Tag Archives: State Line Hill

Bridge Street Monson—Two Takes, Four Views.

June 22, 2017 brian solomon 8 Comments

New England Central’s grade over State Line Hill climbs through Monson, Massachusetts. When I’m in Monson—where I live for part of the year—I can hear the trains as they pass through town.

In recent posts, I’ve focused my cameras on New England Central’s weekday freight, job 608, that runs from Willimantic, Connecticut to Palmer and back.

In the long days, the present schedule for 608 finds it in a number of classic locations that are well-lit for photography.

I can go after the train on any given morning, as often as I choose, and this allows me the freedom to explore different angles, photographic techniques, and visit locations repeatedly to make more interesting images.

I like to work in black & white and I choose to use traditional film cameras with which I can craft images in the old school. I process the film myself using custom-tailored recipes, and then scan for presentation here.

Why black & white film? First of all it’s not simply monochrome. My black & white photography is the culmination of decades of experimentation. This shouldn’t imply that the photos are inherently better than simple digital snap shots, but infers that I’ve put more thought and energy into achieving my end result.

Here I’ve displayed three variations of a black & white image I exposed using a Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens at Bridge Street in Monson. I’ve adjusted the contrast and tonal range producing subtle differences in each interpretation. For comparison, I’ve also supplied a similar digital color view that I exposed with my Lumix LX7.

I wonder how many viewers will notice the fundamental difference between the digital photograph and the film image variations?

My first post-processed variation of New England Central’s 608 climbing at Bridge Street, Monson, Mass.

Here I’ve lowered the over-all contrast, which allows for greater shadow and highlight detail, but overall produces a softer tonality.

My third variation; I’ve made a global exposure change and adjusted shadow areas to produce a starker image with greater tonality and deeper blacks.

Is color better? Chime in with your opinion in the comments section.

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NECR Tunnel Motor at State Line.

January 26, 2016 brian solomon 1 Comment

The other day down in the valley I heard the roar of a train ascending the old New London Northern grade to State Line.

EMD diesels working hard.

“Hmm. That’s odd. Daylight move on the New England Central?”

In recent months, New England Central’s freight south of Palmer, Massachusetts has been largely nocturnal.

I thought I’d best investigate, I hopped in my car and headed south to intercept.

Driving toward Stafford Springs, Connecticut I heard a telemetry hit on my scanner. (That’s the FRED—the end of train device the sends a signal reporting air-brake pressure from the tail end of the train to the engineer’s cab.) I knew the train was close.

Then, chatter on the radio: engineer to conductor. They were working the ground. The train was switching.

I altered my path and went to the south switch at State Line siding at Crow Hill Road, Stafford.

There I found the train: An NECR local freight from Palmer putting cars in the siding.

View from Crow Hill Road, Stafford, Connecticut. Lumix LX7 photo. I manually underexposed by 2/3s of a stop to compensate for the snow.

Sixteen loads and five empties.

At one end was a GP38 that’s nearly as old as I am. At the other end was NECR’s Tunnel Motor, engine 3317. A former Southern Pacific engine.

After dropping its cars on the siding, the crew of NECR's local freight pulled across and prepared to head back north to Palmer. This allowed me to take a good look at the Tunnel Motor. — After dropping its cars on the siding, the crew of NECR’s local freight pulled across and prepared to head back north to Palmer. This allowed me to take a good look at the Tunnel Motor—so-called because of its specially designed air-flow arrangement originally configured for high-altitude operation in tunnels and snow sheds on Southern Pacific’s rugged line over Donner Pass in the California Sierra.

That’s neat. I’d never seen NECR’s Tunnel Motor south of Palmer before.

Sorry, did I mention that New England Central’s reporting marks are NECR?

NECR's conductor sets the derail on the siding. Lumix LX7 photo. — NECR’s conductor sets the derail on the siding. Lumix LX7 photo.

I drove to the north-end of the siding which begins just north of the Connecticut-Massachusetts line. Look to the right of the engines and you'll see the crudely cut granite marker for the border. — I drove to the north-end of the siding which begins just north of the Connecticut-Massachusetts line. Look to the right of the engines and you’ll see the crudely cut granite marker for the border.

Not so many years ago, six-motors were banned from operation south of Palmer. These days its not so unusual. However, daylight moves don't occur on a regular basis. Lumix LX7 photo. — Not so many years ago, six-motors were banned from operation south of Palmer. These days it’s not so unusual. However, daylight moves don’t occur on a regular basis. Lumix LX7 photo.

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Classic Kodachrome: Montreal-built at State Line Crossing.

March 20, 2015 brian solomon Leave a comment

In the mid-1980s, Canadian National Railway’s Montreal Locomotive Works M-420s were commonly operated on its Central Vermont Railway subsidiary.

It might seem odd in retrospect, but I wasn’t keen on these peculiar locomotives when they were common. Although they were derived from an Alco design, and I was big fan of Alco, I thought they were ugly and not ‘real’ Alcos. I much preferred Central Vermont’s own Alco RS-11s.

June 25, 1986, State Line Crossing, Monson, Massachusets. Exposed on Kodachrome 25 slide film with a Leica 3A fitted with a 65mm Elmar using a Visoflex.

My ill-founded prejudices never stopped me from making photographs of the M-420s. And even back in 1986, I was pleased to catch this one leading Central Vermont’s freight 562 across Route 32 in Monson, Massachusetts (immediately north of the Massachusetts-Connecticut State Line).

This is the top of State Line Hill and it was all downgrade from here. I’m standing on a pile of ballast for elevation.

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New England Central Job 610—Genesee & Wyoming Style

October 30, 2013 brian solomon 1 Comment

A Pair of Pumpkins on the Move.

Genesee & Wyoming acquired Rail America some months back and so now New England Central is one of the many G&W family railroads.

While several locomotives have been painted in the new corporate colors (or rather, G&W’s traditional paint scheme), many of New England Central’s locomotives remain in various former liveries, including the railroad’s original blue and yellow.

On Monday October 28, 2013, New England Central job 610 (a turn that runs from Willimantic, Connecticut to Palmer, Massachusetts) sported a pair of nicely painted G&W locomotives.

My dad and I made chase of this train on its southward run. I exposed digital still photographs, while Pop made some video clips with his Lumix LX7.

The sun was playing tag with us, but the locomotives were so bright and clean it hardly mattered if the sun was out or not.