Tag Archives: Gallery

This features recent work and exceptional images for display and discussion.

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Final 2020 Mountaineer

Saturday, November 14, 2020, Conway Scenic Railroad operated its final Mountaineer of the 2020 operating season. As scheduled, this ran from North Conway to Crawford, Notch, New Hampshire and return.

Historically CSRR ceased operations over Crawford Notch earlier in the season.

I used this rare late-season move over the former Maine Central Mountain Division to make some unusual photos. Bare leaf-less trees allow for views that are unobtainable during the summer and early autumn.

During the course of the operating season, I’d made several head-end trips and Hyrail inspections of the line to look for angles. Some of the finest locations I found are a long way from public highways. 

For this photo of eastward train 162, I climbed to an elevated point, and used my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.

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Sunbursts at Buzzards Bay.

After departing Cape Cod in early November, we paused near the massive lift bridge and old station and signal tower at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

The railroad was quiet, but I made a few photos of the structures there using my Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera.

Setting the aperture to its smallest position—f22—allowed me to make sunbursts silhouetts with the midday sun.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Shinkansen on Frame 39.

Working with slide film had its perils. Normally, I used 36 exposure roles.

However, I’d carefully load my manual cameras and try to squeeze as many photos out of each rolls as possible.

This was risky, because often the last frame would get ruined in processing. So, I typically save that final frame for something less important, but still interesting.

On April 23, 1997, my father and I waited on a Shinkansen platform at Nishi Akashi west of Osaka. I made a few photos of this passing Series 300 Series highspeed train as it blasted by at approximately 186mph.

Working with my old Nikon F3T, I exposed this final frame on a roll of Fuji Provia 100 as the train passed me at speed. In processing, Fuji cut the last little bit of the slide (to the left of the train). 

For years this slide sat in a box, unworthy of slide shows. I scanned it yesterday. Below are two versions. One is full frame, the other is cropped.

Full-rame JPG scan of frame 39 showing the effect of the cut. Nishi Akashi, Japan.
Cropped scan of the same slide.

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MBTA at Walpole.

In conjunction with line works on the west end of MBTA’s Franklin Branch, weekend trains were terminating at Walpole, Massachusetts with bus connections to Norfolk, Franklin and Forge Park.

The old passenger station is still in use at this location.

Here, the Franklin Branch crosses the former New Haven Railroad Old Colony line that runs between Mansfield and Framingham, Massachusetts on a traditional diamond.

More than 30 years ago I visited Walpole on several occasions to photograph trains passing the steam era semaphores that still protected the diamond.

These photos were made in November 2020 using my Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera.

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Rabbit at Dusk

DB (Germany Railways) class 218 diesel hydraulic locomotives are known as ‘Rabbits’ because of the rabbit ear appearance of their exhaust stacks.

Once a very common type, the Rabbits have been on decline for more than a decade.

On January 17, 2007, photographer Denis McCabe and I caught this Rabbit at the Bavarian town of Buchloe, where two non-electrified lines converged.

Working with my Canon EOS 3 with 24mm lens, I made this photo on Fujichrome.

A few minutes ago I scanned the slide with a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 and imported the TIF file into Adobe Lightroom for adjustment and scaling.

The TIF was made at 4000dpi and the file is about 115MB. By contrast the scaled and adjusted JPG is just under 1 MB, which makes it practical to present via the internet here.

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Purple Train in November Sun

As a follow up to yesterday’s Tracking the Light post, here’s a photograph at the same location exposed a few minutes later of a northward MBTA commuter train from Providence, Rhode Island, passing Mansfield, Massachusetts.

I exposed this photo with my FujiFilm XT1 moments after the train made its Mansfield Station stop. The HSP46 diesel-electric locomotive is at the back of the push-pull consist.

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Guilford 252 in 1997

Back in July (2020), I posted a photo of Guilford Rail System 252 under the title ‘Unexpected Surprise’. See: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2020/07/23/unexpected-surprise/

The significance of the locomotive is that Maine Central 252 (pictured) is now owned by Conway Scenic, where I now work as the Manager of Marketing.

Today’s TTL photograph portrays the same train, Guilford’s EDLA (East Deerfield to Lawrence, Massachusetts) a little later on the same May 1997 evening.

After photographing it near Farleys, Mike Gardner and I had continued east on Route 2.

Here on the Wendell-Erving town line, I had aimed to recreate a photo that I’d made with photographer Brandon Delaney a dozen years earlier, when I caught an eastward train from the same spot. In that earlier photo a derelict barn was standing to the left of the road.

In this view all the remained of the barn was the foundation.

I offer two variation of the same photo. The top is a straight scan without post processing adjustment to contrast, color etc. The second features my processing to improve the appearance of the image.

May 16, 1997.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Contrasty Kodachrome

Often I consider my Kodachrome slides among my finest photographs.

By not always.

In the mid-1990s, Kodachrome went through an unsettled phase and the film didn’t perform as well as it had in the late 1980s early 1990s. The reasons for these changes may be a discussion for another day.

On April 11, 1997, I joined photographers Mike Gardner and George Pitarys on a productive chase of New England Central’s southward freight, number 608.

At Willimantic, Connecticut, I made this photo along the river by some old thread mills (some since demolished).

April light can be challenging. Harsh contrast combined with a yellowish tint from air pollution makes for a raw ‘brassy’ quality that Kodachrome didn’t reproduce well.

Scaled scan, otherwise unadjusted for color, contrast, sharpness etc.

I scanned this slide a little while ago and then imported the TIFF file into Adobe Lightroom, which I used to soften the contrast, lighten the shadows and correct the harsh color rendition. See adjusted version below

It isn’t perfect, but then again the lighting on the day wasn’t ideal.

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NOVEMBER 4, 2019—Nearly ONE YEAR AGO.

How a year goes by! November 4th last year sticks in my mind as one of the best nights for rainy night photography in a very long time.

I’d caught up with fellow poor-weather nocturnal photographers, Jay Monaghan, Paul Maguire and Kevin O’Brien at Drumcondra in Dublin to catch the elusive Irish Rail ‘HOBS’ (ballast train) hauled by General Locomotives diesel 075.

It was cold and sluicing rain.

After catching the ballast passing Drumcondra station, we nipped across town by rail to Sandymount, where we waited in the rain for another shot.

Working with my Fujifilm XT1 I made these memorable images.

Now, armed with Iridient X-Transformer, I went back to last year’s success and re-interpreted some of my favorite images from that damp Irish evening, which now seems so distant.

Tracks in the rain at Drumcondra, Dublin.
Irish Rail 075 leads the HOBS at Drumcondra on November 4, 2019.
A DART suburban train pauses at Sandymount, Dublin.
Irish Rail’s HOBS against the backdrop of the Lansdowne Road stadium.
The low resonating road of the 12-645E3 diesel fading into the gloom concludes Irish Rail’s HOBS passage at Sandymount on the evening of November 4, 2019.

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[Note: my intent was to publish this on November 4, 2020, but when composing the post I accidentally posted it immediately. My efforts to reschedule the post had the net effect of disrupting the link. So I’ve reposted it this morning (Tuesday November 3).]

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Frosty Morning in Salzburg

I had a full day in Salzburg at the tail end of a week-long winter exploration of Austria and Bavaria.

Standing on the banks of the nearly frozen Salzach, I made this view of a DB (German Railways) Regional Express set running empty from the Salzburg Hbf.

Although the sky was clear above, an inversion layer had trapped pollution near the ground giving the light a brown tint.

Salzburg is near the border with Germany and German and Austrian services overlap in this area.

35mm Fujichrome slide scanned using a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 with VueScan software.

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Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Tram and Goggles at Plzen

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.

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Frankenstein on Halloween!

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Where better to photograph a train on Halloween than Frankenstein trestle?

This afternoon, Kris Sabbatino and I ventured to this iconic landmark to catch the eastward Conway Scenic Mountaineer.

Mount Washington seen to the right of the train was covered in fresh autumn snow.

The bridge is named for the nearby cliffs, which were named not for the characters of Mary Shelley’s fictional story, but rather for the family of German artists that painted landscapes of the Mount Washington Valley in the 19th Century.

Exposed using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm lens.

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Something Spooky for Halloween!

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Lost in the woods of northern New Hampshire is this relic of an era—all but lost to time.

The long-abandoned Maplewood Station served resort traffic on Boston & Maine’s Bethlehem Branch, a short railway built as narrow gauge in the late 19th century and later converted to four foot eight and a half inches.

By the 1920s, New England railroading was already in decline, and this branch was one of the earliest class I abandonments. Yet the old station building survived.

On the advice of Wayne Duffett, Kris Sabbatino and I made a foray into the forest to find this hollow spectre of railroading, languishing like a sad old ghost, and soon to crumble back into the earth.

I made these digital photos variously using my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit and Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor zoom.

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Swiss Stadler at Champery.

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The ability to improve my interpretation of Fuji RAW files using Iridient X-Transformer made me curious to re-examine some of my Fuji photos from years gone by.

I selected a photo that I made on trip to Switzerland with photographer Denis McCabe in April 2017. This image was made at the Champery terminus of a TPC branch that extends into the Alps from Aigle. 

Here I’ve presented a comparison between the Lightroom interpreted RAW (scaled and converted to JPG for internet presentation) and the same file converted into a DNG file using Iridient X-Transformer. Since it is difficult to appreciate the improved sharpness when viewed on a small scale, I’ve enlarged a portion of each image that focuses on the LED lamps and rivets on the then new Stadler railcar.

The final image was derived from the Iridient converted DNG and involved nominal adjustments to color balance, color temperature, contrast and saturation that are aimed a making a more pleasing final photograph.

Unmodified Fuji RAW file imported into Lightroom and exported as a Jpg.
Enlarged crop of the above Fuji RAW file.

This image is derived from the same Fuji RAW file but converted into a DNG file by Iridient X Transformer before being scaled as a JPG file in Lightroom. There were no changes to color, contrast or level.
Enlarged detail of the Iridient converted file. Notice the improved clarity around the lights, rivets and small writing on the side of the railcar as compared with the Lightroom interpreted RAW above.

Final processed photograph using the DNG file converted from Fuji RAW and then adjusted for color balance, color temperature, contrast, saturation and level in Lightroom before being outputted as a JPG for internet presentation.

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Nature with the Nikon Z6

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Over the last few weeks I’ve been experimenting with my new Nikon Z6.

Last weekend, Kris Sabbatino and I spent the afternoon photographing along the headwaters of the Saco River in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire.

Among the useful features of this camera is the adjustable rear display and touch screen, which combine with easily adjustable focus points makes low angle close focus photography.

Below is small selection of my nature photos from last weekend.

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Rail transit marathon

Kodak Kodak Kodak (on the side of a Tram)

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In May, 2000, I made this photograph of a Tatra tram (advertising Kodak film) on the streets of Prague using a Nikon F3T that was fitted with a Nikkor 24mm lens and loaded with . . .

Fuji Sensia II!

Just for the record, on a visit to Fuji, Japan, I photographed a 1067mm gauge freight train on Kodachrome.

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Pan Am POED Five Years Ago

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On this day five years ago (October 23, 2015), I photographed Pan Am symbol freight POED crossing the Connecticut River at East Deerfield, Massachusetts.

I was working with my first FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm Fujinon zoom.

This image is scaled from the in-camera JPG exposed using the Velvia color profile—designed by Fuji to emulate the color palette and contrast of its popular color slide film of the same brand name.

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SUN, SNOW AND AUTUMN LEAVES AT FABYAN.

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Below are a few more photos from last Saturday’s 470 Club Special over the Maine Central Mountain Division.

Heavy early season snow made for a cosmic setting at Fabyan, NH where the locomotives ran around the train for the return run to North Conway.

Conway Scenic Railroad’s track patrol wasn’t as impressed with the snow as the passengers on the special. Prior to the train’s arrival at Fabyan, the members of the patrol had to remove numerous fallen trees which had succumbed to the weight of the early season snow.

Sun at Fabyan made for some interesting photo opportunities.

These images were exposed using my FujiFilm XT1. Fuji RAW files were converted to DNG format using Iridient X-Transformer and adjusted using Adobe Lightroom.

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New England Central Numerical Transition

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New England Central Railroad (NECR) began operations of the former Central Vermont route in February 1995. Initially, it ran the railroad with a small fleet of largely former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio GP38s numbered in the 9500-series.

In 1998, NECR was in the process of renumbering these locomotives into the 3800-series, which logically echoed their model type.

In October 1998, photographer Mike Gardner and I spent a morning photographing the southward 608 on its run from Palmer, Massachusetts to New London, Connecticut. The lead engine displayed its new 3800-series number, but the trailing engine still had its old number.

Many of the GP38s have carried these 3800-series numbers ever since that time.

Exposed on Fujichrome using a Nikon N90S with Nikon f2.8 80-200mm AF zoom lens. The freight is crossing the Yantic River at Yantic, Connecticut.

Enlarged view of the same color slide.

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Sunrise at the Benicia Bridge with Ektachrome—August 1993.

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A few weeks ago on Tracking the Light, I described my early experiences with Kodak’s Ektachrome LPP (a warm-tone emulsion with subtle color rendition), of which I received a free-sample from Kodak back in August 1993.

See: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2020/10/06/kodak-lpp-a-tunnel-motor-and-a-camel/

Among the other photos on that roll, was this view exposed shortly after sunrise of Amtrak’s Los Angeles-bound Coast Starlight crossing Southern Pacific’s massive Benicia Bridge near Martinez, California.

Full frame scan of a 35mm Ektachrome LPP slide exposed in August 1993.

I had loaded the film into a second-hand Nikkormat FTN that I fitted an f4.0 Nikkor 200mm telephoto.

This slide sat in the dark until I scanned it on October 6, 2020.

Much enlarged crop of the same slide to better show Amtrak’s Coast Starlight.

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photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

New York Subway—November 1998.

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On a visit to New York City in 1998, my father and I made a trip on the Flushing Line of the New York Subway.

I exposed these photos using Fuji Sensia II (100 speed slide film) with my Nikon N90S.

Last week I digitized the slides using a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 scanner powered by VueScan software.

To make the most of the dark contrasty images I opted for multiple pass scans—a feature offered by VueScan that is similar in concept to the HDR setting used my some modern digital cameras—that blend several scans of the same image at different exposure values into one file to maximize shadow and highlight detail.

After exposure, I adjusted the scans using Adobe Lightroom and outputted these images with watermark for internet presentation.

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Cobh Branch October 2014

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Working with my Canon EOS7D, on October 7, 2014, I made these photos of a Cobh-bound Irish Rail 2600-series railcar pausing at Rushbrook, Co. Cork.

Irish Rail’s Ken Fox was giving me a detailed tour of the line.

I made my first visit to the Cobh Branch in 1999. The same 2600-series railcars worked it then, but in a bright orange, black and white livery.

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Conrail at Warren, Massachusetts.

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Today’s photo is in honor of my late-friend, Robert A. Buck of Warren, Massachusetts, who would have turned 91 today (October 12, 2020).

In the 1940s, Bob Buck made priceless photos of New York Central’s Boston & Albany around Warren, and elsewhere across the railroad. For most of his life he ran Tucker’s Hardware, later Tucker’s Hobbies in Warren, which was a gathering point for those interested in railroads.

On December 6, 1992, I exposed this photo of an eastward Conrail freight, probably SEPW (Selkirk to Providence & Worcester RR) climbing through Warren behind six General Electric B23-7s.

I had Kodachrome 25 film loaded in my Nikon F3T and I used a 35mm PC (Perspective Control) lens, all neatly leveled out on a Bogen 3021 tripod with ball head.

The pronounced chugging of multiple FDL diesel engines powering these locomotives as they ascended the grade through Warren would have announced the approach of the freight several minutes before the headlight appeared west of the old Warren Station.

The making of this image would have coincided with one of my countless visits to Tucker’s Hobbies in the 1980s and 1990s.

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Five Foliage Views from the Old Maine Central Mountain Division

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Last week, I spent several days on the former Maine Central Mountain Division making photographs of the line in the autumn foliage as part of my job for the Conway Scenic Railroad.

This is an amazing section of railroad with lots of history and lore.

I’ve included just five of the several hundred digital photographs I made that I feel best capture the season and the character of the railroad.

East of the Arethusa Falls grade crossing looking toward Frankenstein Cliff. Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
Track maintenance at Bartlett, NH. FujiFIlm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit.
Site of the Mount Willard section house looking toward the Willey Brook Bridge.. FujiFIlm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit.
Telegraph pole west of MP80 looking. FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens.

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Storm Light at Bartlett—October 10, 2020.

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I arrived at Bartlett, NH, several minutes ahead of Conway Scenic’s train 162, the eastward Mountaineer. The sky was chocolate.

Then as the train approached the crossing with Rt302 west of town, the clouds parted to bathe the scene with strong rays of afternoon autumn sunlight.

I made photos with both my Nikon Z6 and my FujiFilm XT1 (with 27mm pancake lens).

This image was exposed with the Fuji.

I converted the Fuji RAW using Iridient software to make a DNG file, which I then imported into Adobe Lightroom for final adjustment.

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Autumn Sky at Crawford

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Yesterday afternoon (Thursday, October 8, 2020), I set up at the Gateway at Crawford Notch to photograph Conway Scenic’s Mountaineer.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been focusing on this train to make publicity photos for advertising, social media, etc.

The sky above the White Mountains was a turmoil of clouds.

Shortly before the train departed Crawford Station eastbound, the sun peaked through a hole in the clouds and brightly illuminated the train against this textured sky.

I was lucky, and later in the day this effect was repeated at Bartlett.

Exposed with a FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm prime telephoto; White balance set to ‘daylight’. Camera JPG scaled for internet.
Exposed with a FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm prime telephoto; White balance set to ‘daylight’.

I’ll save that view for a later posting.

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Gang Mills Sunset—Fixing a Chrome.

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On November 24, 1998, photographer Mike Gardner and I were wrapping our photography for the day, having spent it following the old Erie Railroad mainline in New York state. A railroad then operated as part of Conrail’s Southern Tier District.

Just after sunset, we were visiting the old bridge (since removed) over the east end of the Gang Mills Yard (near Corning, New York). A bit of evening ‘drop under’ sun had tickled the clouds pink, when a headlight appeared to the west.

Working with my Nikon N90S with 80-200mm lens, I made a sequence of photos on Kodachrome 200 of the passing Conrail piggyback train. This film offered speed, but it was difficult to work with. Not only was K200 grainy, but it had a fairly narrow expose latitude as compared with either Fuji Sensia or Kodachrome 25. 

At the time I made the slide, I’d exposed for the sky, aiming to retain the texture and color, but as a result the tracks and train were a bit under exposed. Last night, I made a multiple pass scan from a slide in the sequence. Then in post processing, I lightened the foreground, while adjusting color and contrast for a more pleasing image, yet one that hopefully looks like it was exposed on Earth, and not on Mars.

Below are two comparisons. The first is the unadjusted scan (scaled for internet), the second is my adjusted scan.

Unadjusted scan of a Kodachrome 200 slide.
Kodachrome slide scanned using a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 and adjusted in Adobe Lightroom.

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Kodak LPP; A Tunnel Motor and a Camel.

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In the summer of 1993, I attended an event in San Francisco hosted by Kodak to debut a new Ektachrome slide film. As part of the event, Kodak gave everyone a sample of LPP, a warm-tone emulsion with subtle color rendition.

I had recently bought a Nikkormat FTN from a co-worker, and promptly loaded the camera with the new film.

It was mid-August, when I climbed to the top of a hill over-looking Southern Pacific’s Cal-P route with a view of Suisun Bay/Carquinez Straits and the stored navy ships anchored there.

SP eastward freight led by a Tunnel Motor and a leased Conrail C32-8.

Curiously, this SP westward freight had a Conrail C32-8 in consist. This was one of ten built as test beds for Conrail in summer 1984 and routinely operated on the Boston & Albany route through the 1980s. They were known as ‘camels’ because of their hump-back appearance. It was odd to see such a familiar locomotive so far from home.

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Crawford Notch—Line-side and from the Cab.

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The railroad takes on different characters when view from line-side versus that when view from from the locomotive cab.

The perspectives and impressions you get when standing on the ground are very different than the views from a locomotive cab in motion.

Part of this is the difference in elevation. Part is where you can safely stand in relation to the railroad and how lineside obstructions alter your view.

Over the last few weeks and months I’ve made various headend and walking trips on the old Maine Central Mountain Division.

Among the most interesting places is the area east of Crawford Notch, New Hampshire.

Below are two views exposed three days apart from the same location near milepost 83 looking west. One is from the ground of Conway Scenic Railroad’s train 162—the eastward Mountaineer, the other from the headend of the westward train. 

Exposed with a Nikon Z6 fitted with 24-70mm lens.
Exposed with a Nikon Z6 fitted with 24-70mm lens.

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Conrail at Twin Ledges—27 Years Ago.

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On October 3, 1993—27 Years Ago Today—I made this Kodachrome slide of a Conrail eastward freight on the former Boston & Albany.

I’d set up with a Nikkormat FTN fitted with a Nikon AF28mm lens.

I wanted to exemplify the deep rock cuttings and so made use of the afternoon shadows.

The lit marker lamps on the lead locomotive was an unusual and unanticipated detail that make this photo more interesting.

Twin Ledges is a pair of rock cuts on a double S-bend in the Berkshires timetable west of the old Middlefield Station on the Boston & Albany mainline.

Kodachrome 25 slide scanned using a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 powered by VueScan software. Tif file adjusted using Adobe Lightroom and scaled for internet.

My late friend Bob Buck of Warren, Massachusetts, had first shown me this iconic location in 1982, and I’ve made countless visits back to this spot over the years.

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Taking a Chance on Sunset at Bethel, Maine.

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In the 1990s, I chased the glint with Kodachrome in my cameras.

Sometimes on the remote chance of getting a one in a 10,000 shot, I’d set up on some lightly used section of track in the golden hour on the off chance that I’d be rewarded.

My chances were better than the lottery

Sometimes I got lucky.

Last Saturday, September 26, 2020, I was driving around western Maine with Kris Sabbatino. We stopped near Bethel to get bottles of water at a convenience store. Ahead of me in line was a woman who spent $81 on a six pack of beer and lottery tickets.

Personally, I feel that lottery tickets are a waste of money. Although my grandfather had phenomenal luck with cards and lottery tickets and sometimes won.

Instead of spending money on the lottery, we took a slight detour to the old Grand Trunk tracks. This is now Genesee & Wyoming’s St. Lawrence & Atlantic. Operations are infrequent and largely nocturnal. The number of daylight trains through Bethel in a year can be counted on one hand. This year I’ve been aware of only three.

Despite these remote odds, I set up in the glint light and waited for a few minutes.

I was only rewarded with this sunset view of empty tracks. Yet my odds of success were far better than the lottery and I saved money on the tickets.

Exposed digitally using a FujiFilm XT1 fitted with 90mm prime telephoto.

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Foliage at 4th Iron.

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On Friday evening, September 25, 2020, I exposed this digital photograph on the former Maine Central Mountain Division at 4th Iron using my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit.

There are four iron bridges between Bartlett and Sawyers along the Saco River. The easiest to photograph is 4th Iron, which not only can be seen from Highway 302—that runs parallel to the railroad—but even has its own parking area complete with a sign ‘4th Iron’.

I liked the spot because of the bright red trees on both side of the Sawyers River.

The train pictured is Conway Scenic’s Mountaineer that was returning from Fabyan to North Conway, New Hampshire.

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Pan Am’s SAPPI-3 Part 1

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Last Sunday, Kris Sabbatino and I drove along the old Maine Central Hinkley Branch north from Waterville, Maine to photograph Pan Am Railway’s SAPPI-3 local freight.

This was on the advice of New Hampshire rail photographer Andrew Dale, who suggest the trip and the train timings, and who joined us along with Connor Welch later in the morning.

The day was clear and bright with a deep sky.

Working with my FujiFilm XT1 fitted with 28mm pancake lens, I made these photos as the freight departed SAPPI’s Somerset Mill. The train carried mostly 50-foot boxcars of paper product.

These two photos feature slight variations in composition and exposure. The top photo is slightly lighter than the bottom. Both are camera JPGs exposed with the Velvia color profile.

The pair of GP40s and old style boxcars is a real throwback to railroading of decades gone by. It was also the first real revenue freight that I’d photographed in daylight in months!

More photos to follow soon!

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Prague Metro-2000

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In May 2000, on one of two visits to Prague that Spring, I made this view deep below the streets of Soviet-era metro cars.

While the cars seemed old, the Metro was clean, quick and heavily used. However, there was a little bit of graffiti that emulated the style of New York City subway graffiti from the 1970s.

I exposed this Fujichrome color slide with my Nikon F3T.

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Irish Rail 164 at Birdhill

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On a misty April 2000 morning, Mark Hodge and I arrived at Birdhill, County Limerick to photograph the elusive Shale freight.

A bonus was catching the Nenagh Branch passenger train with steam-heated Cravens carriages running from Ballybrophy to Limerick behind Irish Rail 141-class number 164.

Although I have hundreds of photos of the General Motors Bo-Bo diesels working Irish Rail passenger trains, this was one of the few times I caught number 164 in service on a passenger train.

Exposed on Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO) using a Nikon N90S.

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