Tag Archives: #Strasburg

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Late sun at East Strasburg, PA.

Sometimes accidentally trying something different yields a better result.

The other evening, Kris and I went out to watch Strasburg Rail Road’s 6pm train on its return run.

It was a beautiful and clear, and I’d hoped to make a photo from either Carpenters or Paradise Lane. However we were delayed, and the best that I could do was to reach East Strasburg Station.

The railroad had a Thomas-the-Tank event going on earlier in the day. While, normally, I avoid these events, which are geared toward a much younger enthusiast and tend a attract big crowds, in this case the event worked to my advantage.

To make room for the Thomas train, the railroad had cleared out a row of equipment that had been stored on the siding adjacent to the run-around track opening up a classic view of the station. Normally this stored equipment blocked the view (and the evening sun light) from the north side of the tracks of an in-coming train.

So our tardy arrive produced some fortuitous photos.

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View from the Open Car

It’s always a pleasure to take a train ride.

Strasburg Rail Road’s excursions offer open cars which are a pleasant way to spend a summer’s afternoon in Pennsylvania Dutch country.

The other day, our friend Dan Cupper, invited Kris and I to travel on the railroad, so we rode behind former Canadian National Railways 89 to Leaman Place and back.

I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.

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475 puts on a Good Show

We drove to Cherry Hill Road which is approximately the half-way point on the Strasburg Rail Road.

We didn’t have to wait long before a low mournful whistle announced the approach of the returning 2pm train.

Over the last month, most of Strasburg’s excursion have been led by 2-6-0 number 89, so I was pleased when I saw former Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 number 475 come into view.

As the train pulled away from the Groff’s picnic area, the engineer made a spectucular show of steam and smoke as the train slowly accelerated upgrade.

I made these photos with my Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm lens as Kris recorded the performance with her iPhone.

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Trailing views at Esbenshade Road.

Over the summer, Kris and I have been photographing Strasburg Rail Road’s late weekend train, the 1900 departure, which is a favorite of mine because it catches the low sun on its return to the East Strasburg Station.

I think that this past weekend might have been the last opportunity to work with the sun on this train for a while.

I made these trailing views at Esbenshade Road near Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm
Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.

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Gorgeous Evening Light

The evening began with dissipating fluffy clouds. As the sun sunk in the western sky, I anticipated a colorful late summer sunset.

We drove to Strasburg, where I made this sequence of photos of Strasburg Rail Road’s J tower, and various equipment on dispay at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and in the Strasburg Rail Road’s yard using my Z7-II with 70-200mm Nikkor Z-series lens.

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Steam on a Monday!

There aren’t too many place in the United States where you can pull up to a rural grade crossing on a Monday and roll by a steam locomotive .

That’s just what I did the other day on my drive through Strasburg.

I made these photos using my Lumix LX7. The scene is timeless. Consider; a Mogul type hauling wooden-body passenger cars, and there no wires, no automobiles, no cell-phones . . . well all that is all behind me-literally.

Lumix LX7 photo exposed in RAW, color adjusted in post processing. Compare with the de-saturated mono-chrome version below.
In post processing I altered the contrast and used the ‘saturation’ slider to convert the image to monochrome (black &white).
Clean burning engine, rods down. Now, if we only switch off the headlight, it could be 1925.

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Color or Black & White at Carpenters?

Sunday morning Kris and I went out to watch Strasburg Rail Road.

I set up for the returning 11 am train at Carpenters cemetery.

As the train approached, I made photos with both my Lumix LX7 and Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm Z-series zoom.

In post processing, I converted the Z7-II file to make a black & white photo.

Which do you like better?

Lumix LX7
Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm.

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Visiting the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania with Wayne.

Two weeks ago, Kris and I accompanied Wayne Duffett of TEC Associates on a detailed tour of railroad equipment, artifacts and models displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.

This is just a great place. I’m never bored amoung the beautifully restored and displayed engines and cars. Everytime I visit, I find something I’d never seen before. and I can never tire of seeing a magnificent GG1 electric dressed in the classic Loewy stripes. (And recall the New Year’s morning 43 years ago, when my dad, brother and I inspected this very same GG1 on the ready tracks at New Haven, Connecticut.)

We spend several hours gazing in awe at all the great relics of railroading past.

The airbrake training car was a real treat. I never knew that this restored in fully operational condition!

Somehow, I made more than 300 photos, working with my Nikon Z6 and Kris’s Fujifilm XT4.

I made a bunch of side by side comparisons between the Nikon and Fuji cameras, but I’ll display those images in a future post.

Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Fujifilm XT4 photo by Kris Sabbatino.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Fujifilm XT4 with Fujinon 16-55mm zoom lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.
Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens.

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An A1 Visit to the Strasburg Rail Road! 21 photos.

Last week, when TEC Associates’ Wayne Duffett visited, we took a trip on the Strasburg Rail Road.

Former Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 475 was working.

We traveled in style, riding in parlor car Marian, and each enjoyed a Tröegs beer on the way to Leaman Place.

We passed some Amish farmers at Blackhorse Road.

Wayne commented on the height of the corn and the wonderful pastoral scenery.

As we arrived at Leaman Place, we met Strasburg Rail Road’s SW8 that was departing with a very short freight.

That’s not something you can experience on very many railroads: meeting a revenue freight on a steam hauled tourist excursion.

After we arrived back at the railroad’s East Strasburg Station, I made photos of Wayne with the locomotive, before headed out the line by road to photograph the next run.

Photos exposed digitally using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.

A parting view of parlor car Marian at Blackhorse Road.

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Glinty Light at J-Tower

Friday evening Kris and watched Strasburg Rail Road’s 4-8-0 #475 run around its train at J-tower at the railroad’s ‘East Strasburg’ Station opposite the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Late sun made for golden glint as the engine changed direction. So, in addition to some classic three-quarter style photos, I made a few photos that highlight 475’s running gear.

I’ve been writing about steam locomotives for an upcoming book project, and I was keen on observing the engine’s Baker valve gear in motion.

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The March of a Twelve-Wheeler

Over the last month of so, Kris and I have paid weekly visits to Pennsylvania’s Strasburg Rail Road to observe and photograph their trains.

During this time, former Canadian National Mogul-type 89 has been the star attraction. However, on Friday, we observed the 5 and 7pm trains that ran with former Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 number 475.

I really like the way this locomotive looks and sounds. It had a long tapered boiler and smoke box that gives it a classic appearance, while its whistle makes a low mournful cry that stirs a vision of the past.

We waited at Esbenshade road for the return of the 7pm train, listening to the engine work upgrade and sound for the crossings.

I made this sequence of photos with my Nikon Z digital cameras as the train approached.

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Steam in the Evening-Ten NEW photos!

Last weekend, Kris, Boomer-the-dog and I, timed our arrival at Blackhorse Road in Strasburg to catch the 1900 (7pm) evening train that only runs relatively infrequently.

I like the evening run because it is relatively quiet and the light tends to be better. Midday sun in July is a bit harsh and rarely results in optimal photographic conditions. Although it was partially cloudy, the softer light allowed good photos in both directions without harse contrast.

I made these views with my Nikon Z digital cameras of the evening train coming and going on its way to and from Leaman Place where it runs around to change directions. There’s no wye on the Strasburg Rail Road so the engines face westward.

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Weighty Sunrise Strasburg

Last week in the early hours the air was thick with moisture, yet the sky was clear above. As the sun rose, mist clung to the ground as billowing clouds formed before our eyes.

The lighting conditions were cosmic, compelling and rapidly changing.

As we drove through the fields around Strasburg, Pennsylvania, I made these images using my 70-200mm zoom lens.

I like the back lit effects of the rosy sun behind fog.

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Strasburg Storm Light and a Rainbow!

Monday evening, July 3, 2023, I’d just collected my new glasses. We were driving east on highway 741 as a brilliant rainbow graced the eastern sky. We arrived at the Strasburg Rail Road just as the colors started to fade. All around us were dramatic clouds in a stormy sky. The contrast was fierce.

I made these photos using my Lumix LX7, exposing in RW2 (RAW). I made minor adjustments in Lightroom to better balance the ground and sky.

This is an enlarged crop of the above image.

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Strasburg’s Surreal Smoky Sunset

Yesterday evening the air and sky were thick with particulates. The landscape took on a surreal unworldly appearance.

As Kris and I drove around Strasburg, Pennsylvania, I made a few photos with my Nikon Z6 and 70-200mm lens.

The lighting was about as strange as anything I’ve worked with naturally.

The sun looked like a floating glob in a lava lamp. The sky was a pasty gray-lavender while wafting clouds of thick green-gray haze filled the air near the ground.

The sun didn’t so much set as it melted into the haze.

I exposed these images of Strasburg Rail Road’s preserved J-Tower and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s former Reading Crusader tail-end observation car, and the nearby farm.

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Steam and Shadow at Esbenshade Part 2

Esbenshade! What a great name for a crossing suited to silhouette?

The other day I presented an example of a telephoto view of Strasburg Rail Road Number 89 leading the Saturday 6pm excursion at Esbenshade Road in Strasburg, PA.

Today, I’m offering two examples of wideangle views at the same crossing. These were exposed as NEF RAW files with my Nikon Z7-II, which has incredible dynamic range.

In this situation to make a silhouette, I set the camera in ‘M’-mode (manual) and used the in-camera meter to expose for the sky. I have my display showing an exposure histogram, the helps me best balance the detail captured in the extreme highlights and shadows. Although this detail isn’t evident in the thumbnail camera display, it has been captured in the NEF RAW file.

After downloading the camera, I import the NEF files into Adobe Lightroom, and use the ‘Light’ slider controls (including ‘highlights,’ and ‘shadows’) to adjust the images to better reveal details across the range of exposure. Again, by keeping an eye on an exposure histogram, I can avoid pushing the limits of adjustment and minimize data loss.

To allow for individual control of the sky, I made some adjustments using the ‘select sky’ mask.

Below are two examples of unadjusted NEF RAW files and the corresponding adjusted images.

This is how the unadjusted NEF RAW file appears (file converted to a scaled JPG for internet presentation) Note the lack of detail in the shadow areas.
This is the adjusted version of the same photo.
Unadjusted NEF RAW file.
This is adjusted version of the same file.

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Breakfast Stop with a Mogul or ‘Steam at Cherry Hill’

Yesterday morning, Kris and I got take-away breakfast from the Spreckled Hen in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. We drove over to Cherry Hill Road to roll by the 11am train to Leaman Place and enjoy our food.

I was delighted that former Canadian National Railways 2-6-0 number 89 was leading the seven-car excursion. (The 2-6-0 wheel arrangement is known as the Mogul Type.)

Rain was closing in from the west as I made these images using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens. Kris made a video with her iPhone 13 that she posted to Facebook.

As we waited for 89’s return trip we had a pleasant surprise . . . Stay tuned for the details and more photos!

Exposed using a Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera fitted with a Z-series 70-200mm zoom set at 175mm, f4.5 at 1/500, ISO 200. NEF RAW file adjusted for contrast, exposure and color saturation using Adobe Lightroom.
Exposed using a Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera fitted with a Z-series 70-200mm zoom set at 175mm, f4.5 at 1/500, ISO 200. NEF RAW file adjusted for contrast, exposure and color saturation using Adobe Lightroom.

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J-Class 4-8-4 Upclose!

Working with my Nikon Z7-II, I made these close-up views of Norfolk & Western J-Class number 611 at Strasburg.

This is a very popular locomotive!

I opted for some low-angle views in part for dramatic effect, but also to stay below the army of cell-photo photographers captivated by the J-class under steam.

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Eighty Nine: Black & White or Color

Last week on the Strasburg I made this wideangle view with my Nikon Z7-II of former Canadian National 2-6-0 No. 89 rods down at Esbenshade Road.

Soft sun, slightly backlit; stubbled corn stalks in an unplowed field, with the locomotive whistling for the crossing.

A timeless scene.

So, which do you prefer? The color digital capture; or my alterations to the that I file converted to black & white (with some clever contrast adjustments for period effect.)

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Strasburg Rail Road Freight

Strasburg Rail Road is best known for its steam excursions, but the railroad is a common carrier and operates a thriving local freight business.

On our visit to the Strasburg, PA area last month, I was lucky to catch one of their freights on the move. This was led by the railroad’s former New York Central SW8 diesel 8618.

This classic General Motors Electro-Motive Division swticher was built for New York Central System c1953 and carried the number 9618. It is painted in a neo-New York Central scheme, and was Conrail 8618 for many years.

In the 1980s, I made many photos of Conrail switchers, and I wonder if somewhere among my slides and negatives I may have a photo of this locomotive in its former existence.

Strasburg Rail Road SW8 8618
Strasburg Rail Road local freight viewed from Carpenters.
SW8 8618 with two boxcars at Leaman Place along Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor—the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line.

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Strasburg Rail Road Ballast Train

Upon leaving the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Kris and I heard a distant locomotive horn.

Although, there were no trains scheduled, I surmised there was an extra on the line, so we drove to the first grade crossing west of the yard and waited.

After just a few minutes, Strasburg Rail Road’s former New York Central SW8 ambled westbound towing a lone three-bay hopper carrying ballast.

That was a lucky catch!

We then drove to the parking lot opposite the shop where I made a few more photos.

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Snow and Shadows at Esbenshade

Fresh snow and fierce wind made for challenging conditions on the Strasburg Rail Road at Esbenshade Road.

The subtle texture and stark environment of the windswept cornfields with the a steam locomotive makes for a timeless scene.

I exposed these views on Saturday March 12, 2022 using my Nikon Z6 with Z-series 70-200mm lens.

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