Joined:
November 11, 2007
Where the light at the end of the tunnel is always an oncoming train.
About Me:
Greetings, fellow railfans...oh yeah, and all you other people too. :) Contained here are the best clips of my personal railfanning video footage. I started shooting video in 1993-94 with a full-size VHS camera borrowed from a friend (thanks Mike), and moved to 8mm in 1996 when I bought a Sony Handycam. In April 2007 the Handycam was retired and my current camera, a Canon HV20, took its place. I will be adding new footage as much as possible, so stay tuned and check back often.
I have no problem with folks embedding/sharing/reusing my stuff as long as you do the right thing and give me credit; it would be nice if you'd give me a heads-up before doing so too. Of course, if anything here is worth money, we definitely need to talk. ;)
Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the clips!
UPDATE 7/10: Footage from Altoona Railfest '09 now arriving. 4 tapes to work through, and 24p HD takes a while to process, so I'm going to be at it for a little while longer before all the clips are up. Juggling with a couple of non-choo-choo-related side projects might draw things out too.
Equipment used:
Camera: Canon HV20
Tripod: Manfrotto 190XB legs w/ 701HDV head
Microphone: Rode SVM
Schools:
In Philadelphia: Sabold, Smedley, and Scenic ----- In Charlotte: Bruns Avenue, Quail Hollow, South Mecklenburg, and UNC-Charlotte
Hobbies:
Railfanning, trainspotting...or whatever they call it in your neck of the woods. Born and raised in 1970s Philadelphia, so my childhood consisted of lots of Penn Central, early Conrail and Amtrak, and SEPTA suburban action. Trips to visit family in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Clarks Summit area netted a few glimpses of Erie Lackawanna action too - I have vivid memories of seeing the Freedom Train in Scranton, next to the yard that would eventually become Steamtown. My family moved to North Carolina in the 80s, and my railfan attention shifted to Southern, Seaboard System, and early NS/CSX. I traveled on many NRHS excursions out of Charlotte, but unfortunately started shooting video too late to capture much of it. My current stomping ground is the Richmond, VA area, dominated (of course!) by NS and CSX . I hope to widen my view with some longer-distance trips in the future.
Books:
The Wreck Of The Penn Central (Daughen and Binzen), America's Colorful Railroads (Ball), The Pennsylvania Railroad (Ball), Triumph I-VIII (Roberts, Messer, and others)
In past years the x-ing bell at Ashcake Road used to be a Mechanical bell until about 2008 when they replaced it with a General Signals Type 1 Electronic bell, which is used at the x-ing today...and actually that picture of Ashcake Road was taken roughly at 7:30- I'll have to check the timestamp:)
Dan