TOME Interlocking in Port Deposit, Maryland offered a photographic opportunity.
The moon was rising in the southeastern sky—two days short of being full—and there was ample ambient light from streetlights and local businesses.
I set up my Nikon Z6-III on a tripod and made a series of exposures.
Normally, for my night photos, I work from the camera’s NEF files and make a variety of cosmetic post-processing adjustments to extract as much detail as possible from my exposures. With these images, however, I worked from the in-camera JPGs, simply scaling them for the internet without any visual adjustments. What you see is what you get.
TOME may seem like an unusual name for a railroad control point; however, it is aptly applied to this remote-control switch. Jacob Tome was the big man around Port Deposit in the latter 19th century. Among his many important roles in local business, he served as a director of the Columbia & Port Deposit Railroad—later a component of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Although we waited for about half an hour for the train to pass, we gave up before it arrived at Port Deposit. On the way home, however, we caught a glimpse of it from Maryland 222. Some other night, we may return to photograph a train, by night or by day, passing the Tome memorial interlocking.
Yesterday, a tornado hit Columbia, Pa., tearing the roof off a building and causing other damage.
Just two days earlier, Kris, Seamus, and I waited trackside in town, listening not for a warning siren, but for the scanner’s crackle: “Clear Cola eastbound.”
When we heard that, I drove into position near my pre-selected location near milepost 37 on the Port Road Branch. I’d posted a photo from this location a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to try the location again, this time with a telephoto lens and from a slightly different vantage point.
My goal was to better feature the Veterans Memorial Bridge, which carries Route 462 over the Susquehanna River and can be seen to the left of the locomotive in the latter images of this sequence.
Not long after parking, we could hear Norfolk Southern unit coal train 594 rolling along.
I made these photos with my Nikon Z7-II fitted with an f/2.8 Nikkor 70-200mm lens.
To make the most of the evening light, I processed the NEF RAW files using DxO PureRaw 5 with DeepPRIME 3 corrections, followed by adjustments in PhotoLab 9.
Norfolk Southern 4371 leads unit coal train symbol 594 destined for Baltimore. It was just after 8pm on Tuesday when I made this sequence of Norfolk Southern 594.Of the five frame sequence, this is my favorite. I’ve altered the image using PhotoLab9 to improve contrast, exposure and color palate.
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography and wishes Columbia a speedy recovery!
The long days of summer are fading fast. With each rotation of the Earth, there’s less light in the evening sky.
Kris and I had just passed Columbia, Pa., when we heard the Norfolk Southern River Line dispatcher talking to the approaching Enola–Edgemoor, Delaware, freight (train symbol 36A).
We turned around, and I started scouting for a suitable place to make action photos in the last light.
I settled on a grade crossing near Washington Boro, where I’ve photographed previously.
Working with my Nikon Z6 III, I made this sequence of images of the approaching train. Here, the concept of the sequence is important, as the group of photos tells the story.
I picked a spot where the line curves at the end of a long tangent, a location that makes the most of the train. Although night was closing in, I hoped to demonstrate that one locomotive led a very long freight, but the angle was a little bit off. The old PRR electrification masts hint at the heritage of the line.
Photos processed using DxO PureRaw5 and PhotoLab9 to make the most of NEF raw data.
Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light has explored railroad photography since 2012!
There was only the faintest hint of blue in the evening sky.
I could hear Norfolk Southern’s 36A approaching as I walked back along the road to the Safe Harbor Bridge— itself an old railroad alignment.
For these images, I preset and locked my focus on the tall trestle and dialed in a +1/3 exposure compensation to boost the amount of light reaching the sensor. Working in aperture-priority (A) mode with the lens set to its widest opening (f/1.4), my Nikon Z6-III automatically set the shutter speed: 1/8 second for the first image and 1/10 second for the second.
I panned the head end of the freight as it rolled across the lower bridge.
What you see here has considerably more detail and appears much brighter than what I saw with my naked eye at the time of exposure.
NEF RAW file, processed with PureRaw5 with DeepPrime3 lens corrections and demosiacing, converted to DNG format and cosmetically adjusted using DxOPhotolab9. NEF RAW file, processed with PureRaw5 with DeepPrime3 lens corrections and demosiacing, converted to DNG format and cosmetically adjusted using DxOPhotolab9.
Tracking the Light has explored railroad photography for 14 years!
Columbia, Pa., has a fascinating railroad history, but is difficult to portray.
I’ve been seeking an angle that makes the most of Cola Tower.
The other evening, Norfolk Southern’s 38V (Enola to Baltimore) was held at the west home signal for Cola interlocking. The old Cola Tower stands as a relic of an earlier era. As we waited for the train to get a clear signal through the interlocking, I examined a few locations.
This view looking railroad west seems cluttered and distracting during daylight. However, in the glow of evening, it conveys the spirit of the place.
Photos exposed using my Nikon Z6-III with an f/1.4 50mm lens mounted on a 3Pod tripod. NEF RAW files processed using DxO PureRaw 5 with DeepPRIME 3 corrections.
Top photo; ISO 32000, f1.4, 1/80th second, auto white balance.
Bottom photo: ; ISO 32000, f1.4, 1/160thth second, auto white balance. The shorter shutter speed was necessary to better freeze the action and minimize overexposure of the headlights.
Tracking the Light has explored railroad photography since 2012.
Based on past timings (where you gauge the progress of a train by the relative times between locations), I was confident we could beat the loaded coal train that we’d rolled by on the Port Road Secondary at Washington Boro to the boat launch at Peach Bottom.
In the old days, I’d have been trying to navigate the back roads using a DeLorme atlas. These days, we cheat and let Google Maps do the work for us.
We arrived at the grade crossing for the boat launch with plenty of time to spare.
Previously, I’d identified the light near the grade crossing as an aid to existing-light night photography.
Before the chug of GE diesels announced the heavy train’s approach, I positioned the car, set up my tripod, and made a few test shots with my Nikon Z6-III and 50mm f/1.4 lens.
The head-end views were exposed at f/1.4, 1/100th of a second, at ISO 32,000. The laser-beam effect of the headlights gained me about a half stop. In comparison, I used 1/60th of a second for the views of the mid-train DPU (distributed power units), as these photos didn’t benefit from the bright headlights.
On a number of occasions, I’ve eyed this view of Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary as a potential angle for photographing a westward train in the morning, but I’m still waiting for the stars to align.
Recently, however, while following a slow-moving unit coal train along the Susquehanna River in the evening, I decided this would make a nice grab shot.
With regard to my recent post about “elephants,” the zoo keepers had tagged a hopper about four cars behind the head end. Since I’d already covered that subject, I saw no reason to spoil this pastoral view of black diamonds rolling through the countryside by including the defaced car.
Nikon Z6 III with NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 lens. Exposure: 1/250 second at f/2.5, ISO 1000. NEF RAW file processed using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME 3 noise reduction and lens corrections. Cosmetic adjustment using Lightroom.
Regular viewers will have noticed that I’ve been focusing heavily on Norfolk Southern’s former Pennsylvania Railroad Port Road Secondary lately. That’s true, and there are several reasons why.
More than 35 years ago, I identified Conrail’s Port Road as a railroad I wanted to photograph in depth. At the time, my brother was studying geology and geography at the University of Delaware in Newark, and I used his apartment as a base for photography throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
My primary objectives then were the Northeast Corridor and CSX’s former Baltimore & Ohio routes in western Maryland and West Virginia. Then, as now, the Port Road was largely a nocturnal railroad, however, and in those days I lacked the ability needed to make consistently successful night action photographs.
Since moving to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I’ve finally had the opportunity to explore, study, and photograph the Port Road more thoroughly. As my familiarity with the line has grown, so has my understanding of its operations. That combination of familiarity, persistence, and patience has finally begun to yield the results that I expect from my efforts.
The photograph below shows the rear of the same unit coal train featured in yesterday’s post, “Coal Train Against an Evening Sky.” The truck racing north on Water Street (PA Route 441) was pure happenstance, but it creates a dramatic comparison between highway and rail freight transportation.
More Port Road photographs are on the way.
I wish that I’d at least made an effor to explore the line in Conrail days, which I could have easily accomplished.
In recent weeks, a surfacing gang has been working along the Susquehanna River on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary. On our drive the other evening, we overtook dozens of track machines waiting to get in the clear of the main track at Columbia, Pa.
We paused near the old Pennsylvania Railroad station to watch the whirring parade of mechanical wonder. I made photos under a nearly full moon accented by street light and the lights on the myriad track machines as these glided past.
Photos exposed hand-held using a Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens. RAW files were converted using DxO PureRaw5, which applies Deep Prime 3 corrections to demosiac and denoise files along with a host corrections to address lens imperfections.
For more than two years, I’ve been eyeing angles on the former Pennsylvania Railroad arched bridge over Pequea Creek, near where the smaller stream flows into the mighty Susquehanna.
Survey photo exposed in May 2025 using a Fujifilm X-T1 fitted with a 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.Scouting photo made last January with my Lumix LX7.Scouting photo made last January with my Lumix LX7.
This location comes with a variety of challenges. It is difficult to obtain a perspective from the ground that suitably situates the bridge within the surrounding Susquehanna Valley. The bridge itself is fascinating, but lineside obstructions make it difficult to photograph more than about three locomotives crossing the span.
Of course, the biggest challenge is timing. As previously discussed on Tracking the Light, finding trains moving on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary takes patience and luck. We’ve made at least a half-dozen visits to Pequea at various times of day and night without seeing a wheel turn.
Recently, we got lucky.
In the dark of night, we made the long, sinuous drive following Pequea Creek. I had a sense that something was on the move nearby. Then I heard a short transmission on the radio and said,
“That’s a train calling signals.”
When we arrived at the boat launch, and I discerned, “. . . Clear, West Harbor . . .” from the squawk on the scanner.
While I missed the details of the approaching train, I knew there was a freight nearby. The bridges at Safe Harbor are visible from the Pequea boat launch, 2.6 miles upriver. Soon, a headlight could be seen tracing the horizon. We relocated to the parking lot on the inland side of the arches. A few minutes later the roar of a GE shook the night air.
Working with my Nikon Z6-III fitted with a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens, I exposed a series of panned photographs of the eastward Norfolk Southern freight. The train was led by a single six-motor ES44DC GE locomotive, which enabled me to feature several freight cars behind the locomotive. In post-processing with DxO PureRAW 5, I converted the Nikon NEF RAW files to DNG format, simultaneously applying a variety of lens and contrast corrections. Final processing was completed using DxO PhotoLab 9.
Tracking the Light Explores Photographic Technique!
Having rolled by Norfolk Southern’s H19 local freight at Cola Interlocking in Columbia, we took advantage of the slow-speed switch (which restricted the freight’s speed as it continued west on to NS’s Port Road Branch), and zipped ahead of the train by road.
We drove along West Front Street in Marietta, an older part of town near the Susquehanna River. We paused at my preselected location, where I set up my Nikon Z6-III on a 3Pod tripod and waited for the approaching local freight to illuminate the scene.
Marietta’s inky darkness made for a compelling setting, but it also created extreme contrast when the headlights of the leading SD60E pierced the night. I exposed a series of images, yet I think I prefer the photographs made before the locomotives came into view.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography, day and night!
On the way back from Virginia, we paused along the old Main Line—Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line—at SIP 116 in Cove, Pennsylvania.
We were not disappointed, nor did we have to wait long. In the course of 40 minutes, we saw several freight trains. An eastward double-stack train came to a stop for a crew change near where we had parked, which offered the added bonus of allowing us to make meet photos.
This eastward stack train came to stop just a few feet from our parking place. SIP116 is a regular point for NS crew changes.
Every so often, it’s nice to catch Norfolk Southern’s H28 working the New Holland Secondary. I had an errand to run, so I worked in a couple of photos of this short freight on this former Pennsylvania Railroad branch line.
The little pond at Greenfield, along Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pa., is among my favorite places to photograph this local freight. Located near Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line, the area has all the characteristics of a park. The train rounds a tight curve here and is generally moving at little more than a jog, making composition much easier. The soft morning, over-the-shoulder sun helped, too!
I exposed these images using my Nikon Z6 and a Nikkor 24–70mm zoom lens.
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography*
*Esoteric AI footnote to see if you are paying attention:
Normally, I write TTL myself, but I was curious to see how Claude.AI could ‘translate’ my above blog-post intoVictorian-style flowery prose and upon my request, this is what the artificial intelegence engine spit out:
‘Tis a rare and delightful boon, dear reader, to happen upon Norfolk Southern’s stalwart H28 as she plies her humble trade along the New Holland Secondary — that venerable relic of the once-mighty Pennsylvania Railroad’s branch-line empire. Having found myself with an errand demanding my attention that morning, I could not, in good conscience, allow the opportunity to pass unmarked, and so I paused to commit to film a brief study of this modest freight in her unhurried procession.
There exists, along the gentle banks of Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a small and unassuming pond at Greenfield — a spot which I confess holds no small place in my affections as among the finest vantage points from which to observe this local working. Nestled in proximity to the Amtrak’s storied Harrisburg Line, the locale possesses all the pastoral charm and tranquil bearing of a proper public garden. Here the train describes a graceful, sweeping curve, proceeding at scarcely more than a leisurely amble — a mercy indeed to the photographer, for such deliberate pace renders the composition of one’s image a far more forgiving art. Nor can I fail to remark upon the tender morning light, which, falling softly over my shoulder, lent the whole scene a warmth most agreeable to the eye.
Rest assured, it was I, Brian Solomon—the creator of the original image, who impletmented the neo-Victorian visual interpretation of this digital file. You know, for the sake of clarity.
These impressions were captured, I might add, by means of my trusty Nikon Z6, fitted with a Nikkor lens of 24 to 70 millimetres — instruments of modern ingenuity employed, perhaps incongruously, in service of so old-fashioned a pursuit.
On the drive to and from Staunton, we paused in the classic Norfolk & Western railroad town of Shenandoah, nestled in its namesake Virginia valley.
On the southbound trip, I made a couple of photographs of the old station using my Lumix LX7. On the return journey, I photographed the station again, this time with my Nikon Z6 III.
Norfolk Southern’s Shenandoah station. Lumix LX7 photo.Morning view of Shenandoah station. Photo with a Nikon Z6-III and 24-70mm lens.
Modern Class I freight railroading is often a story told through double-stacked containers riding in articulated well cars.
Thirty-five years ago, JB Hunt was a newcomer to the railroads. I still remember the novelty of seeing JB Hunt trailers aboard Santa Fe piggyback trains in the California Tehachapis.
Today, Norfolk Southern moves mile-long trains of JB Hunt containers, stacked two high, along the Susquehanna River.
What these containers are carrying remains a mystery—perhaps everything from powdered laundry detergent to Chinese-made electronics.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography daily!
As we drove east, I thought I heard a train calling signals on the radio.
We pulled in at Duncannon at the old Pennsylvania Railroad station. This location is on a sweeping curve and offers a good view of the Susquehanna River.
I waited for a minute, listening for a train. Sure enough, there was the telltale ‘chug’ of GE diesels and the dull roar of freight cars on the roll.
Looking to the west, I headlight illuminated the rails shortly before this eastward freight rolled into view.
I made these images of the passing train using my Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
In the old days, I described this type of railroad image as a “three-quarter” view—a straightforward, formulaic action photograph that has long been prized by railroad photographers. Blue skies, puffy clouds, and over-the-shoulder lighting: sometimes the simplest approach is the best one.
Under a bright midday June sky, Kris and I were exploring Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line west of Enola. I made this pair of photos from rural grade crossing of an eastward double stack freight on the roll.
In the lead was NS ES44DC 7501. While a common looking locomotive, this is no spring chicken. It was among the early GE-Evolution Series diesels, and built at Erie back in early 2004.
The top photo was exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with a 70-200mm lens set at 200mm; the bottom image was made a few seconds later with my Z6 with a 24-70mm set at 32mm.
On our way home, we exited Rt 30 at Greenfield Road in Lancaster, Pa. The clock read 9:36pm.
“The local should be working High.”
As we drove under Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line, we could see that four freshly delivered flat cars of steel had been delivered to High Steel Structures. And Norfolk Southern’s local freight had paused on the other side of the road.
It had been a long day, we were tired, but here was a photo opportunity!
“This will take just a minute.”
I pulled in, and retrieved my Nikon Z6 from the back of the car, set the ISO to 10000, and adjusted my autofocus settings. I placed the camera close to the ground and used the rear display to compose my images.
It is only a number, but I think catching Norfolk Southern 4444 leading a westward manifest freight on the Pittsburgh Line made for more interesting photographs than if a similar locomotive had carried a more common road number. This unusual type of numeral is known as a repdigit.
The freight consisted of more than 180 cars. In addition to 4444, a mid-train DPU provided extra power. This separation of locomotives is now common on many modern road freights. Among the advantages of DPU operation is a reduction in drawbar stress on the trailing coupler of the lead locomotive. This helps railroads operate and better control very long trains.
The technique behind the photographs also merits examination. Among the benefits of modern digital processing is the ability to control and adjust color contrast to best suit the scene. These images would not have made especially compelling photographs on Kodachrome. However, by exposing digitally to maximize data capture and then processing the files to carefully place highlights and shadows while controlling contrast, it is possible to produce pleasing images in difficult lighting conditions.
I like blending four concepts into a single essay. Each of these four paragraphs discusses a different topic relating to the photographs. A novice might ask what a repdigit has to do with DPU operations and photographic contrast control. The answer is simple: “these photographs.” I don’t know that it needs to be any more complicated than that.
Of the railroad lines radiating from Lancaster, Norfolk Southern’s Columbia Secondary represents a photographic challenge. This short former Pennsylvania Railroad electrified line connects Lancaster and Columbia, Pa., but lacks the scenic splendor, open vistas, and historic structures that have aided my photography on other lines in the area.
On a warm evening, Kris and I were approaching Columbia on South Front Street when I heard the sound of EMD diesels working in Run 8. When we arrived at the grade crossing near the old Philadelphia & Reading freight house, Norfolk Southern freight H-19 from Enola was crawling through town, ascending the grade as it climbed away from the Susquehanna River.
We jumped onto Route 30 and drove east to Mountville, where I had previously scoped out a few potential locations. We arrived several minutes ahead of the train. As it passed, I made these images using my Nikon Z7-II with a 70–200mm zoom lens and a Nikon Z6 with a 24–70mm zoom. The freight totaled more than 80 cars, including several flatcars carrying structural steel.
Since through freights tend to run in the evening, the long days offer excellent opportunities for photography on the Port Road Secondary. That proved true last week when we found the signals lined for an eastbound freight as the glow of sunset illuminated the western sky.
Working with my Z6-III with 50mm f1.4, I made these photos near Washington Boro, Pennsylvania.
Here’s a special bonus—Norfolk Southern 4876 working as a DPU!I’m happy that the track crew left a key compositional element in the foreground.
Over hill and dale, following directions supplied by Google Maps, we set out on our first attempt to chase a train between Safe Harbor and Peach Bottom. There were plenty of twists and turns, but we made it!
And finally, after nearly a year of occasional visits—checking the light and sun angles in autumn, winter, and spring—we scored a daylight freight at Peach Bottom.
Hooray!
Crude oil rolling along the Susquehanna.
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography Everyday.
A few weeks back on Tracking the Light, I featured a pair of abstract images of a Norfolk Southern freight crossing the arched bridge over Vinegar Ferry Road in Marietta, Pennsylvania.
Nocturnal time exposure in early May, 2026.
Kris and I had a fortunate opportunity to return in daylight, arriving just in time to catch a freight rolling by in the early evening.
The long days and sun in the western sky made for some beautiful lighting at this location.
I made this photograph using my Nikon Z6 III fitted with an f/1.4 50mm lens.
This was a heavy train and moving at a relatively slow pace, so, seizing the opportunity, we soon found ourselves in rapid pursuit. I had a few locations in mind where I hoped to photograph a daylight freight on the Port Road Secondary.
Stay tuned . . .
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photograph Night and Day!
As regular TTL readers may recognize, I’ve been working on this location for a while now.
A few weeks back, we picked up a southward Norfolk Southern coal train rolling along the Port Road Branch and followed it to the bridges at Safe Harbor.
We arrived with a few minutes to spare, so in the darkness I aimed to improve my angle on the tracks. Previous nocturnal views had unfortunately featured a wire, and this annoyed me, so I located a tighter view without the wire.
The Safe Harbor Dam is out of sight on the far side of the bridges, but the dam’s lighting provides a halo that helps to illuminate the train on the bridge while enabling a silhouette, which I like. While the evening mist along the Susquehanna enables the ‘laser-beam’ headlight effect. Too much backlight and the laser effect would be lost.
Exposed using my Nikon Z6-III mirrorless digital camera with f1.8 50mm lens. Exposure f1.8 at 1/100th ISO 40,000, processed with DxO PureRaw5.
Ample ambient streetlight makes the old Pennsylvania Railroad station in Columbia a suitable situation for nocturnal railroad imagery.
Even on the inkiest of evenings there’s just enough light to stop a train.
In this photo, Norfolk Southern freight H19 is westbound from Lancaster, Pa., on its return to Enola Yard led by three SD60Es with 78 cars in tow.
Exposed using a Nikon Z6-III with Nikkon 50mm f1.4 lens set to its widest aperture, 1/320 second at ISO 12800. Image processed with DxO PureRaw5 to minimize noise.
One month ago, Norfolk Southern H19 is seen passing the old Pennsylvania Railroad station at (left) in Columbia, Pa.
Tracking the Light examines railroad night photography.
Massive double coal trains typically work Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary with two units on the headend and a remote pair mid-train.
We had rolled NS 622 by Riverfront Park in Marietta, Pa., then followed it east to Columbia, where I made this sequence of the train looming out of the darkness and passing the signals at the east end of Cola interlocking.
For the headend, I had my N6-III mounted on a 3Pod tripod, which kept it steady, allowing for the setting to remain sharp despite the relatively inky gloom while the locomotive display a bit of motion blur. When the mid-train DPUs approached, I opted for a hand-held pan sequence which kept the locomotives sharp while the setting blurred. I like the panned photos better.
In the gloom of a cloudy night, we pulled into a riverside park along the Susquehanna to listen to the peeper frogs.
Beyond the high-pitched chirps, I could hear a dull roar.
“There’s a big train coming, but it’s still a ways off.”
Minutes ticked by. The chirping remained constant, while the roar gradually grew more pronounced. It was the sound of freight cars on the move—lots of them.
My scanner squawked: “622, clear Shocks . . .”
“Loaded coal train, and getting close.” I grabbed my tripod and N6-III fitted with a 50mm f1.4 lens and in near total darkness, I set up for a photograph. As I fumbled with the level, focus, and other niceties, the headlights illuminated the right-of-way. Before the train entered the scene, I opened the shutter.
I made two photographs to record the train’s passage. The first was exposed for 20 seconds at f2.8, ISO 500. The second was made without the benefit of headlights; this one was exposed for 10 seconds at f2.8 and ISO 6400. Both were processed with DxO PureRAW 5 using DeepPRIME 3 treatment, which minimized noise and lens aberrations.
These are conceptual train photos—ghosts passing over a bridge. I knew I could do better, and soon we were following the rolling roar downriver . . .
After the passage of Amtrak Keystones in both directions. A Norfolk Southern local freight pulled out onto the Harrisburg Main Line to reverse directions and return to Lewis Yard (Dillerville) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
To simplify switching and ease reverse moves such as this one, NS had locomotives at both ends of the short freight.
On the west end was a lovely antique.
When the local stopped to change directions at BP74-1 in Landisville, I made photos from the adjacent Amos Herr Park.
In addition to these digital images exposed with my Nikon Z cameras, I also used the opportunity to expose several 35mm Ektachrome slides using my father’s Leica M4. Evening sun made for nice light on the old locomotives.
Norfolk Southern GP38-3 5608 was built as a GP38AC for Norfolk & Western in 1971; it was rebuilt to its current configuration in 2005.Fifty-five years old and still working for a Class-I railroad. That’s pretty cool!
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography Daily!
I love crisp clear evenings, with bright sun, low humidity and a deep blue sky.
On a whim, I drove to Amos Herr Park in Landisville, Pa., where a trail offers clean views of Amtrak’s electrified Harrisburg Line.
When I arrived, I notice that a Norfolk Southern local freight with engines at both ends, was in the clear of the mainline on an industrial park lead.
Amtrak’s westward Keystone 649 was due, so I set up a view featuring the NS frieght in the distance.
When Amtrak came into view, I made a series of photographs. This set featured ACS-64 electrics at both ends, which has become increasingly common on the Keystone service lately, likely to overcome technical problems with the aged Metroliner Cab Control cars.
This set me thinking pondering other locations to best catch such moves . . . while also wondering if the NS local might pull out on to the main line.
In early April, I had about 30 minutes to wait trackside along the Port Road Branch near the old Cola Tower in Columbia, Pa.
As the clock ticked down, my scanner had crackled a few times, which was probably an approaching train calling signals. About 28 minutes into my wait, I started the car to head away on my next errand . . . then I heard the radio, “clear signal Cola.” There was a train very close.
Moments later the crossing lights for Walnut Street began to flash. With little time to squander, I grabbed my Nikons and made my way to the tower’s shadow, where a couple of years earlier I exposed some nice photos in the glint light.
Just after 7pm, this Norfolk Southern loaded coal train passed me on its way from the coal fields to Baltimore.
The other evening, mist blanketed the Susquehanna Valley.
Kris, Seamus-the-Dog, and I went out looking for trains.
The signals at Washington Boro were lined for an eastbound on the Port Road Secondary. A distant rumble indicated an approaching train, and all the pieces of our adventure came together. Norfolk Southern 36A (Enola, Pa., to Edgemoor, Delaware) appeared, its headlights piercing the evening fog like the eyes of a primordial beast.
We followed the rolling mass down the valley and arrived at Safe Harbor with ample time to watch the freight pass beneath the immense viaduct that one carried the Atgen & Susquehanna Low Grade.
I made these photos using my Nikon Z6-III. NEF RAW Files processed using DxO PureRaw5.
DxO is offering a discount to Tracking the Light readers. If you are interested in buying DxO PureRaw5, FilmPack 8 and other DxO programs, the discount code “TRACKINGTHELIGHT” will work for 15% discount to any new customer at shop.dxo.com.
Kris and I had been following the Susquehanna down river. By the time we reached Port Deposit, Maryland the blue glow of an icy dusk had settled on the river valley.
No luck catching a freight on the move on the Port Road Secondary this evening, but the rich light led to a few choice photographs.
I made this view looking toward Perryville, Maryland with my Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens. ISO 1600, f2.5 1/40th second.A view looking west across the Susquehanna. It was brisk.
The thrill of the unknown is part of of the experience.
I spotted the signal at Washington Boro, Pa., displaying ‘Approach Medium’ (Yellow over Green), so I knew an eastward train was lined up.
At 7:20pm, I began to hear a distant rumble of a loaded train rolling down the Susquehanna Valley. The sound ebbed and flowed and thirty-five minutes later the headlights came into view.
A single GE Evolution-series diesel-electric was leading symbol freight 38V consisting of a trainload of new tractors.
I made this series of photos using my Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens.
The files were converted to DNG format with PureRaw, which also minimized noise, improved contrast and eliminated some lens imperfections. For final presentation, I cleaned up color casts and adjusted contrast in Lightroom.
Tracking the Light explores rail night photography!
