CSX 1973 Chessie System heritage unit rolls into south Atkinson (Madisonville) just past sundown, August 12, 2023. Top Photo by Bill Thomas.
Bottom Photo – Jim Pearson was a the same location when E002 arrived. This drone shot shows conductor Nick Jochim climbing aboard after lining the switches. See more info on Jim’s Facebook page.
CSX L382 puts out a bit of smoke as it pulls away from WF Ware after picking up a cut of grain cars at Trenton, Kentucky on July 12th, 2022, on the Henderson Subdivision. L382 is the local that runs between Casky yard in Hopkinsville and Guthrie, Ky and here we catch it as it starts its run back to Casky. Photo and caption by Jim Pearson.
LORAM Railgrinder RG414 grinds through a curve as it makes its way south at Nortonville, Kentucky on the CSX Henderson Subdivision on May 23rd, 2022. According to LORAM’s Website: Rail grinding is the cornerstone of virtually every railroad maintenance program. It maximizes the life and value of rail assets through precision removal of fatigued metal, restoration of the rail head profile and removal of rail defects which are the optimization goals of an effective rail grinding program. Jim Pearson
The Black Hills Central Railway locomotive 108 heads through the countryside as it makes its first trip of the day in stormy, wet weather of the forest to Keystone, South Dakota on my birthday, May 30th, 2022! I for one can’t recall a better way to spend the day then chasing a steam locomotive and they later in the day riding it with family! Despite the wet and rainy weather, it was a great day, and I even got the drone up a few times! A big shout out to Cory Jakeway for all the help on finding my way around on the railroad and rail-fanning with me! Photo by Jim Pearson
It’s noisy, bumpy, hot, smells and not a lot of room, but also exciting, fun and awe inspiring to experience a living, breathing steam locomotive from its cab!! Enjoy this still shot of Nevada Northern Railway fireman, Mike Hughes as he tends to the fire on locomotive #81, while Will Ebbert stands on the gangway in the background, keeping an eye on the track ahead, as they head toward Hi Line Junction, outside Ely, Nevada on February 13th, 2022.
Nevada Northern No. 81 is a “Consolidation” type (2-8-0) steam locomotive that was built for the Nevada Northern in 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, at a cost of $23,700. It was built for Mixed service to haul both freight and passenger trains on the Nevada Northern railway. Photo by Jim Pearson.
Shooting trains at night can be troublesome so I here’s a few tips on shooting at night using manual settings. You can also shoot on auto, but you’ll get better results if you use manual as the headlights from a train can “fool” your camera on auto. Also, many folks photograph trains at night using flash, but that’s another ball of wax and involves a lot more work and I won’t be covering that in this article.
First and foremost are two things. Use a tripod and turn off your VR on your camera or lens, otherwise when shooting it can cause blurry images when shooting on a tripod. If your gear doesn’t have it then you don’t need to worry. This applies if you’re using a tripod.
For best results use the fastest lens you have with the fastest shutter speed. if you are hand holding also use the highest ISO you can, but no higher than you must, and when hand holding use the VR if you have it. It’s also a good idea to brace yourself against something to help hold the camera steady when hand holding at night.
Shoot a test exposure based on what the camera tells you. If it’s too dark, increase the exposure, too light, decrease it.
Join other night photography groups on Facebook so you can see what other people are doing and how.
Use the self-timer when possible when shooting at tight. It helps eliminate camera shake from when you press the shutter. Better still, get an electronic cable release.
Learn to manually focus your camera. Auto focus at night can be troublesome.
If your camera has a setting for Locking the mirror up before taking your picture, then use it. When shooting at night, sometimes the slap of the mirror can cause camera shake.
Pop over to YouTube and watch videos on shooting at night. There’s a wealth of them available and free!
Here’s a few good ones.
Here’s some articles on the subject as well:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/railways-at-night-pictures/index.html
https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/when-steam-locomotion-ground-to-a-halt/
Night photography of trains and railroads can be very dramatic and enjoyable, but it can take time along with some trial and error till you get used to it, but very rewarding. When trackside at night or anytime always remember to be safe!!
September 17, 2020 – CSXT 3439 and 275 lead loaded coal train CSX N040 south on the Henderson Subdivision as it approaches the John Rivers Rd. crossing at south Casky in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic Mini Drone, JPG, 4.5mm (24mm equivalent lens) f/2.8, 1/320, ISO 100.
Jim will present a program on Railfanning with a Drone at our November 16th, 2020 meeting. Be sure to attend!
I have been blessed that one of my pictures has been used in a TRAINS Magazine October 2020 special edition ‘CSX at 40’ along with several other great photographers!
The cold weather shot of CSX Q025 heading south through ice covered trees at Nortonville, Ky looks really good!!! Thank you to Jim Wrinn, Angela Pusztai-Pasternak, and all the Trains staff, ‘CSX at 40’ looks fantastic with great stories and photography inside! My first published photo in TRAINS Magazine!
November 13, 2019 – What a day!! I chased Union Pacific’s 4014 “Big Boy” from Prescott to Little Rock, Arkansas and couldn’t have asked for better weather! The cold really made the steam and smoke pop! Here we see 4014 as it departs Prescott early in the morning, after a slight delay to let two trains pass it. There’s just something about a steam locomotive when it pokes its nose out of a cloud of steam!
November 12, 2019 – Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 sits tied down at the Prescott, Arkansas depot, after its run for the day up the Little Rock Subdivision. Tomorrow morning it’ll depart at 9am CST for Little Rock where it’ll be on display till Friday morning before continuing it’s move back to Cheyenne, Wyoming. According to Wikipedia: The Missouri Pacific Depot of Prescott, Arkansas is located at 300 West 1st Street North. It is a 1-1/2 story red brick building, with a breezeway dividing it into two sections. One section continues to be reserved for railroad storage, while the other, the former passenger ticketing and waiting area, has been adapted for use by the local chamber of commerce and as a local history museum. It was built in 1911-12 by the Prescott and Northwestern Railroad, which interconnected with the Missouri-Pacific Railroad at Prescott. The line had passenger service until 1945.
The building is now known as the Nevada County Depot and Museum. Exhibits include area settlers, railroads, and military items from World War I, World War II, the American Legion, National Guard of the United States, 1941 U.S. Army maneuvers in Prescott. The depot building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
November 12, 2019 – Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” 4014 puts out a huge plume of steam in the cold November air as it departs Hope, Arkansas and heads north on the UP Little Rock Subdivision on its way to Prescott, AR where it will tie down for the night. I’m doing my first chase on the “Big Boy” today and tomorrow as it heads for Little Rock, AR.
According to Wikipedia: The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive manufactured by the American Locomotive Company between 1941 and 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service until 1959.
The 25 Big Boy locomotives were built to haul freight over the Wasatch mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming. In the late 1940s, they were reassigned to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they hauled freight over Sherman Hill to Laramie, Wyoming. They were the only locomotives to use a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement: four-wheel leading truck for stability entering curves, two sets of eight driving wheels and a four-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox.
Eight Big Boys survive, most on static display at museums across the country. This one, No. 4014, was re-acquired by Union Pacific and restored to operating condition in 2019, regaining the title as the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive in the world.
July 10, 2018, CSX suffered a derailment at the cut-off switch in Mortons Gap, KY. Jim Pearson got a few pictures of the reasonably uneventful slip. It was clean-up and service restored about 8:30am the next day.
