NECR
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Five Years Ago on the New England Central
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August 23, 2016, I made this bright morning view of a short southward New England Central freight at Stafford Springs, Connecticut.
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Morning Sun at East Northfield.
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I drove to my old standby location at East Northfield, where the NECR line toward Palmer, Massachusetts and New London, Connecticut diverges from the old Boston & Maine Connecticut River line (now operated by Pan Am Southern).
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Three Views at Stafford Springs.
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Yesterday I processed a month’s worth of black & white film; two carefully-exposed rolls of 35mm Ilford HP5.
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New England Central 611 at Three Rivers, Massachusetts.
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New England Central’s clean locomotives in parent company Genesee & Wyoming’s orange, yellow and black paint, make for handsome subjects, and a welcome change to the days when patched faded liveries of the locomotive’s various former owners predominated.
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EMD’s Racing the Sun at East Northfield.
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Rolling down Cotton Mill Road, I spied 611 lead by five vintage EMD diesels pulling across the causeway south of Brattleboro Yard. Shortly before the train arrived at the Junction in East Northfield, on the Vermont-Massachusetts state line, so after a cloudy day the clouds parted for a few moments, and a brilliant ‘sucker hole’…
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Stafford Springs and New England Central 608: Part 2.
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In fact, I’ve been photographing trains passing this Connecticut village since the early 1980s, but I find it always helps to try to look at an old place with fresh eyes.
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Northfield, Massachusetts: New England Central Timeless Monochrome?
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Last week on a trip along the Connecticut River Valley with fellow photographer Mike Gardner, I exposed this view of New England Central job 611 at Northfield, Massachusetts. Tracking the Light Posts Daily!
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Did Someone Say FRA?
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Last week I stepped on to Main Street in Monson, just as a single New England Central GP38 was working upgrade through town. ‘It’s a bit late for 608.’ I thought. (608 is the weekday turn freight from Willimantic to…
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More New England Central GP38s-Four Photos!
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For the last month, New England Central’s 608 (Willimantic, Connecticut to Palmer, Massachusetts and back) has continued to run with a pair of GP38s. (I missed the day when 608 ran with three!) What’s so special about this? These locomotives…
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Extra! Extra train on New England Central.
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We’d heard there was an extra move. We didn’t know what it was. I got a bit confused as to where the extra was in relation to the regular northward New England Central 611 (that runs weekdays from Brattleboro to…
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When East is West: Two Trains at the Junction.
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I’ve been making photos at the Junction at East Northfield since the 1980s. The other day, on the third visit in two weeks to this iconic New England location (where New England Central’s line connects with Pan Am Railway’s Conn…
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Spring at Cushman: New England Central’s northward 611.
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During the last few days everything’s gone green in central Massachusetts. I was driving north and overtook New England Central’s 611 on its run from Palmer back to Brattleboro. At Cushman in Amherst, Massachusetts the spring greenery and flowers combined…
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Frosty Morning Stafford Springs; White Balance.
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I made these views of New England Central job 608 working timetable northward at Stafford Spring, Connecticut. It was about 7:30am, and the sun was just tinting the eastern sky. Rather than set my camera with ‘auto white balance’ (a…
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Difference of Seasons: July versus January—Two Views.
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Here are two views of the same train: led by the same locomotive, at the same location, more or less at the same time of day, exposed using the same camera with the same lens. Both photos show New Engand…
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Big Orange & Black Diesel; When Color Works.
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Since Genesee & Wyoming took over Rail America, gradually the fleets of diesels operated by the component railways have been repainted into G&W’s corporate livery of orange and black with yellow highlights. This traditional paint scheme had been used by…
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Connecticut River Crossing—Contrast Adjustment.
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Last week I exposed this view of New England Central 611 (Brattleboro to Palmer) crossing the Connecticut River at East Northfield, Massachusetts. To compensate for the back lit high-contrast scene, I made a few necessary adjustments in post processing. Working…
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New England Central 611—Two Exposures.
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Picking the best exposure is an important part of photography. Today with modern metering, computer guided exposure aids (program modes) and automatic lenses, most photographers don’t spend a lot of time worrying about exposure details. It might surprise some Tracking…
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Sunrise on the New England Central—Working with RAW.
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A side-benefit for me of transatlantic jet lag is that I’m wide awake for sunrise. The other day, I drove to Stafford Springs, Connecticut as the sun was rising. Typically New England Central 608 passes the village between 7 and…
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New England Central—Southward with 608 on May 17, 2017.
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Earlier in the month I’ve highlighted various photographic adventures with New England Central 608 (freight that works from Willimantic, Connecticut to Palmer and back). Today’s post focuses on the southward journey. Over the years, I’ve photographed many trains climbing the…
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Brattleboro in the Snow: Documenting the Documenting.
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Last week I traveled with fellow photographer Mike Gardner to Brattleboro, Vermont to make images of the New England Central Railroad. In this view, I photographed Mike photographing the train as it works the south end of Brattleboro yard. Filtered…
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New England Central at Stafford Springs—August 23, 2016.
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The familiar sound of 645 thunder down in the valley spurred me into action. A southward New England Central freight was climbing Stateline Hill in Monson, Massachusetts. This is an old routine (and yes, I’ve written about this before.) When…
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NECR Tunnel Motor at State Line.
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The other day down in the valley I heard the roar of a train ascending the old New London Northern grade to State Line. EMD diesels working hard. “Hmm. That’s odd. Daylight move on the New England Central?” In recent…
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611 with Rainbow Consist plus a Bus at Amherst.
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That’s New England Central job 611. (A turn that runs from Brattleboro, Vermont to Palmer, Massachusetts). All I want to know is what Emily Dickenson might say about all this? Hmmm? Tracking the Light posts original content on a daily…
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DAILY POST: Campaign Train, Aug 2010.
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New England Central at Montpelier Junction, Vermont. A freshly scrubbed GP38 led a pair of Pennsy passenger cars in a classic old-school whistle-stop campaign tour of Vermont. On August 28, 2010, my dad and I drove to the Georgia high…
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New England Central January 10, 2013
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One of the benefits of my visits to Monson, Massachusetts, is being within ear-shot of the former Central Vermont Railway, now operated by New England Central (NECR). Yesterday morning (January 10, 2013), I awoke to the sounds of a southward…