June 6, 2018 – As the last light of dusk fades from the sky…


June 6, 2018 – As the last light of dusk fades from the sky, Indiana Southern Railroad 3052 leads local PL-2 south through Elberfeld, Indiana as it heads to Evansville for interchange work with CSX.

According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Southern Railroad (reporting mark ISRR) is a short line or Class III railroad operating in the United States state of Indiana. It began operations in 1992 as a RailTex property, and was acquired by RailAmerica in 2000. RailAmerica was itself acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in December 2012.

Indiana Southern Railroad operates 176 miles of track from Indianapolis to Evansville. From Mars Hill (a neighborhood on the southwest side of Indianapolis) southwest through Martinsville and Spencer to Bee Hunter in Greene County, the ISRR runs on tracks that once made up the majority of the former Indianapolis & Vincennes Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. State Route 67 parallels the ISRR along much of this section. From Bee Hunter to Elnora, the ISRR has trackage rights over the Indiana Rail Road. ISRR tracks resume from Elnora through Petersburg before terminating in Evansville, IN along the former New York Central’s Evansville & Indianapolis Branch.

The railroad’s traffic comes mainly from coal and grain products, including corn and soybeans. The ISRR hauled around 70,000 carloads in 2008. It also is supplying coal to the Edwardsport power plant since 2012. There are around 2 trains per week supplying it with coal and carrying byproducts from the plant. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #isrr #indianasouthernrailroad

June 16, 2018 – Day 228 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Hot Summer Day

June 16, 2018 – Day 228 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Hot Summer Day – Today my sister and I went to the W.C. Handy Blues and BBQ Festival in Henderson, Ky and although I shot a lot of pictures of the performers but, I still keep coming back to this photograph I shot of kids enjoying the spray park along the Ohio River. The music was great, but this picture wins the prize for my daily challenge.

June 15, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 8163 leads 70Q Extra…

June 15, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 8163 leads 70Q Extra (East Mt. Carmel, IN (Duke Energy) – East Mt. Carmel, IN (Sunrise Coal), as it arrives at the Load out in East Carmel, Indiana to pick-up a load at the newly located load-out. This is a new train that only has to travel a few miles from Duke Energy to load at the new facility. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #coaltrain #nsrailway

June 15, 2018 – Day 227 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Cat Ears

June 15, 2018 – Day 227 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Cat Ears – Today Elaina’s mamaw bought her a set of cat ears while they were at the store and when I asked her if I could take a picture of her new ears she said yes, with Tabatha! Sometimes when you want a photo of a little one in your life, it’s easier to ask them to take a picture of something they’re doing, wearing or have! Especially when they’re not in the mood for having their picture taken, you must be tricky! LOL

June 6, 2018 – I think this shot is a good example…

June 6, 2018 – I think this shot is a good example of how sometimes it’s worth turning around an getting a going away shot! Norfolk Southern 167 (Granite City, IL-Danville, KY) heads downgrade at Hatfield Junction with several flats of CAT Dozers, as it heads east on the NS Southern-East District at Oakland City, Indiana with NS 9237 leading the way. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway

June 14, 2018 – Day 226 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Princess

June 14, 2018 – Day 226 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Princess – I had to work to get this photograph today! My niece Elaina was in a goof off crazy mood and wanted to do the silly face thing, or not look at the camera at all. I wanted a more serious portrait however and with persistence I was able to capture this moment. If you know what you want in your mind’s eye, be persistent and you’ll capture it!

Meeting up with fellow railfans from Facebook

From left, Jim, Javid and Ryan waiting to shoot some street running action at La Grange, Ky – Photo by Adam Hill

This past weekend my good friend Ryan Scott from the Ft. Branch, Indiana area and I set-out on a day-long trip to photograph trains between Princeton, Indiana and what started out to be Louisville, Ky, but turned out to be La Grange, Ky. Our plan was to meet up with a fellow railfan friend of ours from Facebook, Javid Beykzadeh. Little did I realize that I’d end up meeting several more friends from Facebook while we were at it including, Adam Hill, Josh Kellerman, and Erik Landrum. 

The railfanning community is actually fairly large, if you take in the world and that’s pretty much what Facebook does for us. I have friends who are railfans from pretty much all over the world and it’s always cool to meetup in person in our travels in search of that perfect train picture!

All my family already know my obsession with trains and photographing them whenever I can. Even, my nieces and nephews know about my love for trains, and I hope that I’m passing some of that onto them, but I digress.

As railfan trips go, this was a really good one with Ryan and I photographing 5 different railroads before the day was over. Evansville Western Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Southern Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. As day road trips go for me railfanning, this was a really good one!

Some of our group photographing Southbound with BNSF War Bonnet 791 at La Grange, Ky, – Photo by Jim Pearson

 

Other favorite photos of mine from our day-long trip are posted below.

June 9, 2018 – There’s just something about the lure of street running trains and when you throw in a BNSF War Bonnet, well, it makes it even better. Here we have a southbound CSX Q231-08 as begins to make it’s way through downtown La Grange toward Louisville, Ky.

June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District. This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years.

June 9, 2018 – Here we find a crew getting NS Heritage 8099, Southern Unit, ready for pickup by an, Duke Energy coal train, at the NS Yard Office in Princeton, Indiana, after storms passed through the area. We got lots of great photographs, which you’ll see over the days to come and also met-up with several fellow railfans in person that we’ve been friends with on Facebook for sometime!

June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District. This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years.

 

June 6, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 167 (Granite City, IL-Louisville, KY) crests the hill…

June 6, 2018 – Norfolk Southern 167 (Granite City, IL-Louisville, KY) crests the hill leading up to the west end of Hatfield Junction with several flats of CAT Dozers, as it heads east on the NS Southern-East District at Oakland City, Indiana with NS 9237 leading the way, as the last light of the day begins to fade. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway

June 13, 2018 – Day 226 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Shadow Climber

June 13, 2018 – Day 226 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Shadow Climber – We made a stop by the riverfront park in Owensboro, Ky today so Damion and Elaina so get in a little play time after we picked up some stuff and had lunch. Damion was starting his climb up this ladder set to where I was, and I loved the design of him and his shadow, coupled with the background of the play area! Shapes, designs and shadows can make for interesting photos! Keep an eye out for how you can incorporate them into your pictures!

June 9, 2018 – Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099 is illuminated from behind…

June 9, 2018 – Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099 is illuminated from behind by a coal train working behind it at the NS Yard in Princeton Indiana as a light fog rolls through the area.

While I usually try to shoot my night photographs using a tripod with a low ISO, this shot was a handheld one, shot with a Nikon D800, using a 50mm f/1.4 lens at 1/160th at ISO 4,000. The bright red light comes from the FRED (flashing rear-end device) on the end of another train.

When shooting handheld with a high ISO like this at night, I find I get best results if I shoot at my widest f/stop and keep the camera on fast frame rate. Also, brace yourself, take a deep breath, let it out about halfway, hold it an then fire the shutter. Of course a stationary subject helps as well, but blurs can work as well if you have to go with a slower shutterspeed. Give it a try either way! If you don’t shoot, you won’t have anything for sure and the more you do it, the better you’ll get with shooting at night. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #norfolksouthernrailway #heritageunits

June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” at Jefferson Township, Indiana

June 9, 2018 Norfolk Southern Heritage Unit 8099, “Southern” passes the signal at milepost 209.8, at Jefferson Township, Indiana, as it makes its way west on the NS Southern-East District.

This scheme is from the Southern Railway (GE) which originated as the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1827. On Christmas Day, 1830, it put into service the nation’s first regularly scheduled steam passenger train, “The Best Friend of Charleston.” Southern was incorporated in 1894 from the reorganization and consolidation of numerous predecessors, and absorbed another 68 railroad companies over the next six years. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #norfolksouthern #nsheritageunit

June 11, 2018 – Day 224 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – My Seat

June 11, 2018 – Day 224 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – My Seat – Usually when I get up from my home office chair (two more in the room by the way) my niece Elaina makes a bee-line to it while I’m gone. It’s developed into a nice moment where she loves for me to complain and whine about how she’s stole my chair again! That and a little bit of tickling after awhile will get her out of it! Photograph those special moments between you and the young ones in your life, we all have them!

Technical information on how I shot this photo of Norfolk Southern’s 8099 Southern Heritage Unit at Princeton, Indiana

June 9, 2018 – Here we find a crew getting NS Heritage 8099, Southern Unit, ready for pickup by an, Duke Energy coal train, at the NS Yard Office in Princeton, Indiana, after storms passed through the area.

Today I’m going to break down the technical information on how I shot this photo of Norfolk Southern’s 8099 Southern Heritage Unit at Princeton, Indiana.

Here’s the technical info on the picture: Nikon 800, full frame camera with a Nikon 18mm f/2.8 lens. Exposure was ISO 200, f/2.8 at 6 seconds as a RAW file with Auto White balance and by default I underexpose my photos by a -.7 exposure. I find this helps me recover the highlights in the picture.

Now, my thoughts… Of course, the photo was shot on a tripod, thanks to Ryan Scott as I forgot to put mine back into my new RAV 4 before the trip. If you’re out shooting after dark, you really need to use a tripod for best results. You can brace your camera on a wall, or something stationary and get acceptable results, but for the best results, use a tripod.

When shooting at night I always set the mirror to lock-up before shooting the photo to help cut down with camera shake and set the self-timer to 3 seconds, so my hands are off the camera when the exposure is made. You can use a remote type device as well, but I find the self-timer works well for me.

Next, take your camera off Auto ISO! If you’re working on a tripod at night, you don’t need the high ISO and by setting it to manual, say around 200-400 ISO you’ll get a lot less noise (grain) in your photograph.

Exposure: I usually set my f/stop to the widest opening, ie: f/2.8 in this photo. If you’re planning on stopping down, I’d keep it at about f/5.6-8. That’s my preference anyway. Shutter speed is always going to depend on the light, but I’d start out at about 10 seconds, shoot a shot and then check your preview. If your photo is too dark, increase your exposure, not your ISO, unless you absolutely have to. If it’s too light and washed out, then shorten your exposure.

White Balance… I shoot everything with auto white balance turned on. This helps me in the RAW plugin to correct the off-color lighting of the yard lights, street lights, etc. best. At least it does for me. The lights to the left of this photo put out a bright orange light, so much so that I find it unsuitable for my taste.

We all have our own idea of how we want our final photograph to look and I’m no exception. I’m to the point these days that when I’m shooting a picture, day or night, I have a preconceived idea of how I want the final picture to look when I’m done processing.

Finding standing water to reflect your subject in will always add impact to your image, but sometimes that’s not an option, so look for other things that can help add impact. However, as an early mentor in my life told me about things in your photo, if it doesn’t contribute to what you want your picture to say, then eliminate it by changing your focal length or camera position. Try your best to shoot the photo in the camera the way you want your final image to look so you don’t have to do any cropping.

Any other questions just post them in the comments!

June 7 – 10, 2018 iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge Pictures

June 10, 2018 – Day 223 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Birdhouse Library – I’m so glad that all our kids enjoy books! Today after church we stopped by the church’s Birdhouse Library, where grandma Jeanne explained to the five of them how it works, before they each picked a book to take home!

June 9, 2018 – Day 222 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Sunset Rails – I’ve passed this spot for several years just of Indiana 64 and never realized it was there till a friend posted a train picture from here. This was yesterday during a railfan trip and even though I didn’t catch a train while we were here this trip, it’s only a matter of time! Besides, who says you always need a train??

June 8, 2018 – Day 221 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Our Elaina – My niece Elaina decided to try out my yard work protective glasses this afternoon and of course I decided to try out my camera on the iPhone!! Such a card!!

June 7, 2018 – Day 220 – iPhone 7 Plus Daily B/W Photo Challenge – Our Artist – My niece Elaina concentrates as she works on a drawing with her new stuffed toy she’s named “Softie!” Be sure to capture the young ones in your family doing the things that they love!

June 9, 2018 – There’s just something about the lure of street running trains…

June 9, 2018 – There’s just something about the lure of street running trains and when you throw in a BNSF War Bonnet, well, it makes it even better. Here we have a southbound CSX Q231-08 as begins to make it’s way through downtown La Grange toward Louisville, Ky. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad #bnsfrailway #bnsfwarbonnet

June 9, 2018 – I spent the day railfanning with good friend Ryan Scott…

June 9, 2018 – I spent the day railfanning with good friend Ryan Scott between Princeton, Indiana and La Grange, Ky and this is perhaps my favorite shot from the trip, which was one of the last shots of the day!

Here we find a crew getting NS Heritage 8099, Southern Unit, ready for pickup by an, Duke Energy coal train, at the NS Yard Office in Princeton, Indiana, after storms passed through the area.

We got lots of great photographs, which you’ll see over the days to come and also met-up with several fellow railfans in person that we’ve been friends with on Facebook for sometime! A big shout out to Javid Beykzadeh for helping with our journey around Louisville and La Grange and other fellow railfans Adam Hill, Erik Landrum, Josh Kellerman that were at La Grange, Ky when we all caught the CSX Q231-08 with BNSF 791 Warbonnet street running through there. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #nsrailway #norfolksouthern #nsheritageunit

June 6, 2018 – CSX P902-05 passes through Nortonville, Ky

June 6, 2018 – CSX P902-05 passes through Nortonville, Ky as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision with CSXT 9999, 9992, Kentucky Car, Indiana Car, Baltimore Car and New York Car as it’s train. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad #passengertrain #businesstrain #csxbusinesstrain

June 6, 2018 – Getting back into my newspaper days…

June 6, 2018 – Getting back into my newspaper days I caught CSX Q029-06 that was delayed at Crofton, Ky, on the Henderson Subdivision, as police removed 4 trespassers and two dogs from the train. Reports are that they boarded the train as it was stopped at Romney, Ky and someone reported it to CSX which stopped the train at Crofton where the conductor met a Christian County Sheriff and 8-9 other law enforcement, for a slow roll-by till they found them.

The “Hobos” were pretty surprised to see all the police presence, but a group of about 8-10 county and Hopkinsville City police were having lunch at the Crofton Diner next to the track when the call came over the radio and responded in force! They were removed from the train and sent on their way with a warning. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #csx #csxrailroad

I’m honored to find out that my photo…

I’m honored to find out that my photo of Chicago’s Tower 18 Interlocking has been has been selected as the First Place Winner in the 2017-2018 National Railroad Hall of Fame Photography Contest! If you make it to Galesburg Illinois for the Railroad Days Festival (June 23-24) stop by the public exhibition drop by and check out all the photographs in the exhibit!

March 23, 2018 – Three “L” Rapid transit trains pass through tower 18 junction, just down from the Chicago Transit Authority’s Clark/Lake Street Station, during the evening rush hour in Chicago, Illinois. For decades, the Tower 18 junction at Lake & Wells was billed as the busiest railroad junction in the world. – #jimstrainphotos #illinoisrailroads #trains#nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways#railway #cta #commutertrains.

Norfolk Southern Railway’s Geometry Train “The Brick” at Huntingburg, Indiana

June 6, 2018 – The warm light of the setting sun illuminates the scene, at the eastern end of the yard at Huntingburg, Indiana, as westbound Autorack NS 276 passes Norfolk Southern Railway’s Geometry Train platform #38, commonly known as “The Brick” as it tests the siding.

Light from the bottom of the cars on the geometry train take a digital profile of the track which is used for maintenance and upgrades.

The NS Research platform 38 “The Brick” was rebuilt using the frame and trucks of former NS/NW EMD SD40 1620. It contains sensing and measuring equipment to record track geometry and rail profile (rail wear), as well as the power supply for itself and NS Research car. The Research 36 car contains the recording and processing equipment for the data supplied by NS 38. Here it’s being pulled by NS 9272 as it does its testing on the NS Southern-East District. – #jimstrainphotos #indianarailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #ns #nsrailway #norfolksouthernrailway