Less than 5 years ago, Mother Nature completely overgrew the railroad. Weeds were waist high. Most of the wooden ties had rotten away. Rail out of gauge. Buildings sinking into the ground. Locomotive #16 was a pile of rust that hadn't run since 1956. There was no color - everything was gray and black. A deep state of dormancy.

Follow the link below to my photos from this autumn at the EBT.
Click "slideshow" at the top right portion of the screen.

Enjoy,
Matthew

https://www.losttracksoftime.com/p47324941

Thanks Matthew for posting those wonderful photos of the reborn EBT and thus taking us along with you on your recent visit there.

Incredible project. Can't wait to ride it all the way up the mountain ( through 2 tunnels ) to Robertsdale where all the coal came from. I can see the sight now of a 15 car long train running triple headed with locomotives 13,15 & 16 doing the honors to get it up the 2% grades into Robertsdale. What a sight and sound that will be.

Onward & Upward. Ross Rowland

Slide #5 of the shop windows is stunning. Matthew has captured an effect that looks like stained glass. This is appropriate for what the EBT represents to the community.

Nice work, Matthew!

Wesley

This is something that "AI" (plagiarism engines) wouldn't be able to quite replicate.

Hi
Great shots of the railroad, you capture the mood of the railroad. Pat.

Wesley,

You mentioned the fifth photo in this collection, which is inside the shops with all the windows.

Let me explain it by first detailing the third image - looking south at the coal dock with the string of hoppers on the right. This was captured at 3am, a 20-minute exposure illuminated by the full moon directly overhead. I took note of the camera settings which were to be duplicated inside the shops: the shutter speed, aperture value, ISO setting and white balance number.

Inside the shop now with the lights on, I set up composition with the tripod and verified the same camera settings. Proceeded by turning off all the lights, starting the camera’s 20-minute exposure which would provide the illumination outside the windows, and briefly turned on the single overhead light and workbench light to show the room’s interior. Very little Photoshop work was needed to finish the image; it was created in-camera with a single exposure.

I thank everyone for taking the time to view my galley, and for leaving the warm compliments.
Matthew

Thank you Mathew for posting. Must see in the East. Regards, John.