Tag Archives: The Bootlegger

photography, Tips and Technique

Amtrak’s Montrealer at South Norwalk, Connecticut—30 years ago today.

4 Comments

On June 25, 1986 at 7:18 am, a trio of Amtrak AEM-7s lead the Southward Montrealer (Montreal, Quebec to Washington D.C.) over Metro-North at South Norwalk.

My pal, T.S.H. and I were trackside from 6:50 am. Our primary objective was to catch the venerable former New Haven Railroad FL9s on the move.

Three AEM-7 electrics lead Amtrak's Montrealer. All pantographs are up. Now, how cool is that?
Three AEM-7 electrics lead Amtrak’s Montrealer. All pantographs are up. Now, how cool is that?
Exposed on June 25th 1986 using a Rolleiflex Model T with Zeiss 75mm Tessar lens, loaded with Kodak 6043 (120 size Tri-X); f5.6-f8 (f6.3) 1/500th of a second. Processed in D76.
Exposed on June 25th 1986 using a Rolleiflex Model T with Zeiss 75mm Tessar lens, loaded with Kodak 6043 (120 size Tri-X); f5.6-f8 (f6.3) 1/500th of a second. Processed in D76.
The Budd-built Heritage Fleet always looked nice behind the AEM-7s.
The Budd-built Heritage Fleet always looked nice behind the AEM-7s.

The late running Montrealer was an added bonus. We knew this as ‘The Bootlegger’—a prohibition-era term relating to the train’s cross-border activities.

Today, this photograph seems doubly appropriate because Amtrak’s AEM-7s made their farewell trip just a week ago.

 

Tracking the Light Posts Daily.