kink”


spreading the


rails apart (if not no- ticed in time, it will cause a derailment). On the other hand, the spaces (however small) between the rail ends on jointed rail allow for this heat expansion length- wise instead of a side- ways bulge. The joints al- so can deflect up or down with the extreme weight and pounding of train wheels. (This is what causes the “ka-klunk ka- klunk” sound as the train cars pass by.)


While


maybe not noticeable to the naked eye, the re- sulting “wavy looking” unevenness in the joint- ed rails caused by this joint movement is em- phasized when seen though a telephoto’s ex- aggerated compression.


This rail is in dire needof maintenance in the Louisiana & North West yard in Gibsland, La., in the 1980s. This type of photo is good to take because it is interesting to include in a slide or digital image show, and it could be used to illustrate an article on railroad maintenance, or for a general article on thespecific railroad.


Look for old jointed rail to use a telephoto on in rail yards or industrial yard areas (which can probably be done from outside the yard boundaries as your tele will be get- ting you “closer”), or on small branch lines or tourist lines. This wavy look can be especial- ly dramatic with older rail that has not been as well maintained as main line tracks.


Rail Workers


Speaking of rail maintenance, another good way to incorporate rails into your railfan photography is with a photojournalistic ap- proach, not only photos of track workers, but details of the work being performed. The ac- companying photo of a rail joint badly in need of maintenance was taken in the 1980s in the Louisiana & North West’s small rail yard in Gibsland, La. My first impression was that the rails were in this condition ac- count of this being an old section of yard


trackage that was no longer in use. And this was just one of several areas that were in dire need of maintenance. Imagine my sur- prise when a train later entered the yard and started switching on this very piece of track- age, rolling several times over this loose joint! Such a photo is good to take because it is interesting to include in a slide or digital image show, and it could be used to illustrate an article on railroad maintenance, or for a general article on the specific railroad. There are some excellent examples of us- ing rails to add a dramatic look to a railfan photo currently in the Rail Photo Line sec- tion on the R&R website. Two are in Steve Schmollinger’s July 2010 article Sunset Route Sojourn; and the other is the “Dusk at Sharpsville Cut, 5:45 PM” image in Chris Southwell’s May 2010 article From Dusk to Dusk. Note how “ordinary” these three im- ages would have looked if the dramatic rail patterns were not there.


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S-curves with a telephotoare great places to use the rails for a dramatic look. Southbound BNSF train on the “


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