Any of you have done a photo rail trip?

MFstooges

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
955
Format
35mm
I was doing road trip through BC Canada last year and saw tons of beautiful landscape next to railways. I know that Canada has few nice rail tours. There's also a nice scenery rail route between US West and East Coast.
Anyway, I was wondering what kind of photo ops on a rail tour that cannot be taken on a road trip? For sure the train passes beautiful remote scenery but you won't have much freedom and time to frame/compose a picture, will you?
 

Sirius Glass

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
50,500
Location
Southern California
Format
Multi Format

Rick A

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 31, 2009
Messages
9,970
Location
Laurel Highlands
Format
8x10 Format
We've considered it but Amtrak won't let me set up my 8x10 inside the car.
 

Waldo

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2015
Messages
6
Location
San Francisco CA
Format
Multi Format
Rick A said:
We've considered it but Amtrak won't let me set up my 8x10 inside the car.
Click to expand...

Ever considered getting a sleeper room? Bet you could smuggle in an 8x10 into one of those! But not sure how easy it would be to focus it when you're moving down the tracks at speed.
 
Last edited:

4season

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
2,039
Format
Plastic Cameras
I've ridden aboard Amtrak's California Zephyr and Coast Starlight on a number of occasions, in either an econo or deluxe sleeper cabin. Very much enjoy just sitting back and watching the landscape unfold. As the deluxe sleeper spans nearly the width of the car, you get a pretty good view in both directions.

For photography, just bear in mind that you're photographing through glass, and you're usually in motion, so foregrounds are going to be blurred. But while you may not get the shot of a lifetime while onboard, I think you'll find the scenery most inspiring. Everything looks a bit different from the elevated perspective of a double-decker Superliner car.
 

BrianShaw

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2005
Messages
16,691
Location
La-la-land
Format
Multi Format
The first rail trip convinced me that snapshots were about as good as it would get. Subsequent rail trips have focused on enjoying the views while sipping wine and relying on a photographic memory.
 

loccdor

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 12, 2024
Messages
1,775
Location
USA
Format
Multi Format
I gave up on trying to get good pictures shooting out of windows on ground transportation. It all goes by too fast. On ships, it can be possible.
 

benveniste

Subscriber
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
531
Format
Multi Format
Does the Cog Railway on Mount Washington count? If so, I just did so last week.

The good news is that the windows opened partway. The bad news is that given the grade and the cramped space, standing up was a challenge. So I resorted to "spray and pray digital."

On a modern train you won't have that luxury, and you'll be moving a lot faster than the 5 mph speed of the cog railway. So you have to adapt both your technique and your choice of subject. This is a pretty good blog post on the subject.

How to Take Photos from Trains: A Photo Guide from the Via Rail - Brendan van Son Photography

For the second time in my life, I had the brilliant opportunity to take the VIA Rail across Canada from Toronto to Edmonton. And well I would have loved to make the journey all the way across to Vancouver, I really can’t complain. This trip always has a way of grounding me and allowing my...
brendansadventures.com
 

jvo

Subscriber
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
1,761
Location
left coast of east coast
Format
Digital
I've done various train trips and taken lots of pic's. I usually got a sleeper. They are definitely "train views", sometimes blurred, sometimes unsharp through dirty windows, or because of speed, and sometimes very nice, though not perfect. I mostly used a monopod with 2 1/4 inch format, and had fun. A good number of "missed" shots, and some interesting stuff as well. The dining/cafe car is also a good place to shoot from - the later you can sit in for a long time on a cup of coffee! Also, on some east coast, (US), you could get of the train and there was enough time to wonder and shoot, nearby.

I don't think I would find it useful to attempt a view camera unless I had an artistic vision that made use of the unique features of train travel..
 
Last edited:

Paul Howell

Subscriber
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
9,853
Location
Scottsdale Az
Format
Multi Format
I've been on the Grand Canyon and Verde Railroad trains here in Arizona. These are short trip tourist trains with open cars and they travel at low speeds so it is possible to get a few good shots. My wife and I had planned on a Amtrak trip from Arizona to the Northwest, but the schedule was such that many scenic areas such as big sur the train was going there after dark.
 

DWThomas

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Messages
4,611
Location
SE Pennsylvania
Format
Multi Format
I'd say there are differences depending on the specific rail travel. There are a remarkable number of "tourist railroads" scattered across the US. They are mostly recreational as opposed to serious traveling. Such operations often have open cars available and/or passenger coaches with windows that open so that gets around shooting through glass. Their travel speeds are generally modest -- partly to not over-stress the equipment, and partly to make the trip seem like a longer distance than it actually is.

I have indulged in such activities over the years. Those were pretty much the whole purpose of the trip, but I have no shame about shooting from trains, busses, or boats (or even planes) to try to capture the flavor of the traveling. Some of my efforts have been part of larger scale travel and mixed in with off-train breaks. Ref: Swiss Alps

Yes, getting tripod mounted view camera quality results is over-optimistic, but it is worth some modest effort to try.
 

gordrob

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
1,024
Location
Western Cana
Format
Multi Format
The White Pass and Yukon Railroad is a great trip in Alaska. The train leaves from Skagway and goes into Whitehorse in the Yukon. It is a steep climb from sea level to the top of the Pass so the trip is slow and some of the trains cars have open windows when the weather is good. It is very beautiful country with lots of places for scenic shots. The rail line follows part of the Chilkoot Pass used by the gold miners of the 1890s. They still operate a steam locomotive 2 days a week.
 

Attachments

  • 52280007.JPG
    1.4 MB · Views: 87

guangong

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
3,589
Format
Medium Format
BrianShaw said:
The first rail trip convinced me that snapshots were about as good as it would get. Subsequent rail trips have focused on enjoying the views while sipping wine and relying on a photographic memory.
Click to expand...

That’s the way to go!
 

Sirius Glass

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
50,500
Location
Southern California
Format
Multi Format
I have taken the four train circuit loop from Interlakken Switzerland to the Jungfrau three times. The loop require using four trains, some cog wheeled, and travels through the Eiger.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…