky darkness. Exposed manually using a FujiFilm XT1. Careful metering and examination of the histogram will aid in correct exposure of scene such as this one. Most automatic metering systems will tend to try to compensate for the dark tunnel portal which negates the intended effect. Focusing can be tricky too.
Back in the day, summer always meant that my father would bring my brother and me to one of the New England Trolley museums. Back then we’d ride back and forth and Pop would read the Sunday newspaper.
I’d make photos with my Leica.
This year for Father’s Day, I brought Pop to Connecticut’s Shore Line Trolley Museum located near East Haven, Connecticut. We used to know this as the Branford Trolley Museum (it is operated by the Branford Electric Railway Association).
FujiFilm XT1 photo.Lumix LX7 photo. Pop remembers Johnstown Traction Company 357 from its days in Pennsylvania.
Pat Yough, visiting from Pennsylvania, joined us and we all made photos. Turns out that fathers are admitted free of charge on Father’s Day. So that was a bonus.
Pop used his vintage Rolleiflex, which prompted a comment from the motorman,
“You’re still using film?”
Pop responded, “Sure, and you’re still running a trolley. Today is my ‘retro day’”.
They even had an old IRT Subway car on the move. (Pop said, “these aren’t ‘old’, I remember when they were new!”).
Lumix LX7.NYC subway car interior. Exposed with a Leica 3A with 21mm Super Angulon. HP5 processed in HC110.Lumix LX7 photo.Connecticut Company 775. Exposed with a Leica 3A with 21mm Super Angulon. HP5 processed in HC110.Exposed with a Leica 3A with 21mm Super Angulon. HP5 processed in HC110.An unlikely combination; streetcars from Atlanta, Georgia and Montreal, Quebec. Exposed digitally with a FujiFilm XT1.
It’s Amtrak’s Vermonter in Vermont (although those hills in the distance are across the Connecticut in New Hampshire.)
On June 18, 2016, Amtrak P42 number 106 leads train 57, the southward Vermonter. This view is from a parking lot immediately south of the passenger platform in Brattleboro. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.
Vermont’s relatively clear air and elevation compensate for the harsh visual effects associated with summer high light (when the sun is nearly directly overhead).
The other day Pat Yough showed me some examples he made with his digital Nikon of trains glinting in the curve at Madison. Since to emulate this effort, I’d require a longer focal length lens than I have for my FujiFilm X-T1, I opted to fire up my Canon 7D with a 200mm lens, and joined Pat for another evening’s photography on the Shore Line route.
Often I find that by making repeated trips through the same territory will allow me to make the most of my photography. I can learn where the light and shadow fall, how the railroad operates, and how to work with the various elements at hand to make the most effective images. If I miss something or make a mistake on one trip; I learn from it and armed with this knowledge try again.
I made this dramatic glint photo using my Canon EOS 7D with a 200mm lens. The camera’s smaller sensor size contributes to the telescopic effect. If I were using a 35mm film camera, this view would required a lens length of approximately 280mm. [Update; I’ve been given a revised figure of 320mm based upon Canon’s conversion 1.6 factor.]A trailing view of Amtrak’s Boston-bound Acela (train 2168) at the same curve in Madison, Connecticut.
In this situation, I needed a longer lens to make the image work. However since the sun is only sets on the north side of the tracks here for a few weeks, I needed to act while the light was right.
