Jim Pearson Photography – Page 7

The 1880 Train, Black Hills Central Railroad locomotive crew on 108 performs a blow down

The 1880 Train, Black Hills Central Railroad locomotive crew on 108 performs a blow down on the engine as they arrive back at Hill City, SD on May 30th, 2022, under stormy skies.

A Blowdown, where the left and right blow down valves, located at the lowest portion of the firebox sides (mud ring), are opened to blow out mineral sediments in the boiler water. Addition of various chemicals in the tender water is designed to keep the sediments (mud, etc.) from sticking to the internal steel components of the firebox/boiler. On a regular basis, those “settled” sediments need to blown out at safe locations on the railroad. Thus, the locomotives are being “blown down”.

According to their website: Locomotive #108 joined its nearly identical twin, #110, at the beginning of the 2020 season following a four-year restoration. It is a 2-6-6-2T articulated tank engine that was built by the Baldwin Locomotives Works in 1926 for the Potlatch Lumber Company. It later made its way to Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and eventually to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington.

The acquisition and subsequent restoration of locomotive #108 completed a more than 20-year goal of increasing passenger capacity which began with the restoration of #110 and the restoration of multiple passenger cars. Both large Mallet locomotives (pronounced Malley) can pull a full train of seven authentically restored passenger cars, up from the four cars utilized prior to their addition to the roster.

Tech Info: iPhone 13 Pro Max, 5.7mm, f/1.5, 1/1147, ISO 50.

The Black Hills Central Railway locomotive 108 heads through the countryside

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 cant 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 railfanning with me!

According to their website: Locomotive #108 joined its nearly identical twin, #110, at the beginning of the 2020 season following a four-year restoration. It is a 2-6-6-2T articulated tank engine that was built by the Baldwin Locomotives Works in 1926 for the Potlatch Lumber Company. It later made its way to Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and eventually to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington.

The acquisition and subsequent restoration of locomotive #108 completed a more than 20-year goal of increasing passenger capacity which began with the restoration of #110 and the restoration of multiple passenger cars. Both large Mallet locomotives (pronounced Malley) can pull a full train of seven authentically restored passenger cars, up from the four cars utilized prior to their addition to the roster.

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Nikon 10-24mm @ 13mm, f/3.8, 1/400, ISO 250.

Film Wednesday – 1993 – Today’s slide scans are from a trip I took on The Budapest Children’s Railway

Film Wednesday – 1993 – Today’s slide scans are from a trip I took on The Budapest Children’s Railway, which spans approximately 11 kilometers, winding its way through the picturesque Buda Hills in Hungry.

According to their website, Children’s Railway, Budapest is one of Budapest’s most unique attractions. Like any other railway, it has ticket offices, diesel locomotives, signals, switches and a timetable. Unlike other railways though, this one is run by children. The line stretches among the Buda hills from Széchenyihegy to Hűvösvölgy, crossing the Cogwheel Railway and serving Normafa as well as the highest point of Budapest: Jánoshegy.

The lookout towers, forest playgrounds, places of pilgrimage and other attractions lie close to the stations, making the Children’s Railway the ideal jumping-off point for a half-day trip even for families, friends, groups or lone travelers.

A steam locomotive also operates on selected days. The journey is a special experience for train-loving adults and children alike. If you’d like to find out more visit their website at: https://gyermekvasut.hu/en/home/

These scanned slides were where shot while I was deployed during (from Wikipedia) “Operation Deny Flight which was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Also from Wikipedia: We were also part of “Operation Provide Hope which was a humanitarian operation conducted by the U.S. Air Force starting in 1992 to provide medical equipment to former Soviet republics during their transition to freedom from the USSR until 1994.

For 6-months of this operation I was the photo editor for a Combat Camera team that worked out of Aviano, Italy covering both operations. On the weekends, our schedules allowed us some time to travel and on my days off I traveled and today’s photos, along with many others.

Tech Info: Camera, Nikon F3, Ektachrome Slide Film, no other data recorded, Scanned with an PlusTek 82001i Film Scanner.

Film Wednesday: The Budapest Children’s Railway Loading