Railroads: Locomotives, Bridges & More
December 29, 2013
December 23, 2013
December 12, 2013
Further Exploration of Photos of Tracks (II)
My posts for today take me back to the location where I took the first track photo0s that I posted on November 12 which began this discussion of tracks and the viewpoint from which they are taken and the difference between color and black and white photos of the same set of tracks.
The Norfolk Southern rail line from Harrisonburg to Elkton has a mid-point at about McGaheysville, VA, USA. Since that is where the original photos were taken, I stopped there again on December 16 and some more photos with my camera down closer to the tracks. I do like how this suggestion by Holden Byler (our son-in-law) turned out. The first photo is looking west toward Harrisonburg and is followed by a black-and-white version of the same photo.
Norfolk Southern Tracks (Looking West toward Harrisonburg, VA, USA) (16-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
B&W Version of the Norfolk Southern Tracks (Looking toward Harrisonburg) (16-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Then from the same railroad crossing, I looked east toward Elkton and took photos of the tracks as they bent slightly to the left. And below the color photo is a black-and-white version.
Norfolk Southern Tracks (Looking East toward Elkton, VA, USA) (16-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
B&W Version of Norfolk Southern Tracks (Looking toward Elkton) (16-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
As Holden and I discussed these photos, we noted that black-and-white versions look more antique and sometimes minimize the busyness of the captured scenes. The color photos sometimes can add detail that enhances the scenes, e.g., to me the bare deciduous tree in front of some evergreen trees to the left of the track in the second pair of photos adds more interest in the color photo than it does in the blackk-and-white version.
So what do you think?
December 23, 2013
Further Exploration of Photos of Tracks (I)
Back on December 12, I posted three photos of train tracks and a train on a parallel track on the left-side of the photos. Here are some more of my ruminations about this.
First of all, here are some brief reactions I had to each photo.
First Photo: No symmetry and photo taken low near the tracks.
Asymmetry in a photo usually stimulates my interest and, in this case makes me search the photo to see what points of interest I can find. This does work in this photo except that the track looks twisted near the bottom of the photo.
Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (I) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Second Photo: Track provides symmetry dividing photo in half and photo taken low near the tracks.
What is most interesting to me is that this high symmetry actually is very appealing to me. I give our son-in-law, Holden Byler, credit for suggesting this type of approach. But this symmetry seems well-balances with the asymmetry provides by the train on the left and the piles of building materials on the right. Overall, this is my favorite of the three photos.
Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (II) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Third Photo: No symmetry and photo taken high above the tracks.
I took this photo about eye-height above the track, i.e., about 5 feet (1.5 m) high. Notice how the track without any cars on it now is not one of the dominant feature of the photo. In fact to my eye, the train is now the main feature with the empty track being a complimentary feature in the photo. And it comes off as a pleasing photo of a train.
Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (III) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
B & W Photos
Holden subsequently proposed that I try this color photos as black-and-white (grayscale) photos, so I did. He thought it might downplay some of the busyness of the photos of the empty track due to the train on the left and the piles of building material s on the right. So take a look, and form your own opinion.
B&W Version of Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (I) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
B&W Version of Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (II) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
B&W Version of Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (III) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
I really like the second and third black-and-white versions of these photos. Interestingly, they give a sort of "old-timey" nature to the photos. What else do you all see?
It was good to interact with extended Bowman family members during a Christmas gathering in Landisville, PA (near Lancaster) on Sunday. One of our nephews-in-law, Kent Miller, is a commercial photographer living in New York City. He had recently acquired a Leica M Monochrom, which shots only black-and-white photos, and he is quite sold on the quality of B&W photos. So I had a good time conversing with him on the recent interest in B&W photography among photographers and It was a lot of fun.
So you decide and then share your choice and supporting reasons with us.
December 12, 2013
Exploring More Tracks, More Moving Stock, and More Engines
In has been almost a month since I have posted new train photos, so by now I have 17 new ones. I'll group these into a few categories, but I have found all of them fun to work with.
Take a Long Look at These Tracks!
I have had a bit of conversation with our son-in-law, Holden Byler (whom I think is a much better photographer than I am), about what is more artistic when taking photos of tracks. Now each of you get to give you opinions, too. Which of the three shots below do you like best, and please tell me why. They were each taken within a minute or so of each other and from nearly the same spot--the railroad intersection on W. Bruce St, Harrisonburg, VA, USA, almost mid-way between Va-42 and US-11 highways. I am looking south toward the area near R. S. Monger & Sons, Inc.
Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (I) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (II) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Norfolk Southern Train and Tracks (Looking South), Harrisonburg, VA, USA (III) (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Next time I'll discuss these three some more and try to identify what makes each one a bit differetn.
Engine NS 9084 Shuttle Some Cars Around
I am always on the lookout to see what new Norfolk Southern locomotives I can see. For this posting it is engine NS 9-84. By referencing the "Norfolk Southern Diesel Locomotive Roster" maintained by Chris Toth, one can discover that this is GE Dash 9-40CW built in 03-1997.
Locomotive NS 9084, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
NS 9084 was shuttling cars around to build a train the day I took these photos (December 4), so I even caught two men manually changing the switches and checking to see that the cars hooked together correctly..
Close-up of Crew Men Boarding the NS 9084 Locomotive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Crew Men Getting into the Cap of the NS 9084 Locomotive, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (4-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
I'm sure I have not see all of the thousands of Norfolk Southern locomotives yet, so I'll keep looking.
Get Up Close to This Rolling Stock
One type of railroad car that I had not noticed before was being unloaded near the former Rockingham Milling Co., Inc. building. The car is a TTX centerbeam flat car run under the number TTZX 855062. The RR Picture Archives has photos of 855061 and 8554063 but not the one below.
Centerbeam Flat Car at Former Rockingham Milling Co., Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Centerbeam Flat Car Partially Unloaded, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Centerbeam Flat Car Being Unloaded, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Empty Centerbeam Flat Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (3-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Close-up of Centerbeam Flat Car Number, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (3-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Close-up of TTX Logo on Centerbeam Flat Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (3-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
According to the TTX Company, centerbeam flat cars (first made in the late 1960's) are specifically designed to now transport mainly bundled building supplies such as dimensional lumber, plywood and similar materials. From the pictures above, this design makes loading and unloading very easy.
Take a Look at Even More Rolling StockAround Harrisonburg, grain cars (covered hopperss) are very common with several feed mills being in the area to supply all of the surrounding farms with feed for their poultry and livestock. The one below (ALHX 1411) belongs to All Capital Rail Management LLC. This particular car was spotted in Indiana, USA, in 2011.
Covered Hopper (Grain) Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
On railroad cars, the wheel assemblies are referred to as "trucks." Below is a close-up of one of the trucks on the covered hopper above. For more details on freight car trucks from 1900 to 1960, see this article.
Close-up of One of the Trucks of the Covered Hopper Car, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
Covered Hopper Car Showing Its Number, Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
While regular flat cars may carry all kinds of cargo, below they are bearers of large diameter steel pipes. PTTX is another mark of the TTX Company. I was not able to find any other photo of this particular flat car, so I do not know its history.
A Pipe-carrying Flat Car , Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
A Close-up of the Pipe-carrying Flat Car , Harrisonburg, VA, USA (2-Dec-13; © Richard L. Bowman)
So the wonderful search for more and different locomotives and rolling stock goes on!
--©2013, Richard L. Bowman
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