Train Graveyard, Part Deux! - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount

08/16/2009 09:14:26 AM · #1

Okay......so here's one of those moments where you kinda 'fess up and go with wherever it takes you. I made plans with another friend of mine to show him the train graveyard I had found. Both of us, being somewhat worldly, and conscientious, talked about the site, and as it wasn't posted as a no trespassing area, I just wanted to be clear that if we were approached, that I am of the position that I stand up and am open and honest about what I'm doing.

He is the same mindset, so we agreed to meet. So I headed down that way near the end of the day, and there was a group of people gathering up coolers & whatnot under a canopy. They smiled and waved as I drove slowly by, and so I stopped and started to chat with them about their place. They were just finishing up after making some runs for the day and packing up.

This is The Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad, an active, albeit small and predominantly volunteer railroad here in central Pennsylvania. They make a few tourist runs during the week, and are trying to restore various bits and pieces of railroad Americana.

So I asked amongst the group if they had any sort of historical aspect in regards to documentation & restoration, and it turns out that they do try to keep track of their progress, but that their resources are sorely lacking. They'd LOVE to have a decent photographer to help with documentation and awareness/publicity! I screwed up my courage and mentioned that I had discovered their "awaiting restoration rolling stock" the week prior, and asked if they wanted to see a picture I had taken.

Frankie, the "Mom" of the group got kind of quiet, and looked at me and told ne that she thought it was beautiful, so we went into her office and I showed her my collection that I had entitled Train Graveyard, which will be hereafter referred to by its rightful name of The Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad.....it is HERE.

My friend Frank then showed up, and Frankie introduced us to Wendell, CEO, Owner, and all 'round main man of the M&H Railroad, and they proceeded to give us a three hour tour and railroad history lesson of the whole place! It was completely amazing how this kind and gentle man took us all over the railroad yard, clambering over this, that, and the other thing showing us his world of railroad Americana.

This was one of the beautiful surprises he had for us in a nondescript steel building off to the one side of the yard.

What a glorious & beautiful piece of workmanship this lovely old lady is, and though she's not pretty in that perfectly restored manner, she was just so beautiful because she's exactly as she was in her heyday as a regularly used locomotive. It was literally a step back in time to see this perfectly operational and active steam locomotive just sitting there like it was 1910.

Wendell & Frankie showed us EVERYTHING!!!!!

A motor.....

A restored passenger car......one that sees regular service.....

A streetcar/trolley that is undergoing resatoration...

A water tanker for Locomotive #91.....

Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed this little view of the M&H Railroad, and will perhaps take a moment to view the collection. If you're ever going to be near the central Pennsylvania area, look me up, and I'll hook you up, with the nicest railroad company I know!

One last funny aside......Wendell, the *80* year old owner, ran us RAGGED climbing around in the railroad cars! I'm not nearly in as good shape as I thought I was! LOL!!!

Message edited by author 2009-08-16 09:15:11.

JulietNN

Canon EOS R7

08/16/2009 09:20:46 AM · #2

way cool

nova

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM

08/16/2009 10:40:23 AM · #3

Yep, way cool from me, too.

pixelpig

Sony Alpha a55

Sony DT 1.8/50mm SAM

08/16/2009 10:41:25 AM · #4

WTG Jeb! This looks to be a perfect subject for your talent & eye for 'true grit.' I see a great Train Portfolio that will create a book someday.

see

Canon PowerShot S95

08/16/2009 12:12:04 PM · #5

I will agree with

pixelpig, I see a book in your future..

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

Olympus 12-45mm /f4.0 Pro

08/16/2009 12:26:59 PM · #6

This is awesome, Jeb! Great shots, and just as important, it's great to hear a photography story that went so well. Goes to show that there are still folks out there who are happy to share part of their lives with us.

Joker1114

Nikon D7000

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

08/16/2009 12:43:58 PM · #7

wow thats great Jeb! i love the shots!!

Germaine

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/4.0L IS USM Lens

08/16/2009 12:48:51 PM · #8

I hope you can help these folks and get some great shots in the process. Way, way cool.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

08/16/2009 01:08:17 PM · #9

Totally cool! You really lucked out Jeb. They liked showing off their stuff to you. A great match!

Stiger

Canon EOS-60D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/16/2009 01:32:19 PM · #10

Excellent photos, Jeb. I may have to take you up on your offer. You're only about 2 hours from me, so on one of my days off, I may have to head over your way.

fldave

Pentax K5II

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

08/16/2009 01:40:26 PM · #11

Great find, thanks for the tour, Jeb. I agree that this would be publishable... lots of RR fans out there.

08/16/2009 02:17:27 PM · #12

Originally posted by Stiger:

Excellent photos, Jeb. I may have to take you up on your offer. You're only about 2 hours from me, so on one of my days off, I may have to head over your way.

C'mon down anytime.....PM me for my cell.

I can usually wrangle the time.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

08/16/2009 02:23:01 PM · #13

Originally posted by fldave:

Great find, thanks for the tour, Jeb. I agree that this would be publishable... lots of RR fans out there.

At very least I'll be providing images for their own historical records, and getting some decent pics up on the site will be a snap.

As much as anything, I like the idea of being a part of the restoration & preservation of the old train cars. They were bemoaning some of the rust repair on one of the cars that we saw.......the kind of repair that I could do in about 3-4 hours with a MIG and some sheet metal. They're sorely lacking in experienced help, and since I don't have to do that kind of work for a living any more, and am reasonably good at it, maybe.....

And it's not like I won't have my camera along with.

Maybe I'll organize a GTG in the spring......train pics, and a ride, coupled with a cookout at the station, and participants could send a disc of images if they were so inclined.

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

08/16/2009 02:29:50 PM · #14

Great stuff Jeb! Is the processing Topaz?

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

08/16/2009 02:40:58 PM · #15

Wish that I lived closer, at least during the summer. I would be donating some time and effort to the ongoing project. I have been a RR buff from the time I was big enough to ride my bicycle down to the local station and hang out with the station master after school. That was about 48 years ago. I doubt that kids today could do that with all the regs and rules now.
Good for you, and I am happy that you have found a fresh diversion, and it also involves your good photography. Sometimes things just connect when you have a good camera and know how to use it.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

08/16/2009 02:50:54 PM · #16

Originally posted by jbsmithana:

Great stuff Jeb! Is the processing Topaz?

Sorta, kinda....8>)

I use a weird blend of stuff......people get mad at me 'cause I can't tell 'em how I do stuff.

I'll open something, doink it around some in the RAW converter......usually just trying to get my crop ratio and white balance right, sometimes I'll back off the shadows & contrast there.

Then I open it in CS2 and size it......if I'm editing for DPC, I automatically knock it down pretty far.....it seems that the changes I make in PS work better on smaller files.

Then I'll run it through Topaz, and see what I get by doinking it around. I don't have a very good handle on how metering and exposure work in my camera ("Cause I'm a BOOB!) so the adaptive exposure in Topaz cures a LOT of my screwups.

Then since sometimes I'll get the right effect, but maybe a tad over the top, I'll bring it back into CS2 and fade the last step, which with a plug-in, fades the whole operation.

Then, I may doink some more in CS2; border, vignette, levels, and if it's still got artifacts or grain amplification that I don't like, I'll pass it through Noise Ninja, and back that off accordingly if need be.

So.....basically, I don't have a standard workflow because I don't know what I'm doing, or even how to do some stuff, so I kinda just fake it, and play 'til it looks right. In most cases, I couldn't take the original RAW file I have and replicate the processing exactly for just about any finished image I have.

How sad is that? LOL!!!

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

08/16/2009 03:13:14 PM · #17

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Originally posted by jbsmithana:
Great stuff Jeb! Is the processing Topaz?

Sorta, kinda....8>)

I use a weird blend of stuff......people get mad at me 'cause I can't tell 'em how I do stuff.

I'll open something, doink it around some in the RAW converter......usually just trying to get my crop ratio and white balance right, sometimes I'll back off the shadows & contrast there.

Then I open it in CS2 and size it......if I'm editing for DPC, I automatically knock it down pretty far.....it seems that the changes I make in PS work better on smaller files.

Then I'll run it through Topaz, and see what I get by doinking it around. I don't have a very good handle on how metering and exposure work in my camera ("Cause I'm a BOOB!) so the adaptive exposure in Topaz cures a LOT of my screwups.

Then since sometimes I'll get the right effect, but maybe a tad over the top, I'll bring it back into CS2 and fade the last step, which with a plug-in, fades the whole operation.

Then, I may doink some more in CS2; border, vignette, levels, and if it's still got artifacts or grain amplification that I don't like, I'll pass it through Noise Ninja, and back that off accordingly if need be.

So.....basically, I don't have a standard workflow because I don't know what I'm doing, or even how to do some stuff, so I kinda just fake it, and play 'til it looks right. In most cases, I couldn't take the original RAW file I have and replicate the processing exactly for just about any finished image I have.

How sad is that? LOL!!!

Sounds like mine! Every time I get a validation request I sweat.

Ja-9

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

08/16/2009 03:34:38 PM · #18

This gave me goosebumps reading and looking at your shots Jeb...what a find...and "if" I am ever in the neighborhood...I would love to take you up on your historic find...how about a GTG next summer???? I think I am coming up that way in Julyish...wow, this is so very cool