A couple of weeks ago, Kris and I brought Seamus for a walk at the Fort Hunter Mansion State Park on the east bank of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pa.
This offers some stunning views of the magnificent Rockville Bridge.
After a little bit of wait, I heard a Norfolk Southern train call the signal at Rockville heading west. This was an empty unit coal train. I’d preselected a view across the river where I could frame up the bridge with a tree in the park. I made these views using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm zoom.
Soft evening mid-summer light nicely illuminates the northside of the bridge.
Among the attractions of the historic former Pennsylvania Railroad Harris Tower in Harrisburg is the continual parade of Norfolk Southern freights.
While this is a good venue for watching trains, it is a visually challenging place to picture them because of the array of urban clutter around the Harrisburg, Pa station,
The combination of wires and cables with an urban background results in some difficult photo choices. I’ve found one of the best ways to picture trains in this type of setting is to pan from a broad-side angle using a slow shutter speed .
I made these images using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70 and 70-200mm Nikkor Z-series zoom lenses.
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon 24-70mm zoom set at ; 70mm, f16, 1/40th second, ISO 80
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon 24-70mm zoom set at ; 70mm, f16, 1/40th second, ISO 80
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon 24-70mm zoom set at ; 70mm, f16, 1/40th second, ISO 80
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon 70-200mm set; 90mm, f13, 1/50th second, ISO 100
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon70-200mm zoom set at; 70mm, f18, 1/50th second, ISO 100
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon70-200mm zoom set at; 70mm, f18, 1/50th second, ISO 100
Nikon Z7-II with Nikkon70-200mm zoom set at; 70mm, f18, 1/50th second, ISO 100
Two weeks ago, I visited the preserved Power Directors Office (PDO) located within the Harrisburg, Pa., station.
This historic former Pennsylvania Railroad facility is a vestige of its grand late-1930s electrification to Harrisburg, that consisted of Mainlines and connecting routes
This office was used to control and balance the distribution of high-voltage alternating current electricity to the various lines. Today it presents a fascinating map of the western extent of PRR’s electrification.
To my eyes, it has the look and aroma of an enormous Lionel electric train set from the World War II era. The style of the control panels and wiring reminds of my dad’s train sets from the post war period.
Dan Cupper arranged the tour, and NRHS’s Jim Nowotarski provided an excellent and exceptionally detailed explaination of how the desk performed and the background behind its restoration. I’ll need to sit through this talk several more times before I can begin to absorb the detail of this amazing installation.
The desk was closed by Amtrak in 2013, and its remaining functions transfered to its Centralized Electrification and Traffic Control office in Wilmington, Delaware.
The once important role of the PDO reveals the long-term failures of short-sighted decisions made during the Conrail-era, when freight traffic was routed away from former PRR routes east of Harrisburg, and freight-only lines stripped of their electrification, and in some cases abandoned altogether.
What may have made operational sense 45 years ago, represents a poor use of resources and infrastructure in the long term. Consider that in most of the industrialized world, railroad electrification has been gradually expanded, and not abandoned.
Photos exposed using my Nikon Z7-II.
Dan Cupper studies the detail diagrams in the PDO.
Dan Cupper studies the detail diagrams in the PDO.
Dan Cupper studies the detail diagrams in the PDO.
Dan Cupper points to the clock which stopped at the moment the Power Directors Desk was closed in February 2013.
Dan Cupper points to the clock which stopped at the moment the Power Directors Desk was closed in February 2013.
Dan Cupper points to the clock which stopped at the moment the Power Directors Desk was closed in February 2013.
The former Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Harrisburg, Pa., is the western terminus of Amtrak’s Keystone service, and also served by the Pennsylvanian that continues on to Pittsburgh.
This is a comparatively important Amtrak Station, which retains much of its classic charm. It is a clean, well used facility, however, I was surprised by the relative dearth of services and facilities in and around the station.
Last week, I made these photos of the historic structure with my Nikon Z7-II, and then adjusted the NEF RAW files with Adobe Lightroom.
My friend Dan Cupper had arranged for me visit several facilities in Harrisburg that were preserved by the Harrisburg Chapter of the NRHS, and those photos will appear in up-coming Tracking the Light posts. Stay tuned . . .
In June 2009, I made my first visit to the former Philadelphia & Reading arched bridge over the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa.
At that stage, I was still using film exclusively, and using my Canon EOS-3 loaded with Fujichrome, I made some photos of the bridge sans train.
Kris and I paid another visit to the bridge in March of 2022, Again, I made photos of the arches, but no luck catching anything on the move.
Toward the end of July, I made my third visit. This time fortune favored me. Not long after I parked on South Front Street, I heard a horn to the west and soon an eastward Norfolk Southern train came rolling across the arches.
I made these images using my Lumix LX7 and Nikon Z6 cameras.
Lumix LX7 photo.Lumix LX7 photo.Z6 with Nikkor f2.8 180mm.
I had the Z6 set up with my 1980s-era Nikkor f2.8 180mm prime telephoto. While a very sharp lens, this is operated manually, which makes focusing a little tricky.
Last week Norfolk Southern hosted an event at its Harrisburg, Pennsylvania yard geared toward training first responders on the details of railroad cars and locomotives, and focused on how to handle a variety of different tank cars carrying hazardous materials.
Representing Trains Magazine, I accompanied Dan Cupper and Rich Roberts on invitation from the railroad.
We were met by Connor Spielmaker and Mike Pucci from NS Corporate Communications, who gave attending journalists a safety briefing.
“Everything at NS starts with safety.”
Key to the event was NS’s special assembled Operation Awareness & Response safety train than makes annual tours of the NS network.
We spent several hours observing the first responders and their trainers, with opportunities to ask questions and make photographs. While I gathered material that may be used in future articles.
I made these images using my Nikon Z6. Some of the telephoto views were exposed using my 1980s-vintage Nikkor f2.8 180mm ED manual focus fixed telephoto lens.
Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.8 180mm ED telephoto lens.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.8 180mm ED telephoto lens.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.8 180mm ED telephoto lens.Nikon Z6 with Nikkor f2.8 180mm ED telephoto lens.Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens.Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens.Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens. Interior view of a tank car set up with a passage designed to demonstrate the construction of the car.Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens.
Special thanks to everyone at Norfolk Southern for making this event possible and to Dan Cupper for extending the invitation. His story on the Trains Newswire can be viewed through this link;
On this day eight years ago, I visited Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I’d taken Amtrak’s Keystone from Philadelphia and upon arrival spent some time in the State Archives visiting with Kurt Bell while researching for a book on steam locomotives.
I made these photos around the old Pennsylvania Railroad station in the afternoon using my FujiFilm XT1.
Later that month, I bought a new Apple MacBook Pro laptop and with it, Adobe Lightroom. I’ve been using Lightroom ever since to adjust my RAW files (these included).
