September 9, 2017 – Southern steam locomotive 4501 rounds a curve, with it’s passenger train, as it heads west to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN, from their East Chattanooga Shops, during 2017 Railfest. #jimstrainphotos
September 9, 2017 – Planes, Trains, and …. Southern steam locomotives 630 and 4501 sit at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN as they prepare for the first run of the day at their 2017 Railfest, as a plane takes off over them to parts unknown, as early railfans work to get their “perfect shots” of the newly arrived locomotives.
September 9, 2017 – Southern Railway steam locomotive 630 bursts from the east end of Missionary Ridge Tunnel with a loaded passenger train during the 2017 Railfest at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, as it heads for the station at East Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Completed in 1858 the tunnel is the primary reason TVRM runs on the three-mile section of the former Southern Railway. As railroad equipment grew too large to pass through and the single-track tunnel became a traffic jam for an otherwise double-track railroad, Southern Railway abandoned the three mile portion of the line and built a new section around the end of Missionary Ridge, avoiding the tunnel altogether.
The museum restored rails through the tunnel in 1971 and continues to use the pre-Civil War Tunnel on a daily basis.
September 9, 2017 – Southern Railway diesel locomotives 5000, 3170, 2594, with a freight train, sits on the Chickamauga Creek bridge at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum during the museum’s 2017 Railfest night photo shoot.
September 9, 2017 – In the quietness of the early morning the sound of the approaching steam locomotive is heard before it can be seen. Anticipation builds as Southern Railways 4501 pulls into view with a loaded passenger train west, around a sweeping curve, on the return trip to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum at Chattanooga, TN during 2017 Railfest.
2017 Railfest, Chattanooga, TN – I’m often torn when I decide to shoot video trackside, because I invariably hate “missing” a good photograph, but Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s Railfest lended itself so well to video that I made an effort to get some footage using my iPhone 7 Plus. The below, slightly over 13 minute, video is a bit longer than I normally do, but I think it flows pretty good and I hope you enjoy getting a glimpse into the event.
It’s a selection of videos from the 2017 Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Railfest Operations, Chattanooga, Tennessee of Steam and Diesel operations around the museum and between Chattanooga and East Chattanooga.
September 9, 2017 – I was thinking that this scene would make for a nice shot if only I had a central subject, other than the platform and passenger cars, when I heard the patter of little feet running up behind me and this little boy ran past me, at the East Chattanooga, TN Depot sign at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, into the scene and looked back! The fact that he was dressed as an engineer made it even better!
How many of us can recall what it was like to be a child this enthused by a steam train or any train for that matter! I hope the child in all of us never goes away when it comes to our passion for photographing, riding, watching, observing or anything else that has to do with trains!
When out shooting your rail photography don’t forget to record the people and not just the trains! One without the other won’t exist, especially when it comes to historic preservation!
September 9, 2017 – Southern Railway steam locomotive 630 heads into the west end of Missionary Ridge Tunnel with a loaded passenger train during the 2017 Railfest at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, as it heads for the station at East Chattanooga, Tennessee. By the way, I love long lenses!!!
Completed in 1858 the tunnel is the primary reason TVRM runs on the three-mile section of the former Southern Railway. As railroad equipment grew too large to pass through and the single-track tunnel became a traffic jam for an otherwise double-track railroad, Southern Railway abandoned the three mile portion of the line and built a new section around the end of Missionary Ridge, avoiding the tunnel altogether.
The museum restored rails through the tunnel in 1971 and continues to use the pre-Civil War Tunnel on a daily basis.
September 9, 2017 – This is a shot of the first organized night photoshoot I’ve done on a train related subject other than my own. It was great! The photographer standing next to the light stand is Norfolk Southern Photographer Casey Thomason who did the lighting for the Railfest night shoot event and helped to make it happen with the support and help of the fine folks at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN. Outstanding job by all!
What’s pictured here is a small portion of the photographers that participated in the event where we shot several different views of Southern Railway diesel locomotives 5000, 3170, 2594 with a freight train and a Tennessee Alabama & Georgia Railway passenger train on the Chickamauga Creek bridge at the TVRM museum.
While everyone jockeyed around for space, for their version of the “perfect shot,” the event got underway about 9pm and it was close to midnight before everyone went their merry way after we did many rotations of the front line of photographers getting their chance for a clear shot.
This photograph I shot hand held, as I was letting a friend that wasn’t aware there was a night shoot during Railfest, use my tripod on the rotations. Casey was doing a 3 second countdown before firing the flashes and so I timed my exposure to start at the 1 second mark which opened my shutter right as the flash went off. Exposure was 1 second at f/8 at ISO 800 on my Nikon D800 at 42 mm on my Sigma 24-70mm lens and shot as a RAW file.
September 8, 2017 – BNSF 9221 leads a loaded coal train down grade alongside Norfolk Southern DeButts Yard in Chattanooga, TN as it heads west on the Chattanooga Terminal.
September 10, 2017 – A gentle cool breeze and birds can be heard in the surrounding trees until till the shrill of a steam whistle and sounds of an approaching locomotive breaks the quietness as it approaches the west end of Missionary Ridge Tunnel.
Next thing you know, it has covered the 900 feet and then Southern Railway steam locomotive 4501 breaks out of the east side of the tunnel as it heads to Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s East Chattanooga station and shops, with a train load of passengers, during the 2017 Railfest.
Completed in 1858 the tunnel is the primary reason TVRM runs on the three-mile section of the former Southern Railway. As railroad equipment grew too large to pass through and the single-track tunnel became a traffic jam for an otherwise double-track railroad, Southern Railway abandoned the three mile portion of the line and built a new section around the end of Missionary Ridge, avoiding the tunnel altogether. The museum restored rails through the tunnel in 1971 and continues to use the pre-Civil War Tunnel on a daily basis.
September 9, 2017 – Southern diesels 2594, 3170 and 5000 (not pictured) move east across the Chickamauga Creek bridge at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, as they are positioned in place for a night photoshoot during the museum’s 2017 Railfest in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
This was the first night rail photoshoot that I have participated in, other than my own that is, and really had a fun time! Casey Thomason, with the NS Railroad did a wonderful time lighting the event for us and a big shout out to the museum for putting it on! Hope to see more events like it in the future!
This shot actually was a 30 second long exposure. The two engines sat on the bridge just long enough into the exposure before they started to move forward, giving me just a tad of motion blur. Wasn’t planned on my part at all, but I’m very happy with the results! Sometimes life just works that way!
September 9, 2017 – Southern 630 and 4501 pull and empty passenger train over the bridge just outside the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum at Chattanooga, Tennessee during the first morning of the museum’s 2017 Railfest.
September 8, 2017 – It’s the afternoon before Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s railfest in Chattanooga, Tennessee and we find the crews busy getting steam engines 4501 and 630 ready for the next days festivities!
September 7, 2017- My first chilly night in Chattanooga, TN I found myself with several fellow railfans on the banks of the Tennessee River, photographing this mixed freight southbound as it headed across the Tenbridge, on the CNO&TP 3rd District of NS’s Central Division. It runs from Chattanooga, TN to Harriman, TN.SB NS on the Tenbridge, Chattanooga, TN
August 23, 2017 – Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 (Chicago, IL-Atlanta, GA) through the cut just south of the Red River bridge at Adams, Tennessee, with BNSF 4980 trailing, as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision. I like most of us seem not to shoot as many verticals of trains, or many other subjects these days. The computer monitors and TV’s have conditioned us too much to the horizontal format! I for one plan to do better! After all, it doesn’t take much to turn the camera!CSX Q029-23 SB at Red River Cut, Adams, TN
September 9, 2016 – A Music City Star commuter train with engine 121 (F40PH), sits along the river front in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge.