Would you read this if I titled it; ‘The photographic benefits of filtered sunlight‘?
The other day, Pat Yough and I made a joint venture of exploring Pennsylvania’s West Chester Railroad. This is a tourist line that runs on the vestige of the old Pennsylvania Railroad Wawa Branch (also called the West Chester Branch), formerly an electrified suburban line connecting West Chester with Philadelphia via Media.
SEPTA discontinued scheduled passenger service 30 years ago, although some its old platforms and signs survive as a reminder.
West Chester Railroad was operating its annual Santa Trains using a push-pull set comprised of a former Conrail GP38, a PRR baggage car and some converted former Reading Company multiple units.
Although the classic ‘clear blue dome’ is a favorite of many photographers, bright polarized light is often limiting on a line hemmed in by foliage.
Cheyney Station. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
Our late season photography benefitted from high clouds that diffused the afternoon sun. This made for seasonal pastel light that made photographs of the tree-lined railway more pleasing.
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.Locksley, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.Locksley, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.West Chester, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.West Chester, Pennsylvania. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
Is it a retro railroad fantasy to make images that resemble those of the late-Reading Era in 2015?
Reading & Northern GP39RN 2532 leads one of the company’s Santa Trains at Becks near Cressona, Pennsylvania. This locomotive was originally classified as EMD GP30 and is painted to resemble Reading Company freight locomotives as they appeared in the 1970s. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
Traveling with Pat Yough, I made this selection of photographs at the former Reading Company yards at Cressona, Pennsylvania in December 2015.
Back in the 19th Century, Philadelphia & Reading consolidated various railroads primarily for the movement of anthracite. In its heyday, this railroad was one of the busiest and most profitable in the United States.
Coal demand and transport has changed dramatically in the last 130 years.
Reading Company’s operations entered a long decline in the 20th century and were finally folded into Conrail in 1976. Reading & Northern emerged as a Conrail spinoff in the 1980s.
Reading & Northern’s old Reading Company yards at Cressona, Pennsylvania. Exposed in ‘monochrome mode’ with my LX-7. I’ve adjusted the tonality with an in-camera red-filter setting.
Today, using a host of vintage railroad equipment R&N provides freight service and seasonal excursions in the spirit of the old Reading Company. Anthracite remains among the commodities moved by the railroad.
R&N paints its vintage locomotives and some freight cars to resemble those of the late-era Reading Company.
This is a similar view to the black & white image above, and aimed to include R&N’s GP39RN. This could be a view of an R&N freight, or perhaps almost passable (if we cropped the ‘derail’ sign, and ignore the graffiti-covered 1980s era freight cars) as a view of the Reading Company from the 1970s. Yet, it’s really a modern R&N Santa Train excursion. Restored CNJ 0-6-0 113 is puffing away at the back of the train. Lumix LX7 photo.Trailing view of R&N’s neo-GP30 disguises the true nature of the day’s excursion. This could easily pass as a R&N freight. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
The line between documentation and photo recreation is blurred.
Through select cropping, I can either reveal the nature of the passenger excursions, or at first glance make R&N’s excursions operation appear like a Reading Company freight from the mid-1970s, or even its own weekday freights.
When does documentation become a re-creation? In the case of R&N does such a distinction even matter?
R&N offers a window on the old order, which is a relief for a railroad photographer aiming to step back from the contemporary scene dominated by massive class I carriers with modern six-motor safety-cab diesels moving unit trains of coal, ethanol and intermodal containers, and modern passenger trains.
LX7 panned photo—relatively slow shutter speed and careful continuous panning motion allowed the main subject to remain sharp while the background slips into a sea of blur.
Tracking the Light Poses Questions and Reveals the Secrets of Photographic Technique—Every Day!
Santa Trains at Minersville; a Reading revival, 12 photos for Christmas!
Ho ho ho, Minersville! Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.Central Railroad of New Jersey 113 exposed with a Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.
On December 14, 2014, Reading & Northern 425 teamed up with recently restored Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 113 to work R&N Santa Trains between Minersville and Cressona, Pennsylvania.
Pat Yough and I made the effort to visit, and were rewarded with some dramatic action. I used this as a further opportunity to experiment with the Fuji X-T1.
CNJ 113 cylinder head detail. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.CNJ 113 plates, exposed with Canon EOS 7D with 100mm lens.Reading & Northern 425 and CNJ 113 doublehead passed the old Reading Company station at Cressona, Pennsylvania. I’ve intentionally clipped the pilot of 425 with the station to create visual tension. (I made several photos with the more conventional framing, but I don’t find those as interesting to look at.) Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.Cressona, Pennsylvania. Exposed with Fuji X-T1 with 55-200mm lens.R&N 425 and CNJ 113 at work. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Santa Train at Minersville, Pennsylvania. Exposed with Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Central Railroad of New Jersey 113 back across the road at Minersville. R&N’s policeman did a great job of directing traffic. Fuji X-T1 with 18-55mm lens.Detail view of Reading & Northern 425’s crosshead. Exposed with a Lumix LX7.Merry Christmas!
