Tag Archives: #snow plow

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Ektachrome of the Snow

I don’t expose very much slide film any more.

The high cost of the film and processing, combined with the burden of carrying extra camera equipment, has limited my film usage to just a few rolls per year.

Last week, I received several processed rolls back from the lab, which accounted for the majority of the film photos I made during 2023.

Among these were a few photos I made on January 24, 2023 during a trip with Conway Scenic’s Snow Plow Extra that cleared to Mountain Junction and then east on the Redstone Branch in North Conway, New Hampshire.

These were exposed on Kodak Ektachrome 100 using a Nikon F3.

Conway Scenic crews clear the switch at Mountain Junction on January 24, 2023.
Conway Scenic crews clear the switch at Mountain Junction on January 24, 2023.
Conway Scenic crews clear the switch at Mountain Junction on January 24, 2023.
Plow Extras are very rare on the Redstone Branch. I wanted to make sure this was recorded for posterity, so I made a few color slides of the move. I’d traveled on the train as far as Mechanic Street, then walked along the North-South road in North Conway to get this image. Until 2022, I lived around the corner from this location.
Plow Extras are very rare on the Redstone Branch. I wanted to make sure this was recorded for posterity, so I made a few color slides of the move. I’d traveled on the train as far as Mechanic Street, then walked along the North-South road in North Conway to get this image. Until 2022, I lived around the corner from this location.
Plow Extras are very rare on the Redstone Branch. I wanted to make sure this was recorded for posterity, so I made a few color slides of the move. I’d traveled on the train as far as Mechanic Street, then walked along the North-South road in North Conway to get this image. Until 2022, I lived around the corner from this location.

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Plowing Snow! Part 1

Tuesday (January 24, 2023), Conway Scenic Railroad sent its 1934 vintage Russell snow plow westward to clear the line to Attitash .

There was at least a foot of snow on the ground.

The plow operated as Work Extra 255, with former Maine Central GP38 255 at the back pushing.

I was able to stay ahead of the plow extra and made several sets of photos using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens. I also recorded some video with my Z7-II mounted on a tripod.

Work Extra 255 approaches the Route 16/Route 302 grade crossing near White Mountain Oil in North Conway, New Hampshire. That’s my photo on the railroad’s billboard to the right of the tracks. I exposed it using my Fujifilm XT1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit lens. Silver Line Graphics did the design work on the billboard.
Work Extra 255 approached Glen-Ellis station.

Work Extra 255 clears the line near Goves west of milepost 66.

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Announcements, Tips and Technique

Plowing Snow!

Friday, February 11, 2022, New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic operated its vintage Russell snow plow with former Maine Central Railroad GP38 255 pushing it west toward Attitash.

I followed the plow by road and made a few select digital photos with my Nikon Z6 fitted with 70-200mm lens.

To get a good snow exposure I dialed in ‘+3’ to the expose compensation, which helps keep the snow white. I metered manually with the in-camera ‘matrix meter’, then set both shutter speed and aperture manually.

Although I set the camera’s focas point, I let the Nikon’s autofocus system work as intended.

In a few instances, I hiked into locations to get the best angle where the snow was the deepest. On more than one occasion I found myself up to my hips in snow.

It was a good day out with the plow!

A couple of weeks ago, I put together a video for Conway Scenic on the operation of the plow. This was mostly filmed in 2021. It is available on You Tube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp5Qg-5_B6M

Intervale, NH.
Intervale, NH looking west toward Mount Washington.
Clearing the line at Glen, NH.
Glen, NH.
Working upgrade along Route 302 west of Glen, NH.

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Nice Day for a Plow Extra

Yesterday (Wednesday February 24, 2021) was bright and sunny with textured clouds in North Conway, New Hampshire.

The railroad had scheduled a plow extra to clear the line toward Attitash in Bartlett.

Working with my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm lens, I made these photos of the plow being readied for action and heading west out of the yard.

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Orange Plow

I made this photo of a bright orange snowplow in the Hyannis, Massachusetts railroad yard just a few minutes before sunset on recent (and unseasonably warm) November 2020 evening .

Exposed using my new Nikon Z6 with 24-55mm Nikkor zoom using the camera’s built-in ‘Vivid’ (VI) color profile.

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Snow Plow Action

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Yesterday forecasts of snow were dashed when rain fell instead.

Last week the story was a different one, and as previously reported on Tracking the Light, Conway Scenic Railroad sent a plow extra west to Attitash.

I made this view using my Lumix LX7, while recording the action using the railroad’s video camera.

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Clear Morning for Clearing Snow and a TV Appearance.

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Thursday, February 20, 2020, for the second time in about a week, Conway Scenic dispatched its vintage Russell Snow plow to clear the line to Attitash.

I arrived at the North Conway station at  0545 and was prepared for a chase of the plow westbound. Complicating my efforts was that I had a TV interview with White Mountain TV16 scheduled at 0845.

I cut it a bit fine, but arrived at the studio in ample time to chat with host Rob Clark on air.  I don’t think too many viewers copped-on that I’d been freezing in the field making photos only minutes before stepping on set. (I’d changed hats in the interval).

See:  https://youtu.be/JmHALwifgTs

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Plowing Snow with my Video Studio!

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Shortly after arriving on the property at New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railroad last Spring, I asked owner David Swirk why he had an air-conditioner on his vintage Russel snow plow.

He laughed and said the plow was employed for various tasks. Later in the summer, my video editing studio was temporarily relocated to the plow, where I learned first hand of the importance of the air-conditioner!

Last week in preparation for commencement of February operations, Swirk decided it was time to send the Russel plow out to clear the line and widen the swath of snow made during previous plowing efforts using GP7 573.

So on Thursday, February 13, 2020 the plow was readied and dispatched by Train Order as a Work Extra 573 from North Conway Yard to Attitash pushed in traditional fashion by 573.

I hiked into the Whitaker Woods to document the plow at work, then followed along by road. Here are few of my photos.

Passing under Highway 302 near Bartlett, New Hampshire.

I also made a video, which I posted on Conway Scenic’s Facebook page:

This also appears on the railroad’s Instagram page.

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