Got Steam? The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad's recently-restored C&O Locomotive #1309 certainly does. At times, it has all you can handle and more. In this scene, a Brakeman uses lantern signals to direct a freight move in the yard at the Western Maryland Station in Cumberland. With the cylinder cocks open on 2 sets of cylinders and the dynamo and air pump all running, steam is everywhere on this machine, silhouetting our Brakeman and probably soaking those cotton denims he's wearing. He's going to be a cold dude when that engine pulls away.
This scene was captured at a night photo session, during a February, 2023 photo charter organized by Lerro Photography and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Daylight-balanced LED lamps were used to light the scene, throwing so much light on the elements, that I pretty much threw my tripod away. Although I brought it with me, I quickly set it aside and never ended up using it even once. Using the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 S lens, and the Nikon Z9 body, I was able to shoot these scenes at ISOs ranging from 1600-4000, and shutter speeds in the 1/25th-1/30th range. The result was nice, crispy steam vs. the messy, blurry look that has been the hallmark of night photos for a long time. I personally prefer this look and I think that with the sensor and lens technologies that are becoming available now, tripods just get in the way of creativity and make it harder for everyone to get the most out of the event.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
