| WELCOME!
One of the most
enjoyable parts of railfanning at least for me is the challenge of
photographing these mighty thundering beasts as they roar down ribbons of
steel carrying all sorts of cargo to destinations all over
America. What a thrill it is to stand trackside as those
massive diesel locomotives rumble by and feel
the wind created by hundreds of tons of railroad train rushing
past you!
On this web site you will find
images of American trains collected for now mostly around
northern Ohio. There are many railfanning venues in Ohio,
and one of the most popular of these is in the city of Berea. As you will
see on these pages, trains featuring power from Norfolk
Southern, BNSF, CSX, Union Pacific, and many leasing companies
are a regular sight along the tracks in Ohio.
Consists of all kinds including unit coal trains, AutoRacks,
RoadRailers, TOFC's, and more pass this way.
The links to the photo pages
are in the Photo Gallery Directory at the
bottom of this page. Visit the Railfan
Resources page where you will find links to and information
about selected railroad and railfan web sites, and resources for
cameras, computers, and more.. |
| Without a doubt the favorite railfanning
spot in Berea is next to the Station Restaurant on Depot
Street. Here the CSX and NS tracks run parallel and
close together which allows for numerous photo
opportunities. There is ample parking, delicious
and reasonably priced food at the Station Restaurant,
and numerous veteran railfans who are always willing to
answer questions or just "talk trains".
For more information
visit the Station
Restaurant web site. For driving directions
just enter 30 Depot Street, Berea
Ohio 44017 into your preferred mapping software. |
| More
About Berea |
|
Richard
Croy has published a very useful map of the most
popular railfanning hotspot in Berea, as well as
some of the railroad related history of the area,
all in a PDF file available at his site. Click
here. |
|
|
| You can see my portfolio of both
railroad and non-railroad related photographs for sale at
Shutterpoint
|
EQUIPMENT
My current camera of choice is the 10 megapixel Sony Alpha DSLR A100. I use both the
standard DT 18-70mm zoom "kit" lens as well as the Sony
SAL75300 75-300mm telephoto zoom lens. There is a comprehensive
review of this camera here.
You can shop online for these or other quality cameras suitable
for railfanning by spending some time browsing at web sites such
as Buy Digital Cameras at JR.com
or Circuit
City Digital Cameras and also at New Digital Cameras at Wal-Mart
|
I carry a portable scanner radio as part of
my railfanning equipment. The scanner makes it possible for
me to monitor the radio frequencies used by the railroads in the
course of their every day activities. Being able to hear
these radio transmissions often gives me a heads up on trains that
are approaching my location, informs me of track maintenance and problems, and
allows me to hear other various communications between railroad
personnel that helps pass the time between trains.
My choice of scanners is actually not a
scanner, but a Vertex
V-150 2 meter handheld
transceiver. A ham license is required if you want
to transmit with this radio, but no license is needed to use it as
a scanner. The radio signal reception with this unit is
remarkable, and far surpasses that of the Radio Shack scanner I
had before the V-150. The use of a scanner may not be
legal in some states or localities.
|
| Of course, a personal computer is
a must in order for the "digital" railfan to store, post
process, and share his pictures with the railfanning world.
I personally use only a desktop pc for these purposes,
but notebook/laptop models are becoming more popular with railfans who road trip a lot in pursuit of this
hobby. I will no doubt invest in a laptop in the near
future. My choice of post processing software is Photoshop
CS3, but there is a far less expensive alternative that works well
for most railfan photographers in Adobe
Photoshop Elements 6.0 . |
|
THE
PHOTOS
For now the photo gallery pages will be
segmented by location such as "Depot Street Berea" or
"CSX Cleveland Short Line" and the like. The links shown
below will open each section in a new window, which you can simply
close to return here. The selections will grow over time as
I travel to new and different railfan hotspots. Enjoy the
photos and feel free to send any questions or comments to railfan412@gmail.com
Thanks for visiting, and maybe I'll see you trackside! |
| ON
SALE @ CIRCUIT CITY! Sony
alpha DSLR-A200K 10.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera & 18-70mm
Lens $499.99 |
|
|
| Click
Here to view my photos at RailPictures.Net! |
 |
| Copyright
Notice: All photographs on this web site are copyrighted
under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code (the
Copyright Act) and are the sole property of Richard
Kaminsky. No photograph displayed here can be distributed,
published, or used without my written permission. |
|
|
Make your digital photos look their very
best with Adobe
Photoshop Elements 6.0
|
|
Did You Know . . . You
can buy batteries for cell phones, digital cameras, laptops, and more at
DuracellDirect.com
|
| Great
prices on flash memory, USB storage, memory sticks, and more at
MCM
Electronics |
| Canon
Digital Rebel XSi 12.2MP DSLR Camera & 18-55mm Lens
$749.99 |
|
|
