Tag Archives: Sr1

photography

Night Trains in Daylight!

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Finland is a great place to make railway photographs. Two of my favorite features of the country are the long days of summer, (in late July the sun remains above the horizon to well after 10 pm), and the overnight sleeping car trains.

Low rich sun light and long unusual-looking consists of sleeping cars and auto-carriers make for many photographic possibilities.

During my visit three night trains served Oulu in each direction daily. These run between Helsinki and northern cities at Kemijärvi, Kolari, and Rovaniemi.

Not every evening is clear and bright. Too often it rains. But last Saturday evening the sky was free of clouds and the air was clear, making for nearly ideal conditions.

These views are of IC 266 (Rovaniemi – Helsinki) led by a pair of Soviet-built Sr1 electrics. At Oulu cars are added to the train using a Dv12 diesel, which provides ample time to make photographs of the train arriving and standing at the station.

VR overnight train IC 266 approaches Oulu, Finland on the evening of Jul 25, 2015.
VR overnight train IC 266 approaches Oulu, Finland on the evening of Jul 25, 2015.
VR overnight train IC 266 approaches Oulu, Finland on the evening of Jul 25, 2015.
VR overnight train IC 266 approaches Oulu, Finland on the evening of Jul 25, 2015.

My host, Markku Pulkkinen, explained the train’s daily routine, suggested locations for photographs, and provided transportation. I made these images with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera. The challenge of working with very low sun is navigating the shadows successfully.

IC 266 has a long station stop at Oulu.
IC 266 has a long station stop at Oulu.

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Soviet Electric at Koupio, Finland.

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I visited a variety of cities on my travels in Finland in early September 2001. One dull afternoon I was in Koupio changing trains.

An express passenger train was due in from Helsinki, so I made my way to the west-end of the station platform where I exposed this view of a 1970s-era Soviet-built Sr1 electric.

Using my Rollei model T, I opted for a low-angle to add a sense of drama to the arriving train. My primary interest was this relic of Soviet railway technology, so I allowed it to get as close as possible before releasing the shutter.

Exposed with a Rolleiflex Model T with 75mm f3.5 Zeiss Tessar lens. Exposure calculated manually.
Exposed with a Rolleiflex Model T with 75mm f3.5 Zeiss Tessar lens. Exposure calculated manually.

American with German camera photographs Soviet-built electric in Finland! Yea!

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