On this day 43 years ago, my father brought my brother and I to Warren, Massachusetts to roll-by Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited—Train 448—working its way east to Boston on Conrail’s former Boston & Albany main line.
Back then, there were no cell phones, no internet, and certainly no asm.transitdocs train tracker app with up to the minute train information. Instead, it was it a matter of consulting the timetable and waiting patiently trackside.
It was Christmas Day, so Tucker’s Hobbies—located up the hill to the right—wasn’t open for business. We stood patiently on the Rt 67 bridge over the tracks, where my friend Robert A. Buck—Tucker’s proprietor—had over the years made many photos of Boston & Albany and New York Central trains.
In 1982, the railroad was still double track (would remain so for another four years). Before Amtrak passed, a set of Conrail light-engines (engines without a train behind) rolled west on the No. 1 main.
Finally, we could hear the train as it came into view at the curve near the old Warren freight house. Using my Leica IIIA with f2.0 50mm Summitar loased with Kodachrome 64 film, I marked the passage of our Christmas train. This featured F40PH 208 in the lead, wearing its as-delivered ‘Phase II’ paint (although the modern-day ‘phase’ description was decades in the future.)
As I wound my camera, the train roared below us, its shadow chasing it up the valley.
On Christmas Day 2025, my old Leica sits on a shelf in my office where I can glance at it as I work. Its presence brings back memories of photographic adventures 40 years gone-by.
Long-time readers of Tracking the Light will remember that I posted this photo previously—thirteen years ago!
Merry Christmas from Tracking the Light!
