What better way to preserve a locomotive painted in a heritage scheme than to photograph it on film?

Last October, AmtrakP42DC number 130 was assigned to the Pennsylvanian (New York-Pittsburgh, Trains 42 and 43). This is one of several GE Genesis-series diesels that have been painted in heritage schemes that represent Amtrak’s myriad periods since it began operations in 1971. This particular paint scheme is considered to be “Phase II” and was introduced with the GE E60CH/E60CP electrics fifty years ago.

I was at Gap, Pa., with a Nikon F3 loaded with Velvia to catch the westward Pennsylvanian and was fortunate to find 130 in the lead. A week or so later, I made another Velvia slide of the same locomotive, this time traveling eastward with train 42, as view from Amos Herr Park in Landisville, Pa.

Notice the way Velvia handles the blue sky and clouds.

Both slides were scanned using a Nikon LS-5000 slide scanner.

Tracking the Light works with both film and digital media.