Twenty four years ago this month, I exposed this pair of Fujichrome Sensia II color slides of Irish Rail’s down Galway accellerating away from the station a Ballinasloe led by a class 201 diesel.
At the time the Galway Line was still largely protected with traditional mechanical signals locally controlled by signal cabins.
In 2003, Irish replaced the old signal system with a modern ‘Mini CTC’ system controlled remotely from Dublin.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily!
To my eye, this 400mm view at Irish Rail’s Waterford yard is more about the tracks and the signaling than about the timber train.
I made the photo using a Nikon N90S loaded with Fujichrome Velvia 100 and fitted with an old Tokina 400mm lens.
Backlighting accentuated the trackage while making silhouette of the signals and lighting polls. It also give the distant trees a dream-like pastoral effect.
I was standing on the platform at Waterford Station beneath the main road bridge over the tracks. Notice the wires and rods used to control semaphores and switch points.
Tracking the Light Posts Every Day!
