Last week, Wednesday 27 March 2019, photographer Denis McCabe and I set up at a rural level crossing south of Pampilhosa, Portugal on the double-track electrified Lisbon-Porto mainline.
Several minutes before a train, warning bells would ring and lights would flash, giving us ample time to prepare for photographs.
The crossing is conveniently situated near the apex of curve in an S-bend.
Working with my FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens, I exposed these photos of a Medway electric leading an empty cement train as it passed the crossing.
On the agenda for last week’s photographic adventure in Portugal was a venture into the Douro Valley.
In recent weeks line-works had resulted in a throw-back operation of regularly scheduled Douro Valley passenger services using vintage English Electric diesel hauled trains in place of diesel railcars.
[Translation: a limited opportunity to make photos of vintage trains in very scenic settings.]
Denis McCabe and I departed Porto in our hired car for a location I’d preselected the night before.
Google Maps provided the most direct (if not the shortest) route to a point south east of Aregos on the south bank of the river. Neither of us had ever been here before.
For me the Douro Valley resembles a populated version of California’s Feather River Canyon.
We made it just in time: shortly after our arrival we heard a diesel working up the valley. The cameras were hastily switched ‘on’, positions taken and photos made.
Exposed with a FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm lens.
Trailing view. Exposed with a FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm lens.This is a much enlarged and cropped view of the photo above.
Special thanks to Tracking the Light reader and fellow photographer Stephen Hirsch who supplied us with up to date details on Douro Valley operations.
Not bad for our first minutes in the Douro Valley. But there’s more to come! Stay tuned . . .
The class 1 carrier It would have been 43 years in operation today.
The name lives on as Conrail Shared Assets, the terminal operation jointly owned by Conrail’s buyers, Norfolk Southern and CSX.
Exposed on Kodachrome 25 slide film with a Leica.
I made this photo in September 1988 of Conrail OIBU (Oak Island to Buffalo) working the old Erie Railroad near Swain, New York.
May 2019 Trains Magazine features my Conrail retrospective. This is a prelude to a new book I’m working on that will cover Conrail and its predecessors—no foolin’!
Hopefully you see a full -colour landscape-orientation image of a Medway freight train.This is a portrait-orientation view of a Medway freight train.
Here’s a visually challenging situation: a semi-gloss black locomotive with yellow lettering cross-lit by the afternoon sun.
‘Cross-lit’: when a train has the front lit by the primary light source (in this case the sun) while the side of the train remains on the ‘dark side’ (that opposite from the primary light source).
In certain situations cross lighting can be used for dramatic effect; in others it may be viewed as unfortunate or non-conventional.
At Pampilhosa, I found cross-lighting was a good way to show the scenery, the empty freight train, and the effects of overhead catenary.
But does this photo work?
Brian Solomon is traveling in Portugal and may not be able to respond promptly to questions or queries. Hopefully photos will display without difficulty.
I made this view using my Lumix LX7 at Porto’s Campanha Station on Friday 29 March 2019. I’ve posted this using a wireless ‘hotspot’ connection from my MacBook to my iPhone. Apologies if the quality isn’t up to standards or if the photo doesn’t load quickly.
Porto Campanha, Portugal. (Normally there is a tilde over the second ‘a’ in Campanha.)Porto Campanha, Portugal. (Normally there is a tilde over the second ‘a’ in Campanha.)
I’ve exposed hundreds of photos in Portugal over the last few days. It may take some time before I’ve had time to sort through every thing.
As I write this, I’m sitting on a hillside with fellow photographer Denis McCabe overlooking the supremely scenic Douro Valley awaiting the passage of an English Electric diesel-hauled passenger train, as per the recommendations of Tracking the Light reader Stephen Hirsch.
Two months ago I was traveling with Chris Guss and Trains Magazine’s Brian Schmidt.
It was below zero fahrenheit when I made this sunset view of a southward Canadian National freight on on the old Wisconsin Central at Byron, Wisconsin.
I exposed this view with my FujiFilm XT1. The cold weather was taking its toll on my hands and the camera performance. In the end I was luck to get results.
This week Tracking the Light is on ‘auto pilot’ while Brian is traveling.
On 23 March 2019, I set up in Drumcondra along the Royal Canal on Dublin’s north side to photograph trains working the Newcomen Line.
Normally the visually intriguing Newcomen line trackage is only lightly used during midday with most moves scheduled for weekday rush hours.
Instead, Irish Rail typically routes trains on the parallel double-track line via Drumcondra Station; however on the weekend of 23-24 March 2019 works on that line resulted in diversions to the Newcomen Line.
I made these views using my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera.
I made this digital photo of a southward Portuguese Railways Pendolino train tilting through a curve at Pampilhosa using my FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens.
This is trailing view looking south toward Pampilhosa Station. Portuguese track is textbook perfect.
Brian Solomon is traveling in Portugal so communication may be infrequent.
Yesterday afternoon, Denis McCabe and I arrived at the impressive viaduct at Luso, Portugal on the Beira Alta line that runs toward the Spanish frontier.
I made this view of Intercidades 513 crossing the bridge at Luso, Portugal on its way toward Guarda.
Traveling light on this trip, I only have three cameras with me and a mere four lenses.
More to come!
Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light is on the road in Portugal.
Just a little while ago I was passing the usual place at Islandbridge Junction in Dublin. Although mostly cloudy, I took a glimpse over the wall. A horn hooted from the Phoenix Park tunnel and an Enterprise 201 eased out onto the Liffey Bridge.
As locomotive 206 approached, running light engine toward Irish Rail’s Inchicore Works, the clouds parted and brilliant morning sun illuminated the junction.
Lumix in hand, I made these photos!
Lumix LX7 photo 25 March 2019.
Irish Rail 206; Lumix LX7 photo 25 March 2019.
Travel Notice: Brian will be traveling over the coming days and weeks, so Tracking the Light notices and responses may become infrequent. However:
Please note: Although Brian will be traveling next week, Tracking the Light will continue to post articles every day.
It was Spring 1989 when I made this view of Delaware & Hudson’s westward EBBU at West Middlebury, New York on Conrail’s former Erie Railroad line from Hornell to Buffalo.
This was during New York, Susquehanna & Western’s operation of D&H, after it left the Guilford system and before it was acquired by Canadian Pacific.
Leading the train is a Delaware & Hudson locomotive still wearing Guilford colors but lacking the big ‘G’ on the side.
West Middlebury was a preferred location to catch mid-morning westward trains because the alignment of the railroad favored the morning sun as actually it ran southwest-northeast before curling around to get over Attica Hill.
I was still studying photography at the Rochester Institute of Photography, and typically worked with my antique Leica and Rolleiflex cameras. However for this image, I owe the generosity of my college roommate, Bob, who lent me his Hassleblad 503C for the day. I loaded this with Kodachrome 64 120, which offered superb sharpness and color rendering.
The camera’s 80mm Zeiss Planar lens was among the sharpest lenses available.
To demonstrate this fantastic combination of camera and film, I’ve offered three versions of this photo. The first is the uncropped image; the others show degrees of cropping to demonstrate both the versatility of the Hasselblad’s square format and the ability to crop in while retaining detail and sharpness.
Uncropped 120 K64.Slight crop to offer a superior balance and correct the level.Tight crop to better feature the train. Normally I disapprove of cropping, however I’ll make a rare exception for this circumstance where I feel nominal cropping improves the photograph.
I made this view handheld, and unfortunately didn’t get the level 100 percent perfect, so for years this view sat in my ‘seconds’ file. You could make a wall size print from the original chrome and count the blades of grass.
Looking at this Conrail photo makes me feel that March 23, 1989 wasn’t that long ago.
I’d left my apartment in Scottsville, New York before dawn and headed west on Rt33 in my white Toyota Corolla.
I knew I had a westbound climbing Batavia Hill—the nominal rise of the Water Level Route that ascended the Niagara Escarpment on the way toward Buffalo.
My Leica M2 was loaded with Kodachrome 200 ‘Fast Kodachrome’ (three stops faster than K25, which was my normal film in 1989).
I parked the car west of Batavia near CP406 (where New York Central’s 1950s track re-alignment to avoid downtown Batavia rejoined the historic railroad route). With time running short, I hike east beneath the code lines and set up my Leica with a 200mm Leitz Telyt telephoto on my Bogen 3021 tripod.
I could hear the slow moving westbound as the sun glimmered above the horizon. But then behind me fast moving eastward stack train blasted for Donahue Road. . .
The headlight of the westbound appeared and over the next few seconds I captured a running meet between the two Conrail trains. K200’s warm color balance and grain structure made for the perfect combination to distill the moment.
Rolling sunrise meet on Conrail’s Water Level Route west of Batavia, New York.
I’ve run this photo in various publications and it’s one of my favorite Water Level Route views.
I spent the rest of the day photographing along the former Erie Railroad, which was alive with trains. I remember it all as if it was yesterday.
I was working with two Nikons that day, one loaded with Fujichrome the other with Ektachrome. If I were to guess, I’d say based on the color balance and saturation of this slide that it was made on Fujichrome.
March 14, 2003—Sixteen years ago—I made this sunset view at Long Island Rail Road’s Jay Tower on a visit to Jamaica, Queens with Pat Yough.
Jamaica is among the busiest junctions in the United States and serves hundreds of LIRR trains daily.
Check out podcast Episode 17 ‘Conversations with Brian Solomon’: On a frosty day, I discuss the ins and outs of the freight car business with industry professional Dan Bigda. This offers an inside look into real freight railroading.
Dan has often asked me to make more photographs of freight cars when I’m out and about on the railroad, so here’s a few recent views of North American freight cars on the move exposed on frosty days during my January 2019 trip to Wisconsin.
Working with Czech-made Fomapan Classic in my Nikon F3, I’ve wandered the streets of Dublin seeking timeless images.
By careful chemical manipulation in the processing of the negatives, I aimed to extract exceptional shadow detail, maintain rich black tones and control highlight areas.
I’ve exposed these views over the last few weeks. In many instances, I’ve set my lenses to their widest apertures both to let greater amounts of light to reach the film, but also for the effects offered shallow depth of field.
Weather, including fog, added to the challenge and the atmosphere.
(If your not on Tracking the Light, be sure to click the Link to get the BIG picture.)
In the realms of the rarely seen on the move, Irish Rail’s bogie spoil train is one of the rarest.
By luck I’d spotted this train running toward Dublin’s North Wall on Wednesday 6 March 2019. And as it happened, the crew was taking train to the yard to swap one set for another.
Patience on my part yielded this view of the train returning from the North Wall. As seen from my standard location at Islandbridge Junction in Dublin.
The bottom line: it helps to live near the tracks, but it also helps to sit tight when something unusual and unscheduled is on the prowl.
Exposed digitally using a FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm prime telephoto.
I have a variety of my favorite images in my screen saver file that the computer brings up at random when I stop using it.
Many are railroad photos, some recent, some from the archives. One is a photo of a Shinkansen high speed train approaching Tokyo, another is a small critter on a railroad tie in Colorado, a third is a recent view on Canadian National’s Wisconsin Central on a bitterly cold evening.
In my mix is this classic view of Santa Fe DASH8-40BW 575 racing eastward through a curve at Willard, New Mexico.
I exposed it on Kodachrome 25 during a trip to California in January 1994. I worked with my old Nikon F3T with a prime 200mm Nikkor telephoto that was one of my staple lenses for many years.
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Irish Rail makes good use of its quad track on the Cork Line in southwest suburban Dublin. Fast Intercity trains overtake slower moving all-stops passenger trains and the occasional freight.
The other day Colm O’Callaghan and I spent sometime documenting the action.
The sky was a tapestry of clouds with spells bright blue sky. In other words a typical Irish afternoon.
I made these views with my FujiFilm XT1 and 27mm pancake lens. Since top speed for passenger trains is 100 mph/160 kmph, I set the camera to 1/1000 second to freeze the action.
In addition to the digital photos I made a few select views on Fujichrome Provia with my old Nikon N90S and 135mm lens. Those remain in the camera.
Irish Rail ICRs work the Dublin-Westport train on the ‘down slow’ line.
A few minutes later a similar consist races by on the ‘down fast’ line. (Outside tracks are designated ‘fast’, inside tracks ‘slow’. Signaling is set up for directional running.
It was overcast when Irish Rail 218 raced by with a Mark4 set for Kent Station, Cork.
Speaking of Cork, I was on the phone to a Tracking the Light reader there when this ICR set with the new ‘blue doors’ worked up-road on the ‘up-slow’ (Up is toward Dublin; Down is away from Dublin). Previously I’ve reported on the change to Irish Rail’s ICRs with the addition of blue doors in place of green. I described these as ‘purple’ (they still look purple to me, but I’ve been informed the color is ‘blue’.)
Trailing view of a Cork-Dublin train on the ‘Up fas’ line.’ Nice burst of sunlight!Irish Rail 088 leads K803 (Ballina to Dublin North Wall IWT Liner) on the ‘Up Slow Line’.
June 1996: It had been just over a year since Union Pacific absorbed Chicago & North Western.
I made this view of a westward UP train with SD60M 6276 in the lead.
A father with his young son on a bicycle look on in wonder.
This single frame was exposed with my Nikon F3T and 35PC (perspective control) lens on Kodachrome 25. The film’s slow speed combined with side lighting and minimum aperture of just f3.5 only allowed me a shutter speed of 1/250thof a second, which wasn’t fast enough to freeze the train’s motion in this broadside view.
I feel that the slight motion blur makes the photo because it conveys the speed and mass of the train in contrast to the relative fragility of its on-lookers.
The tree branches at top right help accentuated the blurring effect.
Irish Rail moves zinc ore from Tara Mines in Navan to the port of Dublin on weekdays. The trains are short and relatively heavy. Owing to restrictions on trackage serving the mine Irish Rail always assigns the General Motors 071 diesels to this run.
Last week, 27 March 2019, Jay Monaghan and I met on the station platforms at Clontarf Road on Dublin’s north side specifically to catch the laden Tara mines passing in the gloom.
A thick wintery fog made for a dose of extra gloom just for good meaure.
I made a variety of test exposures of passing DART trains (Dublin Area Rapid Transit electric suburban service) and got into position for the Main Event.
The drumming of an EMD 12-645 diesel announced the arrival of the evening’s freight.
I made a series of photos Working with my Lumix LX7 digital camera (with ISO racked up to 800), and a Nikon F3 fitted with f1.8 105mm lens and Ilford HP5 film.
Irish Rail 086 with Tara on film: Ilford HP5 with a Nikon F3 and f1.8 105mm lens.Lumix LX7 set at ISO800Lumix LX7 set at ISO800 and panned a little bit.Lumix LX7 set at ISO800Irish Rail 086 with Tara on film: Ilford HP5 with a Nikon F3 and f1.8 105mm lens.
Big Blue had just six full months left. Mike Gardner and I made another epic whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania to catch Conrail on the move while we could.
I made this view of a helper set working the back of a westward (down hill) freight looking down a side street in Lilly, Pennsylvania.
There’s nothing like a bright clear day in November, especially with Conrail’s brilliant blue paint.
Here’s a few black & white views exposed last week on Kodak Tri-X of Irish Rail’s branch from Islandbridge Junction to the North Wall/Connolly.
Recently, Irish Rail has expanded service on the Grand Canal Docks—Hazel Hatch/Newbridge run and now trains run at least hourly throughout the day.
Following a Grand Canal Docks bound passenger train was the daily Up IWT Liner (Ballina to North Wall, Dublin).
Since these trains were coming out of the relatively harsh midday sun, I opted to work with black & white film, which makes the most of the contrast and allows me to control shadow and highlight detail to a greater degree than with my digital cameras, while giving the images a period look.
Irish Rail 234 with Up IWT Liner (Ballina to North Wall, Dublin) at Old Cabra Road in Dublin
To maximize tonality and detail from the negatives I employed a ‘split process’ using two developers.
First I use a very weak solution of Kodak HC110 mixed 1 to 250 to water. To intensify the detail in shadows while avoiding over processing highlight areas, I keep the developer temperature comparatively high (73F) and allow it to work to exhaustion. My second developer is Ilford ID mixed 1-1 for 6 minutes 45 seconds with one minute agitation intervals. Then stop; fix 1, fix 2, rinse for 3 minutes, hypoclear, then a series of final washes. Dry and scan.
Kodachrome 25 slide exposed using a Leica M2 with 50mm Summicron.
It was Conrail’s 12thbirthday! And that was many years ago.
My old pal TSH and I were exploring the former Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division and visited Spruce Creek where we photographed this eastward freight.
The old heavy-weight sleeping car converted for Penn-Central/Conrail maintenance of way (work equipment) makes the photograph fascinating. I’d never seen cars like this in revenue service and simply having relics like it on the move connected me to an earlier era.
Seeing this Kodachrome 25 slide makes me yearn for the days when we’d be trackside on Conrail and never know what might pass. It seemed a like endless adventure and every train brought something new and unexpected.
The weather? Not great, but I’d stand there now without complaint.
As Jay Monaghan and I walked along Dublin’s Amiens Street in the fog, I heard an Irish Rail train blast its horn approaching the platforms at Connolly Station.
There wasn’t much time to react. I made fine adjustments to my Nikon F3 as I put the camera to my face and released the shutter.
This image was among photographs exposed on 27 February 2019 on Ilford HP5.
I processed this using a development technique to maximize dynamic range and tonal response.
It was a bright late-winter’s afternoon. Mike Gardner and I were on one of our many photographic explorations of Pennsylvania.
I made this view west of South Fork of an eastward Norfolk Southern freight ascending the famous ‘West Slope,’ on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line.
Here I’ve used just a hint of soft glint light to accent the freight, catching the exhaust from the GE diesels as they work upgrade.
At the time I was using a Nikon F3 with MD-11 motor drive fitted with an f2.8 180mm Nikkor prime telephoto lens and loaded with Fujichrome slide film.
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A misty morning gave way to bright sun as Irish Rail 075 got the signal to depart the sidings at Dublin’s Heuston Station with an empty HOBS (high output ballast system) destined for Port Arlington.
I made this view with my Lumix LX7. Working with a slight telephoto, I aimed to bring in the Wellington Testimonial in Dublin’s Phoenix Park across the River Liffey from Heuston Station.
Although I’ve made countless images from this vantage point which is a mere five minute walk for me, its always nice to catch something relatively unusual on the move.
When I see a thick fog rolling in during the fading light, I see photo opportunities everywhere.
Fog is one my favorite photographic conditions, and the thicker, the better!
The fine thick mist has many benefits. It acts as a diffuser, which spreads the light, reducing contrast between the brightest highlights and shadows. It also tends to allow for photography in every direction, which opens up numerous angles and perspectives that I may not consider on a bright day.
Most importantly fog adds depth and mystique to a scene, making even the most mundane places intriguing, while masking unsightly elements such as garbage, graffiti and wires.
The other evening a thick fog settled over Dublin and I made my way to Connolly Station. Below are a few views from my Lumix LX7.
Mike Gardner and I made an epic chase of New England Central freight 608 on Halloween Day 1997.
Among my favorite views from that day is this color slide exposed from a footbridge along the Thames River at New London, Connecticut.
In the distance is US Coast Guard training ship Eagle.
Two years later I stood on the deck of the Eagleat the Irish port of Cobh in County Cork, having arrived by train from Cork city.
Tonight, February 28, 2019 at 730pm, I’ll be giving an old school slide show to the Irish Railway Record Society, located opposite the Heuston Station car park in Dublin. Among my featured railroads will be New England Central.
On Tuesday, 26 February 2019, working with my FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm Fujinon telephoto, I made these digital sunset views from the windows of the Irish Railway Record Society near Dublin’s Heuston Station.
This evening 28 February 2019 at 730pm at these same IRRS premises, I’ll be presenting my traditional slide program General Motors Diesels in North America. Visitors are welcome!
JPG adjusted and produced from Fuji camera RAW file using Lightroom.Camera JPG scaled for internet presentation without adjustment.
A little while ago, I found this old slide-scan of GP40-2 when searching for an image to advertise my slide program tomorrow night: General Motors Diesels in North America.
I thought: you might not believe what’s lurking right behind this freshly painted EMD!
As a reminder: my program will held on Thursday 28 February 2019 at 7:30 pm at the Irish Railway Record Society premises near Heuston Station in Dublin. Visitors are welcome!
Step back to Septmeber 2, 1991, when I exposed this view at Mott-Azalea, California on Southern Pacific’s Shasta Route. I was on assignment for Southern Pacific and traveling with photographer Brian Jennison who lent me his 300mm Nikkor telephoto.
I set up Brian’s 300mm with my F3T loaded with Kodachrome on my Bogen 3021 Tripod, positioning it nearly at rail level to make a long sequence of the approaching train.
What train was this?
It was an SP excursion with borrowed Lima 4-8-4 4449 and Daylightpassenger train. The GP40-2 was added for extra-power and braking on the grade from Dunsmuir to Black Butte.
I’ve completely hidden the vintage train behind the freshly painted GP40-2!
The flags are a nice touch.
There’s something about the West. I wish I was standing there, right now, taking it all in. It was a memorable weekend all around.
