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Here's a yellow Chessie System caboose at Sand Patch, PA (hence my name on Nikonites). Helpers have just cut off on the fly and the train will proceed downgrade for arrival in Cumberland, MD. It's November 1981 and I'm shooting with a Nikon EL-2 and Kodachrome 64.

Southern Railway caboose at Hendersonville, NC as scanned from a photo I took in the 1980's sometime. The train is headed toward Saluda, NC to contend with what was at the time, the steepest mainline railroad grade in the U.S.. Sadly, nothing has run on this line in a decade and the rails might...

Was passing through Columbia, SC today and saw only light engine moves (aka locomotives with no cars), but it was worth a stop and it was nice to get some fresh air. In the top photo, that's Columbia Union Station to the rear of the trailing locomotive. No passenger trains call there, but...

I'm already missing Radio Shack. My model railroad was built almost 30 years ago, so is plagued with obsolescent components. Today's train was stopped cold and the culprit was a broken toggle switch. As seen in the lower right of the photo, the internals cracked. Happily, these are common...

Went to my local Radio Shack store this afternoon to see what discounted items might remain on the shelves. Radio Shack entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week and many of their stores will be closing. Everything had been pretty well picked over, including my favorite department with all the...

Delaware & Hudson caboose at Taylor, PA in June of 1982.

Ducks in cold and sparkly water in western North Carolina, USA

Was out looking for trains and found nothing, so shot a signal. This type is becoming common everywhere on U.S. railroads, sadly displacing the unique types that allowed railfans to identify line ownership just by seeing a signal. These new signals are nicknamed "Vaders", as their dark hooded...

One of my brothers has some of my Dad's old Nikon gear and amongst the stuff is a Nikkor 35mm F/2 Lens from the latter 1970s. I do not know if it has been converted to AI. I am thinking that this might make a nice addition to my D5100, but I have some questions: Would this 35mm/FX-size lens...

I was leafing through a Sears Fall/Winter 1958 Catalog (U.S.A.) and found this offering amongst the cameras that featured a Nikkor lens. It made me smile and I thought others might enjoy seeing this too. In the accessories, it lists an optional Nicca 3F Model, so the body was not of Nikon...

American Airlines Boeing 727 (I think) at Chicago, IL O'Hare Field in 1970. I love the old orange lightning bolt scheme. From a Kodachrome taken by my Dad.

Regarding fish photos, you can keep your fancy DSLRs. I instead recommend shooting with a fish -- a Charlie The Tuna camera. It's a game changer wharfside ... and it's sure to eclipse the snob with his new Canon EOS-1D X at the next cocktail party.

I never experimented much with creative photography in my 30+ years using film and have only begun to explore the art with my D5100, finding both joy and frustration. I saw this scene early one morning in our dining room, but resisted shooting away. Instead I simply sat and studied the light...

Wheels roll on the stalled westbound freight as it gets underway. Quickly took the D5100 off auto-focus for this shot as it was going crazy trying to figure out whether to focus on the rail or the cars exiting the tunnel! :D

Local freight exiting Jarret's Tunnel: A heavy westbound freight stalled on the grade following a locomotive failure and after being rescued by the helper locomotives, got underway once again in the fading light. Man, it gets COLD quick in those mountains when the sun goes down!

My wife and I trekked into the mountains of western North Carolina (USA) to hunt trains and found some nice spots. Westbound empty coal train climbing the grade: Helper locomotives at Jarrett's Tunnel:

Just west of Old Fort, NC is Andrews Geyser built 1885 and named for Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews of the Southern Railway who laid out the line through these rugged mountains. Andrews is not a natural geyser, but is instead fed from a pond at a higher elevation.

Found some old photos in a closet at my Mom's house. Strangely, they're small prints exactly matching the size of 35mm negatives and they're printed on one long strip of photo paper that replicates a long strip of negatives. Very odd -- I've never seen anything like it. There are a dozen...

Found a 3-1/2" x 5" print today of Louisville & Nashville SD-35 No. 1207, as made from a 35mm Kodachrome, taken in Knoxville, TN. I didn't mark the print, but I took it in the late 70s. One of these days I will buy a good quality slide scanner!

Looks like a great little project! I like woodworking too, but often lack the time. I also lack a jointer and planer, so am somewhat limited in what I can do. Nonetheless, it's fun to build things that are just was you wish them to be in function and size. Some time ago I built this shelf to...