BY FRANK KELLER/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
I began taking railfan trips outside my home territory. I was content to watch my hometown Southern Pacific switch the local industries in Downey, Calif., a suburb southeast of Los Angeles. Occa- sionally the SP would route a freight train through town, and on those rare occasions I managed to see one I was enthralled. I wanted to see more action, but I had no idea where to go; I did not even know another railfan. My first semester in college would
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change all that. Given my limited pho- tography skill and knowledge I decided a college photography course was just what I needed. Fortunately for me this yielded big dividends in my picture tak- ing skills, and as a bonus it also intro-
LTHOUGH I CONSIDERED MYSELF a railfan in high school it wasn’t until my first year in college that
duced me to another railfan, David Giglio . Thus began a long and prosper- ous friendship that continues to this day. Between college courses he was able to eventually show me all of the sought out locations to photograph trains from Cajon Pass to the Tehachapi Mountains and everything in between. Often after a long day of train pho- tography we would retire to the SP de- pot in Pomona, Calif., to relax and re- hash the day’s events. Here we had the benefit of watching two main line rail- roads as Union Pacific’s tracks were parallel to SP’s through town. Most nights both railroads cooperated and sent numerous freights our way. SP’s line included a siding, which was often used for meets between trains. The more I visited Pomona the more
intrigued I became with capturing the action that occurred night after night. The only problem was I had never tak- en a picture after nightfall. I lacked the knowledge and, probably more impor- tantly, I lacked the necessary equip- ment for good night photography. My college course helped with the knowledge part of the equation and be- fore too long I soon acquired the basic equipment —a sturdy tripod and a ca- ble release. On my next trip to Pomona I began experimenting with different night exposures, all using available light. My first night subject was the eastbound Sunset Limited, which made a station stop at Pomona. I set up for a shot of the rear markers while the train was stopped at the depot. I experimented with various exposures and depth of (Continued on page 43)
OPPOSITE: For some time after Union Pacific took over the Rio Grande certain trains such as the Montrose Local still ran with Rio Grande power. You could usually count on a 12-hour trip from Grand Junction to Montrose, Colo., and return. Such was the case on this day in 2002 when we were able to catch the returning Montrose Local at Robideau in the last rays of the days sunshine. ABOVE: An empty sulphur train is about to crest the summit of the Palmer Divide on a rather cold and windy winter’s morning in December 2001. In the background is Monument, Colo., with some impressive low lying clouds obscuring this view of Colorado Springs.
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