In my early days, picturing former Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 electrics was one of my main photographic interests.
I held Amtrak’s newer E60 electrics is disdain. These modern, boxy electrics appeared to be supplanting the GG1s. For me they lacked the historic connections, the elegant streamlined style, and the character of the GG1. They were bland and common.
I may not have been fond of the E60s. But I always photographed them. They were part of the scene, and important elements of modern operations.
Recently I rediscovered these E60 photos along with some other long-missing black & white negatives.
Amtrak E60 972 leads a westward/southward train at the PATH (Husdon & Manhattan) station in Harrison, New Jersey on a gray wintery afternoon in 1981.Kodak Tri-X processed in Microdol-X.The view from my grandparents’ balcony in Co-op City in The Bronx overlooked Amtrak’s former New Haven Railroad Hell Gate Bridge route. I made this view using a Leitz 200mm Telyt telephoto lens attached to a Visoflex reflex viewfinder. Although klutzy, this lens arrangement allowed me to attach the telephoto lens to my Leica 3A. Focusing on moving subjects was a challenge. I made this view hand-held and while I nailed the focus my level was completely off. I corrected the skew in post processing.
Friday nights trackside represents a tradition going back more than three decades. Back in the day, Bob Buck would hold court at his Tucker’s Hobbies in Warren, Massachusetts, then we’d head down to Palmer for dinner and afterwards convene at the old railroad station to watch trains pass in the night.
I’d make photographs.
A group of us have maintained the tradition and still meet in Palmer some Fridays. However, a few weeks back Rich Reed offered a suggestion, “Lets do something different. How about we meet in Worcester, and I’ll drive everyone to Mansfield where we can watch the Acela blast by at 150mph.”
We opted for one of the long days of June, and proceeded to plan.
Mansfield, Massachusetts has a long history with the railroad. This mural features a classic 4-4-0. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.Nearing its top speed Amtrak’s Acela Express, train 2166, races toward Boston. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera. Shutter set at 1/1000th of second.Panoramic composite of the MBTA station at Mansfield, Massachusetts. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.
As we all recalled later on, even this idea had originated with Bob Buck. Back in the 1980s, Bob would take a summer evening and drive a group of us to the old New Haven Shoreline route.
Sometimes Bob would bring us to Readville, other times Mansfield, or Attleboro. We’d variously meet with locals, including Dave Clinton and Bob Karambelas, who’d show us new locations and share railway information. On at least one occasion we visited Edaville and traveled on the narrow gauge.
In the glow of dusk, a Boston-bound MBTA accelerates away from the station at Mansfield. The locomotive is one of the new HSP-46 diesels built by MPI at Boise, Idaho and features GE major components. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera, photo altered digitally in post processing to balance contrast.Our group has been watching trains on Friday evenings since the 1980s (perhaps earlier). This day we opted for Mansfield, rather than Palmer. Something new, something different. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.The automated voice came on: ‘Please stand behind the yellow line’. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.MBTA train 828 arrives at Mansfield. Lumix LX7 photo.MBTA engine 1126 pauses at Mansfield with train 828. LX7 photo.Overhead catenary at Mansfield. Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera.MBTA 825 arrives at Mansfield. LX7 Photo.
At the end of this June 2015 evening we made a toast to the memory Bob Buck—the man who brought us all together and for years shared the railroad with us.
Back in 1991, my brother Sean and I explored the former Pennsylvania Railroad electrified mainline between Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia. I recalled from that visit that the long tangent at Marcus Hook offered some interesting views and the potential for evening glint.
Earlier this month (January 2015) we returned to this location. SEPTA maintains a ground level station that provides easy access.
I like the location for several reasons: it is open, which allows late sun to reach rail level; there’s a long tangent and signals, that provide advance warning for trains; Amtrak’s trains can travel at top speeds; and it is relatively easy to get around obstructions such as poles and wires than might interfere with photography.
Amtrak AEM-7 919 leads a late-running train 93 at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.Trailing view of Amtrak AEM-7 train 93 at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.A minute after train 93 passed, this eastward Acela Express was caught burning up the rail; you can still see train 93 in the distance. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.Soft, rosy evening glint is an effect caused in part by pollution in the air resulting from large amounts of automotive emissions and dust in the Northeast plus filtration from thin low clouds.
We arrived in time for a flurry of activity just as the sun was setting. These images were exposed using my Canon EOS 7D, but I also made a few images on Fuji Provia 100F using my old Canon EOS 3.
A new ACS-64 electric leads train 85 toward the setting sun at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens. Except for scaling, there was no post-processing adjustment to this image. However, to retain the golden glint effect, I used the ‘daylight’ white balance setting on my camera instead of the ‘auto white balance’.A SEPTA Silverliner V accelerates away from the station at Marcus Hook on its way toward Wilmington, Delaware. Except for scaling (necessary for internet presentation), there was no post-processing manipulation to this image.
On January 16, 2015, my brother and I risked the perils of Interstate-95 and drove to Wilmington, Delaware so that I could make a few photos of the former Pennsylvania Railroad station.
I’d been working on a book on railway station architecture, and I wanted to make a few views of this iconic building credited to Frank Furness. Somewhere I’d seen a photo from the parking garage across the street that made me curious.
Completed in 1908, the former Pennsylvania Railroad station at Wilmington, Delaware was designed by Furness, Evans and Company, and is one of many railroad stations in the region attributed to the brilliance of architect Frank Furness. Exposed with a Canon EOS7D with 20mm lens.Close up of the Wilmington Station clock tower. This is a bit of Victorian elegance in a setting characterized by modern infrastructure consisting of steel and reinforced concrete. Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens; ISO 200 f5.0 1/500th of a second. Cross lighting helps show the detail in the clock tower brickwork.
Thanks to Sean’s navigation, we easily found the station and the parking garage. I drove to the top level and made my photos. As is often the situation on exploratory trips, I decided this might make a better image at another time of day. At some point, perhaps I’ll return on an August evening and try again.
While on the top of the garage, I photographed a northbound train. This was led by a General Electric P42 diesel-electric, which is not the Amtrak motive power I’d expect to see here in electrified territory!
Amtrak P42 number 60 leads an unknown train northward (eastward) on the North East Corridor. Using my 200mm lens, I focused on the gap in the wires and poles to frame up the locomotive. I rarely make photos along the NEC in Delaware, but I wasn’t expecting a diesel powered Amtrak train. Canon EOS 7D with 200mm lens.
It was a brief visit to Delaware. Getting back to I-95 proved more difficult than finding the station, but in the end we were on our way. The light was getting good and I had visions of a sunset glint location . . .
In January 1980, I made my first photographs of Amtrak AEM-7s. They were then brand new. I didn’t much care for them then because the represented the end for my favorite GG1s. Nothing lasts forever, and now Amtrak AEM-7s are rolling off their final miles.
I made this photo of Amtrak 945 at South Station last year on the day before the first official run of Amtrak ACS-64 number 600. The new ACS-64 are locomotives that will ultimately supplant the AEM-7s on the North East Corridor.
Amtrak AEM-7 945 at South Station, Boston. Exposed on Fuji Acros 100 black & white film using a Leica M3 with 21mm Super Angulon. Processed in Kodak HC110.
And what of my first AEM-7 photos? I processed my film using oxidized Microdol-X and the negatives were exceptionally thin. (under processed). Perhaps, if I can locate them, I can fix them in post-processing, but that’s a project for another day.
