New Book! Seven Days in September 1994

Seven Days in September 1994

The new book from Laughing Frog Images chronicles seven days of train photographs in New England and New Brunswick as well as a few shots from Quebec.  

Seven Days in September 1994 – the back story.

At the time, I was working on the Boston Harbor Project and my project was nearing completion.  As often as possible, I was in Maine photographing the Canadian Atlantic (Canadian Pacific), VIA Rail Canada, and Guilford’s former Maine Central operations.  Something I hadn’t done was to explore Canadian National’s former Intercolonial and National Transcontinental Railway lines in New Brunswick.  It was time to do so.

I planned a circle tour that would begin and end in Danville Junction, ME.  Four days in New Brunswick were the bulk of the trip.  Besides my time coming to an end, the era of Montreal Locomotive Works and Bombardier locomotives on the Canadian National was also coming to an end.  As a fan of MLW power, the Maritimes were a prime  place to see them in 1994.  Gordon Yard Diesel Shop was the maintenance base for a good deal of CN’s fleet.

The book.

Seven Days in September 1994 is perhaps a different sort of railroad book, a snapshot in time that will appeal to railfans and modelers alike.  You’re coming along for the trip as I relive it 25 years later. 

If you’re a fan of blue skies and sunshine, and like your books the same way, well, you get what I saw.  The weather in those parts can change in five minutes.  I saw blue skies, I had rain, and I saw clouds.  And I shot every train that I possibly could!

Seven Days in September 1994 doesn’t attempt to provide a comprehensive history of the lines and locations photographed, but I do try to give context and a little contemporary (to 1994, anyway) history for your journey.  For those of you interested in the history, the bibliography and references will be worthy of follow-up.  Through freight schedules from 1994 and 2019 for the CN lines in New Brunswick offer a different understanding of the changes over time.

Highlights from the book.

  • Guilford Rail System on the former Maine Central at Danville Junction, ME
  • St. Lawrence and Atlantic trains 393 and 394 on the former Grand Trunk
  • New Hampshire and Vermont on the Connecticut River Bridge
  • Canadian Pacific’s Newport – Richford VT Wayfreight and Newport-Montreal freight 917
  • Lamoille Valley 3612 on a Passenger Extra
  • Canadian National’s Pelletier, Napadogan, Newcastle and Dalhousie Subdivisions, including the Little Salmon River Viaduct and Foley Brook Trestle
  • Interior and exterior images from CN’s Gordon Yard Diesel Shop
  • One-third of CN’s Bombardier HR-616 fleet and more GMD-1s than I remembered
  • Canadian Atlantic Railway (CP Rail) train 284 at the Section House in Bodfish, ME

Seven days of train photographs in New England and New Brunswick required over 2000 miles of driving and consumed 26 rolls of film. The days are memorialized in 138 pages and 163 color and black and white images.

Seven Days in September can be purchased on Amazon by clicking here.  You can also click here to see other books by Laughing Frog Images.

 

 

Nevada Northern Railway Video

I’ve uploaded a Nevada Northern Railway video of the 2018 Winter Photo Shoot.  Yes, it sounds a little odd – posting a video of a photo shoot, but things happen that way sometimes!

I’d known about the Winter Photo Shoot for several years, and for one reason or another (it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s a long drive, etc.), I never went.  Well, this year I went!  Yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere – and it’s beautiful.  Yes, it’s a long drive – and it’s a beautiful drive.

So, why a Nevada Northern Railway video?

Well, for starters, I’ve started to shoot more video lately.  It’s easy these days.  I’m not pretending or advertising myself to be a semi-professional videographer.  I’m really just trying to preserve sights and sounds for myself and anyone interested.  And, it’s kind of fun as I learn and fumble around with video editing.

The second reason for the Nevada Northern Railway video is numbers.  I shot over 1700 images at the Winter Photo Shoot, and I’ve got a lot of screening and sorting to do – and hopefully, if I did things right, not a lot of editing.  I shot the videos, compiled them, converted them to black and white and added the title on my phone in a matter of minutes.  It’s scary considering that I haven’t completely figured out the Videoshop app yet.

Nevada Northern 40 and 93 ready to head east. East Ely, NV.
Nevada Northern 40 and 93 ready to head east. East Ely, NV.

I’m debating whether to post a color gallery or a black and white gallery or both.  Yes, I know, you can order a black and white by clicking a button in the ordering process.  If I purposely create a pure black and white gallery, I can emulate the film of the era and really give it the feeling of being there.  Being there (50+ years ago) is really what the Nevada Northern Railway Museum is all about.

So, if you’ve got a few minutes (about 17 to be more specific), click here to be taken to the video gallery and step back in time to the sights and sounds of the past on a copper hauling railroad in the middle of Nevada.

If steam locomotives are your thing, there’s more here on Laughing Frog Images.

More to follow on the Nevada Northern.

Don’t forget the upcoming March Madness sale!

 

 

Union Pacific Derrick 903045

Union Pacific Derrick 903045

This one is for the train and crane folks!

Once upon a time, railroads had their own big cranes.  They were used for maintenance work on track and bridges, locomotive and car repairs, and perhaps most notably, to clean up derailments.  They were expensive to buy and expensive to operate, yet they spent a lot of their time sitting.

Over time, as derailments have decreased and maintenance practices have changed, the big cranes such as the 903045 have gone away.  Nowadays, most crane services are contracted out, as is derailment cleanup.

Today, many (most) of the big railroad cranes have been scrapped.  Few  remain in service.  And at least one big one – the 903045 – is in a museum.

Union Pacific Derrick 903045 is a 250 ton capacity crane built by the American Ohio Locomotive Crane Company. She now lives at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA.

Union Pacific American Crane W-250 Wreck Derrick 903045, Portola, CA.
Union Pacific American Crane W-250 Wreck Derrick 903045, Portola, CA.

There’s now a gallery on Laughing Frog Images devoted to the 903045.  This gallery is a photographic dissection of the 903045 for the curious, for the modelers, and the crane geeks.  She was basking in the sun during Portola Railroad Days in 2014.  Modelers and rivet counters: I didn’t cross the tracks to capture the other side – so the photo study is of her right side only.

If you think about the fact that she’s capable of lifting 250 tons, this is a photographic study of brute force that’s different from past locomotive photo studies I’ve done.  She was designed in the days before computer aided design – slide rules and math, paper and pencil.  No apps or programs.  Thick steel plate. Heavy welds.  Large diameter wire rope.  The smell of grease and oil.  Even if you’re not into trains or cranes, she’s something to behold.

Is she a relic of the past?  A testament to those who designed and built her?  Both?

Check out the gallery and decide for yourself…