Any railroad buffs here? I got some train photos for ya!

I know there are at least a few other railroad buffs here. So you guys should like this :) <p>

 

This is at the train station in downtown San Bernardino, California. Metrolink is the commuter train system that

runs throughout southern California. It's operated by SCRRA, the <i>Southern California Regional Rail

Authority</i>. I was in an adventurous mood and I rode my bike all the way downtown, hoping to get some

interesting photos. I took a couple of cameras with me - my Argus C3 (of course) and the Kiev 30. I got some

great pictures of Metrolink trains parked at the station. This was on late Sunday afternoon, and apparently they

were out of service for the day. I'm a major railroad buff, so it was awesome to be able to wander around the

platform and take as many pictures as I wanted. It was such a quiet, peaceful afternoon. I mean seriously, I

could have just sat there all day drinking a Pepsi and looking at the trains. This view looks towards the depot,

with the back of the trains and a cab car facing the camera. <p>

 

<img src = "http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/metrolinktrainsmay152011small.jpg"><p>

 

I took the picture with the Argus C3 camera and Arista Premium 100 film. I developed the print in my darkroom

last night. I just wish I could get the scan to look as good as the print. I did overexpose the film a bit, so

the first print was too light. The negative is kind of dense. But I made another print and exposed it on the

enlarger for longer and it came out beautiful. The scan doesn't do it justice. <p>

 

This next picture is of a "cab car." When the train is running in reverse (with the locomotive pushing the

train), the engineer can control the train from a small control room in the last car.<p>

 

<img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/MetrolinkcabcarMay152011small.jpg"> <p>

 

I took a picture of the trucks (wheel assembly) on one of the cars. I always thought it was interesting and

kinda funny to see a train with disc brakes. Look at how HUGE the rotor is! <p>

 

<img src = "http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/metrolinkcarmay152011small.jpg"><p>

 

This was also my first real attempt at dodging. There was a huge variation in light here. The top of the car was

brightly lit from the west by the late afternoon sun, but the undercarriage of the train was pretty dark. I

really wanted the wheel assembly to show up clearly in the picture, but if I exposed it for the wheels, the rest

of the car would have been completely blown out. I tried to make a normal straight print first, but that didn't

work out so well. The car looked good and you could see the gleaming rotor of the brake on the left, but the rest

of the undercarriage was pitch black. So I tried to dodge the picture. I actually just waved my hand around the

bottom of picture. It worked...well, kind of. I did manage to lighten that part up and at least you can see both

wheels and the track clearly. But apparently, I blocked a little bit too much light and the bottom right of the

picture got a little bit too light, and it left a line. Oh well. I'm still happy with it considering it was my

first first real attempt. It's definitely better than the straight print, where the wheels were pitch black.<p>

 

Here's another picture. Just imagine having how big the brake pads must be on this sucker! (I cropped this

picture).<p>

 

<img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/IMGb.jpg"><p>

 

While I was down at the train station taking pictures, I met this kid named Danny who also happens to really be

into railroads too. He was down there with a radio, listening to train crews. This kid was awesome. He was so

friendly, and he's really sharp. He's only 15 years old (actually, he's only 14 and he said he's about to turn

15 this summer) but he knew so much about railroads and local history. We talked for a while, and I showed him a

couple of my cameras. He said he was into photography for a while too, and he has used both digital and film

cameras. He said that he actually wanted to learn how to develop his own film, but then he got too busy with

school.<p>

 

I had run out of 35mm film for my Argus C3, and so I took a couple of snapshots of him with my Kiev 30 camera.

Unfortunately, the prints didn't turn out that great. I managed to get a somewhat acceptable print here though.<p>

 

<img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/Kidattrainstationsmall.jpg"><p>

 

I'm not sure what went wrong. The pictures from the Kiev 30 were very low contrast and just in general looked

bad. I know it wasn't the paper developer, because the prints I made right before and after this one were fine.

It's not the camera. I know the Kiev 30 can take good pictures, because I have gotten a few really nice, sharp

ones from it. And optically, the images are sharp and are in focus. It's just the contrast was really bad. I'm

not sure exactly what went wrong. I know one problem is probably that I didn't agitate the tank enough when I was

developing the film. The tank I have for developing 16mm film is apparently meant to be agitated by "stirring."

I can't invert it because it leaks. But the film also had a lot of scratches and some weird marks, which I think

might be from when the cartridge was loaded. I'm not sure. I'm a little hesitant to buy more film from the guy I

got this one from (I won't name the website here). But until I can find another source for 16mm film, I'm kind

of stuck.<p>

 

But anyway, I'm not using the Kiev 30 for "serious" photography anyway. It's just for snapshots and to play

around with. It's a shame I couldn't get better pictures of Danny though. It was pretty cool to meet another

railfan at the train station.<p>

 

Thanks for looking! I'll have more pictures to post soon.

 

<p>Hi, Chris<br>

I'm enjoying your posts immensely as I live in near to SBdo.<br>

I've seen those disc brakes on Amtrak cars, but never on a regular rail car. Maybe they give smoother stops. I notice they also have the standard shoe-on wheel type, I suppose primarily for the required safety-brake function.</p>

<p>I love trains, and I think that anything railroad related not only lends itself well as subjects, but also (or perhaps because) trains evoke a certain sentiment of exploration, wonder of all those places they go that we usually don't get to see. I have a wonderful book filled with Canadian National trains from all over this land, and some of them are just amazing, especially the snow clearing photos! I have to dig it up and post particulars as I think anyone with an interest in photography would really enjoy it, and a train buff would absolutely love it... if I can remember to look for it:)<br>

I am not a train buff in a technical sense, but the cars in the pictures look a lot (I would say exactly) like the GO trains that shuttle commuters around the greater Toronto area. My guess as to the breaks: these trains are dedicated commuter cars, and relative feather weights in the greater scheme of trains, I would imagine the benefits of disk breaks are manifold, but perhaps not cost effective to apply the necessary metallurgy and manufacturing technology to disks that can stop a freight train? Another theory is that these trains stop very frequently compared to a normal train, and the greater thermal efficiency of a disk break allows them to function a lot better in an environment of multiple heat cycles in close proximity? These are just theories, just thinking out loud. <br>

Really enjoyed the photos, wish I could offer more insight - keep at it with the dodging, its a bit of a hit or miss process, but you know when you got it right when you can't tell you did it but you got the result you wanted, if that makes any sense. The painful lesson for me was that some pictures you just have to live with - you lose too much trying to bring out something that is just outside of the dynamic range of the film and or paper. I did find that using different contrast grades for some of the dodging/burning can sometimes help a great deal. As you noticed, dodged areas tend to lose apparent contrast - often the way to go is to print for that difficult area and "burn in" the majority of the image at a more moderate contrast grade. Just some suggestions from my own trials and (mostly lol) errors.</p>

<p>A fascinating post thanks. It seems so anachronistic at least to someone from the UK (me) to see these hi tech trains still fitted with old fashioned bells. I did a project in a course I'm doing on the photographer O. Winston Link, his train pictures are awesome.</p>

<p>For the past ten years I mostly only photo trains. I've even had the cover shot on TRAINS Magazine. I shoot at night a lot, using a mega flash system. I'm starting to do that with my 4x5 some now. The slang for hardcore railfans is "foamer," BTW. Local train crews call me the "Flash Foamer." As for your question, keep in mind that you are using cameras with uncoated lenses? They don't have a lot of contrast to them, and if any light hits the lens directly it creates veiling flare. </p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>Here are some scans from a negative collection I bought a few years ago. All were shot between 1936 and 39 (not by me). Negatives are 2 1/2 x 4 1/14" . Scanned on Epson 4990. <br>

http://www.zuiko.com/album/B%20&%20W%20Steam/index.html</p>

<p>John</p>

<p>A decent series of pics, Chris. I especially like the textural rendering of car "27". My Dad worked for the railroad for 40 years on the Erie Lackawanna, Penn Central and finally ending up with the New Jersey Transit in Hoboken. I was always immersed in railroad culture. It's very nice to see these images, many thanks.</p><div></div>

<p>I love trains too, those are great photos. I'd photograph them more often if I lived closer to a station. The rail line that used to run near my home was shut down and abandoned a few years ago (they had to widen the highway so they removed a tunnel that the train track ran on top of). </p>

<p>Very cool. Nice results, even the Kiev shot in its own Lomo-ish way.;)</p>

<p>Try this one. John</p><div></div>

<p>Yeah, great...Always interesting to see trains from other countries. Nice way to spend an afternoon, <strong>Chris</strong>, plus all the fun of the darkroom experimentation. Sure beats sitting in front of a monitor...</p>

Thanks for the replies, everyone!<p>

 

Peter, I think you're definitely right about what makes trains so fascinating and why railroads are so embedded in our culture. When you see a train speeding down the track, it reminds you that what's important is not always so much the destination, but the <i>journey</i>. When you ride on a train, you know you're going to a destination and you'll eventually get there...but what is more important is everything you'll see on the way. Like you said, trains go places we normally don't get to see...across the countryside, through industrial yards, through hills and mountains and along the coast. Trains often go places that cars or buses can't go. I love traveling by train. I used to ride the Metrolink all the time. Not because I actually <i>needed</i> to go somewhere, but just because I wanted to get away for a little while and a train ride seemed like a nice way to have some time to myself to think. So I would take the Metrolink to Los Angeles for the day, just for the heck of it. I love looking out the window at the passing scenery and listening to the locomotive horn. The K5LA horn on Metrolink and Amtrak passenger trains has a really calming, almost musical sound to it.<p>

 

I haven't been on Metrolink (or any train) for several years. But now after taking these pictures, I'm seriously thinking of taking one to LA with one of my cameras and some color and B&W film. Maybe when I get paid in a couple of weeks.<p>

 

John, passenger trains in the United States do indeed still have old fashioned bells and I love them :) <p>

 

I love the two-beat sound the bell on the cab car and locomotive makes...click-<i>cling</i> click-<i>cling</i> click-<i>cling</i> click-<i>cling</i>. It has a really neat rhythm to it.

<p>Chris I think we both love trains for the same reasons - and as photographers, you couldn't ask for a better subject: you want colours? trains have 'em! You want black and white? Hard to find something better suited to the medium! And you can literally spend hours taking photos of them - big sweeping vistas where the train is just a part of the picture, or all the amazing shiny metal, gritty metal, dirty metal, clean metal as a detail shot... Its amazing, there is a nearby town here that has a bit of museum - well, actually just an open air, no longer used link with an old station house and some trains parked there permanently - I go at least a couple times a year and always find something new, even though the place doesn't really change (except for the infuriating work of vandalism which is truly sad... but that's a whole different subject). I really enjoy your posts - keep 'em coming:)</p>

<p>Nice post, Chris. Thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>I'm currently on my first vacation where I'm using passenger trains and a 30-day Railpass as my transportation. As I type this, I'm in a motel in Flagstaff AZ, having arrived last night. I'll be boating the Grand Canyon for 2.5 weeks, then will continue west on Amtrak to LA, north on Amtrak to SF, then east on Amtrak to home.</p>

<p>The train ride from Ohio to Arizona was fantastic. Normally on a whitewater boating trip, I'm eating Burger King food in the car while trying to make miles. On the Amtrak train, the first night out I had duck for supper, while watching the scenery go by, and chatting with other diners.</p>

<p>EDIT: By the way, Flagstaff is a very busy point on the train routes! They pass east and west all day and all night long here, by my motel. Also, I'm pretty sure the Amtrak train I rode on had electronic anti-lock braking. I took photos of the wheel at a stop, and it had a tone ring (toothed wheel) and a sensor. I can't think of any other function for that part.</p>

Doug, that's awesome! I would love to take a trip like that! Someday, I want to take a train trip across the country. It sounds like you're having a good time so far. I hope the rest of your trip goes just as well. That's so cool that you're actually posting this while you're on your trip! Modern technology is amazing, isn't it?

 

Please tell me you're taking a lot of pictures too!

<p>Fred Eaglesmith Likes trans too:<br>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG6HK4tkG5k&feature=fvwrel</p>

<p>Hi Chris,</p>

<p>I'm taking photos, and drawing, and taking notes.</p>

<p>I can only post my digital photos and drawings. I've shot 4 rolls through the Widelux so far, and a roll through a 6x9cm Zeiss Ikonta folder. I've packed 2 medium-format cameras (the Zeiss and a Ciro-Flex), 2 35mm cameras (Olympus XA and Argus C3), my Widelux and a digi-cam that's submersible to 10'. I can mount the digi-cam on my helmet for video. And a Nikonos. Plus a small solar charger.</p>

<p>Oddly, I'm finding my drawing skills (rough as they are) are handy, because the train is constantly moving. So especially in low light, drawing has some real advantages. My favorite drawing is a woman asleep. I'm drawing on waterproof drawing paper, so I can have the sketchpad with me even in rapids. The paper actually has a great feel to in when drawing.</p>

<p>Here's an album of what I've got so far. Once I hit the Canyon, that will be it for a while... no Wifi in there.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1697664609825.80663.1484164925&l=a5b13f9c8c">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1697664609825.80663.1484164925&l=a5b13f9c8c</a></p>

Thanks for posting and I think you and Peter nailed it.. The fun lies in the user interface , the experience! Not in achieving your goal/destination. Here in Europe trains are a daily experience for me! I loved taking the express from Neuss to Cologne.

Just one stop! The Cologne train station is huge! Now I'm running from Duesseldorf to Krefeld but due to my location no express trains, but the scenery is great a thirty minute ride one way! I loved the lamps on the platform they appeared somewhat Victorian in appearance!

<p>Great shots with the vintage equipment. And yes, count me in as a "foamer". 35 years sitting by railroad tracks all over the US and Canada.<br>

BTW, did I hear someone mention the Erie-Lackawanna. Thought so.<br>

A pair of E-L "Bi-Centennial" General Motors (EMD) products pose for a Kodachrome at Secaucus, N.J. back in 1975. </p>

 

<p>Great shots with the vintage equipment. And yes, count me in as a "foamer". 35 years sitting by railroad tracks all over the US and Canada.<br>

BTW, did I hear someone mention the Erie-Lackawanna. Thought so.<br>

A pair of E-L "Bi-Centennial" General Motors (EMD) products pose for a Kodachrome at Secaucus, N.J. back in 1975. </p>

 

<p> Well, I'll try this again................</p>

<p>Royal Hudson, Banff Alberta Canada.<br>

Taken with a Super Ikonta C, which is older than the old Hudson.<br>

<img src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa19/literiter/Train-SIC-unc-2.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I made a mistake...big mistake. I am in big trouble. This is NOT the "Royal Hudson", Sorry.<br>

"Steaming out of the past comes CP 2816 Empress steam locomotive<em>.</em> The resurrected locomotive 2816 re-entered active service in 2001 as a roving ambassador for Canadian Pacific. The CP Empress is now a significant component of our <a href="http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/Community/Programs/">Community Connect</a> program. <br>

CP's 2816 is a class H1b Hudson type locomotive built by Montreal Locomotive Works in December 1930. The CP Empress is now the only surviving H1b Hudson and is one of only a handful of preserved and operating CPR steam locomotives in North America."<br>

http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/Steam+Train/default.htm<br>

As well, the engine was built in 1930, whereas my Super Ikonta was Manufactured in 1939.......ooooops!</p>

 

Well, the camera is only <i>slightly</i> newer than the locomotive :) <p>

 

Several years ago, I had a chance to ride on a train that was pulled by a restored steam locomotive...Santa Fe Railroad locomotive 3751. It was something I'll never forget. I was a board member of the historical society for a while, and we got to ride the train from San Bernardino to Los Angeles. They had a computer with a GPS in the passenger car I was in, and at one point we reached speeds over 70 MPH. It was running on what is now the line that the Metrolink passenger trains use (a former Santa Fe line) and part of it runs right through the middle of a freeway. I would have loved to see the look on peoples' faces when a steam train kept up with them...and PASSED them!