Steam & Excursion > GGRM: Night Photo Session: Saturday, August 30

On the evening of Saturday, August 30, 2014, Golden Gate Railroad Museum hosted night photo session, staged at Niles Canyon Railway, Sunol, California. Southern Pacific 2472 and a short train were positioned at Farwell Bridge - and - at the Sunol depot.

This event was initially envisioned by Nils Huxtable (Steamscenes), an enthusiast and photographer from West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Nils and I worked with GGRM's Dave Roth, who organized the event and suggested that in additional to illuminating the train using flash bulbs, we utilize floodlights powered by the generator on SP 2979, the club-lounge car, to illuminate trees - and - in the case of Farwell, the bridge.

GGRM promoted the event, which drew participants from not only the Bay Area, but from Southern California, Washington and, in the case of Nils, British Columbia, Canada.

Around 7:00 PM, participants boarded the special train at Brightside yard. SP 1487 pulled the train to Farwell bridge, location of the first night photo. GGRM staff positioned the floodlights, while SP 2472 was illuminated using new old stock General Electric number 11 flash bulbs.

Upon completion of the night photos at Farwell bridge, participants re-boarded the train, which continued to Sunol. At Sunol, SP 2472 and its train took the siding, while SP 1487 was placed on the track closest to the depot. Engineers in both SP 2472 and SP 1487 worked to turn-on and, then, seconds later, turn-off the locomotives' headlights.

Two images are attached.

Dave Roth and the GGRM staff deserve our thanks for the great work performed to stage this event. Persons interested in participating in future events shoud consider joining Gold Coast Railroad Musuem. Like most museums and tourist lines, GGRM is always looking for additional members.

From David Roth: "I want to Thank all of you who helped put this event together. Especially the engine crews for their long day and patience. Thanks to the ground crew for the lights and security. McCune for the stage lights. Nils and Thomas for working with me for three years to finally make this happen. Also Dexter Day and our hosts the Niles Canyon Railway for providing the venue."

Contact information for both GGRM and Niles Canyon Railway can be found below.

Locomotive and passenger car details:

Southern Pacific 2472, 4-6-2 (BLW 54477 / 1921), SP class P-8, oil-fired.

Southern Pacific 1487, H12-44 (Fairbanks-Morse 12L671 / 1953), originally US Army 1487. Of the 303 H12-44 locomotives originally built, sixteen intact examples of the H-12-44 are known to survive today, all of which are owned by railroad museums or historical societies. Source: Wikipedia.

Southern Pacific 141 "Oakland," (Pullman, 1927), business car.

Southern Pacific 2979 (Pullman, 1912), club-lounge.

Golden Gate Railroad Museum: http://www.ggrm.org/
Niles Canyon Railway: http://www.ncry.org/

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Nice shots Tom. Thanks for posting.

Martin

It was an amazing evening. Thanks to Tom and Nils and the GGRM crew.

Here's my favorite shot.

Jay

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Wow! Yours is an incredible image! The "gyrolight" from the F-M must have illuminated "Southern Pacific Lines" on SP 2472's tender.

Posted from iPhone

Very nice photos! Thanks, guys and gals, for
all your hard work.

jay --That is a fantastic shot! Looks much more
like a regular night shot. GREAT work!

Many thanks to the organizers and crew. Here is my best shot from the Sunol Depot.

-Brice

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Some very nice work, there... thanks for sharing! Got a kick out of the fact that some N.O.S. flashbulbs were used for the shot--still have some #22 bulbs as well!

Brice! Excellent! Nice angle, great exposure.

Lovely images...

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com