I liked to seek out unusual trains: Second Sections, Extras, unit trains, and moves that operated once a week—or less.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Conrail’s Friday-only TV80W was a short, hot intermodal train that ran to Worcester, Massachusetts, over the Boston Line (former Boston & Albany).

August 12, 1988 was a steamer: hot, humid, and polluted.

I drove over to CP79, east of Palmer, Massachusetts, to catch the once-a-week intermodal train. On this day, it was powered by a pair of GE B23-7s, locomotives atypical for Conrail’s intermodal service.

Conditions were less than ideal for photography—flat light and hazy—but I made this 120-size black-and-white view with my father’s Rollei Model T. TV80W was waiting for a “limited clear” signal to exit the controlled siding after meeting a westward carload freight.

Two versions of the photo appear below: the unmodified scan and an adjusted version using Lightroom to eliminate spots and vignetting and improve contrast and highlight detail.

Someone may ask, “What is a ‘hot’ freight?” To run “hot” means to operate quickly, often in excess of normal speed. A “hot freight” is a high-priority train. So, it was unusual to find TV80W sitting in a siding.

Tracking the Light has explored railroad photography for 14 years!