Steam & Excursion > No Location Given

John S. Powell recorded only that this was an Atlantic City Express photographed on May 16, 1910. Whatever shutter speed he used, he froze the five year old 6078, a Juniata built E2a, perfectly. 
Photo credit the Library of Congress, Bruce Fales collection
Be of good cheer,
—Mac
www.lowellamrine.com

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That is a very nice photo from the past.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

There were some who had both the skill and the cameras over a hundred years ago that action photos could be expertly taken. Here is an example. Today many railfans don't realize how hard action shots were even into the 1940's or 1950's. In 1968 my friend Mike Ondecker borrowed his aunt's folding camera. It was from around the time of World War II. It could take tack sharp stills, but its 1/300 of a second high shutter speed made action shots above ten to twenty miles an hour blurry. We can be thankful for our modern cameras and the quality images almost anyone can take.
Bob

Another nice one!
Great era for sure.

As to cameras, weren't there focal plane shutters back then good for 1/1000 or more? Leaf shutters running only 1/250 or 1/300.

High speed focal shutter models top of the line and probably very expensive.

So film speed was probably only 12 to 25 ASA; modern equivalent I understand. Tough shooting and in any case rare sport to bag scenes like this one.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/26 12:19 by train1275.

That feature came on the Speed Graphic in 1912, and while it did reduce blur, it caused the locomotive to lean forward slightly, a problem never resolved. 
—Mac

train1275 Wrote:
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> Another nice one!
> Great era for sure.
>
> As to cameras, weren't there focal plane shutters
> back then good for 1/1000 or more? Leaf shutters
> running only 1/250 or 1/300.
>
> High speed focal shutter models top of the line
> and probably very expensive.
>
> Posted from Android

From  other source, it is on the West Jersey & Seashore, note the cemetery stones should locate that tangent..
 

Thank you for filling in the blank on that one.
—Mac

PlyWoody Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From  other source, it is on the West Jersey &
> Seashore, note the cemetery stones should locate
> that tangent..
>  

Far as anyone knows, position-light signals
like that didn't exist in 1910. Started around 1921.
(Probably articles in Rwy Age and Rwy Signalling
when such signals appeared.)

timz Wrote:
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> Far as anyone knows, position-light signals
> like that didn't exist in 1910. Started around
> 1921.
> (Probably articles in Rwy Age and Rwy Signalling
> when such signals appeared.)

A few articles mentioning PRR signal systems - Looks like 1915 as an install date.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/26 14:31 by train1275.

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You remember how the first position-lights were
tombstone-style, on signal bridges, with four bulbs
in each position-light row.  Next came masts, a few
years later, still with four bulbs in each row. Then
about 1921 the circular-background signals with
three bulbs in each roow arrived.

A few more .....  

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From 1915

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/26 15:37 by train1275.

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Never seen a mention of a four-bulb signal with
a circular background. Wonder if any such thing
ever made it to trackside.

Link to an interesting article:



https://books.google.com/books?id=szIwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA171&dq=A.H.+rudd+signal+patent&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtnPiF04SSAxUO78kDHQsPJk4Q6AF6BAgJEAE#v=onepage&q=A.H.%20rudd%20signal%20patent&f=false

Railway Signal Engineer Magazine - June 1916



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/26 15:38 by train1275.

The dates on some of these images have been suspect from the start. There will be more.
—Mac

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Far as anyone knows, position-light signals
> like that didn't exist in 1910. Started around
> 1921.
> (Probably articles in Rwy Age and Rwy Signalling
> when such signals appeared.)

Pics of the pre-1921 position-light masts

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433057458501&seq=75

More on them

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000875229u&seq=265

First? appearance of the three-in-a-row type

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008752325&seq=280

Cannot thank you enough for those great links, couldn't help but notice that in 1917 a lot of the signal work going on was west of Philadelphia.
—Mac

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pics of the pre-1921 position-light masts
>
> https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.3343305
> 7458501&seq=75
>
> More on them
>
> https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.3195100
> 0875229u&seq=265
>
> First? appearance of the three-in-a-row type
>
> https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.3195100
> 08752325&seq=280

Nice shot!!