Thursday, February 26, 2015: Today Enterprise 8209 wearing a new livery (or rather what appears to be about half of the new Enterprise livery) worked Irish Rail’s Dublin (North Wall) to Ballina IWT Liner.
Irish Rail operates container trains for International Warehousing & Transport most weekdays, however it is unusual to find this locomotive working the train. The 201 Class are General Motors-built locomotives technically similar to the F59PHI used in North America.
Irish Rail’s IWT Liner passes Platform 10 near Heuston Station. Fuji X-T1 photo.Irish Rail’s IWT Liner at Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station on February 26, 2015. Fuji X-T1 photo.A classic roster view: Irish Rail’s IWT Liner at Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station on February 26, 2015. Fuji X-T1 photo in ‘Velvia’ mode. (And yes, yes, I made one in ‘Provia’ mode too. And a slide.)
Yesterday, I featured locomotive 206 working the Ballina to Dublin IWT Liner which featured a more complete variation of the new paint scheme. At least today, I had the sun, fickle as it may be!
I was lucky because the train was blocked at Islandbridge Junction, giving me an opportunity to expose a few colour slides and then hoof it up the road for another angle.
The IWT works up the ‘gullet’ on its way west. Fuji X-T1 photo.
I like catchy titles, although I’ve recognized that today you get better response by advertising content as clearly and succinctly as possible.
Allusive titles no longer grab audiences as they did in earlier times. If Joyce wrote his famed novel Ulysses today, his publishers might changed the title to A Day’s Walk Around Dublin.
Speaking of walking around Dublin. Monday February 16, 2015 was a bright sunny day—really the first properly sunny day since I arrived back. Although more writing obligations landed in my ‘in-box’ that morning, I decided to take the time for a walk up through Kilmainham to the LUAS Red Line at Suir Road.
The specially painted ‘Sky’ tram crosses the LUAS bridge over the Grand Canal at Suir Road. Exposed with a Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera; ISO 400.
Here the tracks climb out of the old canal-bed that extends from the old Harbour near the Guinness Brewery and cross the surviving leg of the Grand Canal on a modern bridge and then run along its south bank for a mile or so on the way towards Tallagh.
Approaching the platforms at Suir Road. Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera; ISO 400.
I’d been wanting to make a bright sunlit photo of the specially adorned ‘Sky’ tram that has been roaming the Red Line since before I got back. Advertising liveries rarely last more than a couple of months on the LUAS system and this was as good as an excuse as any to play with my Fuji X-T1.
I didn’t have to wait long before the tram in question came gliding along the canal
What cryptic allusion might Bloom have uttered upon seeing a Sky tram crossing the canal?
In this photo, I like the visual play on ‘Sky’. Really now would this have worked on a dull day? Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera; ISO 400.Telephoto close up at Suir Road. Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera; ISO 400.Trams in Dublin don’t dally long; motors humming, this one accelerates away towards its next station stop. Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera; ISO 400.
It was a comparatively busy morning in early October 2014. I’d taken the LUAS Red Line tram to Spencer Dock and walked over to the East Road Bridge. I was joined shortly by fellow photographers, Colm O’Callaghan and John Cleary.
Dublin’s Red Line LUAS at Spencer Dock in October 2014. Exposed with my Lumix LX7. In this view, I’m looking back toward what once had been Irish Rail’s freight yards, although there’s no trace of them today. Celtic Tiger era glass boxes sit on property that once held railway tracks.
It’s been more than a decade since Irish Rail rationalized their freight yards at Dublin’s North Wall. Much of the site is unrecognizable compared with former times. Modern Celtic tiger-era multistory housing blocks occupy the space once used by freights.
Yet, the old Graneries yard remains, and if you’ re at the North Wall at the right time, Irish Rail may still entertain you with a few trains.
On this October day, Irish Rail 074 arrived in with a permanent way spoil train. This was the real prize for me. Although I’d seen spoil trains, I’d not properly photographed on the move, so to catch one in full sun made me pretty happy.
Irish Rail 074 is a vintage 1970s-era 071 diesel. Nice to catch it in the sun with a spoil train as viewed from Dublin’s East Road Bridge. Lumix LX7 phtoto.Trailing view of the spoil train at the Granaries Yard. This is one of Irish Rail’s most elusive trains. It takes more than just luck to catch it. LX7 Photo.Locomotive 074 shunts its train. The old Church Road signal cabin was still open at the time of this photo. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.
The icing on the cake came a little while later, when 088 (now officially 0117088 with the European numbering) arrived with the laden Tara Mines zinc ore train. Pretty good for the time invested!
A laden Tara Mines train arrives at the North Wall. This will continue into Dublin port on street trackage on the Alexandra Road. Canon EOS 7D photo.
Dublin’s LUAS Red Line tram route follows an east-west alignment on Abbey Street.
This one of the older streets on Dublin’s North Side. Technically the thoroughfare is comprised of St. Mary’s Abbey Street, Abbey Street Upper, Abbey Street Middle, and Abbey Street Lower.
I’ve often walked this route, which has given me a good idea where the light falls during different times of day and over the course of the year.
On the evening of October 4, 2014, I aimed to make a few glint photos of the trams gliding through the city center.
The silver-sided LUAS Citadis trams reflect the setting sun nicely.
On October 4, 2014, an inbound LUAS tram approaches the intersection with Capel Street. I like the sunset reflections on the tram and the sides of the buildings. By staying in the shadows, I minimize the effect of flare caused by bright light hitting the front lens element. Lumix LX7.
To make a dramatic glint light image, it’s important to retain highlight detail, even if this results in opaque shadows. With the Lumix, I use the ‘A’ mode (aperture priority) and then manually stop down ‘underexpose’ the image in order to keep the highlight density where I want it.
If I didn’t override the camera meter, the Lumix would attempt to balance the lighting by brightening the shadow areas and the result would cause the glinting tram to be overexposed (too bright).
Alternatively, I could set the camera manually, but I find in a rapidly changing setting of a city street, I can get a more effective exposure by letting the camera do some of the work.
An outbound tram catches the sun on St. Mary’s Abbey Street. I’ve used the same exposure technique described above to hold highlight detail on the front of the tram. Lumix LX7 photo.I’ve chosen a low angle to add a bit of drama. Also, I’ve allowed the sun in the image which has caused a little bit of flare. In this situation, I feel that the flare works well, and makes for a distinctive image. Lumix LX7 photo.
Back in the old days, I’d have used Kodachrome 25 slide film, which had an excellent ability to retain highlight and shadow detail. To calculate my exposure I use my hand held light meter.
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
A perfect opportunity to photograph old and new together.
Both are commonly seen on Irish railways, but both are foreigners. The 461 was 1923 product of Beyer Peacock in England, while the ICR was built by Rotem in Korea. Where else can you see such an eclectic combination?
The steam locomotive was one of two built for the Dublin & Southeastern, and is one of only a few operating steam locomotives in Ireland. The ICR is Irish Rail’s standard type of train for intercity services. Do you think the ICR will still be around in 91 years?
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
Check out Tracking the Light’s Dublin Page to see lots of great photos of Dublin’s 2014 Culture Night event.
18th Century the Casino at Marino. This remarkable building is a visual enigma; it seems much larger on the inside than it does on the outside. Lumix LX7.The Casino at Marino exudes 18th century elegance. Lumix LX7 photo.
Dublin’s Writers Museum on Parnell Square.
Click on Tracking the Light’s Dublin Page for photos of Dublin’s 2014 Culture Night event!
Tracking the Light posts new photographs every day!
Last week I posted photos of freshly painted Irish Rail class 201 number 215 working the IWT liner. Today, it worked to Cork and back. I photographed it a little while ago passing Islandbridge Junction.
Irish Rail 215 works at the back of a Mark4 set from Cork. I panned this using my Canon EOS 7D with 40mm pancake lens at 1/40th of a second at f10, ISO 100. 12:45pm on September 18, 2014.Irish Rail 215 works at the back of a Mark4 set from Cork, seen approaching Heuston Station in Dublin at 12:45pm on September 18, 2014. Lumix LX-7 ISO 80, f3.5 1/500th second.
Irish Rail’s only four track mainline transits the west Dublin suburbs. This was built toward the tail-end of the Celtic Tiger boom years. Rail traffic flows in fits and starts, but midday on week days can result in some interesting action.
Irish Rail 229 leads IWT liner.
The prize this day was catching Irish Rail’s General Motors-built 071 class locomotive 079 hauling the elusive per-way ‘Rail trucks’ (rail train) on its run from Platin (on the Navan Branch) to the per-way depot in Portlaoise.
I worked with my Canon EOS 7D, which handles the cloudy bright lighting conditions admirably.
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
Irish Rail’s track geometry car followed today’s Dublin to Ballina IWT Liner.
This unusual piece of maintenance equipment is among the more elusive subjects on the Irish network. I was surprised to see it when I peered over the wall on the St John’s Road this morning.
Irish_Rail 218 leads Friday’s IWT liner with EM50 on Platform 10. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 40mm Pancake Lens.Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 40mm Pancake lens. Friday September 12, 2014.
As a follow up to yesterday’s special post, I’ve included a few more photos. Since Monday, Irish Rail’s freshly painted class 201 number 215 has been working the IWT Liner between Dublin and Ballina, Country Mayo.
Wednesday’s (September 10, 2014) IWT Liner passes Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station, Dublin. Thin cloud diffused the sun. Lumix LX7 photo.Today’s (September 11, 2014) Ballina to Dublin IWT near Clodalkin-Fonthill Station. Lumix LX7 photo.
Sometimes when your mind is pre-occupied with the problems of the world, the best medicine is go trackside and focus on something trivial (like hoping for sun light on a freshly painted locomotive).
Yesterday (September 9, 2014), I was poised for photography at an over-bridge near Lucan South in the Dublin suburbs. Colm O’Callaghan, Noel Enright, John Cleary and I were anxiously waiting for Irish Rail’s Up-IWT liner led by class 201 diesel number 215 (which had made its first trip in fresh paint the day before and was on its return run).
Although it was a dry bright day, a group of fair weather clouds were loitering in the sky between us and the sun . At one point all four of us were staring skyward hoping the cloud would move.
Irish Rail’s Mark4 from Cork on September 9, 2014. Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens. 1/1000th of second at f3.5 ISO 200.Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens. 1/1000th of second at f5.6 ISO 200.
The Cork-Dublin passenger passed in cloudy light; but the Inter City Railcar behind it was blessed with sun. But then clouds returned. I fussed with my light meter.
As the freight approached, the clouds parted and the sun-light seemed to roll across the landscape.
I fired off a burst of digital images using my Canon EOS 7D, followed by a couple of Fujichrome Provia 100F colour slides with my EOS 3 with 40mm pancake lens.
Fresh out of the paint shop: Irish Rail 215 leads the Ballina to Dublin IWT liner. This is the first 201 class diesel on the road to wear the new Irish Rail logo (on the side of the engine). Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens. 1/1000th of second at f5.6 ISO 200.
If there was one problem with the last burst of sunlight it was that I may have overexposed my slides by 1/3 of stop. But I won’t know until I have the film processed in a few weeks time.
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
RPSI 461 at Islandbridge Junction, Dublin, Ireland at 11:53 am on September 4, 2014. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.
Just a few minutes ago, Railway Preservation Society Ireland’s 1923-built 2-6-0 461 passed Islandbridge Junction near Dublin’s Heuston Station.
The locomotive is on its way to Limerick.
Nice to see steam on the move in bright daylight!
RPSI 461 at Islandbridge Junction, Dublin, Ireland at 11:53 am on September 4, 2014. Lumix LX7 photo.Just a minute later, uniquely painted class 201 diesel 8208 rolled the other way.
This is a Special Post,
but Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
I was waiting with Ciarán Cooney for the up-IWT liner when I made this photo of the Cork-Dublin Mark4 push-pull in the Gullet on approach to Heuston Station. Lumix LX7 photo.The Mark4 set was blocked at the signals in the Gullet, while an outbound Inter City Rail departed Heuston Station.Irish Rail class 201 diesel numbe 224 worked the back of the Mark4. Locomotives typically face Cork on the Mark4. Lumix LX7 photo.Not long after the Mark4 had passed, the IWT Liner with locomotive 206 came into view. While not unheard of, it’s a bit unusual to find an Enterprise painted class 201 working freight in 2014. Stranger things have happened, but I was happy enough to catch this in the sun. Lumix LX7 photo.
Most weekdays, Irish Rail’s IWT Liner works between Dublin’s North Wall and Ballina carrying intermodal freight. Class 201 General Motors diesels are most common, although Class 071 diesels work it occasionally.
In the last week of July, locomotive 206 dressed in the Enterprise livery for work on the Dublin-Belfast express passenger service, made several trips on the IWT Liner.
This offered a refreshing visual change, from the relatively monotonous parade of trains out of Dublin on the Cork line. On several occasions, I intercepted 206 in its freight duties. Making exposures with my Canon EOS 7D and Lumix LX7.
Another day, another liner. Locomotive 206 works around from the North Wall with the IWT liner heading for Ballina, County Mayo. Lumix LX7 photo.
Since arriving back in Dublin, I’ve had good luck catching one of the two advertsting trams wandering the Red Line. Without much effort on my part, the ‘Join Me’ painted tram, has appeared at all the right moments, and I’d made several representative views of it—as featured in earlier Tracking the Light posts.
By contrast, I’ve found more colourful ‘HB ice cream’ tram, has been elusive and difficult to photograph. This seems to zip by whenever my back is turned, or when I’m walking with a mission in the opposite direction.
My fortunes changed on July 31, 2014, when the HB tram glided down Benburb Street and stopped in front of me for about four minutes while waiting to reach its Heuston stop (which, lucky for me, was occupied by the car in front of it).
LUAS 3014 has paused on Benburb Street in Dublin.
This was just enough time to make a variety of images from different angles. Which is exactly what I’d been hoping to do, since every section of the tram is painted differently. It’s arguably the most colorful LUAS vehicle to prowl the system to date.
Each of the sections of this Alstom Citadis tram have been colored differently with LUAS themed advertising relating to HB Ice Cream. Thus simply making a head on view cannot capture the whole effect.Lucky of me to have a moment to wander along the side of the tram and make detailed views of each of the sections.This end features a refreshing shade of blue that reminds me of another colourful tram that wandered the Red Line about two years ago.This trailing view made from a low angle is my favorite of the group of images because it best shows the various colour sections with minimal distractions. About this time my phone rang while the tram got the light to proceeed.
All these views were made with my Lumix LX7, a camera I tend to carry with me everywhere I go.
Irish Rail 088 leads the HOBS near Islandbridge in Dublin on July 30, 2014. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.
Word came over the ‘telegraph’ that an Irish Rail HOBS (high output ballast system) train was on its way over to Islandbridge Junction to run around.
I’ve photographed the HOBS on previous occasions, but its one of the more unusual trains to catch on the move. This time, I thought I’d try a slightly different perspective from my standard location.
Using my Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens, I framed the line up in a tight vertical view prominently featuring the Wellington Testimonial. This massive obelisk rises high above the Phoenix Park. It is claimed to be Europe’s largest, and it can be seen from all around Dublin.
I made several views . Unfortunately, while there was a big patch of blue sky behind me, the sun wasn’t fully out when the train arrived. So I had to do my best to work with what I had.
It didn’t take long for locomotive 088 to run around. Yet, I walked quickly, and I made and series of images of the train heading back into the Phoenix Park Tunnel.
Lumix LX7 view of the HOBS about pass into the Phoenix Park Tunnel on its way over to the North Wall. I modified the RAW file in Graphic Converter and Photoshop to improve the contrast using both global and localized adjustments.
The great thing about this exercise was the minimum time I had to wait around. Thanks to good contacts and prompt running (on the part of the HOBS) I scored several relatively unusual photos in just a few minutes!
Railway Preservation Society Ireland’s July 27, 2014 ‘The Marble City’ tour was scheduled to depart Connolly Station in Dublin at 0935.
It was essentially at sunny morning, but when I arrived at my spot in Islandbridge, a location known colloquially among local photographers as ‘the Box’, a band of light cloud was muting the sun.
I waited patiently, Canons at the ready, for the sounds of locomotive 461 exiting the Phoenix Park Tunnel.
Finally: a shrill whistle, a puff of steam and the clatter of carriages over the Liffey—and then! Yes, at the last possible moment the sun emerged. I exposed a few slides and these digital photos.
The Marble City tour passes Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station in Dublin on the morning of July 27, 2014. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D and 40mm pancake lens; ISO 200 f8 1/500 sec.Locomotive 461 at Islandbridge Junction. I can almost see my apartment from here.
As quickly as it had come, the train was gone. Yet, for several minutes, I could hear the engine working up the ‘gullet’ toward Inchicore.
Little did I know, but nearly 12 hours later, I’d photograph the late running return trip! Stay tuned!
For several days in a row it was clear, warm, sunny and bright in Dublin. In summer? Who would have thought? Walking around the city center one Friday afternoon, I made a point of trying to make some more photos of the pair of advertising trams prowling the LUAS Red Line.
After following the line on foot from Heuston Station, I slipped into a trackside café on Abbey Street for a late lunch. Here I sat by the window to keep an eye on things while I ate. The first of two trams glided westward shortly after my arrival, so I exposed some interpretive photos from inside the café.
A LUAS Citadis tram colourfully decorated to advertise icecream glides down Abbey Street near Liffey Street in Dublin. Lumix LX7 photo.Second of two images I made while having lunch. For me the ‘HB’ ice cream tram has been the more difficult of the two advertising trams on the Red Line.
As I was paying my bill, the second one passed in the opposite direction. This was easy enough to catch on foot, because it has to stop at the traffic lights before crossing O’Connell Street. The tram was destined for ‘The Point’ in Dublin’s docklands, and I estimated it would be about 20-25 minutes before it returned on its outward (westbound) trip.
On Abbey Street near the intersection with O’Connell Street in Dublin. Lumix LX7 photo.
I walked further, looking for an ideal place to catch it, finally deciding on the reverse curves near Busáras (Dublin’s central bus station) that I felt would best show the tram’s colors in a distinctive location.
This outbound tram takes the corner near Busáras (Central Bus Station) in Dublin. Clear blue skies and rich afternoon sun isn’t what I’d expect for Irish weather in July! Lumix LX7 photoA brief pause at traffic lights at Gardner Street allow opportunity for another photo. Lumix LX7 image.
I arrived back in Dublin aware that LUAS had a couple of trams working the Red Line in colourful advertising liveries. As I was on the 747 bus passing the city centre from the airport, I noted one of these working its way toward the Docklands.
Although I’ve been gone a few months, my memory of LUAS timings had the wheels turning in my head as the bus wandered its circuitous path through Dublin’s inner city.
By the time the bus arrived a Heuston Station, where it terminates its airport run, I calculated that the brightly coloured Citadis couldn’t be more than a few minutes away. So, with my luggage in tow, I marched toward my preferred morning location.
Just then it came into view.
The shade of yellow on the front of the ‘Join Me’ LUAS tram reminded me of the Portugese multiple units I photographed in April. Lumix LX7 photo.
Thankfully, it made a prolonged stop at Heuston, giving me time to dig out my LX-7 from the camera bag and reset it. I’d last been making multiple exposure HDR images of real 747s at Logan!
Air France 747 at Boston’s Logan Airport on the previous evening.
Among the difficulties of living within sight of the railway is the chance that such proximity may breed photographic apathy and slough. One the plus side, when something rumbles by, all I have to do is look out the window!
There are several nice photo locations within a ten minute walk of Islandbridge. On the downside, over the last decade I’ve covered these nearly to the point of exhaustion. Yet, that doesn’t keep me from taking advantage of them.
Shortly before 11am on Tuesday April 29, 2014, I heard the distinct roar of an Irish Rail 071 class diesel (built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division). I glanced out the window to see a gray locomotive roll into the Phoenix Park tunnel with a wagon transfer for Dublin’s North Wall.
Ah! A grey locomotive and the elusive wagon transfer!
I made a call to alert a friend, and a short while later I got a call back to say that the wagon transfer had collected three flats and was on its way back. The locomotive was 085 which wears a variation of the gray and yellow livery introduced a year ago.
Irish Rail 085 with three flat wagons approaches Islandbridge Junction on April 29, 2014. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens. I opted for vertical composition to feature the monumental Wellington Testimonial that sits in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. (Exposed at f9 1/500th of a second ISO 200).
It was a rare clear sunny morning, and I was keen to make a color slide of this engine passing Islandbridge Junction. Armed with good information, I walked five minutes up the road to my often-used location and waited. Less than 15 minutes passed before 085 appeared from the tunnel with the three flats.
A closer horizontal view with the same camera-lens combination. I adjusted the exposure by a one-third stop, opening to f8.0 to compensate for the lack of sky in the image. Locomotive 085 features a variation of the gray and yellow paint scheme introduced last year. This features the traditional three-digit locomotive number in larger fonts on the cab. This in addition to the recently introduced European multiple number printed in tiny type elsewhere on the engine.
I exposed a few digital images with my Canon EOS 7D and 100mm lens, before executing a color slide (or two) with my EOS 3 with 40mm lens. I was home less than 30 minutes after leaving. Back to the book writing! I’m presently researching a book on North American signaling.
Years ago, I noticed that in mid-April the evening sun floods Abbey Street in Dublin with low warm bright light. This only lasts for a few weeks. During the winter, the street is largely shadowed and in summer the evening sun swings too far to the north.
The other day, I walked along the LUAS Red Line on my way into the City Centre. Where Abbey Street crosses Capel Street there’s a bit of jog in the tracks which allows for an interesting perspective with a telephoto lens.
Looking east on Abbey Street in Dublin, April 25, 2014.Inbound and outbound LUAS trams pass near the Jervis Stop.The 100mm lens allows for moderate compression of the scene and makes use of the jog in the tracks. A 400mm lens will look much farther down the street and bring in a hint of Irish Rail’s Loop Line Bridge.One last image before the LUAS tram whizzes by me.
In past years, I’ve worked this spot with some really long lenses. However on this occasion I took a more conservative approach, choosing my Canon 100mm.
It was a Friday evening so there were lots of people on the street and outbound trams were full with passengers heading home.
In 1984, the DART began electric services between Howth and Bray. This offered an improvement to existing Dublin suburban services by wiring existing routes. The service was later extended to Greystones and Malahide.
An 8600-series DART pauses at platform 5 in Connolly Station. April 2014.
The line between Pearse Station (formerly Westland Row) and Dún Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown) had been opened in 1834 and is considered the world’s oldest suburban railway.
The hum of DART’s electric multiple units are a familiar tone of Dublin transport.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve made several images of DART trains during my travels around Dublin. All were exposed with my Canon EOS 7D.
The DART crosses over lines leading toward the North Wall—one of the few grade separated junctions in Ireland.DART interior view.A DART train arrives at Howth on April 23, 2014. Canon EOS 7D with 20mm lens.Dublin Area Railway map in Irish.A view of an 8600-series DART at Tara Street Station as seen from the Railway Preservation Society Ireland’s Easter Eggspress.Connolly Station, Dublin.Approaching Connolly.Platform 6 at Connolly Station.
A few years ago Irish Rail rebuilt a portion of its old line between Clonsilla and Navan. This had been closed in the early 1960s and the right of way had largely returned to nature.
In late 2009, I’d explored the rebuilding as tracks were being installed, but I’d been negligent in my photography of this new route since that time.
On Wednesday, April 16, 2014, I rode the LUAS tram to Dublin’s Docklands and walked over to Irish Rail’s Dockland station at the North Wall. This was built during the Celtic Tiger boom, which had also resulted in abandonment of most of Irish Rail’s North Wall freight yards.
An Irish Rail four-piece InterCity Railcar arrives at Dublin’s Docklands station on the afternoon of April 16, 2014. Lumix LX3 photo.Irish Rail at Docklands Station, North Wall, Dublin. April 16, 2014. This area was once sprawling freight yards. Lumix LX3.
I went for a relaxing spin directly to the end of the new branch at ‘M3 Parkway’. The track was in superb condition.
On my return trip, I changed trains at Clonsilla. Instead of returning via Docklands, I rode directly to Connolly Station. Later, I learned that two hours before my trip the elusive Sperry train had made a run to M3 Parkway and back! I had no idea. Right place, wrong time. Lucky miss, I guess.
ICR interior. Lumix LX3.Irish Rail’s InterCity Railcar at M3 Parkway station. Lumix LX3 photo.A 29000 series railcar works toward M3 Parkway at Clonsilla. Canon EOS 7D photo.On the left is a 29000 series railcar destined for M3 Parkway, in the distance a train from Maynooth to Connolly Station can be seen at the new Junction where the route to M3 Parkway diverges to the right. Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.
Who said a dull rainy evening isn’t a good time to make photos? I beg to challenge that!
On the evening of March 21, 2014, I was at the corner of Abbey and O’Connell Streets in Dublin just as the final hints of daylight were about to mopped up by heavy low clouds.
I exposed these photos with my handheld Lumix LX3 set at ISO 200. Dublin’s LUAS trams provided a handsome subject and the rain added a bit of gloss.
Abbey Street, Dublin. The Grand Central Bar on the right. Exposed at f2.8 1/15th second ISO 200.A cyclist negotiates O’Connell Street. Pan photo exposed at f2.8 1/6th of a second at ISO 200.Exposed at f2.8 1/8th of a second ISO 200.Looking west on Abbey Street.Waiting for the lights to change.Crossing O’Connell Street.
Bank of Ireland on College Green, Dublin.Irish Four Courts along the River Liffey.General Post Office on O’Connell Street with Spire.Sin é.LUAS at Heuston Station.
Sometimes Hollywood film makers have this trick where after rolling the credits they save one last scene that ties the whole picture together.
Ok, so after four tries to make a satisfactory photo of Dublin’s Heuston Station lit in the Spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve finally achieved a more acceptable result.
On the previous two evenings, I’d walked to Heuston with intent of catching the station lit in green with a hit of dusk in the sky. I’d come prepared with my tripod, and stood around in the chill of evening waiting in vain for the lights to come on.
No joy there, I’m afraid. In both instances, while I made fine images of the station in the evening light, I wasn’t rewarded with the seasonal lighting.
I’d arrived from County Mayo on this Irish Rail Intercity Rail Car (ICR), seen on the platforms at Heuston Station Station on the evening of March 13, 2014. Exposed with my Lumix LX3.
On Thursday March 13, 2014, I arrived at Heuston by train having traveled by train from County Mayo. My train arrived after 9:30 pm and a wafting fog had settled over the city.
On exiting the station I noticed that it was bathed in green light. Finally!
I set about making photos, although I was hampered by the lack of a tripod. To brace the camera, I used various existing structures, propping it up with coins to get the desired angle.
Having previously found that automatic settings, even when adjusted for nominal over exposure, tended to result in an unacceptably dark image, I opted to set the camera manually. I made a series of images, of which this one offered the best exposure and the greatest sharpness.
All things being equal, I’d preferred to have had the camera on a tripod and a twilight quality in the western sky, but I was happy with my Paddy’s Day Heuston.
This is the un-modified camera produced Jpeg exposed on the evening of March 13, 2014. Exposed using a Panasonic Lumix LX3; ISO 80 f2.0 shutter open for 1 and 1/6th seconds. Image stabilizer was set to ‘Auto’.
Working with the camera RAW File, in post processing I manually lightened shadow areas, controlled highlight contrast, and removed undesired flare from the sky, in a effort to replicate the scene as I remember it.
You see, I’m not so easily satisfied. Sure after four tries at this photo you’d think I’d be happy with what I just got. However, on March 15th I returned to Heuston Station one more time. I timed my arrived to allow for a hint of dusk in the western sky. And, I brought my tripod.
Saturday evening is a better time to make photos at Heuston. There’s less highway traffic and fewer people to get in the way.
I had my spots all picked out by now. I just had to go and execute the photos with the station bathed in green light. Significantly these photos are unmodified camera Jpgs. All I’ve done is scale them for presentation. It helps to have the light just right.
Heuston Station on March 15, 2014. Exposed with a Lumix LX3 at f 2.8 for 2 seconds ISO 80. Daylight white balance. Camera mounted on mini Gitzo tripod. Unmodified file.
Heuston Station on March 15, 2014. Exposed with a Lumix LX3 at f 2.8 for 1.6 seconds, ISO 80. Daylight white balance. Camera mounted on mini Gitzo tripod. Unmodified file.
The other evening I made this opportunistic photo of Dublin’s Heuston Station. I was on my way to meet a friend for coffee, when I noticed that the station was seasonally bathed in coloured light. I made a couple of quick photos with my Lumix.
I set the over-exposure for +1/3 and allowed the camera to set the exposure using the ‘A’ (aperture-priority) setting (set for f2.0).
This is the in-Camera Jpg file. While the lights on the station are properly exposed, the over-all image appears too dark. The exposure was f2.0 a 1/6th of second at 200 ISO.
Unfortunately, the exposure was still too dark for my liking. While the front of the station is properly exposed, the rest of the scene was unacceptably dark.
I compensated with some post-processing contrast/exposure adjustment. Yet, I still feel this photo is too dark. But, since I’m walking distance from Heuston, I can return and try this again! As they say on the radio, ‘stay tuned!’
Working with the camera RAW file, I lightened the image using Photoshop while selectively controlling contrast and saturation. While much better than the camera produced Jpeg, I still feel this image is too dark. This however demonstrates the advantage of working with a RAW file, which has considerably more information than a comparable Jpeg.
During a visit with John Gruber at the old Omaha Union Station, where we met with the late-Bill Kratville, I made a series of photographs with my Contax G2 on Fuji 100 Acros black & white film.
The station is an art deco gem and well suited to the tonality of black & white photography.
I worked with my 16mm Hologon and 45mm Zeiss Planar and processed the film in Dublin using my customized formula for Agfa Rodinal Special developer (not to be confused for the more common Agfa Rodinal).
Omaha Union Station, exposed with a Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with a 45mm Zeiss Planar lens. Fuji 100 Acros black & white negative film.Exposed in October 2002 using a Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with a 16mm Hologon lens. Fuji 100 Acros black & white.John Gruber and Bill Kratville inside the old Omaha Union Station. Exposed with a Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with a 16mm Hologon lens. Fuji 100 Acros black & white.
Recently, I scanned these negatives using my Epson V600 flatbed scanner, then scaled the image-files for presentation here.
Omaha Union Station, exposed using a Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with a 16mm Hologon lens. Fuji 100 Acros black & white.
Back in the old days, if I went out and forgot to load my camera it was tough luck. No film, no photo. And, yes, there were several occasions where I suffered this humility.
Today, with my Lumix LX3, there’s a feature that gets me out of the occasional jam. The camera has a built-in memory that allows me to make several photographs when there is no memory card inserted (or if the memory card has an error/failure).
This means that in those rare situations where I have the camera, but have forgotten the card, I can still make a few photos.
Case in point. On April 11, 2012, I’d grabbed the camera and walked into the Dublin city center to run some errands. At the time, the LUAS tram network had a specially painted tram advertising Magnum ice cream bars. I’d seen this several times, but not managed to get a photo of it.
In fact, this tram had proved unusually elusive, and previous efforts to find it in sunlight failed. But on this day, as I wandered through Smithfield, the purple Magnum tram glided along side of me and came to a stop at an intersection in full sun. Perfect!
Except, when I went to make a photo, I got an error message telling me there was no card! I’d taken it out to download it and left it at home! OH NO! But the camera gave me the option of saving the file to the camera memory! Yea!
Specially adorned LUAS tram advertising Magnum ice cream bars pauses at an intersection near Smithfield in Dublin on April 12, 2012. Exposed with a Lumix LX3 and saved to the internal camera memory.
It doesn’t snow in Dublin very often, and when it snows it rarely stays on the ground for long. It had started snowing heavily overnight on November 28, 2010 and when I awoke, there was a fresh blanket of snow all over everything.
I made the most of morning. Among the locations I selected was along the LUAS tram line that follows the Grand Canal.
A man was feeding the birds and these were circling. Using my Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens, I made a series of photos of an inbound LUAS Citadis tram heading toward the city center from Tallagh.
The birds in flight make an already unusual situation even more interesting. They add depth and life to a cold and frosty scene. The tram itself is almost incidental. Yet we can follow its progress along the canal, its tracks gradually descending in the distance.
This pair of images will never be repeated. Here we have Irish Rail’s afternoon passenger to Dublin consisting of Mark 3 set led class 201 number 222 (known colloquially as the ‘Bishop Tutu’). That same afternoon, at about 3:40pm an empty timber with a mixed pair of 121/141s arrived from Waterford.
The afternoon Westport-Dublin passenger is ready to depart Westport on June 10, 2006. Nikon F3 with Nikkor f2.8 24mm lens.Irish Rail 146 and 134 arrive at Westport with an Empty Timber from Waterford on June 10, 2006. Nikon F3 with Nikkor f2.8 24mm lens.
What was unusual that day was an electrical power cut had required the use of portable generators at the station, making for an unusual discordant cacophony at the normally peaceful location.
Despite the racket, I went about making photographs. Here, I carefully composed both views from the footbridge by the signal cabin using the same angle to show the contrasting trains in the classic scene. It was the end of an era. Soon all would change.
Since that time, Irish Rail has retired the small General Motors diesels. The 121s made their final runs in 2008, the 141s finished a couple of years later. The Mark III passenger carriages were withdrawn from traffic; today passenger trains to Westport run with Irish Rail’s Rotem-built 22000-series railcars.
I exposed both photos on Fujichrome with my Nikon F3 fitted with a 1960s vintage Nikkor f2.8 24mm lens.
I returned to Dublin on the evening passenger train, also with Mark 3s and a 201 class General Motors diesel.
The blue hour settles over Dublin on a typically damp spring evening in March 1998.
Dublin’s Grand Canal as viewed from Portobello Bridge in March 1998. Nikon F3T with with a 50mm lens, exposed on Fujichrome 64T color slide film.
I spent the evening working with my Nikon F3T to make photographs in my new neighborhood at Portobello, where I’d rented a flat a short distance from the old Grand Canal.
To enhance the effect of dusk and help balance for incandescent lights, I exposed this image on Fujichrome 64T, a tungsten film that offered a bluer-color balance designed for use with incandescent lighting. Years earlier, when I worked in a commercial photo studio this had been our standard film (albeit in 4×5 and 8×10 sizes).
You can produce a similar effect with digital cameras by adjusting the color balance manually. Many cameras, including my Lumix LX-3 and Canon EOS 7D, offer incandescent light color balance settings. If you use the ‘auto white’ balance, it will tend to cancel out the bluish twilight effect.
Dublin is a quiet place on Christmas morning. Almost everything is shut. The roads are relatively empty. The buses aren’t running. There are scant few people on the normally busy streets. And the railways are asleep.
Irish trains don’t run Christmas Day. And Dublin’s terminals are locked up tight. It’s a strange sight to see Heuston Station by daylight with nothing moving around it. This normally busy place is unnaturally quiet.
Heuston Station on Christmas morning 2004, exposed on Fujichrome using a Contax G2 rangefinder fitted with a 16mm Zeiss Hologon flat field lens. Exposure and focus were done manually.
Yet, what better time to make architectural views of the 1840s-built terminal?
There are no buses or LUAS trams to interfere with the station’s classic design. Cars are relatively few. You can stand in the middle the street to compose photos with little chance of being run over.
One of the peculiarities of the 16mm Zeiss Hologon is its flat field. When kept at a level with the subject this prevents vertical line convergence, however when not level, verticals suffer from extreme convergence; yet the lens doesn’t suffer from barrel-distortion, a characteristic of many wide-angle lens designs. It can be used to make distinctive architectural views.
Footbridge at Clonmel, County Tipperary on November 19, 2004. Exposed with a Nikon F3 on Fujichrome slide film.
It would be something else if it were unreal, no?
I’ve always liked to make macro views of railways. Examining the texture, colors, and shape of the equipment, track and structures allows for better appreciation of the subject.
One of the best times to make close ups and detail photographs is under dramatic lighting; low sun or stormy light, where richer qualities make for more pleasing tones. Even the most mundane and ordinary subjects seem more interesting with great light.
Yet, detailed views can also make use of dull days when by focusing on texture and using extreme focus can compensate for flat lighting.
Irish Rail made for an especially good subject for detailed images, in part because there was so much antique equipment to photograph. Well-worn infrastructure is inherently fascinating. Here out in the open metal has been doing a job for decades and often it shows the scars from years of hard work, like an old weaver’s time weathered hands.
I’ve made hundreds of Irish Rail close-ups over the years. Here a just a few. Look around railways near you and see what you find! Sometimes the most interesting photographs can be made while waiting for trains.
Distant signal for Nicholastown gates. Nikon F3 with 180mm lens, Fujichrome slide film.Signal cabin interior at Rathmore. I like lever 23 the most. Exposed with a Contax G2 fitted with a 16mm Hologon, focused manually.Crows congregate on the Carrick on Suir footbridge on December 11, 2004. I made this image with my Nikon F3 with a 180mm Nikkor telephoto while waiting for an empty sugar beet train. Do you think the crows care about blue NIR diesels?On Spring evening, Enfield cabin catches a fading wink of sunlight.Irish Rail 175 basks in the November sunlight at Mallow, County Cork. Canon EOS 3 with 24-70mm zoom lens.
