New Orleans

City of New Orleans crosses the Manchac Bridge

City of New Orleans crosses the Manchac Bridge

Sunset Limited crosses the Bayou des Allemands

The Crescent crosses Lake Ponchartrain

Scenery of the Sunset Limited

Scenery of the Sunset Limited

Good morning, Tucson

Night falls on Los Angeles

Veterans cabbage at San Clemente Pier

The Coast Starlight at Chatsworth

Pacific Surfliner at Chatsworth

Joe Cool

Paw patrol

Guarding the Coast Starlight

Along the Coast Starlight

Coast Starlight arrives in Oakland

Charger refueling at Oakland

New Charger approaches the station at Jack London Square

Portland station

No galloping allowed

Seattle blossoms

Rainy days in Steilacoom

A foggy beginning for the Coast Starlight

Night falls on Seattle

Rainy nights

You light up my life…

Take a seat…

Seattle's King Street station

Puget Sound from the Empire Builder

The photographer is photographed on the Empire Builder

Snowed in at the Izaak Walton Inn

Glacier Park

Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear

Two Empire Builders meet

Refueling the Empire Builder at Havre

Chicago Nights

Snow falls on the Keystone Corridor in Middletown

Another cloudy day as the Conrail heritage unit passes over the Rockville Bridge

I lived in Camp Hill for nearly a year, and I finally made it a point to take a photo of the old station…

Continuing off from the previous Never Ending Journey post, my road trip back from Atlanta led us to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where I heard that the Secret City Scenic would be ending operations. Sadly, their operating agreement was not renewed, and they would no longer be permitted to run trains. Since we were not far, we dropped in to see the final excursions, and snap a few photos.

The crew of the Secret City Scenic on their final day of operations

Zooming off into the sunset…

From Oak Ridge we headed up toward Cincinnati, making a quick stop in Lexington, and across the river from Ohio in Ludlow, to watch some more trains.

The "famous" skyline of Lexington, Kentucky

The Cincinnati Southern Bridge from the Kentucky side

The Cincinnati Southern Bridge from the Ohio side

Approaching the Cincinnati Southern Bridge to leave Ohio

Cincinnati Union Terminal at night

From Cincinnati we headed home, though we made a few quick stops in Columbus, Pittsburgh, and at Horseshoe Curve…

Sunset over the Scioto River in Columbus

The old train station building in Pittsburgh

Looking up – ceiling in the Pittsburgh train station

The Pennsylvanian eases onto the famed Horseshoe Curve

From there, we had little rest before heading out yet again on a trip for Norfolk Southern – this time to Norfolk. On the way back we caught some photos of the AEM-7 Farewell trip.

Norfolk Southern's coal loading facility in Norfolk

Farewell to the AEM-7

As you likely noticed, the AEM-7 photos were shot by drone, and I made it a point to try and use that darn thing as much as possible in 2016 – including a few flights over the farms of Pennsylvania, and even a flyover of Amtrak’s yards in Chicago.

Farm flyover in Pennsylvania

Flying over the yards in Chicago before sunset

Probably one of the most memorable trips I got a chance to go on, to get some photos to promote Amtrak’s engineering jobs, was to see Hell Gate Bridge up close and personal.

Of course, when you're waiting for an Amtrak train the first to show up is CSX

Climbing up the steel span of Hell Gate bridge

A unique trainwatching viewpoint

From there I headed up north to Albany to catch the Toys for Tots train, which included a rare opportunity to sleep overnight in the “President’s Office Car”, Beech Grove, as well as a look behind the scenes in the Rensselaer shops.

Checking out the Rensselaer shops

The Toys for Tots train at sunrise, about to leave Rensselaer

The Toys for Tots train arrives at Port Henry

Toys for Tots train somewhere in the forest – but google maps tells me it’s Keeseville

Now approaching the Canadian border… the Toys for Tots train prepares to return to Rensselaer

Also notable for the season was a wonderful trip to sunny Florida, some warm respite before the final move to Buffalo.

Amtrak's Silver Star arrives at Kissimmee

Behind the scenes of Disney World's steam trains

Disney World’s train station is designed to look like the old Saratoga Springs station in NY, then back to NYC and the new holiday lights on the Park Avenue Viaduct

A rare Christmas tree lighting at Buffalo Central Terminal

Well, that pretty much wraps up my year. Hopefully 2016 was good to all of you – bring on 2017!

Suffice it to say, it has been a whirlwind. In just a few months I’ve been to New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Diego, Indianapolis, Chicago, Lynchburg, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lexington, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh… the list goes on. In April I rode the Cardinal to Indianapolis, got a tour at Amtrak’s Beech Grove shops, before continuing on to Chicago on the Hoosier State. From there I went to Lake Forest to present at the Center for Railroad Photography and Art’s annual conference. After spending a few more days in Chicago – including a tour of the renovations happening in Union Station – I returned home via the Capitol Limited.

May included a trip to Washington DC, and then Atlanta, with various stops to chase 611 on the way down and visits to Lynchburg and Charlotte. On the way home after three weeks I headed north through Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio – including a stop to see the final runs of the Secret City excursion trains in Oak Ridge, a tour of Cincinnati Union Terminal, and time to fly a drone around Pittsburgh and Horseshoe Curve.

June led me to Norfolk, Virginia, and July will bring me back to Washington DC. To make a long story short, I feel like my camera and I are on a never ending journey – a journey that I can finally share with you.

The map indicates some of the larger cities that I’ve visited within the past few months. Red lines denote mileage traveled by train over the Keystone, Northeast Corridor, Pennsylvanian, Capitol Limited, Hoosier State, and Cardinal routes. Grey lines denote mileage traveled by car.

Many of my journeys now begin in Pennsylvania – and one favorite in the area that is hard to miss is the famous Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna, used by Norfolk Southern and the Amtrak Pennsylvanian.

It took me a while to work up the courage, but this is one of the first times I flew my drone over water. Here I fly over the Susquehanna River to capture five of the six bridges of Harrisburg proper – the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge (now in use by Norfolk Southern), the defunct Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge, Market Street Bridge, Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, and the Harvey Taylor Bridge.

An Acela to Washington arrives at Wilmington station, as I wait for a train heading in the opposite direction.

Getting a chance to tour many of Amtrak’s shops and facilities is always a treat – this is the Wilmington shops.

Too many of my work visits to Washington DC are marked by rainstorms – one night I decided to ignore the drizzle and capture the city.

Acela heavy lifting – this remote operated crane at the Ivy City shops just removed an air conditioning unit for repairs.

Touring the Beech Grove shops: Ever wonder how big the decals on the side of the Empire Service locomotives are? Approximately Emily-sized.

Empire Service locomotive #710 is painted at Amtrak’s Beech Grove shops.

Unfortunately I didn’t get much drone flying time at Beech Grove due to stormy weather.

The Great Hall at Chicago Union Station features a new information booth at the center.

Hey, I wonder where the trains are?

Behind the scenes view at Chicago Union Station – the former women’s lounge is set to be restored this year for use as an event space.

Me presenting at the Center for Railroad Photography and Art’s conference in Lake Forest, Illinois. The title of my presentation was “The Harlem Line and Beyond,” featuring my passenger rail photos from Metro-North and my journeys outward. Photo by Hank Koshollek.

Rainy, cold, and foggy. Sometimes that’s Chicago.

The diamond at Blue Island, and chasing 611 through the flowers

Train crosses the James River Trestle near Lynchburg

Amtrak’s Northeast Regional departs Lynchburg station

Freight cars lined up before the skyline of Charlotte

Sunset colors over the tracks in Charlotte, and the Norfolk Southern passes the Chick-Fil-A water tower in Atlanta

Heavy rains can limit photography, or make for nice puddle reflections the next day.

This old switch tower is one of the few remains of what once was Atlanta’s Terminal Station.

Always waiting for a train. Will it get here before it is too dark?

Not really… but hey, we can have a motion blur instead!

The heart of a busy southern city. One of the cliched spots for catching a sunset in Atlanta – this overpass is usually filled up with photographers around sunset.

The other cliched photo spot in Atlanta. Reflection off of Lake Clara Meer.

The Atlanta SkyView ferris wheel spins as a streetcar passes underneath.

Puppy, don’t fall off that kayak! Waiting for trains at Tenbridge in Chattanooga.

Sometimes you wade out into the Tennessee River to get a slightly different shot. Or because it was simply just hot!

Here feels like a good place to break – look for an upcoming Part 2 of the Never Ending Journey soon, featuring photos from Oak Ridge, Lexington, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and more!

In terms of night photography – or at least, what railfans tend to think about night photography – one usually uses artificial lights to illuminate a posed, unmoving train. Though it seems to be the en vogue thing to do these days, I see little reason to do so other than “because we can.” Most seem to do it for the novelty, or because all the “cool kids” are doing it. Many that take part look to evoke the work of O. Winston Link, arguably the best night railroad photographer ever (though Jack Delano, whose photographs I featured last week, was also an accomplished night photographer – it was never really his “claim to fame,” however). Unfortunately, most fall flat in their endeavor to “be like Link.” While I can see the merits of photographing steam trains at night (the lower light allows one to capture sweeping plumes of smoke from the engine), I see little reason to do it with modern trains. After dark I find it far more fun to capture not the train itself, but the train’s movement, and its environment.

Because of the low ambient light, long exposure photography allows one to record the movement of the train, rendered as blurs of light. In order to get a proper exposure, your camera shutter is open for longer – in some cases for 15 seconds or more (thus a stable resting place, preferably a tripod, is required). Done right, any moving object in the frame shows up as a blur, or a streak. Modern electric trains, like Metro-North’s M7s and M8s, with their shiny and smooth exteriors and LED lights lend themselves to this, becoming graceful blurs. Instead of artificial light, one uses the “natural” (or as natural as the light off a cityscape could be), and the intense colors of a sunset to evoke a completely different mood. Since I don’t really have a post lined up for this week, I figured I’d share some of my recent photographs taken at sunset, or at night… and maybe convince some of you that there is fun to be had after dark, far away from the now all too common “night photo sessions.”

The sun fades, and the colors of sunset slowly begin to appear on the Upper Harlem Line in Dover Plains.

An imposing graffiti-covered support for the Hell Gate Bridge at sunset.

 
Colorful skies over Metro-North stations in the Bronx – Tremont and Melrose.

The sun sets over the Hudson River, near New Hamburg.

 
Sunset over the Northeast Corridor, near Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut.

A pink sky over Amtrak’s Hell Gate Bridge.

The headlight of an M7 reflects against the waters of the Hudson River at Dobbs Ferry.

The fun part of later hour photography is the motion blur, like this shot at Melrose station…

…or this one at the Saugatuck River Bridge…

…and even this one at Harlem-125th Street.

The low-light of a subway system makes long-exposure photography easy, like these two examples on Chicago’s Blue Line.

While a tripod is best, a nice fence or support in which to rest your camera also works, as seen here on this Chicago L platform.

A Brown Line train and a ferry boat are just mere streaks of light as they pass over the Chicago River. In this instance, the camera’s shutter was open for 20 seconds.

Let the light of the city shine in the ultimate version of long exposure photography. In this case, the Chicago skyline. The tracks of the Ogilvie Transportation Center are just visible at right.

Though cameras were far less common in the past, there were many photographers that froze glimpses of what was then normal life. I’ve posted about the Depression-era photographers of the Farm Security Administration before – despite the name, the project yielded thousands of photos that had nothing to do with farms, but instead featured normal Americans living life – including two of the most iconic photographs of Grand Central Terminal. A similarly iconic photo of Chicago’s Union Station also came out of the project, captured by photographer Jack Delano. Delano’s railroad-specific work in the Chicago area is currently on display at the Chicago History Museum, which I recently got the chance to check out.

Portrait of photographer Jack Delano and a locomotive

Though I’m not a frequent visitor to Chicago, I had been to many of its museums (including the Museum of Science and Industry where the legendary Empire State Express #999 now lives). This was, however, my first visit to the Chicago History Museum. The museum provides an interesting look at the history of this unique city – from railroading, to the origins of atomic chain-reactions, and yes, even that cow that supposedly started that fire.

Within you’ll find well designed exhibits, and signs that not only encourage photography, but invite you to share your thoughts and snaps on social media. Jack Delano’s Homefront Photography, as the exhibit is called, depicts the life of railroaders in the Chicago area during World War II, as part of the federal government’s Office of War Information (successor to the aforementioned Farm Security Administration). Besides showing the hardworking men (and women) that kept the country running during the war, Delano’s photographs capture the waning years of steam railroading in the United States.

If you happen to be in the Chicago area between now and next year, the exhibit is worth checking out. For more information, visit the museum’s web page.

 
  
  
  
   
  
  

Born Yakov Ovcharov in Voroshylivka (then part of the Russian Empire, now part of Ukraine), Jack Delano emigrated to the United States with his family in 1923. Delano studied graphic arts, photography, and music, and was talented in all three disciplines. After graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he embarked on a photographic project documenting coal miners in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. With this portfolio, he applied for (and was accepted to) a job in the photography program of the Farm Security Administration. He remained in the program as the FSA was consolidated into the Office of War Information, where he captured railroads in the Chicago, Oklahoma, and California areas.

Below you’ll find a selection of some of my favorite Chicago-area Jack Delano railroad photographs, several of which were in the exhibit. Thousands of Delano’s photographs are available online to view at the Library of Congress, railroad and otherwise.

 
  
   
  
  
   
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
   
  
 

This time I thought it would be fun to take a tour of the country through railroad art. There are countless examples of awesome posters and ads, but these are some of my favorites. Perhaps it will even give you some ideas on places to travel this year.

Maybe a nice shorter trip will be in order? Cape Cod, New England, Atlantic City and even Washington DC are all possibilities. Artist Sascha Maurer designed for both the New Haven and the Pennsylvania Railroads. The New England and the Atlantic City art below was designed by Maurer. Ben Nason also designed an array of posters for the New Haven Railroad, including the Cape Cod poster below.

  
  

Maybe you’d like to travel to a different city, a litter further away? Maybe you should visit Cincinnati!

Despite the fact that I’m not a big fan of the Pennsy, you it is impossible to not love this poster by Mitchell Markovitz.

Chicago is always a lovely place to visit!
  

Did I say tour the country? I lied. Maybe a visit to Canada is in order?
 

Now who doesn’t love a nice trip to America’s National Parks, the Pacific Northwest, or even California? Maurice Logan, William and Kenneth Willmarth designed some of these lovely views of the western United States.
   
  
  

Maybe a nice jaunt to the southwest? Artists Don Perceval and Oscar Bryn created these lovely posters for the Santa Fe.
   

Are mountains more your thing? Austrian artist Gustav Krollmann worked on these lovely designs…
 

Oh forget it, let’s just go everywhere! The awesome Amtrak posters designed by illustrator David Klein in 1973 make me want to see the entire country. Klein has a large body of work that is travel-themed, stretched over his entire career. His most known works were for Trans World Airlines, but he also produced work for Holland America Cruises and travel website Orbitz. Klein’s undeniably gorgeous work made railroads once again appear glamorous, just as they were in yesteryear.

 
  

Now that we’ve traveled around the country through railroad art, are you planning to take a vacation to some interesting locale? Are you going to go by train? Let us know in the comments!

The famous 999, locomotive of the Empire State Express

Similar to the lovely etchings by the American Bank Note Company I shared with you a few weeks ago, (as well as the views of what some of the fancy railcars looked like), today’s little tour is comprised of more views of some lavish train cars, again illustrated by the American Bank Note Company. All of the images depict life on the Empire State Express in the early 1890’s, and they provide a lovely little tour of what trains were like in the golden era of railroading. So are you ready? Let’s go take a look at the Empire State Express.

The buffet car

Drawing-room car

No fancy train would be complete without a Buffet, smoking, and library car. This car featured movable easy chairs, couches, tables, a writing desk, and shelves filled with books and current newspapers. You’d also find a buffet, also stocked with with wines, liquors and cigars. At one end of the car there was even a shaving room with barber. A designated sleeping car had a saloon on one end, finished in mahogany. The plush chairs could be converted into double beds at night, with partitions for privacy. A compartment car had elegant private rooms with sliding doors, each with a lavatory, hot and cold water, and lit by a gas chandelier.

Compartment car

A Wagner Palace Sleeping Car

Not everyone could afford the fancier rooms on the train, and thus would find themself in the passenger coach. Seating a maximum of 76, the passenger coach had a bathroom at each end, one male and one female. Seats were richly upholstered with spring backs. Although not the height of elegance, compared to the private rooms on the train, the coach was still trimmed in mahogany and had large windows and gas chandeliers. On the flip side, for those well-to-do folks that had the money and weren’t afraid to flaunt it, there was also a private Wagner Palace car available. Able to accommodate 6 to 16 people, it featured a sleeping area, pantry, kitchen, and, of course, quarters for the servants.

Standard passenger coach

A Wagner Palace private car

One of the most important cars on the train was the dining car, which could serve up to 30 people at a time. It contained movable leather chairs, and there were five tables that could accommodate four people, and five more tables for couples. The kitchen contained all the newest appliances, and all meals were 1 dollar each. Finally, at the end of the train was an observation car. Similar to the drawing room car, it contained a parlor, smoking room, and bathrooms. The rear end of the car was paneled in glass, providing a lovely vantage point for the journey up the Hudson River and beyond.

The dining car

Observation car

The Empire State Express may be long gone, but the 999 engine is still “alive and well” – as anyone who has visited the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago certainly knows. The museum is definitely one of my favorites, and I always love to visit whenever I’m in the windy city. After leaving service the 999 traveled around the country for all to get a glimpse of it – even making an appearance on the Harlem Line at Chatham. The legendary locomotive finally arrived in Chicago in 1962, and a formal ceremony was held on September 25th where New York Central president Alfred Perlman presented the 999 to museum president Lenox Lohr.

Museum president Lenox Riley Lohr accepts the donated Empire State Express 999 from New York Central president Alfred Edward Perlman. Photograph from the December 1962 edition of the New York Central Headlight.

The 999’s first move to Chicago, after it was donated by the New York Central to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry in 1962. [image source]

Empire State Express 999 being moved inside at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. After arriving in 1962 the 999 was exhibited with two other trains outside the museum until 1993. The Pioneer Zephyr was also brought inside the museum a few years later. The final of the three, the million-pound Santa Fe locomotive 2903, was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum.

When I was in Chicago a few months ago I visited my old friend the 999. The “Queen of Speed” is doing quite well, and is visited by more than 1.48 million people a year. Although she’s not pulling the fancy railcars of yesteryear, she is at least well-loved at the museum.

 
  
   

In the few moments where the weather was nice, I did try and get out to take pictures. At one point I walked about a mile and a half to one of my favorite photographing spots in the city (shh… I’m not telling), only to have the clouds cover the sky again by the time I got there, making everything look like crap (or perhaps like my crappy photos of the Port Jervis line?). Even when the weather wasn’t against me, hipster winos were – two of the three days I was in town they rented out and locked up the Great Hall (I found this out too late). The Beaux Arts Great Hall at times seems at odds with the rest of the station, which other than a few attempts at Art Deco styling, is relative craphole and hardly photogenic. If I hadn’t gotten at least a few photos of the Great Hall when I first arrived I seriously would have cried. I guess Chicago is trying to tell me I need to get my ass back there again sometime soon.

Alas, here are a few of the semi-decent photos I took on my journey to Chicago. If you’re interested in seeing more train photography from Chicago, Tyler from I Ride the T has also visited the Windy city recently, and has a lovely set of photographs (and hopefully more to come soon!).

 
  
   
 
  
   
  
   
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
   
 
 
 

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPwXIAbPjM]

That is, of course, Chicago’s ‘L’, in a part of the city known as the Loop. The video spans about three hours – from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM on a Friday evening, capturing the trains as day turns into night.

In the coming weeks I’ll be posting photos of my journeys, mostly of the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis, but a few photos from Chicago as well… because every once and a while I do ride something other than the Harlem Line.

Hey everyone… I’m taking a little break from touring the Hudson line and heading out west… I’ll be visiting Minneapolis and Chicago, and riding part of the Empire Builder and the Lake Shore Limited. Most likely, you won’t even know I’m gone – there are several posts in the queue that will be posting themselves, including the Tuesday Tour. If you comment or email, however, I may not be able to respond right away.

Most likely I’ll be tweeting photos from my train adventures, so if you don’t already, make sure you’re following the blog on twitter!