After providing two night photo sessions at Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association’s annual Cass Railfan Weekend in early May, our volunteer photography work force reconvened in Spencer for the duration of the North Carolina Transportation Museum’s Streamliners at Spencer festivities over the week of May 29- June 1.
In cooperation with Norfolk Southern, NCTM personnel, and other organizations, the historic gathering featured three different nights of unique photo sessions, with each night providing three separate scenes for photographers. The large museum grounds and endless subject material enabled flexibility with different subjects, equipment, and lighting.
Erie E8(A) No. 833, Union Pacific E9(A) No. 949, and Iowa Pacific E8(A) No. 515 represent a portion of Saturday 'E'vening's fleet of E-units participating in the historic May 2014 gathering.
As day turned to night each evening, 12 light stands & generators towered over the museum grounds providing a combined 48,000 watts of available light to illuminate all three scenes. Temperatures were mild, at least in comparison to the 2012 gathering of NS’ heritage locomotives, but some intimidating thunderstorms did drift through the Salisbury-Spencer area, suspending sessions temporarily.
The centerpiece for Thursday night's "Preview Day" session featured N&W's J-Class 4-8-4 No. 611 surrounded by participating cab units.
Small, studio lights used to highlight small details and train consists were used to enhance specific photo scenes and were utilized extensively in lighting the Barber Jct. Station scene on the museum’s north end. Over 1,000 feet of extension cords were used, providing electricity to 8 total studio lights. Combined lighting from the museum’s light tower rentals and our organization’s small studio lights provided an estimated 60,500 watts of lighting over a total of 11 acres. The equivalency of 60,500 watts is approximately 7,040,000 lumens of light.
Illuminated with a combination of light towers and studio lighting, NKP Alco PA No. 190 poses alongside the Barber Jct. Depot, a long way from the Pacific Northwest in this Saturday night perspective.
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