Kris and I paused at Tamaqua, Pa., where I made a few photo of Reading & Northern’s locomotive parked in the snow covered yard.
Bright sun made for some extreme contrast between light and dark.
All photos displayed here were exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens. In addition, I made a few Ektachrome slides for future consideration.
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Last year for Christmas, my father sent me an Amazon gift card to buy some film. With this I ordered a single roll of Velvia 50—which can be a difficult commodity to find these days.
Sometime in January, a package arrived from Japan with my one roll of film.
I saved this for just the right time and exposed it in October, making 36 carefully composed photos using a Nikon F3, mostly with my f2.0 35mm AF Nikkor lens.
At Molino, Pa., on October 18th, I made these three photos of Reading & Northern’s RDCs on their way from Pottsville to Jim Thorpe. I scanned the slides with a Nikon Coolscan LS5000. I’ve presented the uncropped scans below.
There’s a lot more to it than that, but let’s just say I’m happy I made these images, and sorry that I can’t share them with Pop.
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Keeping the sun’s rays from hitting the front element of the lens is a key to making successful back-lit digital photos.
For this pair of images, I was working with my Nikon Z7-II at Port Clinton, Pa. I liked the SD40-2 ‘snoot’ (with the extended nose section built for 1970s-era solid-state radio control equipment—nearly 3 feet longer than the nose on a conventional SD40-2).
Below are two versions. The top shows sun flare. For the bottom photo, I manually shaded the front element to minimize flare. One of the advantages of digital photography is being able to immediately examine the results for imperfections and compositional snags.
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We’d finished our meal at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant.
I’d been watching the signals for a southward train and saw that the previously all red lights had cleared to ‘approach’ (yellow-over-red-over-red).
Kris ordered a fancy dessert from the dessert cart, and then we heard the whistle . . . the second in less than an hour.
I wandered down toward the old tower just in time to catch a pair of Reading & Northern SD38s with a short freight.
Exposed with my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 27mm (to include the signals).
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“Let’s sit out on the platform.”
A fortuitous suggestion.
We decided to stop by at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant on the way back from Scranton. It was sunny and bright, but not too hot, and during our previous visits we’d always dined inside, so why not try one of the outdoor tables?
A waitress came by to take our drink order. Kris had iced tea, and I ordered a Rusty Rail Fog Monster (a New England Style IPA, brewed in Mifflinburg, PA). About that time, Kris said, ‘”Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“A whistle! There’s a train coming.”
And, indeed, there was! Or at least a set of light engines.
A pair of Reading & Northern SD40-2s came up to the station and stopped, almost directly opposite our table. The crew changed ends, waited for the southward signal to clear, and then proceeeded into the Tamaqua Yard.
That worked out well!
Our meals were delivered, and afterward Kirs ordered dessert as the signal cleared to ‘Approach’.
Stay tuned for more . . . .
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Over the last year, Kris and I have made a habit of stopping of at Tamaqua, Pa., on our drives to and from I-81.
There’s almost always something of interest parked at the north end of Reading & Northern’s yard.
On our most recent visit we found a nice selection of vintage EMDs. Although most have been modified in one way or another since leaving the factory at La Grange, Illinois, these largely retain their traditional appearances.
For me, the diesels of the 1960s and 1970s are like Classic Rock hits from the same period; they are old, yet familiar and always a a pleasure to catch up with again from time to time.
I made these images using my Nikon Z7-II.
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Evening light at Tamaqua, Pa., allowed for another comparison between my Nikon Z’s in-camera Active D-Lighting JPG contrast reduction setting and my own interpretation of the NEF Raw file.
In this situation, my feeling is that ADL interpretation missed the mark. While it may have softened the contrast, the color and overall interpretation did not accurately render the scene.
Below are the two interpretations. This feature will need further study. On the plus side of this exercise is that I always exposed using NEF and JPG simultaneously.
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The railroad-highway grade crossing protected by flashing crossing lights and crossbucks is a North American institution.
While photos of trains at grade crossing are commonplace, photos that depict the crossing equipment in context with the road and railroad are not.
Last week, Kris and I waited at Marian Avenue on the Reading & Northern’s former Central Railroad of New Jersey Line east of Haucks, Pa., for a passenger extra that we had seen departing the station in Tamaqua.
This was our first visit to this grade crossing, and I wanted to capture the train and the grade crossing signaling equipment.
I set up on a small embankment southeast of the crossing and made a sequence of photographs of the approaching train. In addition to the passenger special, I included the road, crossing signals, relay and battery boxes, as well as the electrical feed wires and poles. All of this equipment is key to the scene.
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On our Saturday drive, Kris and I paused at Reading & Northern’s station at Minersville, Pa. This is home to the preserved Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 number 113.
On several occasions in year’s gone by, I’ve photographed 113 under steam at Minersville. On those occasions the station has been alive with visitors, who had flocked to the railroad for annual Santa Train excursions.
Saturday’s visit was a complete contrast to my earlier visits. Old 113 was cold, and the rails were rusted. The station was locked up tight and not a wheel was turning. Elsewhere trains were on the move, but not here.
For me Minersville is like Brigadoon, and someday, it will come to life again.
These photos were exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
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Recently I’ve scoured my collection looking for representative photos to print.
I still like to see my images in analog format, and a moderate size print offers a great way to study photographic quality in ways that may not be apparent when viewed digitally.
I’ve sent two orders of out. One to Adorama’s Printique service for 8×12 inch prints. The other to Shutterfly for 8×10 inch prints. This included a mix of old film photos and digital images from over the years, including some very recent images. In both instances, I selected ‘matte’ surface, because I’ve found that this holds up better and is easier to scan.
My print orders are expected to arrive on Thursday, which should allow me to compare print quality from the two suppliers, and allow me to enjoy my photographs. Kris and I have some surplus photo frames, so maybe a few will soon decorate our walls!
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Sometimes a locomotive photo is just that.
On a recent visit to Port Clinton, Pa., I made this photo of Reading & Northern SW8M 803. This antique EMD switcher is well worth photographing.
End-cab switchers were once common on American railroads, but in recent decades the type has become increasingly scarce.
This particular locomotive was built in 1951 for the Lehigh Valley, and according to R&N, it once carried the number Lehigh Valley 270. It survives on the R&N roster along with other vintage examples of EMD’s end-cab switchers, and is among several operational examples of former Lehigh Valley switchers remaining in Pennsylvania.
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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.
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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.
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Just passing through . . .
On our way north on Highway 309, we made short detour on West Spruce Street in Tamaqua, Pa.
A pause at the yard office at the north end of the old Reading Company yard, found us a selection of Reading & Northern’s EMD diesels idling in lovely late-afternoon light.
Soft sun was streaming through autumn leaves in a dream-like setting.
I made these photos with my Nikon Z7-II, but I also exposed a couple of Ektachrome slides. I’ll be curious to see those images, since this type of light is difficult to capture effectively on slide film.
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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!
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Last Saturday was warm and clear. We had a late start, but decided to make another drive into coal country to photograph Reading & Northern Autumn Foliage Excursions.
Since we had a little time, we explored a few different locations. Kris liked the view from a grade crossing between East Mahanoy Junction and Haucks (compass north of Tamaqua, Pa.) at milepost 105. This was once a very railroad intense part of Pennsylvania. Today several lines still converge on this area.
We didn’t have long to wait and Reading & Northern’s return trip to Pottsville passed us with three vintage Budd RDCs!
I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
Soon we were searching for another location to catch R&N’s F7s with the train from Jim Thorpe bound for Reading Outer Station. Stay tuned . . .
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I’m always trying to come up with catchy titles for my individual Tracking the Light Posts to entice you to read them.
I could have titled this; ‘2102, again.’ Or ‘Yet Another Photo of old Reading Company Rails,’ or perhaps, ‘OH YEAH, THIS was worth the wait!’
In retrospect, perhaps that last one was better . . .oh well, there’s always tomorrow’s post.
On the afternoon of October 5th, Kris and I were poised at Zehners, near South Tamaqua, Pa., waiting to catch Reading & Northern’s 2102 leading the return leg of the day’s Fall Foliage Excursion that had run between Reading Outer Station and Jim Thorpe.
Low sun made for dramatic lighting, and it really was worth the wait! Sometimes it pays to stick with it, even when you’ve been out all day making photos.
I made this series of photos using my Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.
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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.
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Yesterday (October 5, 2024), Kris, Seamus-the-Dog and I drove up to Port Clinton, Pennsylvania to spend a day photographing former Reading Company class T-1 4-8-4 2102 on the Reading Northern.
Waiting for the magnificent iron horse to make its appearance, I was delighted to catch a pair of Reading & Northern former Reading Company Budd RDCs (rail diesel cars) making a run from Pottsville to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.
I’m a big fan of the class Budd RDC, so this was a nice bonus for me.
I exposed these digital images using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. I help compensate for the rich polarize morning sunshine, I’ve made a variety of nominal adjustments to contrast and exposure using Adobe Lightroom.
I also exposed a few 35mm color slides with a Nikon F3. Those remain in the camera, and it might be a while before I have them processed.
(And yes, we achived our objective and spent most of the day making dynamic photos of the 4-8-4 at work).
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On our visit to Pittston Junction, Pa., in June, we witnessed the early evening arrival of the Reading & Northern’s Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursion. In the lead was R&N’s 40th Anniversary (1983-2023) locomotive number 2023, wearing immaculate fresh paint.
Clear skies and low sun made for dramatic light. While impressive, this high-contrast specular lighting result in very dark shadows.
Working with Adobe Lightroom, I made a series of easy corrections to the NEF RAW file to lighten the shadows, darken the highlight areas and lower overall contrast. These changes were aimed a producing a more pleasing and more accurate end photograph.
Take a note of the difference in the shadows around the locomotive trucks. The wide dynamic range offered by Nikon Z7-II digital camera captures a lot of detail in the shadow areas that may not be evident when viewing the unadjusted RAW file.
I’ve included the Lightroom work-window so you can see the relative postion of the slider controls and how these altered the RAW image.
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We called into Pittston Junction, Pennsylvania in the early evening, just in time to catch several Reading & Northern trains on the move.
Using my Nikon Z mirrorless cameras, I made this sequence of photos of a job working the former Lehigh Valley Railroad Coxton Yard. I also finished off a roll of 35mm Kodak Ektachrome making photos of the classic wig-wag style grade crossing signal.
Although once common, the wig-wag signal is now virtually extinct.
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Back on November 17, 2023, Kris and I had paused at Reading & Northern’s Pittston Junction yard.
It had been months since the last time I exposed a color slide.
I had my Nikon F3 with me because we were on our way to Cape Cod, and I anticipated wanting to make a few slides of our trip.
So after making a variety of photos with my digital cameras, I dusted off the F3 and made two Ektachrome slides of Reading & Northern 2535, in what appeared as a classic railroad scene.
Why just two slides? Well, this was because after I exposed the second photo the battery in the camera died. That is one of the dangers of infrequent camera use.
When we final got to the Cape, I replaced the battery and finished off my roll of film.
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Some days everything falls into place and you get a train in nice light in a neat location. Other days you need to settle for a view of the line.
Last autumn, I photographed this unusual trackage arrangement on the Reading & Northern at Tamaqua, Pa.
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The other day day, Kris and I called into Pittston Junction.
This is my new favorite place:
Wide open for photography, deep in history, and a haven of old General Motors diesel-electric locomotives.
The GP39RNs were once GP30s, and they still look the part.
The wigwag grade crossing signals were an added bonus.
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I like it when I can tie several themes together. This post is special because it ties together many loose threads in one neat knot.
Catching CNJ 0-6-0 passing through the former Reading yard at West Cressona a few weeks ago is a perfect example.
Back in 2015, on a trip to photograph 113 in Christmas train service with photographer Pat Yough, I met photographer Oren Helbok.
This seasonally-themed train was working the prototype rails that had inspired my HO-Scale Wee Reading Company.
Researching the Reading in November 2021 led Kris and me to Pennsylvania, and it was a significant factor in considering our move to the state earlier this year.
In March 2022 on visit to Pennsylvania to explore the Strasburg and Harrisburg areas, Kurt Bell introduced us to author/photographer and fellow Trains correspondent Dan Cupper.
In October, Dan Cupper and I had visited West Cressona to photograph a Reading & Northern local with a pair of EMD SW8 diesels
Earlier this month, both Dan and Oren encouraged Kris and me to photograph this season’s trips with 113.
During our photography of the 113 trips, Pat Yough had phoned to say that the elusive Reading & Northern SD38 2003 was in the yard at West Cressona. (See earlier posts on Tracking the Light, including: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/reading-northern-sd38-2004/and http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/the-solomons-gap/).
After catching 113 passing Becks, Kris and I made our way to the yard, which had been a feature of my model railroad, and caught 113 working its way through the historic trackage and passing 2003.
Back in 1986, I had photographed 2003 in an earlier incarnation as Grand Trunk Western 6253, which had arrived in my old haunt of Palmer, Massachusetts on a fiber-optic cable laying train. This stuck in my mind because it was the first time I’d ever seen a six-motor diesel on the Central Vermont.
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Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 113 is one of those ‘Brigadoon’ steam locomotives.
In case you haven’t seen it, ‘Brigadoon’ was a 1940s musical, later a popular film, about a mythical Scottish village that only appears once every hundred years. When I was in high-school, the local summer theatre group performed this production; I played trombone in the pitband.
I use the term ‘Brigadoon’ as an allusion to a tourist railroad (or locomotive) that makes infrequent or rare appearances. In the case of 113, this a locomotive that only makes a few trips a year, which makes it a special treat to see in action.
A couple weeks back, Kris and I made the effort to visit Minersville, Pa., to see the engine, then set up on the old Mine Hill & Schuylkill Railroad route to photograph it in action.
The Mine Hill route was part of my vision for the Wee Reading Company HO-scale railroad that I’d built when we lived in New Hampshire, which made it a special place to see this steam locomotive in action.
In 2014 and 2015, I’d traveled with photographer Pat Yough to catch 113 on this route, and the photos I’d made on those trips were part of the inspiration to make this line the heart of my model railroad.
In this respect, I’d come full circle.
The location we selected was at Becks, west of West Cressona Yard. This offered a relatively open place with good sunlight.
While trying to pick the best place to photograph, I started a conversation with an elderly woman with a house over-looking the line. She told me that she’d grown up to the sounds of idling locomotives at the St Clair roundhouse near Pottsville. “My great grand father had worked for the Reading. He had two train wrecks on a very steep part of the line and told me about many years later.”
I asked if it was ok to stand in her yard to make my photos, and she thought it would be fine. This gave me a better trailing view to picture the steam locomotive at the back of the Santa Special.
I made these views of the passing train using my Nikon Z7-II digital camera. While I was waiting for the train to pass, Pat Yough called to say that Reading & Northern 2003 (the elusive SD38 discussed in previous episodes of Tracking the Light) was in the yard at West Cressona! Stay tuned for more!
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Previously, I’ve discussed my quest to located Reading & Northern SD38 2003, having stumbled upon R&N SD38s 2000 and 2004 during my wanders through coal country in recent years.
My desire to locate 2003 is to complete a circle that began in the summer of 1986, when I photoraphed this locomotive in a previous incarnation as Grand Trunk Western GTW 6253. This had arrived Palmer, Massachusetts leading a Central Vermont fiber-optic cable laying train.
See: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/reading-northern-sd38-2004/
I find it remarable that this unusual General Motors diesel has survived all these years and now regularly operates relatively near my new home in Pennsylvania. Yet, despite various trips to photograph the Reading & Northern, the 2003 has eluded me.
My friend and fellow photographer, Pat Yough, suggested I check the yard at Pittston Junction (near Wilkes-Barre), as the 2003 might be there.
My wife, Kris, and I called into Pittston Junction on a beautiful November afternoon. There was an array of locomotives and rolling stock here. Initially, I’d spotted an SD38, and I though for a moment my quest was over.
On closer inspection, I discovered it was locomotive 2004, again. The same SD38 that I’d spotted a month earlier at Tamaqua.
Ironically, among the other Reading & Northern equipment at Pittston Junction was a streamlined passenger car named for Solomons Gap.
My quest was to be continued . . .
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Reading & Northern’s North Reading Fast Freight makes an afternoon run from the North Reading Yard to Pittston, Pa.
In October, fellow author & photographer Dan Cupper and I made a project of catching this premium train on the move.
We set up at Reynolds, near South Tamaqua, Pa., where made a series of photos.
Leading the train was the recently repainted SD40-2 number 1983 (former 3062) , that commemorates 40 years of Reading & Northern/Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern operation. This wears a shade of blue remainiscent to that on the railroad’s scheme used on Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern’s CF7s back in the 1980s.
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I was always impressed by the length of Electro-Motive Division’s SD50 diesels. I first saw these on Conrail in 1983-1984.
Although more powerful than the common SD40-2, the SD50 was a troubled locomotive design and wasn’t as well regarded as the earlier EMD road diesels.
Despite this, many of the old SD50s are still at work in secondary services. In recent weeks, I’ve been featuring Norfolk Southern’s SD40Es, many of which were rebuilt from old Conrail SD50s.
Reading & Northern has a small fleet of SD50s, including several former Missouri Pacific units built in 1984. Back in October, Dan Cupper and I caught up with Reading & Northern SD50E 5049 (originally Missouri Pacific SD50 5049) working the old Reading Company yard at Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.
R&N 5049 was putting together a train of empty coal cars to head out to a loading point on a vestige of the old Lehigh & New England, known as the Arlington Branch. I’ll feature photos from that adventure in a later episode of Tracking the Light.
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October is my favorite month for making railroad photos. Low sun and rich autumnal foliage can make for stunning settings. Yet, finding brilliant colored trees lineside isn’t always so easy.
Driving along on the highways in Anthracite country of eastern Pennsylvania in October you’ll see plenty of beautifully colored trees, but often, when you find your way to the tracks the leaves there are still green, or brown, or gone.
A few weeks back, Kris and I were following Reading & Northern’s 2102 as it led an Iron Horse Ramble toward Jim Thorpe.
Back in 2015, Pat Yough and I made a similar trip to photograph the railroad’s colorfully painted Pacific type, engine 425 on a foliage trip. Among my favorite photos from that day were those made at Zehners, near South Tamaqua, and so that’s where Kris and I stopped to catch 2102.
Kris and I arrived well ahead of the train. Folks had begun to gather. I was impressed by the trees. Bright sun illuminated the mid-morning sky and we made some satisfying images of the train as it passed.
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On my birthday I went to visit the railroad that had inspired my HO-scale Wee Reading Company.
In May, Kris and I had traded the joy of the Wee Reading Company—a microcosm that I created of Pennsylvania anthracite country railroading—in order to move to and live in Pennsylvania.
Fellow photographer Dan Cupper joined me on a day-long exploration of Reading & Northern operations. We began the day at Port Clinton, and followed the PNPV (Port Clinton to Pottsville) freight to West Cressona on the old Mine Hill Railroad—one of the component lines of the Reading system.
I made photos at the old yard, along the street and houses that I’d conceptually recreated as the center-piece of my HO-scale fantasy—itself now a memory.
This seemed completely surreal, but resulted in some interesting photos.
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October 21st, Kris and I paid another visit to the Reading & Northern to photograph 4-8-4 No. 2102 in action.
This is such an awesome locomotive in every regard.
We arrived trackside at Hamburg, Pennsylvania just after 9am. This is on the old Philadelphia & Reading’s original mainline.
After less than half an hour we heard the whistle and anticipated the passage of the great machine leading an Iron Horse Ramble on its march toward Jim Thorpe.
What is really cool is that 60 years ago, my father was doing the same thing! I grew up looking at Pop’s Reading Company slides. There’s a lot of history around locomotive 2102 and that’s part of the draw of the engine for me and a lot of other people.
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Reading & Northern’s class T-1 2102 is an awe inspiring locomotive.
On October 1, 2023, Kris and I were poised to photograph this machine as it worked former the Central Railroad of New Jersey line near Nequehoning, PA.
Rich autumn sunlight and a hint of autumn foliage made for excellent conditions.
The locomotive crew made a show of steam and smoke as the engine passed us.
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Sunday, Kris and I joined our friends Pat Yough and Tom Kline and followed Reading & Northern’s famous 4-8-4 2102 on its run from Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe.
The light was perfect—clear and sunny; the locomotive highly polished. Pat lead us to some great line-side locations. Our first was at Hamburg, PA, near where the old Reading Company mainline passes beneath Highway 61.
I made this sequence using my Nikon Z-series cameras.
More photos to follow over the coming days!
My father made pans of Pennsylvania Railroad’s Baldwin shark’s on the New York & Long Branch in the 1960s using a Leica and Kodachrome.
I made these photos of Reading & Northern 2014 on the move at Jim Thorpe, PA using my Nikon Z7-II and 24-70mm lens.
The trick is using a reasonably slow shutter speed, fixing a point in the frame and panning with the subject in a complete and uninterrupted motion. In other words don’t stop panning when you release the shutter.
Panning on a dull day is a great way to give a photo a bit of zing!
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Last weekend’s Reading & Northern Iron Horse Ramble was more than just a trip. It was an event and a confluence of railway people, railway fans, railway photographers, train riders, and even members of the general public.
I sent my dad an SMS text with a of photo of 2102. He wrote back, ‘take photos of the fans.’
He has photos of Reading Company’s rambles with the railroad’s class T-1s surrounded by fans and photographers.
Below is a selection of my people photos from Saturday July 1, 2023.
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