WRJ Glory Days 2012

NECR 3857 is seen out front of the WRJ station the day before Glory Days. It would shortly depart to switch the NECR yard.  By the day of the festival it was found once again parked out front but with a small NB train.

20th Annual Glory Days

Sept 8, 2012

White River Junction, Vermont

This year I made a last minute decision to attend the 20th annual Glory Days. It was to have a interesting collection of locomotives including the Pan Am heritage B&M Geep. The railway equipment portion of the event was arranged by ERN, Eastern Railway News 20th Annual Glory Days of the Railroad Festival | Eastern Railroad News Online Magazine and was to include a night photo session which sealed the deal for me attending...I love doing night photos. I had only attended one Glory Days and that was the 6th Annual in 1998 so I really was looking forward to this day.

If one likes train rides a bonus for the day was a $10 train ride on the White River Flyer...a short 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back trip.

I arrived the day before, about noon, to get some photos of the equipment before the crowds arrived. I was not the only one with this idea as there was a good group of rail fans coming and going during the afternoon in WRJ. The engines in town included:

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic #8592
Green Mountain #405
Pan Am - B&M heritage Geep #77
Claremont Concord #104
NECR #3857
C&P #306
VTR #307
MEC #305
Amtrak Heritage unit #156 on the Vermonter

One of the highlights of the day was the arrival of the Vermonter with Amtrak Heritage unit #156 on the lead. The Pan Am heritage B&M geep #77 was posed in a position so one could get at nice shot of the engine, station and Vermonter in one photo. I found a spot that I took a similar type of photo back in 1996 (it was published in Railpace back in the day) about 45 minutes before the arrival of the Vermonter. Well a photo line started to assemble shortly after.

The Vermonter is departing WRJ with Amtrak Heritage engine #156 specially selected by Amtrak for the train through town this day. The photo line stretched from the edge of the track to the back yard fences of the homes nearest the tracks. A big gang got a great shot with a vintage B&M engine in the foreground.

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic #8592 spent the whole day on the Wye.

MMA  B39 8E, #8592 is tucked away on the Wye while a set of VTR power including GP40-2 #307  is seen tucked in the middle. Green Mountain RS-1 #405 can be seen on the White River Flyer near the station. I took this photo about 8am the day of the festival.

Night Photo Session
As the day portion of the festival ended the rain began, around 4- 5pm but became a light drizzle by 9pm. Unfortunately the organiser decided not to show up for the night photo session and was not answering his phone. It appears he had already done his own night photo session the night before. The engine man also could not contact the organiser and had put the equipment away in an undesirable spot for photos but good for lifting over the next day or two. He originally was to stay and stage the engines.

At 9pm there was at least a dozen guys standing around in the drizzle deciding what to do. With the night photo session lighting guy, Shaun McGinnis on site and most of the gang having flash unit and tripods it appeared no one was going home without a few night shots...so it became a kind of  free for all. There was small groups all over the place taking photos using whatever lighting they could muster up. The generator for the flood lighting ran out of fuel after the first round, although it was a very long one and I think everyone came away with a good group of photos of a trio of engines. At one point I was taking photos using one flash unit plus two sets of auto headlights...an interesting night that I don't think anyone could or ever wants to replicate again...George Dutka

Pan Am heritage B&M GP9 #77 during the night photo session lighted by Shaun McGinnis.

Shaun set up his lights so we could get a shot of the three units tucked back on the Wye. It was a hard shoot as we had to stand at times in waist high weeds and brush.

This photo I took using available lighting, a flash unit and headlights from two cars. You really have to get creative when there is no other options. I have never been to a night photo session like this before.