A few days ago, I stood with Colm O’Callaghan and Ciarán Cooney at the foot bridge near Cherry Orchard west of Dublin.
The most elusive of all Irish Rail trains was on the move. To the uninitiated, the spoil train might seem a fool’s prize, but to the regular hunter and the connoisseur of the obscure, catching the spoil train is about as good as it gets.
As we waited the weather deteriorated. By the time the train came into view we had just about the worst possible lighting: heavy cloud directly overhead but bright bland sky in the distance and no way of minimizing the horizon. In other words, the lighting was too flat on the subject, but way too contrasty (and bright) in the distance.
With black and white film, I’d have over-exposed my negative by ½ to 1 full stop and then carefully processed it by under-developing by about 30 percent. (Shortening up my time). Then I’d selenium tone the negative, and when printing plan on some intensive dodging and burning. In the end, I have a series of dodgy looking prints that I’d probably never show to anyone, except under duress.
Instead, I exposed this image digitally using my Panasonix LX7. Gauging exposure with histogram, I ignored the advice of the camera meter, and did my best to avoid clipping the highlights, while avoiding total under-exposure.
Then, using Adobe Lightroom I experimented by trying replicate the scene using digital manipulation. Each of the following photos represent various attempts of making something out what would ordinarily go into the bin (trash).
The first photo is the un-manipulated RAW, the others show various degrees of adjustment.
Other than scaling the RAW file as a Jpeg for presentation, I’ve not altered the image. As I’ve explained, the lighting conditions were pretty awful. Pity Irish Rail couldn’t have waited for nicer light to run the train.This is my first attempt at ‘fixing’ the photo. I’ve altered the contrast to lighten shadows and reclaim detail in the highlights, but I’ve also pumped up the colour saturation and used the ‘vibrance’ slider to alter the tonality. To my eye it looks a bit fake, but it only took about 30 seconds to achieve with Lightroom.This is probably my best effort, but required substantially more time. I’ve used overlapping digitally applied gradated neutral density filters to better balance the sky and shadow areas in addition to global adjustments to highlights and saturation. At least this is a presentable photograph.This is an over the top version. I’ve pushed the limits of exposure manipulation so the sky looks like something in a dodgy advertisement. It does show the level of detail that was recorded by my LX7’s RAW file. The information is there, it just needs to be processed.This is the most manipulated version, with no less than three applications of gradated neutral density filters, as well as both localized and global contrast and exposure adjustment, plus saturation enhancement. To me the colors look like a cheap early 20th century hand-tinted postcard. All that’s missing is the ‘Welcome to Cherry Orchard’ greeting on the back. I’m not endorsing this attempt, I’m showing a degree of manipulation.
At 9:50 am, Irish Rail 074 led the weed spraying train out of the old Guinness sidings at Heuston and headed down the Cork line.
Clear skies made for nice weather. Not everyday is as nice. Tomorrow Tracking the Light examines what to do with photos made in dismal conditions . . .
Stay tuned!
18 August 2015, Dublin. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.18 August 2015, Dublin. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.Using a 18-135mm zoom lens allowed me to change focal lengths quickly as the train moved forward.
Prelude: on Friday, August 14, 2015, General Motors-built 201-class 8208 worked the Dublin to Ballina IWT liner. I’d photographed that move on the quad-track near Cherry Orchard.
I was interested in this recently painted locomotive, which, of-course, is styled for the Dublin-Belfast express passenger service, and not freight.
Day of action: On Saturday, I saw reports of 8208 working the up-IWT liner. This was an otherwise dull afternoon. I crossed the War Memorial Park on foot. No Vikings with their long boats today.
I found my spot, and was poised at the Con Colbert Road bridge over the three track-line in a cutting (known colloquially as ‘the Gullet’). Moments before the liner appeared, the sun briefly emerged from the clouds. Lucky me! And so this Saturday-freight eased up to the ‘Bridge of Signals’ giving me plenty of time to expose photographs.
First, I made a few strategically composed color slides with my Canon EOS 3 with 100mm lens, then exposed some digital photos with my Lumix LX7
Saturday 15 August 2015; Lumix LX7 digital photograph.Saturday 15 August 2015; Lumix LX7 digital photograph.
Not bad for few minutes away from the computer on a weekend afternoon.
On August 10, 2015, David Hegarty and I visited Drogheda, where Irish Rail’s Navan Branch meets the Northern Line.
It was our second visit in two days.
In recent years, I’d been dismissive of the Northern Line as being bland. But, I’ve seen the error of my ways.
In just a couple hours we were treated to a steady parade of trains, and this offered just about the best variety of equipment as anyone can expect to see in modern day Ireland.
The highlight of the day was the arrival of the weed-spraying train, which needed to run around, and the propel back to access the branch.
Shortly after we arrived, a laden Tara mines train pulled into view at the end of the branch. The electric DART cars were at the depot for servicing.29000-series railcars take the switch for platform 3.Hooray! The weed-spraying train as arrived from Dundalk.Engine 074 has cutoff and will run around its train in preparation for a run to Navan on the branch.A Dublin-bound set of 29000 railcars in the new livery has just departed the station.The sun came out as the weed-spraying train reversed.Irish Rail 233 leads the down Enterprise toward Belfast. The weedsprayer waits to crossover.The chevrons on the front of 074 have been a trademark of the weedspraying train for decades.The sprayer is doing its thing as it heads toward Navan.Fresh bit of sun on the railcar depot.Eventually that Tara train will have to move.
Our vantage point was the lightly travel road bridge south of the railway station. During our visit there were more dogs across the bridge than cars.
Drogheda is nicely oriented for sun-lit photography through out most of the day. This is the location of a railcar depot (maintenance facility), so in addition to mainline moves, there was considerable activity at the depot, which include the washing of trains.
As with many busy places, the action seemed to come in waves.
Watching the railcars get washed provided a bit of entertainment.I like the new green livery. What do you think?More fresh green 29000s on the move.Finally! The sounds of an EMD 645 engine, and here’s the laden Tara mines train on the move. It carries zinc ore to Dublin port.Some NIR CAF-built 3001 series railcars are on their way back to Belfast.
Today, Sunday 9 August 2015, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland in cooperation with Irish Rail operated a steam special from Dublin’s Connolly Station to Drogheda and Dundalk with locomotive number 4.
Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1; RAW File exported as a Jpg using Adobe Lightroom.Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1; RAW File exported as a Jpg using Adobe Lightroom.
This was my first opportunity to photograph this classic locomotive in more than four years. Special thanks to everyone at the RPSI and Irish Rail who made today’s trips a success.
Stay tuned for more photos tomorrow!
Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1; RAW File exported as a Jpg using Adobe Lightroom.
Saturday, 8 August 2015: I made these photos a few minutes ago of locomotive 8209 in the new Enterprise livery working Irish Rail’s 1100 Mark 4 from Dublin Heuston to Cork.
It was nice to catch this brightly painted engine in the sunlight.
Saturday, 8 August 2015, engine 8209 with the 1100 to Cork passing Islandbridge Junction. Lumix LX7 photo.Saturday, 8 August 2015, engine 8209 with the 1100 to Cork passing Islandbridge Junction. Lumix LX7 photo.
As a follow up to yesterday’s Extra Post Irish Railway Record Society 071 Railtour 18 July 2015, I’ve put together this selection of images that I made on Saturday’s excellent rail tour from Du blin’s Connolly Station to Ballina and Westport. All were exposed with my Lumix LX7.
Under the shed at Connolly.
Freshly painted 077 at Inchicore.Claremorris cabin.Ballina.
Ballina.Ballina.Ballina.Ballina.Reviewing results.Reviewing results.Lashing rain at Claremorris.Photo stop at Castlebar.In rain at Westport.Westport.Westport.Westport.
One traditional school of thought when making photographs is capturing the ‘decisive moment.’
This moment is arbitrary, but in theory it is the instant in time when the elements in the composition are at their optimum relation to one another.
When I work with my old Rolleiflex to photograph moving trains this is a good philosophy. I’ll carefully consider all the elements in the frame, and wait, with shutter poised, until the train is at its optimum point, and ‘click.’
Some time later, often days or weeks later, I’ll process the film. Maybe I got what I was hoping to capture, maybe not.
Such is not the case with my Fujifilm X-T1. The relative cost of exposing one digital frame versus a dozen is inconsequential as compared to film. While the ability of the camera to make a burst of images rapid has completely altered the way I consider my compositions and expose photos.
I’ll still study the scene and look at all the elements. Typically I’ll make a few test photos to check sharpness, exposure and how different focal lengths alter the scene.
But when the train arrives, instead of exposing one photograph, or in the case of my old slide camera a few ‘motor drive’ dupes, I’ll might make a burst of images all the while adjusting my framing to subtly alter the composition. More is better, right?
Then after the fact I can decide which image I like best. I can erase the rest.
Below are five similar views made within seconds of each other. These portray an Irish Rail perway train working the quad track in suburban Dublin. Operation of this particular train is sporadic, and making photographs of it require knowledge, planning and patience.
When it finally came into view, I wanted to be sure I made the best possible photo that shows the train in its environment. Which one do you like the most?
First in the sequence. In total I made nine similar images. Only five are displayed here, including the last. Among the features of the scene: the ‘ghost station’ in the distance; the quad track line; the road to the left of the line’; old and new mileposts on either side of the line (of which the milepost on the left has been cropped out of this view); and the construction of building going on in the distance.The train is ever so slightly closer. But this image is essentially the same as the first. I can erase one of these without any loss.Here the train is noticeably closer. It is now slightly off center, which is probably better since it makes better use of the space. I can always crop in on it to tighten the overall composition, but I would rather avoid that.Here I’ve turned the camera slight to the left, which includes the new mile post, but crops the station.This is the last of the digital photos. The train is at its closest. But now the ‘ghost station’ is cropped. Maybe I didn’t need to include that anyway? This view accentuates the side of the train more than the distant views and the track panels are more evident. The buildings in the distance have been cropped out as has the horizon. The lighting polls are more prominent, which make for an interesting element. On the downside the locomotive is more centered. I probably should have had the camera slight more to the right, which would have moved the locomotive off-center and included more of the railcars behind it.
Catching the light in Ireland can be a fleeting experience. Even on a bright day, cloud often covers the sky. Yet, sometimes luck shines on me. Such was the case last week when I made this photograph of the down Dublin-Cork Mark4 passenger train led by Irish Rail 215.
A brief wink of sun graced the front of the engine just as it approached.
It was seventeen years ago that I caught my first glimpse of the multiple-arch Kilnap viaduct from the window of a scheduled Bus Éireann coach running from Limerick to Cork.
On various occasions since then, I’ve travelled across Kilnap on trains running between Dublin and Cork.
On April 20th, thanks to the expert guidance of Irish Rail’s Ken Fox, I finally visited this noteworthy bridge on the ground and made these photographs. It is just a few miles from Cork’s Kent Station on the double-track Dublin-Cork mainline.
Panoramic composite exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.Panasonic Lumix LX7 photo.Irish Rail 222 leads the down Dublin-Cork passenger train. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.
Irish Rail’s peak hour services on the Cork-Cobh and Cork-Midleton routes have a half hour frequency, which results in four trains an hour stopping at the Glounthaune Station.
The railway is scenically situated along an inlet and the station still features an open lattice metal footbridge, of the kind that was common all over Ireland until just a few years ago.
Fuji X-T1 photo.
Fuji X-T1 photo.
I made these images using my Fujifilm X-T1 and Lumix LX7 digital cameras. Thanks to Donncha Cronin and Irish Rail’s Ken Fox for their hospitality in Cork.
There are only a few places where the narrow gauge Bord na Mona crosses Irish Rail’s broad gauge lines.
If you ride from Dublin to Cork, you might catch a glimpse of the three-foot gauge tracks ducking under the mainline a ways west of the ‘Laoise Traincar Depot’ (where Irish Rail maintains its Intercity Railcar fleet).
Dublin bound Irish Rail ICR (Intercity Railcar) crosses the Bord na Mona 3-foot gauge near Portlaoise. Fuji X-T1 photo.Cork-bound train with a 201-class diesel crosses the Bord na Mona 3-foot gauge near Portlaoise. Fuji X-T1 photo.
Making successful photos of trains here is tricky. They sail along at 90mph and owing to the angle of the lines, there’s very little time to position the front of the train at the crossing point.
I set my Fuji X-T1 to ‘CH’ (continuous high), which automatically exposes a burst of images in rapid succession.
Owing to infrequent operations on the narrow gauge, it will be a challenge to try to score an ‘under-and-over’ image here. But at least that’s a goal for another day.
It was a typical late summer’s day at the top of Ballybrophy Bank on Irish Rail’s Dublin-Cork mainline in 2006.
I was expecting a procession of passenger trains down road (toward Cork). At the time there was still a good variety of intercity passenger stock and Irish Rail’s 201s were working in four different liveries. This was an opportunity to show the passage of trains.
Here, I’ve presented variation on a theme. I’d mounted my Nikon F3 with 105mm lens on Manfrotto 190PRO tripod. I kept the essential framing the same for each passing train, while making necessary changes to exposure reflecting the changes in light.
Frame 1: Irish Rail 220 with Cravens. Exposed on Sensia 100 with a Nikon F3 with 105mm lens. Exposure calculated with a Minolta Mark IV light meter. Image scanned with an Epson V500, other than scaling for internet presentation, I’ve made no modifications to colour, contrast or exposure.Frame 3, Enterprise painted 206 leads Mark 3s. Exposed on Sensia 100 with a Nikon F3 with 105mm lens. Exposure calculated with a Minolta Mark IV light meter. Image scanned with an Epson V500, other than scaling for internet presentation, I’ve made no modifications to colour, contrast or exposure.Frame 5, Irish Rail 211 leads Mark 3s. Exposed on Sensia 100 with a Nikon F3 with 105mm lens. Exposure calculated with a Minolta Mark IV light meter. Image scanned with an Epson V500, other than scaling for internet presentation, I’ve made no modifications to colour, contrast or exposure.Frame 6, Irish Rail 216 leads Mark 3s. Exposed on Sensia 100 with a Nikon F3 with 105mm lens. Exposure calculated with a Minolta Mark IV light meter. Image scanned with an Epson V500, other than scaling for internet presentation, I’ve made no modifications to colour, contrast or exposure.
Notice how the quality of light and the position of the train changes the scene.
Normally when photographing moving trains, I’d adjust my framing, angle and the focal length of the lens to reflect changes in lighting, length of train, and the colour/shape of the leading engine as it specifically relates to background and foreground elements.
The effects of sunlight and contrast make a significant difference in the end result.
This year, I opted to take the DART to Bray and hike the cliff-walk around the head to make these views.
Despite clear skies and warm spring weather, wafting sea fog made for a challenging photographic conditions.
Irish Rail’s DART suburban service at Brandy Hole, Bray Head on Monday 6 April 2015. Fuji X-T1 digital photograph.
I made a point of photographing DART electric trains and Irish Rail’s intercity diesel railcars while in position for the steam special.
Shortly before locomotive 461 emerged from the tunnels near Brandy Hole, a cloud of fog rose to add a bit of atmosphere.
Sea fog made for atmospheric images.A DART electric skirts the cliffs at Bray Head. Fuji XT-1.Fog obscures the tunnels at Bray Head as the Easter Eggspress makes its way south toward Wicklow. Fuji X-T1 digital photograph.By the time engine 461 reached the optimal spot for photography it was in bright sun. Fuji XT-1 photograph. I exposed some wide-angle views on colour slide film from this spot that take in the whole scene. Steam, smoke and sea mist mark the passing of 461 at Bray Head.An Irish Rail ICR from Rosslare works toward Dublin.
In addition to these digital photographs, I exposed a series of 35mm colour slides on Provia 100F using my Canon EOS-3 with 40mm pancake lens. The mix of stunning scenery, wafting fog and bright sun made for a spectacular backdrop for the annual special.
A rare sunny day in Dublin. So much for ‘April Showers’ and whatnot.
The telegraph comes to life: ‘The LWR appears ready to depart North Wall.’ Tea cup abandoned mid brew. A sprint to the usual spot.
ICR’s everywhere.
Finally Irish Rail 072 appears with the empty long welded rail train and is blocked at Islandbridge Junction.
Irish Rail ICRs (Intercity Railcars) are making their daily transfer from Connolly to Inchicore. Where’s the LWR? Did I miss it? Patience . . .Venerable Irish Rail 072 (an old General Motors diesel electric with many miles on it) leads the empty LWR (long welded rail train) at Islandbridge Junction near Heuston Station in Dublin.
Photos made, and I march down to Heuston Station, board a LUAS tram for Spencer Dock, and walk toward the road bridge at the North Wall. A 201 sounds its horn. I pick up my pace and arrive in time to catch Irish 218 pulling forward with the day’s IWT Liner (for Ballina).
As I walk briskly up the foot path I fish out my X-T1, thumbing the ‘on’ switch and removing the lens cap. When i get to the parapet of the bridge the IWT is already on the move. Not a minute wasted!The IWT liner pulls forward to Church Road Cabin (now closed).
In the interval, the telegraph relays to me that the freshly painted Irish Rail 087 is reported on the Tara Mines-Dublin zinc train. On the previous day, the Tara Mines arrived at the North Wall at 11:40 am.
I keep a sharp eye on the old Great Northern line in the distance. A procession of passenger trains roll up and down the line. Finally, the glimmer of a gray 071. It’s the Tara Mines.
Freshly painted 087 makes its appearance with the laden Tara Mines train from Navan.Freshly painted 087 with the laden Tara Mines train at Dublin’s North Wall yard.
Success!
All photos exposed with a Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera and scaled for internet presentation.
Every morning Tracking the Light posts new material.
After four years out of traffic, Irish Rail class 071 number 087 is back! A visit to Cherryville Junction resulted in these sunlit photographs of the classic locomotive leading the DFDS Liner (a container that runs from Waterford to Ballina).
I exposed this sequence of images using my Fuji Film X-T1. In addition, I made a colour slide using Fuji Provia 100F in my old Nikon F3 with 50mm.
Freshly painted Irish Rail 087 leads the container pocket wagons working as the DFDS Liner on April 3, 2015. The old signal cabin at Cherryville Junction is many years out of service.Trailing view at Cherryville Junction.The DFDS Liner with container pocket wagons represents one of the rarest revenue trains in Ireland.
It’s become a tradition to visit Kildare on Good Friday. This day has a history of seeing a good number of freights as well as passenger trains.
Kildare offers a good place to photograph freights running between Waterford and Ballina, since trains need to reverse direction here owing to the lack of a direct connection in the westward direction at Cherryville Junction.
On Good Friday, April 3, 2015, there was the added bonus of a locomotive exchange for the laden timber. Locomotive 071 (the class leader) had come down from Inchicore in Dublin and waited for the arrival of the timber from Ballina (with engine 078).
Although the weather wasn’t the best, I had ample opportunity for photographs. All of these images were exposed between 10:48 and 12:08 am using my Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera.
A Dublin bound ICR takes the passing loop at Kildare at 10:48 am. A down ICR is making its station stop. Engine 071 waits on the up main.The down ICR accelerates away from Kildare.At 10:57 am Irish Rail 075 passes with the down IWT liner (Dublin to Ballina).Irish Rail 071 pulls forward to run through the crossovers at the west end of the station to allow the laden timber to pull into the station.The laden timber was holding west of the station waiting for the light engine to pull forward.Here the timber is pulling forward at 11:03 am. Locomotive 071 will couple on to the Waterford-end of the train.At 11:21 the up Mark 4 from Cork approaches Kildare.At 11:29 locomotive 221 with the 11 am Dublin-Cork Mark4 passes Kildare. The laden timber holds on the up-road waiting for a path.An up-road ICR takes the loop at 11:31 am.Telephoto view of the same up-road ICR.Finally, after the passage of several more passenger trains, the laden timber departs Kildare, taking the crossover from uproad to downroad. The time was 11:58 am.Locomotive 219 leads the up IWT liner at 12:08 pm.
Tomorrow: Good Friday highlight, a freshly painted locomotive in freight service at Cherryville Junction.
Sunday Morning, March 22, 2015: I waited patiently at the Con Colbert Road near the top of the Gullet—the cutting west of Islandbridge Junction in Dublin.
In the distance I could see the smoke from the locomotive; it was blocked outside of Heuston Station waiting for a path.
Up and down regular passenger trains gave me an opportunity to check my focus and exposures.
The 10am Dublin-Cork passenger train was led by Irish Rail class 201 number 215. A perfect subject with which to check focus and exposure.A following Inter City Railcar gave me another test subject. I was mindful that the block front of steam locomotive 461 would result in different exposure considerations than the bright yellow front of the ICR.
Past experience photographing steam locomotives in contrasty light has taught me that auto focus systems can easily get confused by wafting steam and smoke. The last thing I need is for the camera to be ‘hunting for focus’ during the moment of peak drama.
I switched my Fuji X-T1 to manual focus and pre-selected a focus point. The beauty of a digital camera is the ability to inspect results on site.
If I planned this correctly, dappled light and direct backlighting would help illuminate the smoke.
Finally, the bark of the locomotive and a volcanic display of exhaust. The camera was set in ‘turbo flutter’ (continuous high) and as 461 worked its way up the Gullet I exposed several strategically timed bursts of images.
Finally, an impressive display of steam and smoke! Locomotive driver Ken Fox works engine 461 upgrade. Fuji X-T1 with 135mm lens.
This tighter view required a nominal focus adjustment at the last instant. Success!
December 23, 2002 was a cold, wet, dark and mucky; in other words, typical sugar beet weather.
We were visiting the cabin at Wellingtonbridge, watching the machine load beet into ancient-looking four-wheel corrugated wagons. A steady ‘thump, thump, thump’ as the roots plopped into the wagons.
It wasn’t great for photography. But the driver of the laden beet (soon to depart Wellingtonbridge for Mallow, Co. Cork) said to me, ‘Get your photos now, this is all going away . . .’
Sadly, his prophecy came true. Old 129, a class 121 diesel built by General Motors at La Grange, Illinois in 1961, was cut up for scrap only a few months after I exposed this black & white photograph.
Exposed on black & white film with a Rolleiflex Model T.
Irish Rail’s sugar beet traffic carried on for a few more years (three more than I thought it would). The last laden beet train departed Wellingtonbridge in January 2006. Afterwards, it was a downward spiral. Today, the wagons and loading machine are gone; the cabin is closed and the line rusty.
Yet, in the intervening months and years, I returned dozens of times, and made photos at all times of day and night. By the time the last beet train turned a wheel, I’d made hundreds of images of operation.
Or, if you prefer: locomotives fore and aft on a ballast train in the cutting.
The three-track cutting extending from Islandbridge Junction up the grade toward Inchicore in Dublin is known as “the Gullet”.
Permanent way works (track maintenance) on Irish Rail’s Cork line on Saturday March 21, 2015, required operation of HOBS (high output ballast system) trains with locomotives at both ends.
While topped and tailed operations are quite common in some countries, these have been very unusual in Ireland in modern times.
I made several views of this train with an aim to emphasize the locomotives at both ends.
Fuji Film X-T1 digital image; contrast and exposure adjust in post processing.Looking west.
These images were exposed using my Fuji Film X-T1 digital camera. Among the features of this camera is an adjustable fold down rear-view display that allows me hold the camera at arms length over a wall. A built in level feature is especially useful in these circumstances.
Sometimes you have to walk the steps one at a time to get the best view.
Over the last few weeks, Irish Rail’s Relay train has made visits to the Dublin area en route from its base at Port Laoise to the Navan Branch (where it was involved in track maintenance) and back again.
The Relay train is one of those elusive trains operated by permanent way department, which makes it a special prize to catch on the move.
Irish 084 leads the Relay train up road near Clondalkin. Sister loco 074 is heading down road light engine as a ‘swap’ for the loco working a laden timber train to Waterford.Irish Rail 084 with Relay train up road near Clondalkin. Exposed with Fuji X-T1.Trailing view of the Relay train. This the gantries at the back are used in the relaying of track.
Keeping close tabs on the railway aids in finding these trains. But equally important is patience track side and sensing when and where to look.
Irish Rail 084 brought the train up road on February 27, 2015. Like the bullet fired skyward, what goes up must come down. But when?
On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, I took the LUAS down to Spencer Dock and walked to the road bridge that overlooks Irish Rail’s yard at Dublin’s North Wall. There I noted a gray 071 (loco 084) with the Relay train. When the guard came down and started the locomotive, then a few minutes later hung the tail lamps at the back of the train, I knew that it would soon be on the move.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015: Irish Rail 084 with the Relay train at Dublin’s North Wall. The engine has just been started. Any bets when it might depart? Exposed with Fuji X-T1.
But how quickly would it depart? That’s the million-dollar question (subject to the local exchange rate). Calls were made, transportation arranged, and weathermen consulted . . .
More than two hours later, I caught it on the quad-track section of Irish Rail’s Dublin-Cork mainline at Stacumny Bridge (near mp 8 ¾). As it turned out, the Relay train followed the down IWT liner.
An Irish Rail 22K Rotem-built Intercity Rail Car flies up road at milepost 8 3/4. Fuji X-T1 photo.Waiting at Stacumny Bridge near milepost 8 3/4, I was rewarded by the passage of the IWT Liner with locomotive 8209 wearing an unfinished version of the new Enterprise livery. Fuji X-T1 photo.Not long after the IWT liner worked down road, the Relay train came into view. Success! (And yes, I exposed a slide of this elusive train.) Waiting here for a month of Sunday’s wouldn’t reward you with this photo. (The Relay train tends to run on weekdays.)Irish Rail 084 with Relay train passes Islandbridge Junction on March 10, 2015. Fuji X-T1 photo.
These digital photos are the teasers: I used my EOS-3 loaded with Provia 100F (the real McCoy, not simulated) for some slides of the action.
I exposed these photos with my Fuji X-T1 a little while ago (7 March 2015). Compare these photos made in soft afternoon sun with my image of the same freight train at the same location last Saturday (28 February 2015)
Locomotive 071 is the class leader; one of Irish Rail’s 18 General Motors-built model JT22CW dual-cab six-motor diesel-electrics.
To make the most of slight diffused afternoon light, I opted to use the camera’s ‘Velvia’ colour profile, which emulates the characteristics of Fuji’s slide film of the same name.The 18-135mm zoom lens on the Fuji X-T1 allows to rapidly change the its focal length.Here’s last week’s Saturday down IWT Liner (International Warehousing and Transport container train from Dublin’s North Wall to Ballina, County Mayo).
This has been an interesting week for locomotives working Irish Rail’s IWT Liner (International Warehousing & Transport container train Dublin to Ballina). Most of the time a standard green and sliver class 201 leads the train. But over the last week, a variety of differently painted locomotives have had this assignment.
At 1:51pm on Saturday, February 28, 2015, Enterprise locomotive 206 wearing fresh paint approaches Islandbridge Junction near Hueston Station in Dublin. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1.Enterprise locomotive 206 wearing fresh paint approaches Islandbridge Junction near Hueston Station in Dublin. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1.
I exposed these photos a little while ago in Dublin using my Fuji X-T1 camera.
A little while ago, I caught Irish Rail 206 wearing a fresh new dress leading the afternoon IWT Liner from the top of the Phoenix Park Tunnel in Dublin. I made these photos with my Fuji X-T1.
I think the new photography mode is: ‘ISO 6400 and be there’. It was pretty dark. This was my first glimpse of the locomotive in this new livery. I’m sure there’ll be ample opportunity to catch it in better light, but thanks to improved technology I was able to make the most of the moment.
On May 23, 2003, I exposed this photo of a signalman setting the points at Ballinsloe Cabin just a few hours before the historic structure was relieved its operational functions as part of the commission of a Mini-CTC system on Irish Rail’s Galway Line.
Exposed on black & white film using my Rolleiflex Model T.
It was the end of an era at Ballinasloe, but one that was a long time in coming. On my first visit to the cabin five year earlier I was warned of its impending closure. Delays in installing the Mini-CTC ultimately prolonged the cabin’s closure. By the time I made this image, the signalman I’d visited in 1998 had retired!
One of the great challenges of working with long telephoto lenses is getting the focus where you want it.
The inherent nature of a telephoto lens produces a comparatively shallow depth of field (relative field of focus). The longer the lens, the less depth of field.
So where precision focus is important with a wide angle lens, it is critical with a long lens, unless, of course, your intent is to make soft images.
Placing focus is important to me, as I’ve learned various visual tricks for directing the eye within an image by clever use of sharpness. Sometimes when photographing trains, the optimal focus point is not at the front of the locomotive; however, in this case, that was precisely my objective.
One of the reasons I’ve embraced auto-focus cameras, was that about ten years ago I concluded that I couldn’t trust my eyesight to make precision focus, especially when I had to do it quickly.
Test photo looking toward Platform 10 at Heuston Station, view from Conynham Road.
Using my new Fuji X-T1, I made this image on Friday February 20, 2015 of an Irish Rail continuous welded rail train crossing the River Liffey at Islandbridge in Dublin.
Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens set at 135mm; ISO 800, f5.6 1/500th second, ‘Velvia’ color profile.
I arrived at my location a bit winded and had only a few moments to make a test photo and set the focus point (the Fuji allows for easy adjustment of the desired focus point) before the train came into view.
The equipment performed perfectly! The front of the 071 class locomotive is razor sharp. Hurray!
Very tightly cropped portion of the above photo to check for sharpness. Considering that I made the image hand-held of a moving train, I’d say the autofocus worked admirably.
Exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens set at 135mm; ISO 800, f5.6 1/500th second, ‘Velvia’ color profile.
It helps to be near the tracks. In Dublin, my oft-photographed location at Islandbridge Junction is only a five minute walk away.
It wasn’t the brightest day, last week when I made the opportunity to make a few photographs of Irish Rail’s Dublin (North Wall) to Ballina IWT Liner. This is a freight train that I’ve photographed very often owing to its operational regularity and proximity. It was the perfect subject to try out my new Fuji X-T1.
Irish Rail ICRs were plentiful. Time for a test photo. Fuji X-T1 with 18-135mm lens at 18mm; ISO 1250 f4.9 at 1/500th of a second in ‘Velvia’ mode.
I wandered up to my location as Irish Rail was shuffling some 22K series ROTEM-built Intercity Railcars (ICRs). While these are a dime a dozen (or is that ten euro cents for ten?) and the light was flat, I put the camera to use. What better time to practice?
I felt that the ‘Velvia’ setting was too saturated for the overcast scene, so I switched to ‘Provia’ and opened up by about a third of stop for a slightly lighter image. The IWT liner was routed through Platform 10 around the ICRs.The flexibility offered by the 18-135mm lens and other controls allowed me to quickly adjust my perspective as the IWT Liner got closer. It wasn’t moving very fast. I’ve made many photos here, but this was my first catch of a gray 071 work the IWT. If I’d been using actual Provia 100F slide film my exposure would have been about f2.8 at 1/125th. Tough lighting for midday.
The liner made its appearance and I exposed a burst of images in ‘Provia’ mode. (The Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera has traditional Fuji film profiles programmed into it.)
As luck would have it, the liner wasn’t moving very quickly and it looked as if it wouldn’t stay ahead of the 11 am passenger train to Cork, so my friend and fellow photographer Colm O’Callaghan traveled to Hazelhatch at the end of the quad-track.
We made it in enough time to watch the 11am passenger overtake the IWT Liner and made some photos of the train.
Irish Rail’s IWT liner ambles toward Hazelhatch. An ICR is working uproad toward Dublin on the quad track mainline. Fuji X-T1. By using the tilting rear screen, I was able to hold the camera over my head and compose this scene in ‘live view’.
My Fuji X-T1 has a tilting rear display, a first for me. This allowed me to hold the camera high over the railing on the footbridge at Hazelhatch and frame up a series of images.
But is the image sharp? I was entirely relying on the camera’s autofocus. This is a cropped view of the above image.Here is an even tighter crop of the same file. While I exposed RAW and Jpg files simultaneously, this crop is taken from the Jpg. I’ll explore the RAW files later.
After the train passed, I could hear the class 071 diesel-electric roaring away in ‘run-8’ (maximum throttle) for at least five minutes. I grew up to the sound of turbocharged EMD diesels, so its always a treat to hear an old 645E3 working.
When I got home, I pored over the files fresh from the X-T1. These were some of the first action shots with my new camera. Not too bad considering the dull light. More to come!
Best of the lot; using the RAW file, I lightened this image slightly and made nominal localized contrast adjustments in post processing.
Among my favorite stations on the far flung Irish Rail network was Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. The combination of a rural atmosphere with an interesting track layout and unusual curvature, high signal cabin (tower) with mechanical semaphores plus its reputation for friendly staff, made it an ideal place to spend an afternoon.
I’ve probably made fifty or more trips to Carrick over the years. While, I often timed my visits to coincide with the arrival of freight trains, on this day I photographed the scheduled crossing (meeting) of 2700-series railcars working between Waterford and Limerick Junction.
Exposed on Fujichrome Sensia 100 with a Canon EOS 3 with 50mm lens.
This is a scene never to be repeated. The 2700s have been withdrawn and the passing loop (passing siding) at Carrick was lifted (torn up).
Sometimes it is the most common everyday scenes that ultimately make for the rarest and most interesting photographs. Is there some everyday railway activity in your life that has gone undocumented?
Between 2003 and 2008, Irish Rail converted most of its peripheral lines from traditional control using mechanical semaphore signals and electric train staff to a Mini-CTC (centralised traffic control) system with colour-light signaling.
In May 2005, the signals at Boyle on the Sligo Line reflected this pending transition. The new hardware was in place, but the old semaphores were still doing their job. By the end of the year the signal towers on the Sligo Line had been closed and the day of the semaphore was done.
Station sign at Boyle on Irish Rail’s Sligo Line.Looking up road (toward Dublin) at Boyle in May 2005.
This view of old 177 leading the weedspraying train over the disused Midland Great Western route at Moate is one of many colourful images to be presented.
The program will be given at the IRRS premises at Heuston Station in Dublin (opposite the entrance to the car park) and will begin at 7:30pm.
This will feature a variety of original colour slides projected in the traditional manner (that is, using a good ol’ fashioned slide projector!)
Irish rail ‘bo-bo’ 146 scuttles across the River Barrow at Monasterevin.Rail freight along the River Suir at Waterford. Scan from a Fujichrome slide.
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.
Dusk at Killucan Cabin, May 3, 2002. This was a favorite place of mine to make photos, and before the cabin was closed, I spent many afternoons and evenings here.
Signalman Donal Flynn stands at the base of the cabin poised to hand the electric train staff hoop to a Dublin-bound passenger train (seen, headlights dimmed, approaching in the distance). Exposed on Fujichrome with a Contax G2 with 28mm Biogon Lens mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. Exposure calculated with the aid a Minolta Mark IV light meter.
This image was exposed several years before Irish Rail implemented the signalling program that converted the Sligo line to Mini-CTC with remote signaling control and colour-lights. Yet, for me it is evocative of the cabin at the end of its useful life.
The final hints of daylight are symbolic of the cabin’s fate; Soon the light in the sky will fade to darkness and the cabin will close.
It was nearing the end of Irish Rail’s final beet season, which ironically turned out to be one of the busiest campaigns.
Toward the end of the day, my friends and I had positioned ourselves near milepost 90 on the South Wexford line at the top of Taylorstown Bank on the climb up from Wellingtonbridge.
Irish class 071 number 073 was lifting an estimated 775 tonnes of sugar beet and had been in run-8 for several minutes; the roar of its 12-645E3 diesel drowning out the sounds of birds and sheep in the surrounding fields.
The train was at a crawl when it reached the top of the grade. I made a sequence of photos using three cameras. This was made with my N90S with a 400mm Tokina lens fitted to a Manfrotto tripod.
Exposed on Fujichrome, scan adjusted for color, contrast and sharpness in post-processing. My intent was to exaggerate the effect of the gradient on Taylorstown Bank. There aren’t many places on Irish Rail where a 400mm lens is really effective, but this is one of them.
I felt that the 400mm view was the trickiest to pull off, and honestly I considered this among my experimental attempts, as I fired of a whole series of images in rapid succession. I made a more conventional view as the train got closer.
Irish Rail’s Sugar Beet season was a busy time for me, photographically. The season began in early September and usually ran through early January, depending on the volume of the harvest. In the early 2000s, I’d typically be in Ireland from late-October through the early weeks of the new year.
Exposed on black & white film using a Rollei Model T mounted on a Manfrotto tripod at Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland.
While I’d miss the brighter, dryer, warmer days early in the beet season, I’d make up the difference by photographing on the dark, wetter, colder days in November and December.
The atmosphere of the beet season is what I remember. The dampness, the muck, the dirty old four-wheel wagons. The sounds of General Motors diesels accelerating out of passing loops, and working in Run-8 on wet track.
Irish Rail’s staff were always friendly, and between trains there would a welcome cup of tea in a signal cabin or gate keeper’s shack.
Over much of the route traditional mechanical signaling was still the rule. The slap of lever and the thunk of a semaphore blade falling into place was the sign that something was about to happen.
And there was the smell of the beet. Especially in the fields around Wellingtonbridge, County where beet was grown.
The last laden beet train rolled towards Mallow, County Cork in January 2006, a little more than three years after I made this image.
A few years ago, Irish Rail rebuilt its Youghal Branch between Cobh Junction and Midleton. After decades of inactivity, this route now enjoys a regular interval passenger service. I find it fascinating that this long closed railway is again alive with trains.
A year ago, on a previous visit to Cork, I tried some photos at this location near the Midleton Station. However, it was a flat dull morning and my results weren’t up to par.
So a few weeks ago, Irish Rail’s Ken Fox drove me back to this spot, and on this visit it was bright an sunny. Moments before the train arrived, a thin layer of high cloud momentarily diffused the sunlight, which complicated my exposure.
As the 2600-series railcar approached, I made several digital images with my Canon EOS 7D and 200mm lens and a single Fujichrome color slide using my Canon EOS 3 with 40mm pancake lens.
Digital image made with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with 200mm lens.Exposed Fujichrome Provia 100F with Canon EOS 3 with 40mm pancake lens. This image looks great projected on the screen.
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
