{"id":2668,"date":"2013-06-02T07:30:07","date_gmt":"2013-06-02T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=2668"},"modified":"2013-06-01T22:44:56","modified_gmt":"2013-06-02T02:44:56","slug":"ayer-massachusetts-wednesday-may-29-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/ayer-massachusetts-wednesday-may-29-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayer, Massachusetts, Wednesday May 29, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Three views of Norfolk Southern General Electric<\/a> Dash-9s.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Often I look to put trains in their environment by trying to find angles that show context. Not every railway scene is scenic. And, in the North East, more often than not, the environment around the railway is pretty rough looking.\u00a0 But that is the scene, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\"Street<\/a>
Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens; exposed at 1\/400th sec at f.5.6 ISO400, exposure set manually.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Wednesday May 29, 2013, Rich Reed and I were making photos of trains on former Boston & Maine<\/a> lines around Ayer, Massachusetts<\/a>. Rich has lived in the area for many years and is well versed on the history of the area.<\/p>\n

Among the trains we saw was this Pan Am Southern local switching a set of autoracks. In the 1970s, a GP9 would have often worked Boston & Maine\u2019s Ayer local. Today, Pan Am Southern runs the railroad, and the local is a pair of Norfolk Southern GE six-motor DASH-9s working long hood first.<\/p>\n

I made several images east of the Ayer station. One of my favorites is the view looking down the street that features a parked postal truck and cars with the train serving as background instead of the main subject. It\u2019s an ordinary everyday scene, yet it\u2019s part of the history, and someday it will be different. Everything changes.<\/p>\n

\"Norfolk<\/a>
Canon EOS 7D with f2.8 200mm lens; exposed at 1\/400th sec at f.5.6 ISO400, exposure set manually.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"NS<\/a>
Exposed with a Lumix LX3 set on Aperture Priority Mode; f2.8 at 1\/200th second, ISO 80.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Which of these images will be more memorable in 50 years time? Someone might wonder why the Post Office needed a delivery truck, or what all the wires were for. You just never know.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Norfolk Southern diesels: see my book North American Locomotives.<\/a><\/p>\n

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