Starting the weekend after Thanksgiving and running through the weekend just before Christmas, Vermont Rail System Passenger Services trains covered a lot of ground in all areas of the state and nearly every trip was met with newly fallen snow for the landscape. The planning by the organizations behind the trips and the coordination of the Team VRS folks was smooth this year, including for one first-time organizer that got an amazing boost in the final week of sales. The trains are not about just running to run, they were genuinely something for everyone. The kids got to visit with Santa briefly on every trip, the adults got to ride a warm festive train, and the crews took in all of the happy and smiling faces generated by their presence to make it all happen. On Sunday night, December 22, the passenger fleet and equipment was moved back to North Walpole for winter maintenance and storage. With that trip in mind, I formulated a plan to get a few night shots, requiring a brief stop as my goal was to burn in the lighted wreath on the lead locomotive and capture some other looks that aren’t possible with a rolling flash night photo. I envisioned a shot at the Bartonsville Covered Bridge that would include my kiddos waving and a well let bridge interior and exterior. The crew coordination was made and for a brief moment, the magic of night photography came alive! Merry Christmas to all on this Christmas Eve!
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
