We arrived at Gap, Pa., just a few minutes before Amtrak’s Keystone 649 was due to pass westbound.
I’ve been aiming to make dramatic photos showing Amtrak trains ‘topped and tailed’ with ACS-64s on both ends. Although, I’ve achieved nominal success, as evident by the photos in several recent posts, to make the most of this style of operation, it helps to know when to expect engines at both ends.
My anticipation of ‘topped and tailed’ Keystone consists has largely been been ‘luck of the draw.’
At Gap, I drew the long straw.
In these views, I was working with my Nikon Z7-II with f2.8 70-200mm zoom set to its maximum focal length.
Tracking the Light Examines Railroad Photography Daily!
I spent the day working my way west from Rochester, New York following the former New York Central ‘Water Level Route’.
By early afternoon I’d made it all the way to Erie, Pa.
Among the photos I exposed in Erie was this panned view of a Conrail Trail Van trailer rolling across the diamond with the former Pennsylvania Railroad. If you look carefully, you can see in the distance Norfolk Southern’s former Nickle Plate Road bridge over the PRR line.
After exposing my photos, I drove all the way back to Rochester.
Leica M2 with 50mm f2.0 Summicron lens; Kodachrome 25 slide film.
Tracking the Light Explores Conrail on the 50th Anniversary of its commencement of operations!
It was frosty and cold at Christiana, Pa. when I set up my 3Pod tripod and composed this image. Amtrak Keystone 656 was just a couple of minutes away.
I had the Z6-III with the ‘Fast Fifty’ set at f1.4, which offers shallow depth of field. I focused on the ‘Christiana’ sign, which put the foreground in perfect focus and set off the background. The lead locomotive blurred a little as it entered my frame.
The resulting effect looks like a model railroad diorama.
I wonder if I’d exposed the photo just a little later if that might have improved the composition, or blocked the background buildings in such a way as to spoil the model railroad appearance.
Tracking the Light explores railroad compositions with an open eye!
Some photos preserve an instant. Such is the case with this photo that I made of Strasburg 89 at Esbenshade Road. By selecting the smallest aperture (f22), I captured the sunburst effect of the setting sun. Careful attention to the drivers enable me to catch them ‘rods down’ as the engine passed my position. The wafting engine exhaust leads the eye from the locomotive to the setting sun. The juxtoposition of components contributed to this successful composition.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens at 24mm; f22, 1/100th of second, 100 ISO.
One of the great things about Steamtown in Scranton, Pa., is that admission is free.
Last week, Kris and I arrived shortly after the park opened and spent several hours wandering around. There’s a lot to see and I hadn’t visited inside the museum in a number of years.
I made these images using my Nikon Z7-II and performed post processing using Adobe Lightroom. I’ve lightened shadows, reduced contrast and warmed the images as required for improved presentation.
On our way to Scranton, Kris and I stopped at Tamaqua, Pa., for lunch at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant.
I was pleased to see that the article I wrote for Trains Magazine last year that features the restaurant had been laminated and displayed for visitors to enjoy.
This former Reading Company station has great atmosphere and offers a great menu selection. Kris didn’t have the opportunity to sample the desserts on this visit, so we agreed to return soon.
On Sunday, Keystone Train 661 was running five minutes behind the advertised.
Kris and I were waiting patiently at Gap. I stood the shade of a tree.
Although this may sound vaguely poetic, in fact standing in the shade is key to this image: avoiding the direct rays of the morning sun eliminates the effects of harsh lens flare.
I exposed a sequence of images as the westward train glided through the curve at Gap. This view was made with my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens set for 190mm at f3.5. The relatively wide aperture allowed for shallow depth of field. My camera’s autofocus was set to the center lower left and the result is that the front of ACS-64 626 is razor sharp. Gap’s famous clock tower in the distance is slight out of focus, and yet a prominent part of the composition.
The classic catenary supports date from Pennsylvania Railroad’s electrification and continue to hold the wires in place for Amtrak’s trains.
In post processing I lightened the shadows and lowered the highlights to reduce contrast.
It was a clear morning last Saturday and I was aiming to try something a little different. Over the last couple of years, I’ve made countless photos of Strasburg Rail Road number 89 (a former Canadian National 2-6-0 Mogul type) crossing the pastoral fields in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Working with the contrast of mid-morning, I exposed this view of 89 on its return run from Leaman Place. By including a small tree, I’ve provided a visual balance to the locomotive.
The result is a scene that could have been a century ago.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom lens. NEF RAW file adjusted using Lightroom.
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.
Tuesday, I was on my way to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and decided to make a short detour to Blackhorse Road to roll by Strasburg’s 1pm passenger excursion. Old 89 had paused short of the road crossing for its standard ‘ghost whistle’ routine. While this was going on, I heard another engine chuffing up the grade (technical term) between Cherry Hill and Esbenshade Road.
In a heartbeat, I made a u-turn and drove post-haste back toward Strasburg. While racing along PA Route 741, I overtook 2-10-0 number 90 hauling four covered hoppers.
As mentioned on TTL the other day, engine number 90 recently completed its overhaul, and I’ve been hoping to catch it in service. This fortuitous encounter was just another instance of dumb luck.
At Strasburg, number 90 ran around its train and proceeded back toward Cherry Hill where it met 89 on its return run from Leaman Place on the siding at Grofts. But that’s a story for another post!
Last weekend, Conway Scenic Railroad Trainmaster Mike Lacey and his wife Betty visited Kris and me in Pennsylvania. Although I work remotely, I speak with Mike daily in my work for Conway Scenic.
After a barbecue at our house, Kris and I brought Mike for a trip on the Strasburg Rail Road. We bought our tickets on the platform and traveled on the 4 pm train to Paradise.
Mike enjoyed his busman’s holiday taking in the sights and sounds of old 89 at work as we rolled across the fields in Amish country. I can never get enough of the Strasburg Rail Road, and this was a great joy for me as well.
I made these photos using my FujiFilm XT1. Mike snapped some photos with his Canon R mirrorless.
Spring has arrived. The grass is green and the cows are out in the fields.
The time has moved forward and the sun is up after I’m through with a day at the desk.
Friday evening, Kris, Seamus-the-dog and I went over to Gap, Pa., where we watched Amtrak roll.
In this view, Keystone 651 works west of Gap on the fill near Hoover Road.
Exposed with a Nikon Z7-II fitted with 70-200mm Nikkor Z-series zoom set at 160mm; ISO200, f5.0 1/1000th sec. NEF RAW file converted to DNG using DxO Pure Raw, adjusted with Adobe Lightroom.Cropped version to eliminate unnecessary foreground and the objectionable pole shadow at lower left. (see top view).Tight crop on Amtrak Cities Sprinter 657 that was leading Keystone Train 651. The DxO Pure Raw conversion makes the most of sharp Nikkor glass.
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.
Norfolk Southern’s local on the Lititz Secondary rolled along at a jogging pace.
I’d previously scoped out a few angles from West Lexington Road at Limerock in Lititz, Pa. When I arrived, the the short train was coming into view. I had ample time to make these images using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-50mm Fujinon lens
All were exposed as RAF Raw files, then converted into DNG format using Iridient X-Transformer. This software makes more effective use of the Fuji Raw format. Working from the converted files, I made adjustments to exposure, contrast and color balance using Adobe Lightroom, and then produced scaled output for digital display here.
The maze of trackage in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area has always fascinated me.
No less than eight railroads once built into this anthracite rich region. While coal ceased to be a primary source of revenue decades ago, numerous lines remain as a legacy of this once intensive railroad traffic.
Kris and I followed Reading & Northern’s Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion. Not far from Pittston, I pulled over at the location known as ‘Bloom’ where tracks remain on two levels, and here I exposed this series of photographs.
I can only wonder what this place may have looked like in decades gone by. I was delighted that only minutes passed from the moment of my ‘discovery’ until the passage of this train. ‘King Coal’ is Reading & Northern’s round-end observation car on the tail end of the excursion.
A Sunday morning in early November found us at Pittston Junction, Pa., to watch the departure of Reading & Northern’s diesel-hauled Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion.
It was a lovely clear day and as a C5M transport plane circled overhead, I took a few moments to photograph both the passenger excursion and a pair of EMD switchers idling in the yard.
In addition to the flurry of pixels allocated to railroad photography, I also made a lone color slide, which at this moment in time remains latent (unprocessed) on my desk.
In mid-October, Kris and I intercepted the Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society’s excursion on the Nittany & Bald Eagle. This paused at Tyrone, Pennsylvania, where I made photos of Lycoming Valley 2011 (a former Southern Pacific GP35) surrounded by backlit brightly colored leaves of trees along the line.
In an earlier time I might have refrained from making these images because of the chain link fence between me and the tracks. In this instance, I accepted the fence as a feature of the location. The leaves more than made up for it.
A week later we returned to Tyrone. It was late in the day and the sunlight was low and foliage was brilliant. But during that brief visit, not a wheel turned, neither on the Main Line nor the Bald Eagle Branch, so I photographed the tracks with trees.
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!
After departing the East Broad Top we drove north to Mount Union and followed the old Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division west to Huntingdon.
In the 1980s and 1990s, I often visited Huntingdon, Pa., where my old pal TSH had family.
We had a few minutes, so we drove around town. I remarked on how little the town had changed in thirty years.
As we approached the grade crossing by the Amtrak station, the crossing lights flashed and the gates came down. We pulled into the small Amtrak lot just in time to make some grab shots of the passing Norfolk Southern freight. I also photographed the old PRR station that sits well back from the present day mainline. reflecting a line relocation from more than a century ago.
Although, my photo of the westward freight is non-standard, I like this type of photo because it captures greater environment which includes the crossing signals and the colored trees in the distance.
After the train cleared the crossing we headed west toward Tyrone, where we aimed to catch the freight again.
Years ago I photographed Norfolk Southern’s executive F-units leading the company office car train on various occasions.
Last Saturday, Kris and I intercepted these famous streamliners working Reading & Northern’s Fall Foliage Excursion on its return run from Jim Thorpe to North Reading.
It was a gorgeous clear afternoon and the autumn leaves were beginning to pop. We investigated a variety of places to make photos and ultimately settled on Tippets Road near Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania.
I wanted to make the most of the autumn color, while featuring the F’s classic ‘bull-dog’ nose and car body style construction.
I made these photos while working with both of my Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras. Kris made photos with her FujiFilm X-T4 mirrorless camera. Seamus-the-Dog took it all in from the back seat of the car.
Once the train passed we zipped off after it to make more images in the late afternoon light!
I found it interesting that on the previous weekend we found fellow photographers at every bend to make photos of steam locomotive 2102, but on this day when photographing the F’s on exactly the same route, we only saw only other person making photos between Tippets Road and North Reading. This was especially remarkable considering the beautiful autumnal conditions!
Near South Tamaqua, Pa., at Atlas (also called Reynolds), Kris and I rolled by last weekend’s Fall Foliage Excursion operated by Reading & Northern.
This is a popular place to picture R&N’s excursions. I opted for a broadside view to capture the engine in action as well as the cars behind it.
So much of the focus on R&N’s excursions is about locomotive 2102, I thought it is important to make images of the cars. Since last autumn, several have been freshly painted and the railroad offers an interesting variety of passenger cars.
Photos were exposed using my Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras.
The old Reading & Columbia route of the Reading Company was fragmented during the Conrail-era and what remains is operated by several different railroads.
Historically, the line offered the Reading Company a through-route from greater Reading, Pa., via a junction at Sinking Spring, to Manheim, and Lancaster Junction to the once-important shipping center at Columbia, Pa., with branches to Mt Hope and Lancaster.
Today, the eastern end of this route is operated as part of the East Penn Railroad, with locomotives stored at the old Reading Company station in Reinholds. This continues via Denver and Stevens toward Ephrata.
I began exploring this route after we moved to Lancaster last year. Last week, I made another inspection of this route, making photos of the line using my Lumix LX7. I started at Reinholds and worked my way west.
One of these days, I hope to catch a train on the move over these rails.
Arriving in our new Honda CR-V Hybrid, we safely pulled off Route 741 at Gap, Pa., to roll by Amtrak Keystone 656 from Harrisburg. This was running just a few minutes after the advertised.
I set up with my Nikon Z6 and 70-200mm lens, aiming to catch the train against the sunset sky. (The sun was just an orange glob slowly melting into the western horizon.)
We received a friendly blast from the engineer in the old Metroliner control cab as the train glided through the curve at Gap.
I like the trailing view with our new car and Kris in the passenger seat. Amtrak 656 is fading into the distance, but we already know what that looks like.
It was a beautiful evening between trains at Strasburg Rail Road’s East Strasburg Station. I used this opportunity to make some detailed views of the equipment and the environment around the station.
Rich low sun offers many opportunities for photos that simply cannot exist on dull days.
No matter how often we visit Strasburg, I always find a new angle.
Kris and I had boarded Amtrak Keystone 665 at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. I wanted to sit on the northside of the train and check out some of our usual places as we zipped along at 100 plus.
As we approached Lancaster, a thunderstorm had darkened the horizon.
I made these views from the train using my Z7-II.
Old Conrail caboose on display at Christiana, Pa.Racing along at Jefferson Drive, Greenfield, Lancaster, Pa., I was disappointed! I’ve made so many photos here over the last few months, and it looks so bland from the train.And there’s the pond where I catch Norfolk Southern’s local coming round the bend. You’d never even guess there were tracks in this photo.We’ll need to check this out sometime. Lancaster on the approach to the station.A storm was brewing.
Tracking the Light is about my process of making photos. Not every adventure results in photographic masterpieces, nor is every excursion an all day adventure.
Since relocating to Pennsylvania last year, Kris and I have enjoyed making drives near where we live. These often include explorations of railroad lines past and present. I’m always looking for an angle and the posibilities for future photographs, while enjoying seeking out where the tracks go. For me its about putting together the pieces of a big puzzle.
Among the lines we have explored recently are vestiges of the old Reading Company’s Reading & Columbia routes. On a warm bright evening last week, we drove to Manheim, where Kris enjoyed an iced treat, while we explored. Norfolk Southern maintains a section of the old Reading that runs between Lancaster and Lititz. At Manheim there is a wye where a short section of the old branch to Mount Hope connects to the main stem of the former P&C route.
The East Penn Railroad keeps a venerable SW900 switcher on the branch near a fuel facility that is surrounded by fencing. Earlier in the week, I was chatting with my friend Dan Howard about this locomotive and he suggested a safe location to make photos. While less than ideal for classic locomotive portraits, at least I was to document the old locomotive in its environment.
Perhaps someday, we’ll catch this antique on the move. If not, at least I made an effort to seek it out. These recent efforts reminded me of trips with Dan 40 years ago to locate a Bay Colony Railroad Alco switcher stored near Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts, and exploration of Bay Colony operated trackage to Medfield Junction.
Photos below were exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens.
Crossbucks mark the former Reading Co., trackage on the north leg of the wye at Manheim, PA. Although I have yet to see a train here, the trackage appears to be used on a regular basis.East Penn Railroad 52 is stored near the north end of the Manheim wye on a short vestige of the old branch to Mount Hope. This is among the curiosities we’ve expored in Pennsylvania Dutch country near Lancaster, Pa.
I consider this an excercise in composition. I had a few minutes last Thursday morning, so I went up to Leola, Pennsylvania to catch up with Norfolk Southern’s New Holland Branch local.
The sun was bright and the clouds were just rolling in from the west. I made this sequence of photographs of the GP38-3 and SD40E that had paused by the old PRR depot along Horseshoe Road.
Over the last year, I’ve made a variety of railroad photos at this location. I like the concept of variation on a theme. Years ago I learned to make the most of good photographic situation, because you never know precisely the situation and composition that will best suit a photograph for publication.
Of this selection do you have any favorites? All were exposed using my Nikon Z7-II mirror-less digital camera.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 30mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/320th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 24mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/400th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 33mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/400th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 31mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/320th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 54mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/400th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 45mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/400th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 24mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/640th second. No adjustments to exposure or contrast.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 49mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/320th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 24mm; ISO 100, f 7.1, 1/400th second. Nominal adjustment to shadows and hightlights.
It was more than 90F the other day when I made these photographs.
Strasburg number 89, a former Canadian National Railways 2-6-0 Mogul, was leading the return run of the 3pm excursion to Paradise.
The best photo eclipsed the train altogher. After the excursion crossed Esbenshade Road, Amish horsedrawn buggies passed in front of me.
I made this photo from the hip; with no view finder. Old school technique with a modern digital camera. Unfortunately, the Strasburg Rail Road excursion was entirely blocked by the back-end of a horse.
For the next weeks the sun will be rising and setting on the north side of Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line where it runs parallel to Jefferson Drive in Lancaster.
I’ve been making a project of working the light at this familiar location.
Amtrak Keystone train 618 is a good choice because this is scheduled to depart Lancaster at 1945 (745pm) which can result in some dramatic backlit photos.
On this occasion, Amtrak ACS-64 number 615 was leading. This elusive electric was on my list of Amtrak locomotives to photograph on the move. I guess I can tick that box!
New Holland, Pennsylvania has classic character. It is one of those towns where the railroad still serves local industry and remains an active part of the landscape. It is at the east end of Norfolk Southern’s former PRR railroad New Holland Branch.
On another recent visit, I made these photos along South Railroad Avenue in the evening light.
Kris spotted the TTX ‘Railbox’ Plate F boxcar on the siding located east of the grade crossing.
Photos exposed using Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras.
The central Pennsylvanian setting near the village of Mexico offers a classic view looking east toward the Tuscarora Ridge, which can be photographed from a variety of angles.
In my earlier posts, I pictured Norfolk Southern freights from the north side of the Underpass Road grade crossing.
As the light changed and thunderstorms approached from the West, Kris and I took positions on the south side of the grade crossing. It began to rain lightly (but heavier rain was coming!)
A westward empty coal train rolled by. This was exceptionally long and featured a mid-train DPU (radio remote controlled locomotives working as ‘distributed power units’).
Not long after this train had gone, an east ward train could be heard. This was slowing for an ‘approach’ aspect. Its relatively casually speed made it easy to photograph. At the back was a single EMD diesel working as a DPU.
These photos were made with my pair of Nikon Z-series mirror-less digital cameras.
One of my first acquaintances with the east end former PRR Middle Division was Easter weekend 1988. I met my old pal TSH in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, having driven south from Rochester, NY where I was studying Photographic Illustration at RIT.
On that trip, I exposed Kodachrome of Conrail trains at Duncannon, Thompsontown, Mifflin and Lewistown. We missed the sweeping curve at Mexico.
It wasn’t until explorations in this area a decade later with photographer Mike Gardner that I first made photos from Underpass Road in Mexico, Pa. (If there was an underpass here, there is no visible evidence of it today).
Last weekend, Kris, Seamus-the-Dog and I revisited this prime photo location on Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line where the grand sweep of the track in a bucolic setting with the Tuscarora Ridge in the background makes for a favorite place to watch trains.
We didn’t have to wait long before the distant sound of rolling thunder announced the approach of a westward freight.
It was the first of several train that we caught here.
A cloudless bright morning; the perfect time to picture Norfolk Southern’s New Holland branch local by the old station in Leola, Pennsylvania.
I made three similar photographs using my Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm lens. In all three I had the lens set to 200mm at f5.6. The difference between them is in the framing with minor changes to the composition.
Working with my Z6 with AF Nikkor 35mm f2.0/D attached via a Nikon FTZ adaptor, I made this imag sequence of Amtrak Keystone 618 racing eastward at Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, PA.
I timed my arrival just a minute ahead of the train.
My objective was to see how the traditional 35mm lens would handle the glinting sunset on my Z-series digital camera. I adjusted my exposure manually (aiming for overall underexposure to better capture the effects of the bright sun), then made changes to the camera’s NEF RAW files in post processing to make for overall appealing photographs.
