Post your Train shots!

[Sandpatch]

Went back to the "Loops" east of Asheville yesterday with moderate success. First out of Swannanoa Tunnel was P87 ….. with ONE CAR. Nice, but not the spectacle I was hoping for. Some time later came manifest 135, but he was late and I'd lost my good light. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have captured two trains here.

 

[Sandpatch]

Also found these neat old signals nearby, a nice sight in our era of look-alike Vaders.

Southern Serves The South !

 

[Needa]

View attachment 307314

I like it. :encouragement:

 

[crashton]

Very nice captures Sandpatch. I agree with Needa, that low light shot is very nice. Just enough light on the nose to make it a great keeper. Really like the old signals, they are falling at an alarming rate.

Ashland RWY has several paint schemes. Another they have is a burgundy-red & black. Hope to catch those one day.

Here are a couple more from the CSX Willard Ohio yard. Looks like they have opened up the hostler shop again, although it doesn't seem to be very busy. Those locomotives that are sitting dead are most likely going to LETX, Larry's Truck & Electric in Lordstown Ohio. They are a large locomotive grave yard & rebuilder-seller.





Link to Larry's ​> https://www.google.com/search?ei=lA...wiz.......0i71j0i131j0i67j0i10i67.Qxvvlf1I0cE

 

[Bengan]

View attachment 307314

Good one

 

[Bengan]

 

[Sandpatch]

More nice pictures Chuck. It's weird to see locomotives that we'd call "new" on the deadline, then recall that they were new perhaps 30 years ago.

 

[Sandpatch]

Very nice captures Sandpatch. I agree with Needa, that low light shot is very nice. Just enough light on the nose to make it a great keeper. …

Thanks y'all. Old memories die hard. As I stood there weighing my ISO/Shutter Speed options, I had to smile and think "thank heaven I'm not shooting Kodacahrome 64, else I'd be in the car headed home." I've been in just that spot a hundred times over. Thinking back too, I thought of K-200, a dwindling light or overcast skies lifesaver. It was a great film in its own right.

 

[Bikerbrent_RIP]

Thanks y'all. Old memories die hard. As I stood there weighing my ISO/Shutter Speed options, I had to smile and think "thank heaven I'm not shooting Kodacahrome 64, else I'd be in the car headed home." I've been in just that spot a hundred times over. Thinking back too, I thought of K-200, a dwindling light or overcast skies lifesaver. It was a great film in its own right.

Oh yes. The good old days of film. I have to chuckle sometimes when I see posts debating between ISO 400 vs. 800, vs. 1600. To only have had these choices back in the film days, not to mention auto focus, auto exposure, VR, etc. But we still managed to create some pretty impressive images back then.

 

[Sandpatch]

Thanks for your post Brent. I think too that when we used film, our shots were made with greater care because of the expense. I seem to recollect that with film and processing, each Kodachrome slide was $0.20 to $0.25 in the latter 1980s.

I bought Kodak mailers at K-Mart and took them with me on vacations, along with stamps. I never deposited them in hot mailboxes in the summertime! Out of many hundreds of rolls, I lost only a few and I still recall the places I visited where my slides were lost. My dopey local photography store lost more of my rolls than I did in the mails!

 

[Sandpatch]

I played around with another tunnel shot that I rejected and came up with this. My aging D5100 lacks the resolution of newer models and my Nikkor 55-200mm zoom was wound out to the extreme, but I thought it came out fairly okay given the circumstances and at 1600 ISO.

Swannanoa Tunnel is 1,832 FT long and on a steep grade, so it's kind of cool to see the headlights slowly rising up in the tunnel bore as a train approaches. You can see the summit of the grade just ahead of the train.

 

[Chucktin]

Pretty good shot. You've got background (engine and tunnel/mountain), and middle ground (rails), needs a foreground element to make it better. But most times we record what's there. That's life.

 

[Chucktin]

If possible, and you've got the chutzpah, you could move a large rock, temporarily (!), into the low right corner to give a sense of scale.

 

[Sandpatch]

Pretty good shot. You've got background (engine and tunnel/mountain), and middle ground (rails), needs a foreground element to make it better. But most times we record what's there. That's life.

Yep, ya take what you can get in rail photography, with safety being the primary concern. I've rejected many locations over the decades in respect of proximity to the track and/or the lack of an escape path. The other uniqueness with rail photography is the requirement to imagine how the scene will look with a train present. There's no time to carefully craft a composition, test settings or change lenses when it's train time.

You may have an idea there, using a fake rock or even fake station signs to enhance an image. Though, I'd have to load the car with some thought as to where I'm headed.

​

 

[crashton]

That picture is a keeper Sandpatch. I like old cameras, but it may be time to jump a generation or two. :wink-new: It sure is fun spending other peoples money. Oh, one more thing. Buy yourself that new GTI. :encouragement:

 

[crashton]

This northbound NS train is headed into Moorman yard in Bellevue Ohio

 

[Sandpatch]

That picture is a keeper Sandpatch. I like old cameras, but it may be time to jump a generation or two. :wink-new: It sure is fun spending other peoples money. Oh, one more thing. Buy yourself that new GTI. :encouragement:

I'm sure I'd enjoy both very much. I should check eBay to see what used D5100s are selling for. Do you find that your GTI limits your railfanning with its low ground clearance? I'm used to a pickup that I can take most anywhere. I'm guessing that the GTI's ground clearance would be only a bit less that Mrs. Sandpatch's Golf which allows pretty decent clearance. I've already told the Dealership that I'd return someday with a tape measure to check things out underneath. I like taking train pictures, but I prize my oil pan too.

 

[Sandpatch]

This northbound NS train is headed into Moorman yard in Bellevue Ohio …

Ah, likely named for Wick Moorman, past CEO of NS. He's the guy who gave support for NS's Heritage Units and the partnership with TVRM for steam excursions. Quite the fan and an excellent railroader as well.

 

[Chucktin]

Yep, ya take what you can get in rail photography, with safety being the primary concern. I've rejected many locations over the decades in respect of proximity to the track and/or the lack of an escape path. The other uniqueness with rail photography is the requirement to imagine how the scene will look with a train present. There's no time to carefully craft a composition, test settings or change lenses when it's train time.

You may have an idea there, using a fake rock or even fake station signs to enhance an image. Though, I'd have to load the car with some thought as to where I'm headed.

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Got to be careful and match the quality of the let-in element(s) to the background imagery.

 

[crashton]

Ah, likely named for Wick Moorman, past CEO of NS. He's the guy who gave support for NS's Heritage Units and the partnership with TVRM for steam excursions. Quite the fan and an excellent railroader as well.

Yes that is correct. I'd guess he did a good job & was very well liked. They named a yard for him, quite an honor.