Tag Archives: Selkirk New York

photography

Daily Post: Westward Freight in Wink of Sun

6 Comments

CSX Q427 Claws Upgrade at Chester, Massachusetts.

For me the old Boston & Albany West end is hallowed ground. This was the first true mountain mainline in the modern sense. The line was surveyed in the mid 1830s and by 1839 trains were working over Washington Summit.

Over the last 30 years I’ve made countless trips to photograph this line and it remains one of my favorites. Yet, I rarely come up here in the winter.

On Friday, February 7, 2014, my father and I went up to Huntington to catch Amtrak’s westward Lake Shore Limited, train 449. Not far behind was CSX’s Q427.

This freight runs daily between Portland, Maine and Selkirk, New York via Ayer and Worcester, Massachusetts. This day it had a pair of General Electric Evolution-Series diesels of the type that have come to characterize modern freight operations on the Boston & Albany route.

Since the train wasn’t making great speed, we pursued it on Route 20, stopping to make photos at opportune locations. At CP 123 (where the line goes from single track to two-main track) Q427 met an eastward freight holding at the signal. We continued upgrade ahead of the train.

I remembered that there’s a gap in the hills at Chester which allows for a window of sun on the line that lasts late in the day. So we zipped ahead of the train.

Working with my Canon EOS 7D and 200mm lens, I exposed a series of vertical images of CSX Q427 (Portland to Selkirk) as it passed through a window of afternoon sun.
Working with my Canon EOS 7D and 200mm lens, I exposed a series of vertical images of CSX Q427 (Portland to Selkirk) as it passed through a window of afternoon sun.
The dappled light on the trees and the dark shadowed hillside beyond made for a dramatic painterly back drop, while tree shadows on the foreground snow minimized the effects of glare and provided texture.
The dappled light on the trees and the dark shadowed hillside beyond made for a dramatic painterly back drop, while tree shadows on the foreground snow minimized the effects of glare and provided texture.

At Chester, Pop set up his tripod to make a hi-resolution video of the train climbing. I positioned myself with my Canon EOS 7D with a telephoto lens to make use of the window of sun against a dark background.

As the train grew closer I also exposed more conventional views with my Lumix LX3. The heavy train took more than two minutes to pass.

Lumix LX3 photo showing the whole scene.
Lumix LX3 photo showing the whole scene.

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

 Tomorrow: step back 30 years with a visit to West Springfield.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
photography, Tips and Technique

Drowning the Light

Leave a comment

 

 

Something a Bit Darker:  Enigmatic or just playing around?

Palmer in Gloom and Rain, May 24, 2013.

Friday evening May 24, 2013 wasn’t the driest night in recent days. I was in Palmer, Massachusetts to meet some friends for dinner. On the way in, I timed my arrival to intercept CSX’s westward Q437 (Worcester, Massachusetts to Selkirk, New York). I’d learned that one of the specially painted ‘Diversity in Motion’ AC4400CWs was leading.

The day was in its final moments with just a hint of blue in the sky. The signals at CP 83 (dispatchers control point, measuring 83 miles from South Station, Boston) lit up moments after I arrived. That gave me about six minutes to think up a photo solution. Since the car-park (parking lot) at Steaming Tender was comparatively empty, I opted for a broadside pan. All I had to work with was my Lumix LX3.

Pan photo of CSX.
CSX Q437 rolls through CP83, Palmer, Massachusetts. Lumix LX3 photo.

I set the LX3 for 200 ISO, switched ‘off’ the image stabilizer (I’ve found this tends to interfere with long pans), and selected ‘aperture priority’ with f2.6 and +1/3 exposure compensation. Then I set the focus manually and waited. There’s a slow order through Palmer, and Q437 passed traveling not faster than 30mph. I made a long pan and the camera selected a shutter speed of 1/3.2 seconds. A long exposure, but not long enough. I still needed to lighten the image in post processing using the program’s ‘curve’s’ feature.

After dinner, it was raining steadily. Rich Reed, Bill Keay & I returned to CP 83 to observe the arrival of a southward New England Central freight. I made a couple of more long pans in the gloom of night. Then, I placed the camera on an old railroad tie to make one final exposure of the train in the rain.

New England Central freight arrives at Palmer yard. Lumix LX3 ISO 200 set at f2.6 1.3 seconds, panned hand held in the rain.
New England Central freight arrives at Palmer yard. Lumix LX3 ISO 200 set at f2.6 1.3 seconds, panned hand held in the rain.
New England Central freight arrives at Palmer yard. Lumix LX3 ISO 200 set at f2.6 1.6 seconds, panned hand held in the rain.
I grabbed a second pan shot, as with the previous image, this one was with the Lumix LX3 ISO 200 set at f2.6. Slightly longer exposure: 1.6 seconds, also panned hand held in the rain.
Rain at Palmer yard. May 24, 2013. New England Central freight . Lumix LX3 ISO 200 set at f2.5 1/1.6 seconds.
Rain at Palmer yard. May 24, 2013. New England Central freight . Lumix LX3 ISO 200 set at f2.5 1/1.6 seconds.

Something a bit different anyway and it cost me nothing but a few moments of my time (and suffering some gratuitous dampness.)

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
photography

CSX Moves Fuel.

Leave a comment

Tank Trains Rolling at Guilderland, New York.

 

 

 

On Saturday, May 18, 2013, CSX had four eastward unit oil trains working the Water Level route between Buffalo and Selkirk, New York. Mike Gardner and I were in place to catch two of these monsters. Mile-plus long strings of black heavily-laden tank cars hauled by colorful variety of locomotives.

These were only part of the show and mixed in with CSX’s seemingly endless parade of intermodal trains and mixed freight. While waiting for first of the oil train to reach us, we experience the highlight of the day. To the east I heard the classic roar of EMD 16-645 engines.

What could be making such a racket? This is a railroad dominated by the muffled sound of modern GE four-stroke diesels and the occasion EMD 710. By contrast this sound sent me back 20 years . . .

CP Rail SD40-2 leads an empty ethanol train.
SD40-2s lead CSX symbol freight K4091 (a westward empty ethanol train) on the old West Shore. The line on the right is the traditional eastward track built to fly over the westward main near French’s Hollow. Three SD40-2s on the Water Level Route, not bad! Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens.

Working west in run-8 were three SD40-2s (one Canadian Pacific and two painted for Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern/Iowa, Chicago & Eastern) with empty ethanol train in tow. The crew was enthusiastic and passed us with a friendly blast of the horn and bells ringing. It was just about the coolest train I’ve seen on CSX in several years!

Empty ethanol train.
Trailing view of CSX K4091, the receding sounds of 16-645E3 engines brightening my day. Canon EOS 7D with f2.0 100mm lens.

After it passed we caught the first two unit oil trains, one right after the other, followed more ordinary traffic. This oil business is a new phenomenon and seems to be growing. I expect I’ll see more liquid energy on the move.

CSX_oil_train_K040
First of four eastward unit oil trains; CSX K040 with a mix of CSX, KCS, and BNSF locomotives.
CSX GE number 860 leading K048, the second of four oil trains on May 18, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with f4.0 200mm lens.
CSX GE number 860 leading K048, the second of four oil trains on May 18, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with f4.0 200mm lens.
Oil train
Rolling pipeline; trailing view of CSX K048—the second of four oil trains on May 18, 2013. Canon EOS 7D with f4.0 200mm lens.
Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta