I like to keep a camera handy for those fortuitous moments when a train presents a photo opportunity.
One evening after work , Kris and I were driving toward Leola on a errand. I spied a headlight on Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Secondary as we crossed Horseshoe Road.
We continued to drive and when we approached the small yard near the old PRR station, Norfolk Southern’s local freight was just about ready to begin its westward run back to Lewis Yard in Lancaster, Pa.
“This will just take a minute,” I said as I pulled in the clear—off the road. I reached for my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens, and exposed a series of photos as the local began to pull west.
The sky was leaden and the ground was wet; back in Kodachrome days this lighting situation might have been unworkable, but applying modern digital technology I was satisfied with my results. I converted the Nikon NEF files into DNG format using DxO PureRaw, then made changes to contrast and exposure in Lightroom.
If you travel from north to south on Greenfield Road in Lancaster, you cross three sets of tracks. The first is Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Secondary near the Greenfield Road exit for Highway 30. The second is a one-lane underpass beneath Amtrak’s electrified Harrisburg Line; the last is an industrial spur that serves High Steel Structures.
We saw a Norfolk Southern local freight with engines positioned on each end of the consist working this spur and paused on Greenfield Road so I could make a few high-ISO photographs with my Z7-II.
These were made using m f4.0 24-70mm zoom hand-held at 6400 ISO.Note the ‘FRED’ telemetry device with flashing red light in the top image.
The Nikon’s NEF RAW files were processed and converted using PureRaw to minimize pixelization and correct for lens defects.
The other evening we arrived near the old Pennsylvania Railroad station in Columbia, Pa., just as the signal displayed slow-clear for a westward movement at Cola from the Columbia Secondary onto the Port Road Branch.
Within a minute we could hear a train whistling for crossings up the line.
I set up my tripod and opted to experiment with my Nikon Z7-II fitted with my f2.8 70-200mm lens for action rail night photography. The last time I made photo here I’d worked with my 24-70mm and made a wide angle view with the full moon. This time I’d compose view tightly on the approaching train.
Just as I got the camera set up the level crossing signals started flashing, the gates came down, and the rail glinted from the lights of Norfolk Southern’s H19 local.
I adjusted the ISO on my camera to 25,600 and set the aperture to f2.8.
Once the autofocus had locked on to the lights of the lead engine, I switched the focus to ‘manual’ so the headlights wouldn’t confuse the focus setting; then I made this series of images.
The camera’s NEF RAW files were processed using DxO PureRaw to created DNG files, which I then imported into Lightroom for adjustment.
If you time it just right, Lititz Springs Park in Lititz, Pa., can be a nice place to catch a train. At other times it’s a nice place to watch the ducks.
We arrived around noon, just as Norfolk Southern’s H23 local was pulling down from a switching move. The track ends less than a quarter mile east of here on the former Reading Company’s Reading & Columbia line.
Tracking the Light is Brian Solomon’s blog on railroad photography.
When I find a winning combination of time and place there’s a certain satisfaction in repeating the exercise and watching my results improve with each new variation.
I’ve made dozens of trips to Columbia, Pa., which is an historically fascinating place with several railroad lines converging upon it.
In daylight, it is visually challenged, and from my experience too often devoid of railroad activity.
In the evening it comes alive.
Finally over the last few weeks, Kris and I have caught trains moving through the Columbia after dark.
A few days ago, I display some successful images of Norfolk Southern on the move.
On Sunday, a full moon made for opportunity. Kris had suggested that we take another turn at Columbia, and we arrived in time to catch H19 running light engine from Lancaster, followed by a 632 loaded coal train.
My view of H19 passing the station was from essentially the same place as where I’d caught the same train a few nights previously. However, I composed my photo to included not just the train and old PRR station, but mural on the wall to the left, plus our car with Kris making a nocturnal video. For me what really adds drama is the moon rising with a cotton candy sky.
Exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.
Friday night Kris suggested we go out exploring to find more freights on the move.
So with my 3Pod tripod and N7-II at the ready, we drove to the Susquehanna River at Columbia, Pa. On the way we heard the Enola-Lancaster turn key up Norfolk Southern’s River Line desk dispatcher. This train was looking for permission to return west to Enola, but needed to hold east of Columbia for a 596 unit coal train to clear the interlocking at Cola.
We had a few minutes to look for suitable locations, and at the last minute I settled on the westward home-signals at COLA on the Port Road (located off River Road in Columbia, Pa.)
The moon was nearly full.
I quickly set up my tripod and made this sequence of images as the loaded 596 coal train glided eastbound. In the lead was NS GE 4870, and similar to the train we saw last week, this had a two unit mid-train DPU and well over 200 cars.
All files exposed in NEF RAW format and converted to DNG format using PureRaw for import into Lightroom for cosmetic adjustment.
As soon as 596 had cleared COLA we repositioned to catch NS H19 coming off the branch from Lancaster. All of this was very exciting! Stay tuned for more photos . . .
Last night Kris suggested we drive around to find a train on the move, so we went over to Washington Boro, Pa., on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch to check the signals.
We were in luck! And as soon as I saw that these had been cleared for an eastward move, I set up my 3Pod tripod.
Manipulating the camera in the inky darkness is easier said than done. As the train whistle announced its approach, I struggled to find my desired setting. I couldn’t see the dial and I was fighting with the camera to get the shutter speed, ISO, and lens settings where I wanted them.
Ultimately, I selected a default setting where the camera automatically set the ISO to 25,600 and allowed me to adjust the aperature.
All very well, but unable to see what I was doing led me to select some ‘random’ mode in the darkness that only exposed photos as JPG, rather than my usual setting that exposes both JPG and NEF (RAW) files simultaneously.
As the coal cars rolled by at speed on continuous welded rail, I finally got the camera into ‘M’ (manual mode), which enabled me to set the ISO to 200, the shutter speed to 90 seconds, and the aperture to f4. Unfortunately the White Balance was set to a daylight setting rather than an automatic, so I needed to fix the White Balance in post-processing.
It was pretty cool to finally catch a train here in darkness.
Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.Final frame; ISO 200 in Manual Mode. 90 sec exposure at f4.0. White balance corrected in Lightroom.
Last week Kris, Seamus and I took a drive to Peach Bottom, Pa. This is among the river towns along the Susquehanna River with photographic opportunites of Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch.
We investigated several places with views of the river and I made these photos with my Nikon.
Exploration is part of the fun and part of my process. Perhaps someday we will get lucky and catch a train passing Peach Bottom.
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian & Kris are on holidays.
In the mid-1980s, I’d have a Leica rangefinder loaded with Kodachrome and my father’s Rolleiflex Model T with 120-size Verichrome Pan black & white negative film.
In the 1990s, it was multiple Nikons with slide film with various ISO sensitivity.
During the early 2000s, I worked with a Contax G2 rangefinder for wideangle photos and Nikons for telephoto views—all loaded with 100 speed Fujichrome.
Today, I carry Nikon mirrorless digital cameras, and occasionally a Lumix or Fujifilm digital camera, while once in while bringing out one of my 1990s-era Nikon F3s loaded with Ektachrome.
Such was the situation at Horseshoe Curve last October.
Here I’ve made two photos of the same westward Norfolk Southern hopper train. The first photo was exposed on E100 Ektachrome using the F3 with f2.0 35mm lens; the second is a digital photograph made with my Nikon Z7-II.
This comparison is about style, rather than image quality. I make different kinds of photos using different equipment and materials. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. I have both images and they both work for different reasons.
E100 Ektachrome with a Nikon F3 SLR with Nikkor AF f2.0 35mm lensNikon Z7-II mirror-less digital camera with 24-70mm lens. The image has been slightly cropped.
Since 2009, I paid more than a dozen visits to the former Pennsylvania Railroad trestles at Safe Harbor, Pa.
I’ve visited in the morning, midday, and evenings. I’ve gone on weekdays and weekends. I’ve climbed the steps to the rail trail at least ten times. I’ve walked the trail across the top of the bridge and scoped locations.
We’ve sat in the parking lot on the dam side of the trestles. Last summer we saw coal empties rolling through Port Deposit and raced ahead to Safe Harbor only to watch the sunset without a train pass.
The other morning I woke at 5:15am. I motivated, hoisted myself out of bed, dressed and drove to the Safe Harbor bridges arriving there at 5:45am. It was already 75 degrees and the humidity as thick as a rain forest.
I climbed the steps to the top of the bridge on the old Enola Low Grade, only to see that the signals were all red for a westward movement. Not a promising sign. Worse, the humidity immediately fogged the front elements of my Nikon.
Condensation on the front element made for a foggy photo.
I walked across the bridge; I gazed down at the Safe Harbor Dam, I read the signs at the west of the bridge that tell of its construction & etc. I walked back. I bird watched. I shared my thoughts in my notebook.
I read the rules of the rail trail, and at 6:30 am I gazed once again at the signals. Still red. So I read the rules again for amusement. Finally, I was about to give up and walk back to the car. The camera lens had finally un-fogged. And . . . wait . . . did the westward signal just clear to green?
It had.
I walked back out on to the bridge and waited. At 6:45, I heard the distant chug of a GE Evolution diesel. Wow!
I gazed down river toward Pequea. At 6:46, I spotted a northward train on the move. Gradually the sound grew louder. I framed up my photos. I made a test shot. At 6:54am the train came into view and I exposed these photos.
Finally! I’d scored a train on the move at Safe Harbor! This was probably Norfolk Southern’s 37A from Edgemoor, Delaware.
When I got back to the car just after 7am it was more than 80 degrees. I was home for tea 15 minutes later. It was all worth it!
Kris had suggested seeking out Norfolk Southern’s night local, which we found working at Greenfield Road in Lancaster, Pa.
After exposing a few photos using my FujiFilm XT1 (as presented yesterday), I made this series of images with a Lumix LX7.
The first image is of the train at Greenfield Road, where it was working High Steel Structures. The others were along Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line along Jefferson Drive.
All the images were converted in DNG format from RAW files using DxO PureRaw.
At times of stress and when sadness threatens to obscure my focus, I’ve often turned to railroad photography as welcome distraction.
The other night on our way back from Fox Meadows Creamery in Leola, Kris suggested we detour via Greenfield Road: “Maybe we’ll see the local freight.”
On our way, we spotted the headlights of a GP38-2 illuminating the catenary masts of the former Pennsylvania Railroad, and sure enough, Norfolk Southern’s night local was making its drop to High Steel Structures.
Burning fusees warned motorists that the train was blocking the road. This job often has locomotives a both ends.
While some of the highway traffic was less than impressed by seeing the freight at work, we were delighted. I made a selection of photos using my FujiFilm XT1 with 12mm Touit. Although I had my tripod, I opted to make these photos handheld using high ISO. I converted the Fuji RAW RAW files in to DNG format using DxO PureRaw, then cropped and adjusted contrast, color and exposure in Adobe Lightroom.
Later, I exposed a few photos with my Lumix LX7, but I’ll save those for a later post.
ISO 3200, f2.8 1/15sec.ISO 1600, f2.8 1/15sec.ISO 3200, f2.8 1/15sec.
In the long days, early morning illumination at Norfolk Southern’s Lewis (Dillerville) Yard in Lancaster, Pa., made some opportunities for classic sunlit photos of antique EMD diesels.
Back in April, I posted a few photos here on a dull day. I knew I could improve upon them, so last Sunday I paid another visit, and this time I bought out the heavy equipment.
Images were exposed digitally using Nikon Z6 and Z7-II cameras.
Yesterday’s post featured the Middletown & Hummelstown, a classic shortline that connects its namesake Pennsylvania towns.
Over the last 18 years, I’ve paid more than a dozen visits to Middletown. However until last Sunday I hadn’t visited Hummelstown.
[That’s not precisely accurate. Back in 1992, I traveled through Hummelstown by rail on the way to Pittsburgh. I recall passing the nearby Hershey plant.]
Kris had suggested that we take a drive to see if we could find a train on the move.
As we drove into Hummelstown for our first visit, we heard a distant horn sounding for a crossing. We made our way to the tracks, arriving in time to spot the headlights of an eastward Norfolk Southern double-stack container freight. Evening sun made for a nicely glinting silhoette. Talk about lucky!
I reached for my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm zoom and exposed a series of photos.
In post-processing, I cropped the distant image. Below are three versions of the distant view plus a closer image.
Full-frame without cropping.Same image as above cropped to emphasize horizontal elements. The M&H track is at the left.This is the same file with a few adjustements to contrast and exposure, plus cropping to emphasize vertical elements.Closer view of the same train at Hummelstown.
The Norfolk Southern signals at Cola in Columbia, Pa., displayed a stop indication for movements in the westward direction.
The moon was a fine crescent and I aimed to juxtapose the lunar aspect with the railroad signals against the backdrop of the old Pennsylvania Railroad catenary masts.
Nikon Z7-II 24-70mm lens set at 70mm. ISO 100 f4 1/10th second. Camera mounted on a tripod.Nikon Z7-II 24-70mm lens set at 70mm. ISO 100 f4 1/8th second. Camera mounted on a tripod.
With relatively little warning a westward Norfolk Southern freight came into view. Dappled sun illuminated Tuscarora Mountain in the distance.
Poised at our location at Underpass Road near Mexico, Pa., I worked with my pair of Nikon Z-series cameras to expose this series of photos of the passing westward empty coal train.
As the train drew closer, the clouds parted and bright afternoon sun illuminated the scene, which made for a more satisfying photographic adventure.
Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens set at 200mm f4.0 1/1250 sec, ISO 200Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens set at 92mm f4.0 1/2000 sec, ISO 200Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 28mm f4.0 1/2000 sec, ISO 100.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 68mm f4.0 1/640 sec, ISO 100.
Saturday, Kris and I went shopping for garden plants in Lancaster, Pa.
We were just a short walk from Norfolk Southern’s Dillerville Yard, so after loading our car, I went over to see if I could get a view of where the locomotives are stored between runs.
Most local freights are out on weekdays. By contrast Saturday is relatively quite. From the Dillerville Roadbridge, I made these very ordinary photos of GP38-2s, SD40Es and SD60Es resting between assignments using my Lumix LX7.
These are not calendar photos, nor were they intended to be anything other than a record of the scene.
Last weekend, Kris, Seamus & I, paid a visit to the old Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division—now Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line.
I’m fond of the view from Underpass Road, near the village of Mexico. We caught several trains here, including this westward double stacked container freight.
I made this wideangle photograph with my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens. During post-processing, I nominally cropped the foreground to give the image a slightly panoramic appearance.
After more than two years of eying up the Lititz Station (itself a recreation) as location to photograph a train, I finally caught a locomotive here.
Last week, I was patient as NS local H23 switched a local industry. After a while, SD60E 6977 pulled a few cars down and began its run around.
This gave me ample time to get the locomotive crossing Pennsylvania Rt 501 (North Broad Street) by the old Wilbur Chocolate factory.
My timing was good. Not only did the sun come out, but as I was making my photos, a fellow photographer informed me of the plan to move the run around track further west and eliminate the need to cross North Broad Street and pass the station.
I also made a few Fujichrome slides to preserve the event for posterity.
I caught up with Norfolk Southern’s H23 local freight at Lancaster Junction (see my earlier post), and followed it to Manheim, Pa.
I’ve visited the old Reading & Columbia station in Manheim on several occasions. This classic station is now a museum and captures the atmosphere of a typical small town railroad depot.
Knowing the train wasn’t far behind me, I set up timetable east of the station building and after a very short wait, the headlight came into view.
Although clouds resulted in dappled light, I made some satisfying images of the short freight approaching and passing Manheim.
Photos exposed digitally using a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom.
The former Erie Railroad between Hornell and Buffalo, New York, is operated at Norfolk Southern’s Southern Tier route. At West Middlebury, New York the line runs parallel to the Dale Road (named for the nearby town).
This CP Rail mixed freight carried NS train symbol 39T. It was working railroad timetable-west toward Buffalo. The timetable and compass do not correspond at West Middlebury; because the track curves to reach Attica, New York, this westward freight is running in a north-easterly direction, which allows for nice morning sun of the front of CP Rail’s GE AC4400CW 9551.
CP Rail’s operation over the former Erie was a legacy of Delaware & Hudson’s trackage rights on Conrail to Buffalo that dated to Conrail’s start-up in 1976.
CP Rail’s westward 39T rolls along the former Erie Railroad parallel to the Dale Road in West Middlebury, New York on May 11, 2007
I exposed this view on Fujichrome slide film using a Canon EOS-3 with 200mm Canon telephoto.
Kris called this a ‘bonus train’. We weren’t anticipating this move. But, it was neat to catch this eastward Norfolk Southern unit train (consisting of covered hoppers) as it crossed the Susquehanna River via the former Pennsylvania Railroad Rockville Bridge.
The repetative patterns offered by the arches and off-white hoppers against the backdrop of distant hills makes for a visually compelling scene.
I made these views using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens.
Not long after the eastward Norfolk Southern intermodal train came to a stop east of SIP 116 to change crews, the westward intermodal train that we’d been anticipating came into view.
This scene unfolded nicely, and I made a series of photos as the trains passed one another on the old Pennsylvania Railroad ‘Middle Division’ at Cove, Pa.
Bright sun and freight trains on the move brought me back to another time, when photographer Mike Gardner and I caught a series of Conrail freights at this same location.
Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.
Last Saturday was clear and bright, so Kris and I headed over to the famed Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
When we arrived there was a set of Norfolk Southern locomotives sitting on the bridge and it appeared that scene was set for some action.
We made some photos of the bridge and a few pictures of each other with the iconic spans before heading up river to catch trains on the move. Nice sunlight was a good start, and on this day Norfolk Southern didn’t disappoint . . .
More photos coming soon!
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens. Nikon NEF RAW adjusted with Lightroom.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens. Nikon NEF RAW adjusted with Lightroom.
The other day, I posted some photos that I’d made of a two-unit, two-car freight passing Limerock on its way from Lancaster to Lititz, Pa. My success, led me to try again. So before Christmas, Kris and I made another exploration of Norfolk Southern’s Lititz secondary, and this scored us an even shorter freight.
It is seen here under clear skies approaching the West Lexington Road grade crossing with a lone GP38-2 and single boxcar.
Exposed digitally using a Fujifilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens. Fuji RAF raw files were converted to PNG format using Iridient X-Transformer and then imported into Adobe Lightroom for final adjustment and scaling for internet presentation.
I’ve made a variety of exploratory trips along the former Reading Company’s Reading & Columbia line, but until last Thursday, I had not had the opportunity to photograph a train in motion.
Working with my FujiFilm XT-1, I set up at South Penryn Road in Manheim, Pa., to catch Norfolk Southern’s local freight on its way to Lititz. By using a very low angle, I was able to better show the wheels on the rails. This perspective gives a visual separation by allowing you to see the grass on the far side of the train.
Track speed is very casual, so I had no difficulty getting ahead of the train for more photos on this pastoral and rarely photographed portion of the old Reading.
Photo exposed in RAF Raw format using a FujiFilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens. The raw file was converted using Iridient X-Transformer and then imported into Adobe Lightroom for post processing adjustments which include a mask to improve detail in the sky.
Not every photo comes easy. Since moving to Lancaster, Pa., Kris and I have crossed the New Holland Branch on Greenfield Road countless times.
It was here that we first saw an NS train on the branch and on several occasions have photographed eastward trains.
I’d often eyed this as a location for a returning westward move, but never had the planets align perfectly. On a previous trip, I did managed to catch a westward train, but we were late arriving and my angle was not what I’d hoped to get.
So, on that Friday in early November when we followed the freight west from Leola, I was keen on trying to intercept it crossing Greenfield Road from the classic angle.
FujiFilm XT-1 with 16-55mm lens, ISO 200.
Score this one to persistence (with a wee bit of good luck).
Since relocating to Lancaster, Pa., I’ve made at least 30 photographic forays along Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Branch. However, owing to the timing of my trips, most of these adventures have coincided with eastward trains. As a result, I have fewer photos of Norfolk Southern’s local on its westward run.
As a result, when Kris and I saw the westward local freight departing Leola, I opted to take advantage of it, and I had a few choice locations in mind.
Our first stop was at Willow Road, where in recent months I’ve made many photos of the eastward run. A year ago, I’d eyed up an ideal place to catch a westward train and I’ve just been waiting for the opportunity to work this angle on the line.
Once in postion, with my Fuji XT1 in hand, I didn’t have long to wait before the train ambled into view. I made these photos using a 18-55mm Fujinon zoom. After the train passed we zipped ahead to my next pre-selected spot. Stay tuned!
Some weeks back, Kris and I had enjoyed lunch at the Fox Meadows Creamery in Leola, Pa., and were on our way to our next errand. As we drove west on Horseshoe Road, I spied Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Branch local near the Leola station. We pulled in just as the engineer released the brakes. The train was all put together and on its way west back toward the junction with Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line on its return run to Dillerville Yard.
Instead of my Nikons, I’d brought with me my FujiFilm XT1 fitted with a 16-55mm Fujinon zoom lens. This camera had been my primary digital picture making machine until autumn 2020, but in recent years has only seen occasional use. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Fuji!
Ten years ago, I adopted the Fuji X-series because of its excellent color and ability to present a deep black right out of the camera.
With only a few moment to spare, I fired up the old XT1 and exposed this sequence of photos. The freight was on the move, so without delay the chase was on!
We had heard this freight climbing the grade on ascent of Horseshoe Curve as we were walking the steps up from the visitors center.
This Norfolk Southern carload train crawled into view just a few minutes after we reached the plateau where the park is perched.
Two modern GE diesels labored in full-throttle as the heavy train squealed through the curves offering pure entertainment to the host of visitors.
Immediately behind the locomotives was an unusual load riding on a rare 12-axle flatcar. This extremely heavy cylindrical body was described to me as powerplant generator rotor. I photographed a myriad selection of other cars on the train, including a selection of lime green Amtrak balast hoppers. At the back of the train were more multi-axle flats and an very unusual large blue caboose.
In the world of railways there are many horseshoe curves. I’ve visited many of these over the years: Utah’s Gilluly Loops; California’s Caliente Horseshoe in the Tehachapis; the famous Stanford Curve on Donner; and Oregon’s Leonard horseshoe among others.
While impressive, none compare to the World Famous Curve on the former Pennsylvania Railroad near Altoona, Pa.
This is more than just a horseshoe curve. It is among the great cosmic settings for American railroading and icon of 19th century railroad building. I don’t know if there’s much I can write about the Curve that hasn’t been written before. My friend Dan Cupper wrote a book on the subject (years ago my copy fell apart from over use).
I paid my first visit to Horseshoe Curve with my family back in August 1981. In the mid 1980s, my pal TSH and I made myriad trips to this Mecca of Pennsylvania railroading. Kris and I traveled here together for the first time three years ago.
In October, Kris treated me to a 58th Birthday visit to Altoona, including a pilgrimage to the Curve.
My curve ears started ringing about 1/3 the way up the stairs from the visitor’s center to the park at center of the great curve. ‘Westbound. GE’s in the lead. . . . No helper.’
As we climbed the steps, I recalled the first time I ascended these steps: We had just arrived at the parking lot in our 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. In the distance I heard the rhythmic drumming of a 20-cylinder SD45. My brother Sean and I ran as fast as we could to reach trackside (near the old K4s Pacific on display) before the train passed. It was one of the few times that I witnessed a Conrail SD45 in full run-8.
More than 43 years later, Kris and I reached trackside in time to a position trackside to take in the action. (A PRR GP9 had replaced the K4s in the mid-1980s.) Before the westward freight passed, a light helper consiting of a pair of Norfolk Southern SD70ACU’s worked west.
We were navigating the streets of Lilly on our way toward Cresson, Pa., when we spotted the headlight of a train on Track 2,
I pulled in near the tracks at SIP 254.3 with just enough time to jump out and grab some cameras to expose photos of what turned out to be westward loaded trash train.
I know some of my readers will be quick to say; ‘that’s a load of garbage.’
October had been pleasantly warm in Pennsylvania, so it was a bit of shock when we arrived at Lilly near the summit of the Alleghenies to find it was a raw 27F! Luckily we’d packed some long sleeves.
Crisp cool air carries the sound well, and long before the headlight came into view, Kris and I could hear this heavy eastward Norfolk Southern freight laboring up the ‘West Slope’.
Years ago, I would have used my telephoto lenses to frame an eastward train beneath the classic PRR signal bridge that once stood at Lilly, but this was removed a few years ago when NS resignaled the line.
Notwithstanding, this is still a neat place to watch a train clawing its way upgrade. This was a monster. In addition to locomotives at the headend, there was a mid-train ‘DPU’ (radio remote control distributed power unit), and a helper at the back.
I made these photos using my Nikon Z cameras. This was the first of several trains we caught that cool morning. Soon the sun was over the ridgeline and we continued a wonderful day of photography!
In a gentle curve, under an azure dome and against a backdrop of rusty autumn leaves, an intermodal train races west on Norfolk Southern’s ‘three main track’ —former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline at Cassandra, Pa.
The sun was over my right shoulder at an angle low enough to capture truck detail, but high enough to allow for a full-daylight exposure.
The zoom on my Nikon was set to 46mm, which nearly matches the field of vision of the avarage human eye.
This is nearly a perfect of image of modern freight railroading today. There were no complications caused by wayward clouds, rampaging graffiti artists, or unsightly shadows from random wires.
