Tag Archives: #steam power

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

New Book!

Saturday a package was delivered to my door containing my author’s copies of my latest book: Steam by the Numbers, published by Kalmbach Media.

I dedicated this work to my wife, Kris. She has a dramatic photograph of restored Soo Line 2-8-2 Mikado 1003 on pages 62 and 63.

This is a nuts and bolts book containing a lot of detail, lots of information, and solid context to tell the story of the many locomotive types covered within. I’ve broken down the history of the North American steam locomotive by the different wheel arrangements and arranged these into 36 individual chapters.

To make this an interesting book to look at I included dozens of photos. Many of these came from my own collection, some exposed by myself, but also images from my father, Richard Jay Solomon, and many contributors. A great many images are from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania archive, where thanks to the help and patience of Musuem’s Archives Manager Lauren Radkiewicz and PHMC’s Railroad Collections Archivist, Senior Processing Archivist Kurt Bell, I had spend countless hours pouring through vintage photographs.

Among the other significant collections included are those from my late-friends Robert A. Buck and John E. Pickett, as well as those from the Kalmbach archives. George C. Corey supplied some excellent photos of Delaware & Hudson 4-6-6-4s.

J. William Vigrass supplied the dramatic cover image, which captures the majesty of steam .

The book is available through the Kalmbach Hobby Store and other book distributors.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Reading’s Rocket

Among the world’s oldest surviving locomotives is Reading’s Rocket. This was recently relocated from Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

It was named to honor of Robert Stepenson’s original Rocket of 1829—the locomotive that is the ancestor of most subsequent reciprocating steam locomotive designs.

Reading’s Rocket was built in England in 1838 by Braithwaite & Company and shipped across the Atlantic to the Port of Philadelphia and then by canal to Reading, Pa. It was first steamed in May of that year, and began working in passenger service in July 1838.

The locomotive later greatly altered from its original appearance and then subsequently restored to more or less its as built condition.

Thanks to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania for facilitating my photographs of this rare and antique machine.

Photos exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.

Typical of early locomotives, Rocket has inside connect rod connections and inside valve gear. This vital equipment—located between the wheels of the locomotive—is key to the engines operation, but goes largely unnoticed by most observers.

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2102-Majesty of the Machine in Motion

Reading & Northern’s class T-1 2102 is an awe inspiring locomotive.

On October 1, 2023, Kris and I were poised to photograph this machine as it worked former the Central Railroad of New Jersey line near Nequehoning, PA.

Rich autumn sunlight and a hint of autumn foliage made for excellent conditions.

The locomotive crew made a show of steam and smoke as the engine passed us.

Nikon Z-6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom set to 200mm; f5.6 1/250 sec ISO 200.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 45mm; f4.5 1/640 sec ISO 200
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom set to 24mm; f4.5 1/640 sec ISO 200

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Steam Twilight—7470 on the Three Percent.

Last night (December 30, 2021) Conway Scenic Railroad took 0-6-0 number 7470 for a test run.

The locomotive with crew and mechanics operated within the North Conway yard limits to the ‘Bottom of the Hill’ and returned up the three percent grade to North Conway station.

This was the first run of the steam locomotive since its repairs, and the first time it has been under steam since January (2021).

I was making a video sequence using my Nikon Z6. The camera allows for medium-resolution Jpg still photographs to be captured simultaneously with video.

This 1 MB image was exposed early in my extended video sequence. Minor adjustments to exposure and contrast were implemented in post processing.

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