Although it was dark, wet and cold, I made a lot of photos of yesterday’s Railway Preservation Society of Ireland ‘The Southwestern’ tour.
These views were exposed using my FujiFilm XT1.
For me these tours are as much about the people as where we go or the equipment we travel on.
More photos soon!
On Saturday, 7 April 2018, I made these photos of an Irish Rail 2800-series railcar working a Western Rail Corridor service from Galway arriving at Limerick’s Colbert Station.
I used my Lumix LX7, then working with the RAW files in Lightroom, made nominal adjustments to colour temperature, contrast and highlight density.
Under the train shed at Limerick’s Colbert Station is dark and gloomy.
Outside it had been raining.
Then the clouds drew back and brilliant midday sun blasted across the city.
Bright sun and inky shadows.
I made these views using my Lumix LX7 on Saturday, 7 April 2018.
Standing upon the wall of King John’s Castle in Limerick, I made this photograph looking in a northerly direction.
I found that I could just see the top of Irish Rail’s bridge on the Limerick-Ennis Line (top right). (Not to be confused with the prominent non-rail spans over the River Shannon at the top left).
I was about to consult my phone to see when the next train was scheduled, when I noticed a Ennis-Limerick railcar rolling toward Colbert Station. ‘Poor timing’ I thought, ‘I’ve just missed a train.’
No, actually the timing was perfect. So perfect in fact I didn’t even know I’d caught the train until I inspected my results later in the day.
Wait! You don’t believe me do you? Admit it, you think I sat upon that wall in anticipation, all the while poised waiting for the train to appear!
As they say in Philadelphia, ‘Uh uh.’
Next time, I’ll bring a big telephoto lens.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily.
It was here at Colbert Station Limerick that I boarded my first Irish Rail train, a two piece push-pull led by a 121 Class General Motors diesel. That was just about 19 years ago (February 1998).
The other day, I decided to travel by train to Limerick. Unfortunately on the way out I discovered that my ‘connection’ at Limerick Junction was a bus. Poor show Irish Rail. (Can I blame them for the rain too?)
On the return, my train operated (hooray!). Waiting to board, I made a few photos of the old station, which uses of the traditional terminal head-house and iron train shed arrangement.
Out front it has been cleaned up a bit, but for the most part the station looks much the way it did on my first visit all those years ago. No 121 though.
All photos were exposed using my Lumix LX7 in February 2017.
Tracking the Light is Daily.
Tomorrow: how I photographed a train by accident.
Not one, not two but three cameras served as my visual capturing arsenal last Saturday.
I had so many files to download that it’s taken me a few days to finally get this selection ready for review.
Is more better?
As with my FujiFilm X-T1 photos, with my Lumix I was interested in capturing some of personalities on Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s The Western Explorer.
General Motors Diesel in Ireland.
This was among my first Irish Railway photographs. I’d hired a car in Limerick and was exploring. At the time I knew very little about Irish Rail, but I was fascinated by the Ballina branch passenger train.
What caught my interest here was the juxtaposition of the General Motors diesel with the Claremorris station sign. It was the name of the town in Irish that fascinated me. I also liked the old Irish Rail logo, which seemed to represent the double junction at Claremorrris.
I’d never have imagined then, that this would just one of the thousands of Irish railway photographs I’d expose over the next 16 years!
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