Tag Archives: #Genesis

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Pennsylvanian with Phase VII painted Genesis.

Last weekend, Kris and I were running some errands when I got a tip from our friend Dan Cupper that Amtrak no. 42, the eastward Pennsylvanian was led by a freshly painted Genesis P42 in the new Amtrak phase VII scheme.

This livery was introduced a few years ago on Amtrak’s Siemens Changer diesels, but those are as rare as hen’s teeth in these parts.

Kris and I stopped at Home Depot near Parkesburg, then timed our arrival at Christiana to coincide with the passage of both east and westbound Pennsylvanians.

Owing to the angle of the tracks and the nice old buildings near the line, Christiana is a choice place to catch eastbounds in the early afternoon.

I made these views of the passing train using my Nikon Z7-II.

It’s always neat to catch something in new paint. I wonder how many of the Amtrak Genesis diesels will get this treatment?

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Amtrak 101

Is there room for subtlety and allusion?

I could make a lot of this photo.

Kris, Seamus-the-dog and I arrived at the Farmington River in Windsor, Connecticut just a few minutes before Amtrak’s southward train 143 (from Springfield, Massachusetts) was due to cross the former New Haven Railroad bridge over the mirror-like waters.

In the lead was Amtrak P42 GENESIS 101.

A couple of weeks ago, I signed the papers for my next book which will tell the story of Amtrak through its equipment. This will be more than a nuts and bolts analysis of Amtrak motive power, although I’m hoping to cover a lot of detail.

Just remember, the mirror image of 101 is 101.

Note to regular TTL viewers: Yesterday’s Post ‘Brief Visit to a Familiar Place’ was experiencing some technical difficulties. I received a variety of concerned comments that the photos were not appearing as expected. Word Press appears to have resolve the problem. You may re-check this post at: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/brief-visit-to-a-familiar-place/

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New Haven Heritage

Last week we paid a brief visit to Mine Dock Park at Highland, New York.

This location along the west shore of the Hudson offers a variety of vistas to photograph trains.

One of the first trains that we saw was northward Metro-North 837 running from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie on the former New York Central Hudson Division.

This was led by a General Electric Genesis model P32DM-AC, a dual-mode diesel-electric/electric designed for passenger service into New York City. This locomotive was funded by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and painted in a retro New Haven Railroad scheme.

I was delighted to catch it on the move and made this photo using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens. I panned the photo which helps separate the locomotive from the background.

To improve the contrast of the photo, I made some minor adjustments in post-processing using Lightroom.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Indian Summer for GE’s Genesis™

Amtrak’s General Electric Genesis™ diesels are reaching the end of their useful lives.

Yet, as of this writing in October 2023, these 1990s-vintage diesels still regularly work the Pennsylvanian between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

During the high midday light of summer, I didn’t expend time to photograph the passage of the Pennsylvanian, Amtrak trains 42 and 43, which normally pass one another not far from where we now live in Lancaster, PA. However, last week, I picked a bright afternoon to photograph both trains at Gap, similar to what I had done back in January.

Amtrak train 43—the Pennsylvanian—westbound at Gap, PA.
Amtrak train 43—the Pennsylvanian—westbound at Gap, PA.
Amtrak train 43—the Pennsylvanian—westbound at Gap, PA.
Amtrak train 43—the Pennsylvanian—westbound at Gap, PA.
Amtrak train 42—the Pennsylvanian—eastbound at Gap, PA.
Amtrak train 42—the Pennsylvanian—eastbound at Gap, PA.

Both trains were captured using my Nikon Z7II with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom.

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