In the 1980s, I’d often photograph Conrail on the former Erie Railroad west of Hornell, New York on the main line to Buffalo. This was a scenic line that retained its pre-Conrail character, where classic US&S upper quadrant semaphores still protected train movements and the old code lines remained in place.

At that time, Conrail retained the Erie’s directional double-track arrangement, normally operated in the current of traffic under rule 251. However, the traditional eastward track (No2) was only maintained to 10mph, while the westward track (No1) was maintained for significantly faster speeds.

If an eastward train wasn’t facing opposing traffic, the distpatcher in Hornell could issue orders (and in later years a Form-D) to allow the train to use the westward main in the eastward direction in order to speed its progress over the line.

As a young photographer, I much preferred finding a through freight plodding along at 10mph, since this would allow me to more easily follow it in my car and get just about all the angles I wanted without having to drive too fast. An eastbound train on track 2, also typically meant that there were westbound trains close by, which made for added interest.

On May 7, 1988, I was following Conrail’s BUOI led by SD50 6801. Clear skies and Professional Kodachrome 25 (PKM) loaded in my Leica M2 were a great recipe for making color photographs. 

At 8:30am, I made this photo of BUOI near Swain, New York. On this day, I stayed with the train for many miles. The Kodachromes from that adventure have been part of my collection ever since and this photo has been published in various places over the years.

Tracking the Light Looks Back on Conrail!