Re: Trains Magazine

I got quite a surprise yesterday, Roger & Jerry -

Youse guys obviously knew that Trains would be using your recent photos, but I had no idea that Jim was going to re-print the article I did for him a couple of years ago – including the two-page vertical centerfold featuring movie starlet #483.  Since I mentioned a few photos in my write-up of that brief day-and-a-half adventure back in 1968 (sunrise on August 28 thru sunset on August 29) that were not printed with the article, I'll take advantage of this chance to complete the story.  All of them have been posted on the NGDF previously, but these are from more recent and much sharper scans that were carefully optimized for publication.

The first one mentioned – and one of the first taken that morning – is of #483 backing off the roundhouse lead, silhouetted against a beautiful sunrise as the mists rising from the previous night's heavy rain partially hide Mount Blanca:


This next one was taken just a few miles south of Alamosa, early on the first day when I somehow managed to get around the pack of chasers and far enough ahead of the double-header to set up at a minor grade crossing.  IIRC, that's Olaf Rasmussen in the VW outrunning the (relatively) fast-moving train:


Prior to the "centerfold" mentioned above and the subsequent going-away shot with the brakeman on the car-tops (top right on page 10, which Olaf – who was shooting over my shoulder – caught in his movie), I got this one of the crew servicing the engines during their lunch stop at Sublette.  IIRC, that's Road Foreman of Engines Jim Pearce giving #483 a drink while fireman Gayle Cunningham oils around, and engineer Lee Otteson tending to #484:


Another photo mentioned in my write-up, but not quite sharp enough to meet Trains rigorous standards for publication, is this long telephoto shot of the westbound train arriving at Cumbres.  If you look closely you can see the survey stakes for the new highway, and a bulldozer working in the background:


Also mentioned in the article, but not printed with it, is my lifetime favorite photo.  Shot almost directly into the sun with a mid-range camera using slow film, it doesn't have near the range that modern digital cameras can capture, but I've always thought of it as "The Last REAL Freight":


BTW, all seven of the photos that appear in the new Trains special – and those above – were taken with a Pentax H3v camera with a non-integrated light meter clipped to the viewfinder (I had to read the meter, and then manually set the speed and f-stop accordingly), using either an f-1.4 50mm "normal" lens or an f-4.5 70-150mm Pentax zoom.  IIRC, Kodachrome 25 was available by then (late August, 1968), but I don't remember for sure.

- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2020 08:51PM by Russo Loco.