Or in the case of 2-8-2 #15 at the start of this thread, the very man who ran the engine in active service. Not a lot of groups can claim that, and the Chehalis group has had Harold running the 15 in the past and recently had another man who ran their former Navy 44-tonner #6 in service come down and run that diesel.

So what is the "proper attire" on the Great Camera Railroad?

Robby Peartree

You're absolutely right, I mean the paint hasn't faded on the north side as much, they look like they would have looked in 1969.

Here is closeups of three of them from 2007:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter182 ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter182 ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter182 ... otostream/
You will note the sun is on them in all of the photos, I am sure it is hard to get photos on the other side, but somewhere I can't find now I saw it mentioned that the paint is better on the shade side (which is what you would expect obviously).

I've paid for as many photo charters as anyone I know over the past dozen years, and I can't say I've ever seen a crew member show up for a steam charter wearing a high-viz vest or with bare arms. I have seen a couple of ball-caps, but those were on railroads that just weren't used to doing high-end photographic trips. For the most part, the crews do a decent job of looking authentic.

Radios are the one area that can be a problem most places. If you want crews who don't use radios, you need to come see us at the WW&F in Maine. Our crews never use them....not even on the tourist runs.

/Kevin Madore

Generally speaking this is only a problem for the folks who shoot video, where the shot lasts until the train disappears. For us still shooters, we're already chimping the take by the time the passenger cars pass us. :o)

/Kevin Madore

I donno. From the passenger counts claimed at the train-off hearings for most mixed trains, having no one other than the crew on the combine is perfectly legitimate; certainly more correct than having the car full... unless it's the last run.

If the train has coaches coupled behind the caboose for the charter participants to ride, don't leave them on for the runbys. I've only ever been to two photo charters personally, and neither of them had this happen, but I've seen it happen from time to time online.

Ideally you’ll be with a knowledgeable coordinator who makes the call based on the shot, how many participants are capturing video, and the timing of other shots that day.

Sometimes, leaving the cars on is a good choice in order to save time to get in more locations.

Here is a different view of what makes a great photo freight into a nightmare. Consider you are the one stuck doing the work because you did not get your vacation request in time to avoid the disaster. Starting a couple of days before the event the participants start to show. While you are busy with last minute details and fixing things you haven’t had time for since the last photo shoot, the newly arrived participants decide that their participation makes them equitant to president of the company. And while they usually have as much knowledge as the president of the company that signal to the participant that they not only have absolute free reign of the property but also the authority and need to dictate to employees and fellow event participants on what is expected of them.
Since they are doing a great job in this self appointed position they need to physically position themselves to being the biggest road block to actually getting something done. The only thing they are quite good at is, complaining about others.
Once the event actually begins they then reveal their “Great ideas” that involve something similar to the following like backing up until you are out of site in a tunnel then stopping and slowly pulling thru the tunnel while producing enough smoke to fixate not only the crew but everyone in the county. Then since we need our exposure to be right we want you to do it 4 times to get the perfect shot. Your black lung disease is your problem. And never let the safeties lift from the forced over-firing it ruins the videos.
As this event is progressing the president of the company decides it is time to be photo line cop so they begin laying out terms to the fellow event followers so the cop can get their perfect shot. In the mean time heaven forbid the train crew even thinks of doing anything but hiding from the camera during all of this. Checking on the equipment will ruin their 555th shot. Besides didn’t you get the memo. You may make a couple of bucks over minimum wage but you are suppose to go out and on your own dime spend several hundred bucks on period clothing that they demand in their shots. Never mind that the railfan showed up in a tee shirt and shorts and did not heed his own advise and dress up in period appropriate clothing.
After traveling to several locations where the cattle heard themselves on and off the train it is lunch time. While some strap on their horse feeding bags and go to town , you need to take care of your equipment and you are going to try to address the issue while they are at lunch. You have spent hours working on a boiler and your trying o extend its life for as many years as possible so you are using treated water. This upsets them because it would be faster if you took water right out of the city source. Never mind the high chlorine and oxygen content that will eat at your boiler. The results of such damage will not show up until this event is long over. Further why do you need to do this air test on this 3% grade. If the brakes do not work the wreck would make a really great photo opportunity.
Then there is the point where you are running out of hours of service and the participants are like but there is still daylight left and I have pixels to burn. You can violate Federal Law for my picture that my attendance fee does not cover the cost of the fines.
On the night photo shoot you get to play model where everyone has you posing in certain ways with enough flash bulbs to blind you for the rest of the night. Oh, and since the periodic clothes you have are dirty change into some clean ones.
Unfortunately, the participants are not the only problem. Then there is your own management. They suddenly come out of their caves and start extruding their wisdom on to the situation. This usually involves some rules violation which they would normally yell at you if you committed but now are telling you to do it. Further this is their chance to get photographed so every opportunity they are in the photograph in some way. So while you find out the true colors of your management, you then have the self appointed expert on your staff explaining what they believe should be done. They see this as their opportunity to show their lack of skills both technical and professional.
By the end of the event when you are ready to kill if anyone of the above characters are going to make another comment. You heard all of the comments that have no basis in reality. You are sisk of the comment that start well if I were doing it I would have done it this way.
But at the end of the event you have the one person who realized the work that went into it and were happy with your efforts to please them and are truly grateful. What is even scarier is they spend the time to treat you like a human being. It is then you realize this is the person you actually would go thru some of this nightmare for.

Robby Peartree

The green car is most likely Northern Pacific. In the late 60's, the NP painted a number of boxcars in a green that was somewhat brighter than Cascade green but lettered similarly to the red boxcar in front.

This is a photo freight operated by Railroad Museum of New England for a 2001 Railfan Day event. I think it's a pretty good mix of car types, typical of what this northwestern Connecticut branch line saw during the 1950s-60s. A few more boxcars would be better, and a New Haven caboose to match the locomotive..... next photo freight will be an improved version!



Howard P.

I've run a number of photo freights over the years - generally for small groups using diesels. I've done them on tourist lines and on actual freight railroads. Some have simply been regular freight trains but with stops at unusual locations where chasers can set up.

One of the things I find important is the scene the train is in. Bridges, historic buildings, shippers (we once did a photo shoot inside a warehouse), etc., are to me as important as the train itself. This photo is from a 2003 event on the Kentucky & Tennessee/Big South Fork. We used several gons and flat cars that were actually being used on the railroad, with a K&T-painted locomotive. How about with the coal tipple at at Blue Heron? Thus all were real at the time. Additionally, the structures at Barthell really added to the scene.

Having been on a bunch as a paying attendee, and having been in charge of a few of these myself, what you have described is a sure fire way for the charter organizer to never be invited back. I've been on one or two complete disasters. Sometimes bad planning. Sometimes bad execution. Sometimes just bad luck, and having a railroad sign up for something and not entirely understanding what they agreed to. The pitfalls can be numerous.

What I've always tried to do on the ones where I'm in charge is to make abundantly clear to the photographers who are there is that we are guests on someone else's property. We've got a liason with the railroad on the ground and everyone understands they are in absolute control. We have things we would like to do, but they make the final call. There is a chain of authority, and that chain gets preserved at all times.

Things happen out on the line, and the best laid plans can go awry for any number of reasons. You have to know your group and what they can/can't do, and have any number of backup scenarios in place for when something doesn't do the way you expect it to. You've also got umpteen different personalities and preferences out on the line, and left to its own devices, chaos is the result. You have to make it clear that you are in charge and everyone falls in line. Nothing wrong with suggestions, but one person makes the final call of what happens.

Keeping the railroad and especially your locomotive crew happy is the key to making these things a success, and having the railroad want you to come back again. The other point is to work with a place that wants to do this. If everyone from the railroad management to the crew to the conductor to the organizer and group is on the same page, everything goes a lot smoother and everyone goes home happy. Oh, and words of thanks to the railroad personnel and engine crews throughout the day just in general or when things really go right go a long way towards keeping them happy. We know we're asking them to do stuff that isn't normal operation, and truthfully, hard on the engine and hard on the crews. Keep a happy crew and you've won a lot of the battle already.
Kevin

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