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New England Central 437—White River Junction.

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Yesterday, January 1, 2020, I paused at White River Junction, Vermont, a place I first visited to make railroad photographs nearly 35 years ago.

That first visit was a warm sunny summer’s morning. By contrast yesterday’s visit was a wintery, cold and gray afternoon with hints of color in the southern sky.

New England Central local was working with GP40-2 437,  a locomotive still wearing Florida East Coast colors.

Nutt Lane, White River Junction, Vermont. January 1, 2020.

Former Boston & Maine bridge over the Connecticut River. Viewed from White River Junction, Vermont. January 1, 2020.

I made these photos using my FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm zoom lens.

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Rails Along the Old Connecticut River.

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North from White River Junction the former Boston & Maine line runs toward Wells River and Newport, Vermont.

It’s been nearly a century since B&M conveyed the line north of Wells River to Canadian Pacific, but I’m old enough to remember B&M operations White River to Wells River, although I don’t have many photos to show for it.

Last week I followed Vermont Rail System’s freight operating northward from White River Junction. Unfortunately for photos, many of my preferred locations were suffering from excessive vegetation.

Here’s a few photos exposed digitally. More to come.

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Two Railroads at the Junction—panoramic composite

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Last week, I made this panoramic composite using my FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm fixed-focal length (‘prime’) telephoto.

New England Central on the left; Vermont Rail System on the right; the station at White River Junction between them.

By ‘composite’, I mean that the camera exposed numerous single frame images as I swept across the scene and then assemble them internally using pre-programmed software. This feature is offered by both my XT1 and Lumix LX7 digital cameras.

If you would like to board a train from White River Junction for a leisurely ride along the river on June 15th:
http://massbayrre.org/Trips/GreenKnightTrain.htm
Photography encouraged!

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New England Central 437 Works White River Junction.

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Last week, I made these photographs of New England Central 437 and Buffalo & Pittsburgh 3000 working a local freight at White River Junction, Vermont.

Old 437 wears some tired looking Florida East Coast paint, revealing its former owner.

This local made numerous passes of the old station, making for ample photographic opportunities.

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White River Junction in the Snow!

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Last week, Pat Yough and I drove to White River Junction, Vermont, seeking photographs of Buffalo & Pittsburgh 3000, a classic EMD-built GP40 that works the New England Central (NECR) local freight based there.

We found the engine, and shortly after we arrived a snow squall allowed us to exposed some very wintery images.

It had been several years since my last visit to White River Junction, which historically was among the busiest freight locations in Vermont.

Why is a Buffalo & Pittsburgh engine on the New England Central? My short answer: since both B&P and NECR are Genesee & Wyoming railroads it seems logical that engines from one railroad might be loaned or conveyed to another. However, the detailed particulars of the B&P 3000 arrangement are beyond my knowledge at this time.

Finding B&P in White River was only the beginning of our day photographing NECR operations; Stay tuned for more!

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Boston & Maine GP18 at White River Junction, January 25, 1986.

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I exposed this view of Boston & Maine GP18 1753 using my Leica 3A with 50mm Summitar on Kodachrome 64.

The  light was diffused by a thin layer of high cloud, which made for a relatively low-contrast scene.

This batch of K64 had a magenta bias resulting in a pinkish hue to the snow and sky.

This is a scaled JPG from my hi-res scan of the original Kodachrome slide. I did not make changes to alter the appearance of the scan. Compare this image with the variation below.

Using Lightroom, I made several adjustments to scan. By altering the contrast, color temperature and color balance, I produced a JPG file that I feel has a more natural looking image—at least as it appears on my computer screen.

This screen shot of the Lightroom work-window shows the positions of the various sliders that I used to adjust image contrast, exposure, color temperature and color balance.

Here’s the improved image, which reflects the adjusts implemented in Lightroom.

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White River Junction, Vermont on June 15, 1985.

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It was 30 years ago today that I made this photograph on the platform at White River Junction, Vermont.

The conductor on Central Vermont freight 447 is waiting for his train to pull forward so that he can get on the caboose.

Exposed with a Leica 3A on black & white film.
Exposed with a Leica 3A on black & white film.

That morning T.S. Hoover and I met Ed Beaudette on the platform. Ed supplied us with a line-up, and we made good use of the information. (Thanks Ed!)

After chasing CV 447 north, we returned to White River Junction and followed a southward Boston & Maine freight toward Bellows Falls.

At the end of the day we met George C. Corey at Springfield Union Station (Massachusetts) on the Boston & Albany and photographed the Conrail Office Car Special that was in town for Superintendent E.C. Cross’s retirement.

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