Greetings, everyone. Wednesday is still here, so here we have the Midweek Photo thread for another week. This past weekend was pretty exciting for me, since it was the final weekend of train operations for Steamtown National Historic Site.
My first 3 photos are from Saturday, and the operation of the North Pole Limited trains. The trains ran very well, but were not the most photogenic, unless you worked at getting a great shot. I waited at the Mattes St. tower to get an elevated shot of the train. Not all went well, since my camera lens decided to get picky with me. The upper shot was taken with one camera using a telephoto lens. The train was pushing the 4 passenger cars up the rather steep incline in the Scranton yard.
This second photo was taken with the regular lens. I was hoping to get a closer view, but the lens would not let the camera shutter work until it was at this distance. The lack of light made for a meh photo. Not a great one.
A couple good shots came out of the return to the Steamtown Roundhouse, as the train off-loaded passengers from the train. This was also with the telephoto lens. Not a bad shot.
On Sunday, December 15, I went back to the tower to attempt another shot. This one was what I hoped for. The lack of Sun was actually good for me, since the early time of the day would have messed up this shot if it was sunny. The western wind blowing east kept the smoke and steam east of the train, so it led to this awesome view as the train pushed the coaches east.
Upon the return to the yard, I caught this view as the train headed west. Since the train is coasting downhill, the smoke effect is not as sharp.
Around 3:30 on Sunday, I caught the train a bit further out, but still in the yard. This is near Madison Ave. at the University of Scranton. Once again, the train is pushing East, and the wind pushes the smoke to where it looks like the loco is in the lead.
Around 5:00 PM, the sunshine was gone, and night set in. Baldwin no. 26 makes her final move on the turntable before going into the roundhouse.
Spotlights on the museum buildings allowed for the steam to highlight the outline of this steam engine. Steam at night is always interesting, and this was no exception. This steam locomotive returns to service in April of 2020.
That is my contribution for the week. Thank you to all who have helped make this an interesting thread of real world railroad photography over the year. Time for some of you to share your photos with all of us. Have a Merry Christmas to one and all, and a Happy Chanukah to anyone who observes this festive holiday beginning on Sunday, December 22. See you next week.
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