Wow @BF Hammer -- your Big Boy shots turned out super well! Great locations and light, AND you avoided the "asses and elbows" images so commonly caught at crowded stops. Nice work! 
Post your Train shots!
- Thread starter Rick M
- Start date
BF Hammer
Senior Member
For not having really tried railroad photography prior to 1 month ago, I keep doing more. Total dumb luck today. I stopped for lunch at Whitewater, WI at the old rail depot. Site is on the fringe of a city park and the building refurbished. I was contemplating how to approach this scene as I chewed on food in car. Then I heard train horns. No time to select a lens, just grabbed the Zf and verified the important settings as I got in position.
The engine looks fresh from the boneyard. I did a X-PAN crop and a normal 3:2 crop. And at the end is the depot building after I changed lens and composed a bit better.
The engine looks fresh from the boneyard. I did a X-PAN crop and a normal 3:2 crop. And at the end is the depot building after I changed lens and composed a bit better.
They turned out nicely. Yeah, rail photography sometimes results in mad dashes! That's the Wisconsin & Southern RR and those are leased locomotives, often called "Rent A Wrecks" by railfans. These are indeed tired, former Union Pacific and nearing 40 years of service. The station is a jewel!
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Sunday's northbound Floridian at Pontiac, SC running nine hours late. The train hit a tree somewhere in GA and busted out a window in the lead locomotive. CSX brought a freight unit to assist the train into Savannah where the Amtrak locomotives were spun to put the 341 in the lead. [D5100]
Very cool @Needa. Those locomotives use LNG for fuel; the fuel tender is between them. I wish the FEC had kept their "Champion" heritage paint scheme.
Amtrak's southbound Floridian was running 15 Hours late today, having left its origin at Chicago some 10 Hours late. Getting a lot of daylight pictures of it lately, here running through the pines north of Columbia, SC. I suspect engine crews are amused by seeing railfans appear along their route on days like this. [D5100]
[D5100]
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In April 1989 I caught N&W 611 at Attalla, AL on her way from Birmingham to Chattanooga. Back then, Norfolk Southern ran a heavy schedule of systemwide steam trips from spring through the fall every year for many years. As the decades passed, insurance costs began to rise, eventually reaching unaffordable levels and NS exited their steam program in its entirety. The 611 and stablemate 1218 were put on display in Roanoke, VA until some years back, special runs were established on shortlines and regional railroads in the east. [Kodachrome, Nikon N2020]
Thanks for the encouragement! It was quite the experience, especially the Enola yard putting the train where they did allowed a great and safe viewing experience. The rear of the train in the yard was obscured by a tree line, it was so cool front to back. There were thousands of people on the lower road (west shore side) by the rockville bridge, that site in itself was amazing.Those are fine shots @nikonbill.
Crowds have always been a part of these events, but social media has greatly increased awareness amongst the public and turnouts are larger than ever.
Back in the day before wide public awareness, railfans would often set up organized "photo lines" at prime spots so that everyone could get a good shot without somebody in the way. This is from July 1989 at Newport, TN with Nickel Plate 587. [Kodachrome, Nikon N2020]
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Oh man, the Rockville Bridge scene must have been beyond belief. The train will next move west to Altoona. Then on Saturday, July 11th it will run up the east slope around Horseshoe Curve , another classic photo spot. Ticket sales and other crowd control efforts are in place there to limit the number of people permitted to be at the park up on the Curve.
There's a live 24x7 railcam there with sound that's fun to watch anytime. It's at Horseshoe Curve – Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA | LIVE Train Camera (PTZ)
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Railroading Fun Fact: Enola was named for the daughter of a farmer that owned land along the railroad when it was built. It also spells "Alone" when its spelling is reversed. Where else but Nikonites could such trivia be found?