Shenanigan's Awesome Railroad Feature! (SARF)

As some of you may have noticed, I got an unexpected Christmas gift of sorts, namely a one month premium membership from robertbeardwell, after capturing his page with exactly 5000 pageviews displayed. Now, I can finally do something I always wanted to do, my very own railroad feature journal! And I mean proper features, with thumbnails instead of links.

I wanted to feature some photos from deviants who not only take great railroad shots, but offer kind comments and helpful critique. I think the latter part shouldn't be underestimated, as we're a community here, not just a bunch of rail fanatics who throw the occasional photo or two onto DA. I chose one photo from each deviant's gallery that I somehow remember and associate with the user in question, be it for its artistic merit, quality, historic backstory or because it features my favourite locomotive class of course.


On to the feature!


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Very lovely lighting, crisp image quality, and a very tranquil background! I'm all for artistic railroad photos, but a well crafted and simple head on shot like this one really makes a railfan's mouth water.


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Another very high quality photo, showing the nose of an iconic DB class 601 power head in TEE livery. Hoyt must be the only one who has a photo of these beautiful DMUs on DA, and I loved how prominent the metal TEE emblem looked on this.


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Probably one of my favourite shots from Britain as far as DMUs are concerned has got to be this one. I really liked how the front with the driver if in focus, while it gets more and more blurred when one looks down along the lines of the train. A very artistic shot!


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Something one doesn't get to see often around here, a very green railyard so to speak! While it is of course not a good idea to neglect the ballast like that, it does look quite striking and pleasant.


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Bob doesn't shoot trains exclusively, and it often shows in the fact that his railroad shots aren't just standard train photos, but often reveal the people behind preserved engines. Either through portraits of the said people, or by photos like this, with the helping hands rolling around in the dirt to get everything right.


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This was one of the first photos I remember seeing from Torsten, and I like it for several reasons. The tranquility of a snow covered town, the little details like the obviously heated switch, and finally the beautiful class 218 diesel that I don't see here any more.


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Now this is quite a Christmas gift, I urge you to read the story behind this magnificient engine, if you haven't done so already! The lighting may not be optimal, but in this case, it really brings the jet black engine in the center of attention, along with the white snow.


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The former ET 403 was the first high speed EMU Germany ever saw, with only three such trains in existence. This shot shows the gruesome fate these suffered, and still suffer now. The fine sprinkle of frost really fits here, a sleeping beauty that will hopefully be saved before it's too late.


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To this day, I hope that Tom will return to DA, but I fear that something might have happened to him... I really liked his shots for their immacualte quality, tight crop, and great colours. He really inspired me, so I hope that he's doing well, despite disappearing from DA.


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Double headed steam is always quite epic, but I also like to see the little helpers behind all of it, in the form of volunteers. As always, I liked the crisp quality on this, low ISO and an 8.0 aperture are also my usual choice for stationary targets.


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There are only three locos of the class 113, a subclass of the 110 that have an increased top speed of 100mph. Not only is this a rarity, as the title states, but the unusual aspect ratio and the nice composition with the station roof really add to it.


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I had a really hard time choosing a shot from Sam because he always has very high standards of quality, being among the few railfans who still shoot analog. I liked this one due to the nice colour contrast between the locomotive, the right of way and the landscape surrounding it. But seriously, how can one choose one favourite from his photos? They all show professional craftsmanship, I don't think I could point out any "bad" shots...


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Chinese railroad shots aren't widespread on DA, so I'm always interested in how things work there. This shot isn't only interesting because of the foreign train, but due to the nice perspective, showing a proud railroader at work.


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Veselin doesn't only take great shots, but always gives very helpful feedback. What I really like about his photography is how he always gets more into the frame than just the train. Even though I find the depicted EMU rather boring, the striking contrast between the bright red train an the winter landscape just blows me sideways!


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Amazing how much a low perspective can change the looks of an engine! Having taken a photo of myself standing next to a class 143 electric, I know how tall locomotives are when you are not standing on a high platform. This shot conveys their sheer size quite well.


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This was one of the first photos I saw from Josh, and I remember it to this day! Steam is always an interesting element to add to a photo, and combined with a sunset, it's a real feast for the eye!


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An amazing shot on many accounts. Black and white photos are not that common, and this one is a great example where the emotion carried within a photo are amplified by taking away the colour. The smoke being kicked up from the tracks, the diesel exhausts and the reflecting railheads of a siding, a very well composed shot.


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A great shot of a great train by a fellow physicist! I don't only like the photo, but also the detailed background story of a very long railfanning trip to get as many shots of this beauty as possible. I'd suggest reading through from the first photo on, it's quite entertaining!



So, this was my first ever railroad feature. I know I couldn't have included anyone, so please don't feel left out if your pic didn't appear here. It is quite a bit of work to get this together, as those who regularly do features know, and in addition to that, I also wanted to write a little something about each photo. There were some more deviants and photos, but I felt that it shouldn't get too long, as the longer something I write is, the fewer people get through to the end of it.

Also, because I really want to make use of my premium while it lasts, I'll include almost all of my class 143 shots that I have below because I can! For those of you who don't know that number: It's a four axle electric locomotive, built in the former socialist GDR from 1984 till 1991. 646 units have been built, which is quite a lot, and they can be found all over Germany. Sadly though, their low top speed, a legacy from the badly maintained Reichsbahn network, and the fact that multiple units are taking over everything could very well kill this class in the near future. That's why I shoot them whenver I see them, which leads to me having quite a few photos of these boxy ole guys on DA.

Thanks for visiting, and until the next feature!

Here's my tribute to the DB 143, former DR 243:









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