Just a few shots from the stunning performance last weekend... whatcha guys think?

Awesome! If you hadn't reposted the first picture in color, I would have sworn it was from the '50s! And being involved with old cars I appreciated the old trucks in the photos.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Errr, Huckleberry?

Michigan EPA on Line Two........... something about excessive smoke........

Sandy,

Having stood behind the photo lines as a volunteer last weekend, I can say it was entirely democratic; the folks paying the (photo) freight relayed what they wanted for each setup, and the 1225 boys provided what they wanted. The 1225 crews work to have a hazy stack for all other operating purposes!

On the other hand, a rusty fireman who has not fired much stoker (most of his experience was hand bombing and oil burner) will leave this kind of mess when given the privilege of firing through his home town of McBain, MI:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=30087


Steve Zuiderveen

Whenever people post notices about whether static steam or operable steam make a difference to the public, I think of images like these. Without a doubt, operable steam is a huge calling card, stirs the publics imagination, and recalls something important and memorable in our collective history.

My God, but there is something incredibly powerful in this set of photos. Beautiful work in the photography and the people who preserve, maintain, and operate, PM 1225. We need so much more of this.

You're a great straight man. More at

http://www.steamspecials.com/index.php? ... _section=1

Those first few turntable shots are a real trick. The color tone and focal perspective make them look like those staged shots of model trains! Of course, I know this is real steam and not tufted cotton.

Straight man? "Who's on first?"

Yeah, when I first processed them, I thought they looked like some of the shots I have taken on SRI's HO scale layout in the past. The actors look toy-like, and the locomotive just really stands out against the background. They really do look like shots of models.

They were hand-held shots with the 20d and 70-200 F2.8l IS. I was gonna bring much nicer equipment, including my OLD glass plate camera that has been handed down from my great-great grandfather, but I havent found out how to coat glass plates yet (I have heard it can be done). Plus I did not want to intrude in any way on John and his guys. Afterall, they were the paying customers; not I. So most of the time, I just hid off to the side and snapped off some shots.

BTW, I think everybody at SRI has fallen in love with the flying number boards... The locomotive just looks 'right' with them on. I am also a fan of it being blacked out.

The visor is back on though. Some of our cab crew has said that the visor makes a HUGE difference in the brightness of the light projected on the ground.

Great photos! Great locomotive! And the authentic steam era freight cars behind the tank really look super!

A couple of comments though if I may. There seems to be some photos with a "person" hanging out of the Pere Marquette box car door. This confuses me. Was there a "hobo" being depicted for the photographers? If so, I would hope that it isn't done in the future. I don't think you would want to give anybody the wrong idea that hoboing is something that should be done. If I am NOT seeing the legs of a "person" there, please correct me and let me know what I am seeing.

Secondly, I can understand that the locomotive visor is better for lighting of the line ahead. But I checked my PERE MARQUETTE POWER book put out by the C&O Historical Society and, although the Berks all appeared with headlight visors in their builders photos, most of the photos of the 2-8-4's in actual service show the visors removed. So why did the PM do this? Anyone know?

Thanks!

Les

Les, I've seen a handful of NKP photos where the visor has been damaged, inciting its removal. Perhaps this could be a culprit behind the missing visors.

Perhaps. But there were 9 "in service" photos in the book, with 7 showing no visors. One other photo was inconclusive. That seems to me like the PM may have removed them intentionally. But perhaps you are right, and the railroad just did not bother to replace them once damaged.

Les

Les -

clearly, your eyes deceive you. It didn't happen. It was an accident. And I'm sure it will never happen again.

JAC



(photo by Mike Raia)

That's not a person, it's just Barney. He was keeping an eye out for the brakeman and ladder that had just fallen off the Annie boxcar.

Fred
SRI