Union Pacific 5377 northbound in Cajon Pass, Ca…

June 19, 2006 – IN reworking my drive storage system this weekend I stumbled across this shot of Union Pacific 5377 leading a autorack train up the grade at Cajon Pass, California that I shot with my then state-of-the-art Nikon D200!! I’ve been shooting RAW with my cameras since it was available and I’m glad I did! I was able to apply my style to this photograph that I shot over 11 years ago because of it! I think it turned out nicely myself!! #jimstrainphotos #californiarailroads #trains #nikond200 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #unionpacificrailroad

CSX N052 southbound loaded coal at Crofton, Ky

October 10, 2017 – Union Pacific 2715 leads CSX N052, a loaded coal train, past a CSX maintenance of way train off loading in the siding at Crofton, Ky, as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.

UP 8444 and SP 4449 headed up Cajon Pass, California

May 8, 1989 – Throwback Saturday! This is a scan from a slide I made of Southern Pacific’s 4449 and Union Pacific’s 8444 (now 844) as they headed up the Cajon Pass in southern California. This was after they were on display for the 50th Anniversary of Los Angeles Union Station in 1989. It was an amazing thing to watch, photograph and chase!

CSX Q512-05 NB with UP Power, Nortonville, Ky

October 5, 2017 – CSX Q512-05 heads through Nortonville, Ky, with UP 7903 leading, as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision. At left is a crossover switch waiting to be installed as part of a double track main that is being constructed between Nortonville and Mortons Gap, Ky.

Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 passes Q028 at Trenton, Ky

August 23, 2017 – Kansas City Southern 4771 leads CSX Q029-23 (Chicago, IL-Atlanta, GA) south, with BNSF 4980 trailing, as it passes it’s counterpart, northbound Q028 in the siding at Trenton, Ky, as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.

I wanted this shot bad and in the rush I failed to check my shutter speed on my Fuji XT-1. The photo ended up being about 5 stops over exposed! While I lost some details in the highlights, mostly evident in the ballast and sky, at least I recovered it well enough to make this post. The key to recovery is that the photo was shot as a RAW file, as all my images are shot and processed as RAW files.

If you don’t shoot in RAW and your camera is able to do so, you’re not using the full potential of your camera’s sensor! When shooting and processing in RAW format you capture every bit of detail and data that your sensor can capture, whereas JPG doesn’t. This photo wouldn’t have seen the light of day as a JPG. Just food for thought!!

If you’re looking for a tutorial for using RAW here’s the one I bought and learned from:

https://www.creativelive.com/courses/adobe-camera-raw-optimizing-enhancing-retouching-jack-davis?via=catalog-class_2

Of course there’s a lot of free classes out there also on YouTube, but this one is the best I’ve found.

If you’ve never visited Creativelive it’s a great resource and if you watch the live broadcast then there’s no charge! Once it broadcasts, or if you want to go back and review the video over and over again then it’s available for purchase as the RAW course. It’s a great resource!

CSX Q645-15 heads south under the coaling tower at Sullivan, IN

August 16, 2017 – Dusk falls as Union Pacific 4061 leads CSX Q645 (Chicago, IL-Waycross, GA), south underneath the old C&EI coaling tower that was built in 1941 to service steam locomotives, as it headed south on CSX’s CE&D Subdivision at Sullivan, Indiana! Of the three CSX trains I caught under this tower today and the only one of the trains that ran with CSX power and it was trailing.

CSX R530 SB with UP power, Nortonville. Ky

July 25, 2017 – CSX R530, running with Union Pacific Power, snakes its way through the curve approaching the north end of Romney where it will take the siding to wait for hot intermodal Q028 to pass, at Nortonville, Ky as it heads south on the Henderson Subdivision.

CSX rail train tied down at Princeton, In

June 17, 2017 – Union Pacific 5359 heads up a CSX MOW rail train, as it sits tied down in the siding at the south end of Alliance siding in Princeton, Indiana at dusk on the CE&D subdivision.

CSX Q586-8 with BNSF power and Q515-08 with UP power meet at Slaughters, Ky

May 8, 2017 – A friend gave a heads-up about CSX 323, the engine with the L&N logo on it headed south, so I set out to see if I couldn’t catch it. Didn’t happen, but I did catch this meet between CSX Q586-8 with BNSF power and Q515-08 with UP power, at the north end of the sliding in Slaughters, Ky on the Henderson Subdivision. It works that way sometimes, setting out to capture one thing and finding another!

December 30, 2016 – Union Pacific Railroad, UP 7970 a GE AC45CCTE…

December 30, 2016 – Union Pacific Railroad, UP 7970 a GE AC45CCTE, approaches the Memorial Tower at Teutopolis Illinois as it leads CSX’s Q131 west. The Memorial Tower was the main entrance to the former St. Joseph Seminary. The Knights of Columbus bought the ground, razed the building, except for the tower, and constructed a new Club room in this location.

August 20, 2016 – CSX E050-16 coal train at Princeton, IN

August 20, 2016 - CSX E050-16 coal train approaches the station at Princeton, Indiana, with a set of Union Pacific engines leading the way, as it heads north on CSX's CE&D Subdivision. The depot was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored and is the only remaining depot structure in Gibson County. It once housed the C&EI and L&N railways and is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored train caboose.

August 20, 2016 – CSX E050-16 coal train approaches the station at Princeton, Indiana, with a set of Union Pacific engines leading the way, as it heads north on CSX’s CE&D Subdivision. The depot was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored and is the only remaining depot structure in Gibson County. It once housed the C&EI and L&N railways and is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored train caboose.

May 3, 2016 – A Union Pacific loaded coke train at Richland, Ky

May 3, 2016 - A Union Pacific loaded coke train rounds a curve as it approaches the Earlington Road crossing at Richland, Ky on the Paducah and Louisville Railway as it heads south to Calvert City, Ky to drop off its load. - Tech Info: 1/640 | f/6 | ISO 4000 | Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 480mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW.

May 3, 2016 – A Union Pacific loaded coke train rounds a curve as it approaches the Earlington Road crossing at Richland, Ky on the Paducah and Louisville Railway as it heads south to Calvert City, Ky to drop off its load. – Tech Info: 1/640 | f/6 | ISO 4000 | Lens: Sigma 150-600 @ 480mm on a Nikon D800 shot and processed in RAW.