August 22, 2018 – RJ Corman’s 3805 leads it’s train east to Guthrie, Ky after doing a day of pickup and drop offs along the Memphis Turn, with 3863 trailing. – #jimstrainphotos #kentuckyrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #rjc #rjcrailroad #rjcormanrailroad
January 13, 2018 – CSX intermodal Q029-13 (Chicago, IL – Atlanta, GA) makes its way through the Red River Cut, just north of Adams, Tennessee, with fresh snow lining the walls and the track.
November 4, 2017 – CSX Q648 (Waycross, GA – Chicago, IL) heads down the viaduct at Rham, Indiana as it heads north to Chicago, Illinois on the Henderson Subdivision.
September 9, 2017 – Southern Railway steam locomotive 630 heads for the East Chattanooga shops and station with a loaded passenger train during the 2017 Railfest at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, at Chattanooga, Tennessee.Southern Railway steam locomotive 630 heads for the East Chattanooga shops
September 9, 2017 – The conductor on one of the passenger train movements during Railfest 2017 at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum keeps a watchful eye from the vestibule of one of the cars, as the train backs up.
September 9, 2017 – Southern Railway steam locomotive 630 enters 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.
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 – Disrupting the quietness of the early morning with it’s huffing and puffing as Southern Railways steam locomotive 630 pulls through a tunnel of trees with a loaded passenger train heading west, on a return trip to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum at Chattanooga, TN during 2017 Railfest.630 heading for Chattanooga, TN
October 13, 2017 – I went to the Nashville Steam event and came back with this gallery of photos! – It was a fundraising event for the restoration of Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Rwy. No. 576 to operate excursions out of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Great time had by all and a very worthy cause. For more information on how to help support the restoration of 576 visit the group’s website at: http://www.nashvillesteam.org
September 9, 2017 – POWER! There’s nothing like a living, breathing, moving steam locomotive and when you put two together it’s amazing sight to see and witness! Here we have Southern steam locomotives 630 and 4501 after exiting Missionary Ridge Tunnel on their way back to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum shops, at East Chattanooga, TN, after a full day of passenger runs during the museum’s recent 2017 Railfest.
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.